Beautiful Salvation by Jennifer Blackstream Page A

burnished copper hue. Human brown eyes became gold and now when he parted his lips, his canines were far too sharp to be human. His eyes sparkled with mischief, but the effect was somewhat ruined by the jagged smile.
     
    Anger flared like a hearthfire in a draft, scorching Saamal from the inside out. His power took a sharper edge, and something primal woke inside him. “Coyote.” Saamal spat the name like a curse, clenching his hands into fists as he resisted the urge to give in to his power and let his animal spirit rise. “You are not welcome here. Leave now, while you can still do so under your own power.”
     
    Warm energy riled beside him as Etienne shifted, rising up on two legs. His form grew broader, taller, but he did not take on his human form. He continued to grow, bulking up until he stood beside Saamal in a combination of human and wolf, a hulking monster right out of a child’s nightmare. His muscled back bowed, massive arms ending in long-fingered hands tipped with wicked black claws. His glowing gold eyes bored into the trickster still sitting on the floor.
     
    “He reeks of sinicuichi.” Etienne’s voice was rough, gravelly. He tilted his head to the side, eyeing Coyote and flexing his claws.
     
    Saamal took a menacing step in Coyote’s direction, hands clenching into fists at his sides. “Sinicuichi? You’ve been trying to reach Aiyana.” Heat flowed through his body, awakening nerve endings, coaxing muscles he hadn’t stretched in ages to move, slide against the bones they were wrapped around. His skin itched as fur sprouted, pale gold with jet black spots. An ache erupted in his jaw as his mouth filled with razor fine points. Bones cracked and moved and his clothing stretched, tearing in places when it couldn’t stretch any farther. Scents grew sharper, filling his nostrils with the musky odor of the trickster standing in front of him, a lighter scent than wolf, but still canine.
     
    Coyote’s amused expression didn’t waver. If anything, he appeared more relaxed as he reclined on the floor, propping his head up on one hand. “Still with that horrible temper.” He clucked his tongue in disapproval. “Not the way for a husband to behave. Whatever would your wife say?”
     
    The urge to tear out the trickster’s throat rose hot and strong, but Saamal shoved it away as best he could. “Coyote. What were you doing in the Dreamworld?”
     
    “The Dreamworld?” Coyote put a hand to his chest. “Why would I want to go to the Dreamworld? No, no, I was merely…trying out a new herb. I thought sinicuichi might be precisely what I needed to give the king’s favorite stew a little—”
     
    Saamal swept an arm out, snatching Coyote from the ground. The trickster twitched as if he’d tried to get out of the way, but Saamal was faster. It wasn’t until he held Coyote up by the neck of his uniform, saw the trickster dangling, muscles weak, that he realized the sinicuichi had weakened him.
     
    “You should have done more research, Coyote,” Saamal taunted him. “You’ve left yourself very vulnerable.”
     
    “You’re one to talk,” Coyote countered, smirking. “I’m not the one who had to go into hiding.”
     
    Saamal tightened his hand on Coyote’s shirt, imagining it was his neck he was holding and all the damage he could do to the trickster…
     
    “I am low on patience today, Coyote.” His voice came out low and strained. “What. Are. You. Doing. Here?”
     
    “Don’t get your tail in a knot, Jaguar King,” Coyote tsked. “I was only saying hi to the future queen. No need to get testy.”
     
    “You will stay away from her.” The words crawled out of Saamal’s throat, painful to speak. The thought of the trickster anywhere near his bride-to-be when he himself had yet to meet her, speak with her, drove him to the brink of insanity. He flexed his fingers, all too aware of the talons extending from his fingertips, claws he could use to permanently wipe the smirk