***
Rage, pure and simple had taken over. His mind was not his own. What he had seen was merely somebody's idea of a cruel joke. No one turned into a wolf and disappeared into the woods. Ty struggled with the sight of Sonja transforming into a white wolf before she bounced off into the bushes. He was hallucinating! He shoved at the image of her becoming a four-legged animal. It had happened so fast. In the blink of an eye. Growling low in his chest, Ty attempted to focus instead on finding her before harm came to her like the she-wolf he saved the night before.
Voices bombarded his mind with all sorts of questions, answers, and innuendos. One stood out - Sonja. "Don't follow me. I'll only cause you pain."
"No!" he shouted to the wolf as she turned to disappear once again. Damn it! Ty charged forward. Briars close in snagging his flesh. He kept moving. The undergrowth bowed over him, tighter still. He fought to scratch his way through. With each step, the path grew closer together until he had to use his teeth to tear a hole in the thicket. Vines all but wrapped around his legs forcing him to reach back, ripping them apart before continuing. Great holes in the earth appeared beneath the briars. Tripping, he fell into one. He had clawed his way out only seconds before the ground closed shut. Apparently, the forest didn't want him going after her or so it seemed. He howled out in pain when one thorn covered briar slithered across his legs deftly binding them to the earth. He fell head first into the dirt. Snarling, Ty yanked free and kept going. His breath came in pants, his mouth was parched, and he licked at his lips. He could still hear the faint sound of the she-wolf as she crashed through the bushes up ahead. Her scent, the scent of a female, permeated the air around him. With all his strength, Ty rose, untangling the briar from his leg, which now bled from several deep puncture wounds. He pushed on.
"Halt! Stop or I'll shoot." The man's voice held a southern drawl.
Ty obeyed out of sheer desperation. They could not discover the wolf. She would have a better chance of escape if he detained them.