29. Blayne

TWENTY-NINE

BLAYNE

Steff's shout ripped through the quiet of the office. Miles and I turned to look at him. His face was twisted in panic.

"What are you saying?" I asked, taking a hesitant step toward him.

Steff shook his phone at me. "That was April. She's with Ava at Gio's place. There's a whole crew of Antonio's men there." He raked a hand through his hair. "How are they there when we're watching them at that abandoned warehouse?"

Gio's men had followed the caravan that had rolled into town that morning. The cars had all pulled into a massive warehouse on the industrial side of the county. As far as we knew, they were still in there. We'd assumed they were preparing. But if they were at Gio's and had broken into Steff's place, that could only mean one thing.

"Decoy," Miles whispered behind me.

I spun to look at him and saw his panic. His hands were at his sides, curling into fists. "The convoy…" he went on. "It was why they didn't try to hide their entrance. It was all a fucking shell game. They were already in town. While we were been focused on all those trucks and cars, they were getting into place for the attack."

Spinning to look at Steff again, I said, "Are the girls safe?" It seemed like the most important question on earth.

Steff shrugged. "I think so. April said they were in some kind of panic room. A vault or something Gio had them hide in when the attack started."

A tremor of relief surged through me. It was a comfort to know that they were as safe as they could be.

Tate stood to the side, hands on his head. I rarely ever saw him so agitated. Even the day Miles had been hurt so badly, Tate, while emotional, had been pretty calm given the circumstances. Right now, he looked like a caged and cornered animal.

"Tate? Are you good?"

He looked at me and nodded. "I'll be fine. These sons of bitches attacking us won't be, though." A gold shimmer flashed across his eyes.

Before we could say anything else, the office phone rang. Tate looked at it, then looked back at us. "Why do I have the feeling this is gonna be more bad news?"

"Answer it," Miles said.

Tate hit the speaker button on the conference phone. The voice that came through the speaker made my skin crawl.

"Hello. Are all four of you animals there?" Antonio asked.

Growls erupted around the room. His voice enraged us all. "We're here, you piece of shit!" Steff called out.

"Oh, good. I have to say, I was hoping I would have more time to prepare, but it seems beasts aren't able to contain themselves. I always knew you creatures were inherently impulsive. Disgusting, really. How many human women have you forced yourselves on because you couldn't contain your urges? Truly awful to think about. Did my little ruse trick you and those idiot mobsters?"

Tate leaned down close to the phone. "Listen to me, Antonio. You have no idea what you've done."

"Oh, Tate Mills? Is that you? I have many, many plans for you. I can't wait to find your family. I'll make you watch as we dissect your mate. She'll still be alive when we do. I'll have that toddler of yours pickled in formaldehyde. You have some teenage daughters, too, I recall. I think I can find some of my more unscrupulous men who would enjoy having fun with them while you watch. They've been sullied by your presence. We can't consider them to be human anymore."

Tate roared in anger and twisted away from the phone, slamming a fist into the drywall. He seethed with rage, and the gold in his eyes didn't fade.

I gritted my teeth and glanced around the room. The others all looked as horrified and pissed as Tate. This motherfucker had to go. And soon.

"With that being said,'' Antonio went on, his tone sickeningly calm and businesslike, "I don't want any innocent humans to be hurt. All I want in life is to protect them from your kind. I have a proposition for you to ensure collateral damage is kept to a minimum."

"What is it?" Miles snarled.

"I've been lenient, allowing you all to live as long as I have. It's time for this to come to an end. If you'd like to die in battle, my men and I will meet you at the Valley of Lilies. I think you know the location. That will be your one chance. If you don't show, I will set my men loose on the town. Two hours. See you soon."

The phone clicked off. We all stood in boiling anger. Tate looked the worst. Antonio had specifically threatened him and his family. Threatened them with fates worse than death. If that asshole had been in the vicinity, I had no doubt we would have torn him limb from limb. We wouldn't even have had to shift.

Tate finally brought himself under control and took a step toward us. "This ends today." As scared as he looked, his voice was steady. "You are my brothers, and I'm yours. I'm ready to go to battle with you. I promise I'll watch your backs. I can't tell you how this is gonna go, but all I can do is tell you that I'll do all I can to protect you all." His eyes grew more intense than I'd ever seen. "I would die for you all. For the longest time, you were my only family. Are you ready to go kick some ass?"

"Hell, yes," Miles said.

"Bet your ass." Steff nodded eagerly.

I put my hand out and clasped Tate's shoulder. "We're in this. Let's go finish it."

We gathered the gear Gio had gotten for us. He had a guy make special body armor for me. It hung uncomfortably loose in some spots and was crazy tight in others. He'd told me he'd it fitted so that when I shifted to my panther form, it would protect me better. It felt ridiculous, but I wore it, knowing how bad things would get.

The fear of what was to come settled over us like a rain cloud. As we piled into Tate's truck, there was a strange sense of finality to everything we'd done. Would that be the last time we'd walk out of the office together? Would the car ride be the last one we ever took? Would any of us ever see our mates and families again?

