“Fine, thanks.” Shaya patted Nick’s thigh soothingly.
“I’m glad things are working out for you guys,” said Roni.
“Me too,” said Grace. The others all nodded.
“Thanks. Where’s Mom?” Nick asked Roni. His mother spent a lot of time with Greta, and he couldn’t find it in himself to see that as a good thing.
“She went on a pack run with some of the others. I wanted to go too, but it seemed that Marcus, Dante, and Jaime suddenly found lots of things for me to do.” She threw them a scowl, folding her arms over her chest. She wasn’t stupid; she knew people were trying to keep her from shifting in case she disappeared in her wolf form again. They wouldn’t be able to stop her doing it during the attack tomorrow, though. Nick only hoped his sister came back afterward.
“Imagine if it turned out that Gok Wan’s actually straight as a ruler.” Yeah, that was Dominic—totally random. His eyes still on the TV, he gestured at the show. “The guy would be my hero if that was the case.”
Grace snorted at Dominic. “You don’t need to trick women into getting naked. They’re all too happy to oblige, from what I’ve heard.”
Lydia nodded. “It’s the same with Marcus, only the females are after his heart too because they fall for all that charm.” Marcus winked and flashed her a grateful smile that made her blush.
Dominic frowned, affronted. “I have charm.”
“But it’s a twisted kind of charm, honey,” said Lydia. “If you’d let Marcus teach you a few things, you’d be lethal.”
“I’m not sure if I want to be lethal if it means females will want more than sex.” Dominic shuddered.
“In other words, you’re a slut?” asked Roni.
“I guess you could say I’ve been a bad boy, Roni. If you want to send me to your room and—”
“Shut up, jerk,” said Marcus, rolling his eyes.
Hearing Taryn and Trey’s voices coming along the tunnels, Shaya smiled, eager for her best friend to hear that the mating link was developing. Thinking she might have just picked up another voice, Shaya cocked her head to listen harder. Then, to her surprise and delight, Taryn and Trey walked into the room with Caleb behind them.
Shaya practically jumped from the sofa and darted to the person whom she thought of as a brother. “Caleb!” Wearing a smile as wide as hers, Caleb wrapped his arms tight around her and squeezed. Then he froze at the sound of two low growls. Roni and Nick apparently didn’t like that another male was embracing her. Pulling back, she urged Caleb to follow her to Nick and took her mate’s hand in hers. At her tug, he stood. “Nick, you remember Caleb from Taryn and Trey’s mating ceremony, right?”
Nick’s voice came out dry. “I remember.” He awkwardly shook hands with the tall, brown-eyed wolf with stubble for hair. There was no desire in the guy’s scent or eyes, which meant he didn’t appear to have any interest in Shaya in a sexual sense; therefore, Nick could allow him to live. Still, Nick didn’t like other males hugging his mate, so it was pretty impossible to drop his scowl…even though Shaya was jamming her elbow into his ribs.
As Taryn came close with Kye in her arms, Caleb leaned in to her and said quietly, “I didn’t think I’d ever meet anyone who can look scarier than Trey.”
“Hey, your scents have mixed,” said Taryn, pleased—a total relief for Shaya. “It just proves that dominant/submissive pairs have every chance of fully bonding,” she threw over her shoulder, meeting Amber’s hard gaze.
“They’re not fully bonded yet,” Amber pointed out, “but I’m sure it will happen soon. They suit so well.”
She smiled sweetly, but apparently Caleb wasn’t fooled because he gave Shaya a look that said, “Seriously, what’s up with that?”
Shaya merely smiled and mouthed, “We’ll talk later.” Out loud she said, “Caleb, this is Roni—Nick’s sister—and Amber, the healer of his old pack.”
As Caleb exchanged greetings with the two females, Nick sank back into his seat and looped an arm around Shaya’s waist, pulling her onto his lap. Pettily jealous that her attention was on Caleb, Nick bit her ear. Clearly sensing he missed her focus being mostly on him, she gave him an amused sideways glance. But she didn’t return her full attention to him, and that just showed how well she knew him—it wasn’t at all good to let him have his own way all the time.
