The arrow struck home and Liam howled in pain as the head burrowed deep into his right hip, lodging there.
The sound echoed down through the valley, and in her workshop Cara Teriyn's head snapped up, eyes going wide.
It couldn't be. That sounded like...
The wolf fought animal instinct, and finally some common sense won out. Gasping, he collapsed into human form, the shift forcing the arrow from his flesh, earning a pained whimper in the process. He gasped raggedly, crouched on all fours as his whole body shuddered with the after effects of the change.
A figure moved in the field ahead of him, streaking through the fading mist. Pale hair, flashing eyes, a telltale glimmer of silver and gold around her arms and neck.
No, stay away, not safe... Words weren't happening, his mind still half-wolf. He just shook his head desperately as his baby sister ran toward them.
Oh gods, it was, it was him. Liam.
"Liam!" Cara only caught a flash of the man behind him, the hunter, and instantly she realized what had happened. Magic gathering around her fingers, she shrieked, "Get away from him!" as she threw herself forward toward her brother.