Steff and I were too worried about what was happening at Gio's to think straight. Miles kept dialing the numbers we had, but there was no answer.

"We need to go check on them," Steff muttered. "We need to go to Gio's."

Miles sighed and turned to look at us. "That's what Antonio is planning on. It's why he went for April and Ava. He wants us to split up. We have to follow the plan as written."

Steff looked to be on the verge of a panic attack. I felt the same way. I'd have made the exact same argument for going after our mates, but I couldn't get my jaw to work.

"Look," Miles said, "April said they were in Gio's panic room, right?"

Steff nodded rigidly.

"If that's the case, they'll be safe there for hours. Worst-case scenario, if Gio's guys can't clear the house, Antonio's men will need to cut through the metal walls. You know how hard those things are to get into. Fuck, we sell and install the systems ourselves. It'll take four or five hours to get in, and that's if they have the right equipment. They'll be safe. Once we deal with Antonio, we'll go to them. I promise." Miles looked at Steff and me with a fierceness that told us he meant every word.

It took all we had, but Steff and I both nodded. We rode on in silence. I was sure Steff was doing his best to think the best. Miles was right—a solid safe room would have some really thick metal walls. They were safe. Possibly in the safest place in the whole county. As awful as it was, we had to go on.

We made one stop on the way: Tate's house to pick up Jared. I didn't think it was possible, but the younger man looked even more worried and scared than we did. He squeezed in the back seat with Steff and Miles. We didn't say anything to him; the haunted look in his eyes told us he was better off dealing with his fear in silence.

When we crested the hill leading to the valley, there was a collective gasp in the truck cab. The place didn't have it's typical smattering of tourists. It looked like Antonio had cleared them all out. Even the guy running the basket cart was missing.

Hundreds of men and women in black fatigues trampled the flowers. All of them were heavily armed. There were far more people than we'd anticipated.

Antonio was visible at the front of the group. Like a good little fake soldier, he wore the same fatigues as his men and had a pistol in a thigh holster.

Tate parked, and the four of us sat there for several seconds. He turned around and looked at us. "I love you guys. Let's go."

The five of us clambered out of the truck and walked slowly toward the massive group of hunters.

The murmur of conversation faded as we neared. Antonio saw us walking up, his lips flattening. There had to be at least three or four hundred of them. It was the biggest group of hunters ever gathered. Even old legends said the huge hunting parties of the Middle Ages were only around a hundred strong.

My fingers tingled, and it was all I could do to keep my breathing calm. My panther was pacing and anxious.

"We're here," Tate called.

Antonio laughed. "You've made this too easy." He glanced around. "Five men against my army? I'll barely be able to call it sporting." His smiled vanished as he snarled. "But I will kill you, nonetheless. You filthy beasts have taken everything from me. You are abominations against God. That's all you are.

"And you!" He jabbed a finger in Tate's direction. "It was one of your kind that took my wife from me. The love of my life was stolen and killed by a filthy flying lizard."

His eyes slid to Jared, and his scowl became more disgusted. "Jared. Such a disappointment. I should have had the men put a bullet in you when we found you."

"Shut up!" Jared screamed, his sudden outburst making me jump. "You're such a fucking liar. All these years, you tried to make it sound like that dragon alpha stole your wife. She left because you were a shitty husband and father. She left to be with someone who loved her and took care of her. You had her murdered when you found her. You couldn't look at her because you were disgusted. Stop trying to change history."

Antonio went rigid, his body shaking with anger. "Liar," he hissed.

"It's not a lie!" Tate called out. "Maybe after repeating it for so long, you've tricked yourself into believing it, but it's the truth. You killed her for leaving you. She left and took your daughter because you're a fucking monster. We know all about you. All your dirty little secrets."

Antonio's face was as red as a tomato. I hoped he might keel over with a heart attack. Instead, he sliced a hand through the air. "Lies! All fucking lies. She loved me. She would never leave. No one leaves me ." He jabbed a thumb into his chest for emphasis. "I am Antonio Lowry. I say when people get to leave."

"Right," Miles said. "You're always in charge. Like you were in charge when you twisted Marianna's mind into a crazed shifter hater. You fucked her up bad enough that she tried to kill her adoptive brother, but accidentally killed herself in the process."

A murmur of confusion swept through the crowd of hunters. They had all known Marianna and they'd heard Antonio's official story. This revelation surprised them. It was too much to hope that we could turn his soldiers against him, but at least we could reveal some of his lies to them.

Antonio was apoplectic, saliva spraying from his lips and hanging in strings from his mouth as he shouted at us. "Filthy fucking animals! Liars! Bastards! Pieces of shit! I fucking hate you. I hate you! Lies! You killed my daughter! You!"

Tate shook his head. "Believe what you want, but this is the last chance you get. Leave now, and you can keep your life."

The rage in Antonio's face vanished and an incredulous smile appeared. He looked back at his men, then at us, and laughed. "You want us to leave? This is your last chance. The five of you against this?" He swept his hand back at his army. "How do you think that will work?"

Tate smirked. "Even though you like to think so, you do not always know everything."

