I grabbed a witch by the shoulders and heaved him into three more that were running at me. They crashed to the cement floor like logs. My bear roared in triumph inside my head. It was rare that I let it run so wild and it was surging through my mind and body, urging me through each thunderous punch and kick.

The surge of witches never seemed to end. I had no idea how they packed so many people in here, yet they charged us one after another. As soon as I took one or two down, replacements rushed into the fray.

I stumbled as Jeremy slammed into my back. I quickly glanced over my shoulder and found Jeremy rubbing at his chest like he had received a hell of a hit.

"You okay?" I asked as I returned my attention back to the fight.

"I'm fine, they just got a good hit in," Jeremy replied with a grunt as he continued to fight behind me. "How the hell didn't I know about this?"

I felt a chill along the back of my neck and looked over to see a witch staring intently at me. She gritted her teeth as she focused. Then I heard it. A voice told me to surrender, that it was the only option. Hell no.

Another witch charged me a moment later. I grabbed him, lifted him into the air as he shouted frantically, and tossed him into the witch who was trying to control me.The two fell in a heap of tangled limbs.

"Figure that out later. We need to get to Rhonda," I growled out, frustrated that we were stuck in place.

"Can you shift?"

"Not a good idea. I can't guarantee there won't be casualties."

"But could you plow through?"

"I could. Really not a good idea, though. My bear won't play nice if I give it control."

"Necessary force. They're not looking to play nice, Sam."

He didn't understand. I only shifted when I could be absolutely certain I had complete control over my bear, or when I knew it didn't matter who I hurt. My bear was truly dangerous when it got angry and out of control.

Right now, my bear was a wild beast and it was furious. It would stop at nothing to get to Rhonda. This basement wasn't exactly big. If Jeremy got in the way at the wrong time—I didn't even want to think about what could happen. It was too dangerous. I would have to try to avoid shifting, no matter how much the urge clawed at me.

Jeremy grunted again and I heard the sound of fists striking flesh. He was fighting as hard as I was, but there were only two of us. I let out a growl of frustration as I kicked straight out, sending a witch charging at me with a sharp dagger crashing to the cement floor.

How could we make it to Rhonda like this? I was about to plow forward, safety be damned, when I heard some voices chanting. I glanced over to my right and saw four witches standing together in a circle apart from the rest. Damnit. What were they trying to do? Summon something?

"Be right back," I shouted to Jeremy before I turned and rushed toward the witch directly in front of me. I bent down and rammed my shoulder into his stomach. He cried out in surprise and pain as I continued forward with my shoulder in his middle using him as a battering ram to take out the ones behind him.

I kept up my momentum, hurtling forward until I had a pile of witches in front of me. My bear wanted more. It didn't understand why we weren't rending our enemies into useless chunks of flesh. With a roar, I heaved the witch I'd been using as a battering ram into the chanting circle. He crashed into them, and they went down in a massive tumble of arms and legs accompanied by cries of pain, putting a swift end to whatever they were doing.

My head shot up as something set my instincts on alert. A faint, low buzzing cut through the air. I realized I hadn't stopped their chanting in time when I saw a black mass fly in from the top of the stairs.

I cursed under my breath and vaulted back through the crowd to Jeremy. He had one witch on his back, holding him in a headlock while another focused hard on him. It was the same one who tried to control me earlier. As I watched, Jeremy started to sink to the ground.

I charged forward into the focusing witch, knocking her aside. When I turned back around, Jeremy flipped the other witch from his back. He stood back up and shot me a glare as he snarled, "Be right back? Be right back? You're supposed to watch my back, not go charging off."

"To be fair, I was trying to stop that," I replied, pointing toward the black mass the witches had called. Instead of coming straight at us, the swirling, buzzing black cloud was zipping around the witches closest to the stairs. Panicked screams followed in its wake, the witches dodging, ducking, and shoving into each other. A couple even collapsed to the ground and curled into the fetal position.

"You idiots!" someone shouted above the screams. A torrential spray misted upward and into the swarm.

I coughed as the stench of strong insecticide hit me. The black cloud froze for a moment, then rained down out of the air onto the witches a few feet away from me. They cried out in surprise, and one panicked, flailing her arms and legs to get them off of her. In her frenzy, she flung one of the black things off right at me. I snatched it out of the air.

The biggest horsefly I'd ever seen sat in my hand. I grimaced and tossed it to the ground. Effective, but that wouldn't have been my first choice. I didn't have long to think about it as one of the witches found his courage and charged me. I reached out to grab him as another witch came in from my right and swung his arm, aiming for my face.

I dodged down and to the side. I was fast for my size thanks to my shifter reflexes. The witch wasn't able to stop his punch. He hit the other witch, knocking him back. They both froze in shock for a moment. I shoved each of them back into the mob around me.

The impact knocked some of them back, and they watched me uneasily. Who's next? I asked with nothing but a snarling expression. As if in response, something slammed into the top of my head. I winced at the dull pain as it struck again.

I whirled around to face my attacker and found . . . a candle holder? It hovered threateningly in the air. Despite how ridiculous it felt, I reached out and grasped the offending object. It shook in my hand, like an animal trying to escape. I held tight and it stopped moving.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another small item zooming in to collide with me. It looked like the candle that was missing from the holder. I snarled and grabbed it out of the air before it could connect. I was fresh out of hands, so I could only hope they didn't find more things to toss at me with their minds.

"This isn't working," I said to Jeremy. "They just keep coming. Can't you do something?"

"What? Shoot them? I don't have that many magazines on me. I'd run out of bullets before we ran out of attackers. No. We have to get out of this mob."

Fine. I'd had enough. No more Mr. Nice Guy. I could use my size and bulk to ram through the witches. I started forward, calling to Jeremy over my shoulder, "Keep up, then."