“When did you change your hair?” Shaya asked Caleb.
His smile fell, and irritation practically steamed from him. “When my little cousin decided to chop bits of it off while I was sleeping.”
Taryn cocked her head, studying him. “It suits you.”
He snorted. Then, his expression now serious, his eyes danced from Shaya to Nick and Taryn as he spoke. “When I heard what was happening, I had to come. I can help guard the entrances to the caves tomorrow night and make sure Kye’s protected. I need to play a part in this. I couldn’t sit home on my ass when I know something bad is going to go down here.”
Respecting the male for his loyalty to his friends and his offer to help when many submissive wolves would have opted out of the dangerous situation, Nick gave him a nod of thanks. “It’s appreciated.” His estimation of the male had now gone up.
Taryn gave Caleb a smile of appreciation. “Thanks for caring so much for Kye.”
“We’re grateful for the support,” said Shaya.
At the sound of the main door closing and two males laughing loudly, Taryn said, “Oh, Nick, that’ll be your brother.”
Nick arched a brow. “My brother?”
She shrugged. “Derren told me he was going to collect him and bring him here. Apparently the guy refused to miss out on whatever happens with the extremists.”
“That’s typical of Eli and his lust for action,” Nick grumbled to Shaya.
“I don’t like the idea of your brother in danger, just like I don’t like the idea of anyone here in danger,” said Shaya. “But if Eli’s willing to help, it would be dumb to turn him away.” A moment later, Derren entered the room with a powerfully built male who had the most enormous brown eyes. He wasn’t as tall or as broad as Nick, but he had the same indomitable look about him. Everyone exchanged nods with him—they had all seen him before at one point or another, as he often went with Nick to pack meetings or social gatherings and had actually been one of the wolves who fought alongside the Phoenix Pack against Trey’s uncle.
Grinning, Eli walked toward Nick, all self-assurance. “Hey. I tried calling to ask you to pick me up, but you didn’t answer your cell.” They exchanged one of those weird male body hugs, though Shaya could see Nick found the contact a little awkward. Clearly his brother was too used to that to care, because he didn’t comment or appear to be the slightest bit offended.
“I was a little preoccupied,” said Nick.
Knowing just what he meant, Shaya almost blushed.
Nick curled an arm around her. “You guys haven’t officially met. Eli, this is my mate. Shaya, this is the adrenaline junkie of the family.”
Eli laughed and then turned his attention to her. “It’s good to finally meet you, Shaya.” He cocked his head, studying her for a minute with an analytical gaze. Then he nodded, apparently satisfied about something. “Derren’s right. You’ll make a good Alpha female.”
Shaya frowned. “You don’t even know me.”
“Ah, but I know things about you. You evaded Nick for a long time, so you’re clearly smart. A number of the wolves here went all the way to Arizona to check on you and refused to leave until they could be sure you’re safe, which means you’re good at earning loyalty, and that says a lot about a person. Also, Derren tells me you insist on being at Nick’s side through all this, which proves that you’re brave and believe in protecting those who matter to you. If you’re Nick’s mate, you must be as strong as he is. Not physically, no, but being physically strong doesn’t make someone Alpha material. It’s a good trait to have, but that’s not the be-all and end-all.”
Shaya looked up at her mate. “I like your bro
ther.” Eli gave her a winning smile.
Nick snorted. “Don’t let that smile fool you, baby. He’s a ruthless fucker.”
Shaya could believe that. Eli was almost as dominant as Nick, but he wore that dominance in a very subtle way—much like Dominic. Eli’s wolf, however, wasn’t so subtle. Shaya’s wolf could easily sense his wolf, sense his curiosity and edginess.
Eli’s expression suddenly turned serious. “Derren updated me on what’s been happening. In my opinion, it won’t matter what the verdict is tomorrow morning. The extremists will attack in any case.”
“But we’ll be ready for that,” announced Taryn. The others nodded.
“Ready and waiting,” rumbled Trey.
