Elliott moved with preternatural speed, evading the blow. My second swing connected hard with his jaw. He stumbled back, a dark bruise already flowering on his pale skin. His eyes flashed crimson—I didn't imagine it—and he retaliated with shocking force, a fist driving into my solar plexus.
**Ugh!** The air left my lungs. **Damn leech...** All hell broke loose. We crashed into a table, sending glasses shattering. Screams erupted.
"Stop it! Both of you, stop!" Leah's plea was strangled with tears as she tried to push between us.
I swung again; Elliott ducked. My descending hand, claws now threatening to break skin, grazed the arm Leah had thrust out—
"Ah!"
A thin, red line opened on her forearm. Blood welled, bright and shocking against her skin.
Time fractured. The wolf inside me how
