Page 92 of Secrets & Sake

All my joy withers and dies.

Goodbye?

No. No, you don’t get to say goodbye to me, damn it, Jinta!

You don’t get to give my heart somebody to beat for, only to leave me behind.

You can’t.

I won’t let you!

My wolf roars within my soul. The darkness around me shatters like glass. My body changes as the wolf’s fury surges through me. Fur ripples over bulging muscles as I rise up on my back legs. The thread around my clawed finger vibrates, glowing so bright it hurts to look at. The last of the darkness disappears, and I stand in the middle of the woods. A pile of bodies lie at the foot of a shrine. Rivers of blood soak into the grass.

The wind carries Jinta’s scent to me. There he is, bent over an altar. My own grandfather holds a knife to his throat. Namikawa is laughing. There’s no time to think. I’ve got to save my mate.

Charging forward, I swing out a clawed hand and bat Namikawa off his feet. My boss smashes his way down the stone steps and crumples against the pile of corpses clogging the stairs. My grandfather has dropped the knife and backed away, face pale and hands raised in supplication.

Reaching out, I seize my mate and haul him in close. His hair tickles my snout, and I breathe in a lungful of his scent. Thank god. A shuddery gasp escapes Jinta when he looks up at me, chocolate-brown eyes going wide. “R-Raiden?”

I smile at the sound of his voice, though it probably just looks like I’m baring my fangs. “Hey, Sunshine,” I growl, voice deep and inhuman.

“Wh-what happened to you?” he asks.

I’m not sure myself. I’ve heard stories of wolves transforming into gigantic bipedal wolf-men monstrosities to protect their mates, but I never thought it would happen to me. Not until he came along. “Not going to hurt you,” I huff, carefully setting him down. “Get behind the altar. Don’t come out!”

On the steps below, Namikawa rises. Shadows pool in his haggard face, which has taken on a foxlike appearance. But it’s his shadow that reveals the truth. It isn’t Namikawa’s shadow, but of a woman in a kimono. She has a fox’s head and nine tails lashing back and forth.

Namikawa is a kitsune? Hell, this is bad.

The gathered Namikawa-kai cheer in anticipation of watching me fight Namikawa.

Namikawa bares his fangs. He’s standing taller than he has in weeks. The kitsune must be granting him a boost of strength. “This new form you’ve gained is impressive, Noboru. Unfortunately for you, it means nothing. You will always be my attack dog. Step aside. Our lady Tamano-no-Mae requires her last sacrifice. Do not make me ask.”

My jaws click hungrily as I snap my teeth together. “No,” I snarl. “Touch a single hair on his head, and yours will roll, Namikawa!”

A sneer hooks Namikawa’s lips. “Insolent brat. Noboru, would you kindly step aside?”

His request tugs at my mind. The fury of my wolf threatens to falter. My claws begin to shrink, my fangs become dull. No, no, no! I’ve got to fight. I can’t lose Jinta.

“Raiden, don’t listen to him!” Jinta shouts, rising from behind the shrine. “Fight him!”

“You will never be free!” Namikawa roars, body shifting rapidly to his kitsune form. “I own you, body and soul!”

“Maybe,” I say, voice strained as I wrestle to hold on to my resolve to protect my mate. “But only one man owns my heart!”

The thread connecting me to Jinta burns like the sun. I focus on our bond as my scars burn. My wolf tries to roll over and submit, but I won’t let him. Not this time. I charge, shaking the earth as I pelt toward Namikawa.

Fear widens Namikawa’s eyes as he realizes I’m not in his control. Not anymore.

I swing at him with claws like utility hooks. The crowd erupts into noise, shouting over each other. Namikawa moves so fast, he blurs, leaping over me with grace no man his age should possess. Claws like daggers fasten into my back and rip downwards, carving open my flesh. Blood soaks the fur on my back. Roaring, I whirl around and rip my claws across his ribs.

Namikawa grabs my fist in his hands and with inhuman strength, spins me around and hurls me into a tree. My back snaps as I crash into the trunk with such force, I uproot the tree. My broken spine leaves me paralyzed. The bones begin to heal, but it’s slow going as Namikawa advances on me, blood dripping from his claws.

His head snaps side to side as his face forms a snout. His body ripples and shakes, clothes shredding. “I should have left you to rot in that wretched house you called a home!” He snarls, and charges toward me, claws extended.

“Raiden!” Jinta shouts, terror in his voice.

Suddenly, Namikawa stumbles, grunting as a sword pierces through the center of his chest. The crowd gasps.