The next morning, the court hearing was held to hear the case put forward by the human extremists. And every shifter worldwide celebrated as the case was dismissed.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
It was eleven thirty in the evening when the humans finally came. Shaya and the others were all in position, planted in various spots—waiting, silent and still. While many were in their wolf form in the woods, Shaya was positioned on her stomach on a thick branch of a tall tree, allowing her to oversee whatever would come next. Despite the anxiety running through her body and mind, her hands were steady as she held the rifle. It felt right in her grip, made her remember the times her dad had taken her hunting when she was younger. For long periods of time, they would lie still as she was doing now, their senses on high alert. As such, this wasn’t unfamiliar, but still her wolf wasn’t so steady; she was too frightened for her mate’s safety.
Most of the females, Kent, and, of course, Kye had remained in the caves, guarded by Caleb, Gabe, Rhett, and Cam. As such, there was a total of eighteen wolves—including Shaya—taking cover in what would soon be a battlefield: Nick, Derren, Eli, Taryn, Trey, Dante, Jaime, Roni, Tao, Trick, Marcus, Ryan, Dominic, Bracken, Jesse, Zander, and Amber.
It wasn’t long before, one by one, the humans began to enter through the gap that Tao had deliberately made in the perimeter fence. Forty-six humans in total. The fact that they were all dressed in black made Shaya roll her eyes. Dark clothes worked well as camouflage, but black would make a person easier to see, as true black looked unnatural, outlining a person’s silhouette. Even from her distance one hundred yards away, she could clearly see with her shifter-heightened vision that the humans were well armed with guns and knives. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was still alarming.
Knowing his stature and posture well, she could easily spot Logan co-leading the group with another figure as they slowly and cautiously began to move. Could that be the shifter responsible for the creation of the game preserve? Quite possibly. Just the idea had her wolf growling.
Shaya’s advanced hearing barely picked up much noise from them, but she guessed they were all quite experienced at going unseen and unheard if they had been enjoying themselves in the game preserve. Instantly, the images she had seen on the news flashed in her mind, making her sick to her stomach. Having a perfect view of Logan and his co-leader, it was so tempting to just shoot them both there and then. But that wasn’t the plan.
The entire day in the caves had been spent going over the plan. It was simple. They had to lure the humans far inside the expansive territory, which served two purposes. One, it meant Tao could seal up the opening in the fence, thus trapping the humans inside. Two, everyone felt the humans deserved to be tracked and played with, just as they had done to the shifters in the game preserve. Only once the humans were deep in pack territory would the shifters all begin to attack. When images of the mutilated child shifters once again flashed before her, Shaya felt a surge of anger. Yeah, the bastards had this coming.
As the humans followed the trail Trey had left, Shaya thought they would undoubtedly believe they were getting closer and closer to the entrance of the caves. In reality, they were being led farther and farther into the woods. Shaya watched as, without the humans’ knowledge, their hunters began to move into place until the large group was loosely circled as they walked, giving them no avenues of escape when the attack finally began.
It wasn’t until the humans reached one of the many shallow lakes that the shifters made any moves. The three humans at the rear of the group were targeted first. There was no loud attack. Ryan, Dante, and Jaime—all in their human form—each stepped out from behind a tree and swiftly snatched a human and yanked them aside. Shaya knew exactly what they had done in the shadows: snapped the humans’ necks instantly, taking them out of the equation.
Totally oblivious, the rest of the group continued onward. A few seconds later, Dante, Jaime, and Ryan repeated the move. They did it again and again, picking off the humans. They might have done it again, but then one of the group stepped onto a bear trap; his pain-filled cry echoed throughout the forest as the two jaws clamped around his foot and he dropped to the ground. Several humans gathered around him.
Panicked, one human crouched beside him. “Shit, what happened?”
“A bear trap.” Logan.
“I can’t get it off!”
Logan again: “Of course you can’t. You’re not supposed to be able to. Be careful, there’ll be more around.”
“Do you think they have the place rigged?” one asked him.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the closer we get, the more traps there are. And not just bear traps.”
“We better get moving,” said the co-leader. His voice didn’t sound at all familiar. “The wolves will have heard him screaming. They’ll come out here to look around.”
