Tangled Moon:
…“I’ve been wanting to run.”
Kendra was gone a second later. So much for her staying with him, Alessandro realized, taking off after her. She started in the direction of Danielle and Lothar. Then he smelled it. A human. He hadn’t expected someone out hiking at two AM, but anything was possible with mortals.
She stopped in her tracks, Alessandro catching up with her a moment later. Her hand came to her throat. He didn’t have much time. He wrapped his arms around her, halting her before she could change trajectory, going after the mortal.
“Let me go,” she wheezed.
“No, habibti.”
She struggled, twisted hard, and then broke free one arm. She was strong and fast but he was more so. He grabbed her back to him but her sleeve ripped free altogether and she got the chance she needed. She yanked her other arm free and ran.
He caught up to her, leaping over a fallen tree. He tackled her to the ground and the both of them rolled once. Catching her under him, he got into her face.
“No,” he growled.
He tried to send her his thoughts, all the reasons why she didn’t want to do this, but he had no idea if she could hear him now. She panted, pushing on him. There was no way for her to escape with him on top of her. He resisted the urge to let up. She was so much smaller than he was. No, he couldn’t hurt her. She was unbreakable now.
He smelled Danielle and Lothar nearby. They must have disbanded their chase with Jonas and came to head off what was happening with Kendra. This wasn’t how he wanted to test Danielle’s resolve, or her instincts. She’d been trained to protect humans. It was a tradition so old werewolves couldn’t remember where it had come from.
A moment later Jonas was there, watching them knowingly from thirty feet away. Lothar approached, slinking around as if ready to block her path if she should try and make a run for it. Danielle was last, but she hung back, whining like she wanted to be a part of things. Lothar turned his head, growling a warning in her direction.
She backed off, lying down with her head on her front paws.
“I need to get her away from here,” Alessandro said. “But I don’t dare get off of her either.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Jonas said. He disappeared.
Lothar growled after him. He looked from between Danielle and where Jonas had disappeared as if torn.
Danielle came to her feet. Her head was down and her black eyes trained expectantly on Lothar. He looked at her for a moment then snorted a dismissal in her direction.
Spinning, she took off after Jonas. Lothar wasn’t happy. He was watching the space where she’d disappeared, ears pinned back…
Darcy Branwyn 
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