Clan Wolf came into view, a lone three-story building nestled within a copse of trees on an empty street and surrounded by rolling hills.
That wasn’t the only thing surrounding it. Two heavy artillery vehicles came into view. Around them were one, two… eleven men. Each one sporting at least one rifle in their hands, a few with secondary weapons strapped to their legs or backs, and at least two that I could see held semi-automatics.
The sound of gunfire was loud even inside the Hummer. The tell-tale thud as each bullet collided with something solid.
Where the hell had they gotten so many guns? And the ammunition?
Bullets were damn near impossible to come by after the Awakening and here these assholes had a small artillery.
This wasn’t some random attack. No, this was a coordinated strike. But why?
Declan slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the Hummer with a harsh order to stay put.
Fat chance of that happening.
As soon as he turned away, I slipped outside. Doors slammed behind me as the road crowded with vehicles, effectively cutting off any possible attempts at escape.
None of these men would leave here alive.
With the attackers still unaware of our arrival, I watched as Declan and the others shifted into their beast and between forms as they vaulted themselves towards the attackers.
Sharp screams filled the air and cut off quickly, four of the attackers brought down before the others realized what was happening and turned their weapons to face their newly arrived enemy.
But it was already too late.
Declan had shifted into a Siberian tiger. His snow-white fur gleamed in the sunlight, the thick black stripes standing out in harsh relief, but his maw was covered in blood as he tore into the throat of a man.
Robert was beside him in his between form as his coyote’s teeth and claws ripped the man limb from limb. Between the two of them, what was left behind was little more than a pile of body parts and misshapen pieces of flesh.
I tried not the cringe. These men deserved a bloody death.
All around me, claws and teeth rent flesh from bone, but not before a few lucky shots were fired off. Those that hit their mark took the shifters to their knees.
Shit. These weren’t regular bullets they were firing. A sickening sense of dread filled me.
They were using silver bullets. This must be why Clan Wolf was still pinned down inside the Clan House. A quick glance towards the porch showed several bodies just outside the door, riddled with bullets and unmoving.
These bastards picked them off one by one as they exited the door.
Fire rushed out of me, covering my forearms as fury and indignation consumed me and I stalked into the fray. When an assailant across from me lifted the muzzle of his rifle toward Declan, whose back was turned, I didn’t even think.
I wrenched the weapon free from his grip using telekinesis, jerking it high into the air before snapping the weapon in two and letting the pieces crash back to the ground.
Stunned, the man turned, searching for the source. When his wide eyes suddenly landed on me, panic filled them. That’s right. I’m not like them.
My smile was slow and cruel and my once-slow steps turned into a full-on run as I barreled towards him. He reached for the gun strapped to his thigh but before he could bring it up, I slammed a bolt of fire toward him and watched in satisfaction as it buried itself in the center of his chest.
His eyes widened and his pain laced scream filled the air before he collapsed to the ground, a baseball-sized hole in his torso, showing the ground beneath him. It didn’t even bleed. The heat of the flames had scorched the skin, sealing the wound as death took hold.
With him down I turned, looking for someone else to strike, but the shifters had already disarmed our attackers.
The fight ending mere minutes after our arrival.
My breaths were labored and before I knew it Declan was beside me, naked and covered in blood, having shifted back into his human skin. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and leaned down to nuzzle my hair.
“You can put the fire out now,” he said in a gravelly voice, his beast still riding him.
I sucked in a lungful of air and with a concentrated effort called my fire back beneath the surface of my skin. It was still there, lying in wait, but I was no longer at risk of burning my mate.
I breathed a sigh of relief when Declan engulfed me in his arms, his touch gentle despite the harsh tone of his words. “You were supposed to wait in the car.”
I snorted. He had to have known I’d never follow that order. If he’d wanted me to stay out of the fight then he should have left me back at the Compound.
Not that it would have done him much good, aside from pissing me off.
I would have followed him out here anyway.
“I’m not one of our vulnerable,” I reminded him.
He growled low and deep, his chest vibrating up against my own.
“Maybe you could snarl at me some more. I don’t think I’ve been sufficiently cowed.”
“Dammit. Why don’t you ever do what I ask?”
Was he serious? I pulled away to stare up at him.
“Maybe because you don’t ask. You order. In that growly ‘I am Alpha, you must obey me’ voice. I am your mate. I’m supposed to be your partner. I am not a child and I am not your subordinate. Stop treating me like one.”
His jaw tightened but surprising the hell out of me, he nodded.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Well, that had been too easy.
Before I could thank him for finally seeing reason, a shifter jogged up and