Logan nodded his agreement. “Two of you help him up and support him as he walks. Filcher, any movement back there? Filcher? Filcher?”
“He’s not there,” another human said. “Shit, neither is Gavin or—”
“We’re being picked off,” drawled the co-leader.
“We’re being hunted,” corrected Logan. His voice held a telling tremor. “That means they know exactly where we are. Stay close together.” Two of the group helped support the injured human as they all slowly continued ahead through the trees, constantly turning as they walked to cover every angle.
Twenty seconds or so later, another human triggered a thin trip wire that sent a spiked boulder swinging at his head. Grunting, he fell to the ground, crying out and cursing and bleeding like crazy. Shit, that had to have hurt. When the spiked boulder continued swinging and looked about to hit another human, the male dove out of the way…and stepped into another bear trap. While a few of the large group went to tend to the injured, everyone else seemed to freeze, wary of moving.
Whereas the group had before seemed nervous but confident, they were now cautious and fearful—just like the wolves wanted. It wasn’t until right then, when the group was confused and disoriented, that the ambush began. There was gunfire, there was growling, there was screaming, there was yelling as the wolves came at the group from all directions. It was also the go-ahead for Shaya to act. Aiming for those who she judged the biggest threats and of whom she had a clear view, Shaya fired one bullet after another, gratified down to her gut as she disabled the bastards.
One of those bullets hit her target’s arm rather than his heart, and he dropped his gun as he flinched with the pain. When Nick’s wolf turned his attention to him, the human turned and ran in what could only be described as a blind panic. He suddenly screeched in pain and fell to the ground, having stepped on one of the barbed-spike plates that were planted around. Nick dived on him, closing his jaw around the asshole’s throat.
The wolves were all merciless in their assault. Trey’s wolf had gone feral by this point and was tearing into whatever human was near him. Although he’d taken a bullet to the leg, it wasn’t stopping him—not in that state. Most likely disturbed about his injury, Taryn’s wolf was staying near her mate as she pounced on the humans with equal vigor.
Now in their wolf form, Jaime and Ryan were fighting alongside Dante’s injured yet relentless wolf, who kept bumping Jaime out of harm’s w
ay—all instinct at that moment. Jesse, Bracken, and Zander weren’t far away, attacking with a rage that spoke of the pain of losing loved ones to these corrupted humans.
When Tao and Trick’s wolves lunged at two now weaponless humans, they instantly turned and sprinted away…and fell right into a deep pit in the ground onto a cushion of spikes. Ouch. Similarly, Eli’s and Amber’s wolves chased another duo of humans into a second deep pit that was also cushioned by spikes.
One human was running backward and simultaneously firing in every direction. Had he been looking ahead of him, he might have seen the heavy rock that was supported by several branches, tilted on an angle. The second the human’s foot hit the branch that served as a trigger, the rock collided into him, crushing him. Dominic’s wolf then delivered a killing bite to his throat.
Meanwhile, Shaya continued trying to pick off or, at the very least, severely injure the remaining humans. Unfortunately, two of those remaining were Logan and the co-leader, who were being protected by the others. Clearly determined to reach the two sick bastards, Nick’s wolf was targeting their protectors. Roni’s, Derren’s, and Marcus’s wolves were helping him, but the circle of protection was still strong.
Shaya didn’t have a good angle on the remaining humans and it was pissing her the hell off. She thought about climbing down from the tree and moving to a spot that would provide her with a better shot, but she had promised Nick that she wouldn’t step any closer into the war zone, and she’d keep that promise. If she didn’t, it would distract him, and that would risk him being seriously hurt.
Watching as he suddenly stopped still, she frowned. His head turned her way, and she felt his confusion and anxiety. Then there was some kind of explosion. She could only guess that one of the humans had some kind of grenade—at that moment, the who, what, why, when, and how wasn’t important; what was important was that the force had sent Nick, Roni, and Derren zooming through the air. Roni crashed into a tree, Derren flew out of her view, and Nick hit the ground hard—so hard that she felt as blackness overcame him. Fuck, he’d passed out.