The blast hits Kade in the shoulder.
He screams—a sound of pure, primal agony that echoes in my own chest. His massive left arm instantly reverts to human form, the muscle atrophying, the skin turning pale and dead. The shift collapses in that limb, leaving him lopsided, vulnerable.
Kade! I shriek, the feedback of his pain blinding me.
I'm fine! he snarls, using his massive right arm to crush the Praetorian’s skull. The vent! Isla, we're out of time! The scrubber is reaching critical mass!
I look up. The intake vent is twenty yards away. But the remaining Praetorians have formed a solid wall around it. Kade is bleeding, his shift failing, his massive body trembling from the strain of my anchor. Lyra is down, clutching a shattered rib. The other wolves are dead or dying.
We can't fight