I charged through the mob, shoving people out of my way. They pressed closer and closer. Even with my strength and bulk, there were simply too many witches around. It didn't take long for us to be packed in too tight for anyone to even punch or hit. I shouldered my way through, to accompanying grunts and moans. I couldn't even throw them away from me anymore.

Suddenly, space opened up in front of me. I frowned as I realized the witches were somehow clearing out of the way. Unease ran through me. Where were they going? I looked around the cleared area, but I couldn't find Jude and Rhonda. Only the empty altar. I took a deep breath, trying to scent for them, but the insecticide sprayed on those flies still messed with my nose.

I glanced around frantically. Had he managed to drag her away? There was only one entrance to this room, and the stairs were behind me. A sharp noise caught my attention, and then I finally saw them behind the altar, by the wall. Jude had Rhonda pinned underneath him on the floor, his face twisted in rage.

His hands were dug deep in her hair. She looked dazed. He lowered his face toward hers, mouthing something I couldn't hear through all the screams, and then he slammed her head against the floor. A grimace of pain crossed Rhonda's face, and my bear roared inside me as my blood pumped furiously through my veins.

Behind me, Jeremy said something but I couldn't hear him. My bear had taken over and my vision went red with rage. Fur flowed over me and my fingers grew claws. My clothes ripped at the seams as I shifted.

I stood on my hind feet and roared a challenge at Jude. No one hurts my mate. He might not understand, but I would make sure he did. The witches around me reeked of fear as they shoved, pushed, and trampled each other to get away. I dropped to all fours and charged forward, my eyes locked on Jude.

Jeremy's voice pierced my ears again as he screamed something at me, but I ignored him. Nothing was going to get in my way. I would get that asshole's hands off Rhonda, and make sure he never hurt her again.

Jude's eyes widened in fear as he saw me heading to him and he scrambled to his feet, pulling Rhonda up by her hair. He cowered behind the large stone slab Rhonda had been on, with her in front of his body as a shield. Her face contorted in pain from his grip.

I let out a thundering roar. The fear and shock I saw in Rhonda's eyes gave me the briefest pause. My human self was so far back I was not capable of understanding human speech. Even in my overwhelming rage, I knew her fear was not good. I hoped she would understand that this was all for her. I would make her safe.

A brave soul jumped in front of me as I started toward Jude and I barreled into him. I smashed my large head into him and knocked him aside. My focus honed in on Jude once more as he cowered behind the slab, shouting words I couldn't understand.

Suddenly, I couldn't move forward. My feet were stuck to the ground. I looked down, but nothing was gripping my claws and holding me in place. I roared out another challenge, uselessly struggling to move forward. My bear was frantic, but no amount of struggling could get us free.

I swung my head around, looking for a solution, and met Rhonda's eyes once more. I couldn't help her if I was trapped. We need to work together, I thought from the back of my mind, trying to reason with my primal beast. That thought made my bear hesitate. Reluctantly, it let my human side assume more control. It knew that it needed my help.

Able to reason once more, I stopped struggling against the invisible force. Instead, I focused. I growled and pulled up my front foot, resisting the urge to panic when it didn't immediately move. It was my strength against their power. Straining, I put all my energy into moving that one foot. Slowly, I was able to lift it up.

I turned my gaze back to Jude and he smirked at me, giving Rhonda's hair another sharp tug as she started to struggle. I snarled at him and pulled with all my might against the magic that held me. His smile started to fade as I forced my way forward and took a step. Then another.

"Let me go, Jude," Rhonda shouted, her voice vibrating with anger. "You've lost."

He jerked his hand in her hair again and a cry of pain tore from her lips.

"Shut up. Just shut the fuck up."

I shoved through the resistance, every muscle straining, when abruptly it broke. My foot jerked up. Surprised, I was thrown off balance but I quickly righted myself. I rose onto two feet, letting out a roar that made the walls and ceiling tremble. A hush fell over the room. I slammed back down onto all fours, the sound echoing throughout the basement.

"Stop, or I kill her," Jude commanded me, but I heard a quaver in his voice.

I ignored him and moved forward. Although I was in control of my bear, I was furious. I didn't think I had ever been this angry in my entire life. No one would hurt my mate. Rhonda was mine, and it was my job to care for her. No matter what happened in the past, I knew she was my future.

Now, I had to figure out how to get her out of Jude's grip so I could tear him apart. I made it past the altar, and Jude and Rhonda were only a few feet away. I roared at him again. His face turned white.

Before I could close the distance, Jude threw Rhonda at me and jumped away. She stumbled, about to fall hard into the stone altar. If I tried to catch her, my claws would tear her flesh like hot knives through butter.

Without giving it another thought, I stood up and shifted into my human form, my hands grabbing her arms and pulling her to my body. Our momentum knocked me into the altar, and with a burst of pain, my thigh absorbed the impact.

I felt her breath on my chest, her skin under my hands. Safe. Rhonda was safe. But the danger was still there. Where had Jude gone?

"Sam, you big lug," she whispered, "I'm so happy you're here."

I wanted to bask in the relief I heard in her voice, but I couldn't let myself. With her secure in my arms, I scanned around but didn't see Jude. The room was in chaos, with people yelling and screaming.

Jeremy stood nearby with his gun out. A bunch of people with their hands in the air stood in front of him. I saw several people in the tan uniform of the sheriff's office on the other side of the room, working on restoring order.

"Sam," Rhonda said, drawing my attention.

I looked down at her and saw panic. What was wrong?

"Behind you!" she screamed, her gaze to my right.

My heart raced. I felt the presence of someone right behind me. It was too late. I tightened my arms around her and braced myself for whatever was to come. I only hoped I could keep Rhonda safe.