He put two fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill, ear-piercing whistle. Silence accompanied the whistle, but an instant later, a howl erupted from the forest to the right of the field. A howl that was soon joined by others until dozens of wolves howled into the morning sky.

Antonio's men turned to look toward the sound, but their heads jerked to the opposite side as the roars of bears exploded from the other side. Soon, the roars and howls became a cacophony of noise echoing back and forth across the valley.

Before we'd left the office, Tate had put a call in to the other alphas who'd come to town. We'd told them what was going down, where to meet, and to wait for the signal. Dozens of them were hidden in the woods. There were also a dozen of Gio's men—the ones who hadn't been at the house for the attack. We were still outnumbered, but we had the element of surprise.

Antonio turned to look at us, his face twisted in rage. As he pulled his pistol from his holster, he screamed, "Kill them!"

Chaos erupted. The idyllic field of flowers turned into a hellscape of battle. Our allies poured out of the forests toward the hunters. Wolves, bears, and a few panthers descended from the woods with Gio's men. Gunfire exploded around us. Miles, Steff, and I shifted and sprinted into battle.

As I descended into the midst of battle, I let my panther take over. His instincts were better than my own, and his lust for battle more intense than mine. I did my best to stay focused and kept looking around to check on my brothers, but the bloodlust and mayhem made that difficult.

Antonio fired his pistol gleefully. His main target was Tate and Jared, who'd yet to shift. "Change, you fucker!" Antonio shouted. "I want to see that scaly skin. I'll peel it from your corpse!"

I plowed into the depths of battle. I watched as the hunters fired at our allies. Several shifters and some of Gio's men hit the ground, bullets piercing their sides, chests, and faces.

The horror of death consumed me. A group of hunters had formed a small cluster and were firing into the crowd of enemies. I barreled into them, leaping and extending both my front paws. My claws shredded the neck of a woman firing an assault rifle toward Steff and a man who'd been reloading a pistol. Their blood sprayed into the faces of their friends, blinding them for a moment. Before they could clear their eyes, Steff crashed into them, shattering their bodies with his bulk and trampling them with his massive paws.

A series of shattering impacts crashed into my side, and I stumbled. A hunter had fired a volley of bullets at me, but the armor I wore bore the brunt of the impact. I sprinted toward the man and tackled him, sinking my teeth deep into his neck before ripping out a massive hunk of flesh. I ran, leaving the hunter to writhe and die on the ground.

Over and over, I attacked and killed hunters. It was so brutal and carnal. If I hadn't been worried about dying, I would have been horrified by what I was doing. But there was too much at stake to worry about morals. When life and death were on the line, sometimes you had to be a beast.

Miles and I sprinted together toward a group of hunters who were firing at some of Gio's men. Our paws flashed across the ground as we angled toward them. I jumped into the group, but as I descended onto a hunter, Miles yelped in pain.

I savaged the hunter in a burst of claws and blood and turned to see Miles sprawled on the ground. I lost focus. All I could see was my friend hurt, possibly dead.

I didn't register the man I'd just mauled. He was dying, but he was not dead yet.

A searing explosion of pain ripped through my side. I squalled in pain and spun. The man had driven a knife into my side between the armor plates, sinking it deep into my flesh until only the hilt stuck out. Blood dripped down my side. I swiped a paw at the guy, tearing through his neck.

As agonizing as the pain in my side was, I hurried over to Miles. A sound like a million angry trumpets reverberated into the valley, so loud and angry, the fighting paused for an instant. I'd know that roar anywhere. I turned and saw that Tate and Jared had fully shifted. Their dragons hovered above the battle like gods of war.

Antonio was on his ass, scurrying back. He'd asked for them to shift, and now he looked like he didn't enjoy what he'd asked for. Horrified, he tried to stand up but fell over again, his face crashing into one of his hunters.

Steff, the largest bear on the field of battle, sprinted around the corner, running toward one of the clumps of more organized hunters.

Antonio looked in his direction. A sneer split his face into something more monstrous than even Tate's dragon. He dug a pistol out from the dead man below him and locked his eyes on Steff. My friend didn't know he was being targeted. I looked down and saw that Miles was still breathing, albeit erratically. A sigh of relief left me. I had less than a second to make my decision. And I did. Dirt flew behind me as my paws propelled me forward.

My black form racing toward him must have caught Antonio's eyes because he turned, his eyes wide in surprise and fear. My speed was unlike anything else on the battlefield. He turned his weapon away from Steff's back and toward me. Exactly what I'd hoped for.

The barrel of the gun seemed to widen as I neared. I had a moment to think about Ava and the promises I'd made to her. I'd meant them when I said it, but I doubted I would be able to keep them. I hoped Ava would forgive me for it.

Antonio and I neared each other. My whole life had led to this moment. Inevitable. Predestined. This was where everything ended.

I'm sorry, Ava , I thought as I sprang at Antonio.

A shot fired loud enough that it sounded like the world was cracking apart. Searing pain in my chest tore the breath from my lungs. Even so, I flew through the air toward him. My vision was already starting to go fuzzy when I flailed my claws at Antonio. There was a deep meaty impact followed by screams of agony.

The ground slammed into my body, and then I knew nothing but darkness.