Now the shifters began to murmur in support.
“Melody is the strongest witch of her generation, and she’s on our side.”
Be careful, Nick cautioned him again. Don’t promise anything on her behalf. She’s just as confined to their fucking system as we are.
“She may be the hope of our future, or maybe she’s the first drop of water in the ocean. Whatever she is, we need to remember who we are. We’re shifters, we’re creatures of magic, and we will not be enslaved.”
“Fuck yeah,” growled a shifter in the corner, one or two more joining in.
“Yesterday, Bestia came for us, and they underestimated us. Yesterday, our witches didn’t hide behind us, they fought alongside us. Yesterday,” he said, his voice rising. “We showed them what we are made of. That we are not cowards, that we will not submit, and when threatened we are a force to be feared.”
“Yeah!” came a chorus of shouts.
“So, don’t be ashamed of what you did. That was a battle, they were on the other side. We defended our own, we held our ground and now we hold our heads high.”
The shouts drowned him out then, the spirits of the shifters lifted, even the guy who’d puked in the corner. Others had drifted in while he spoke, crowding the room, but Justin could see the difference in them all. The air of defeat was gone. If they had been in their birth packs, their alphas would have done something similar.
But they weren’t, and the closest thing they had to a leader was the Apex.
It was something to remember. If Melody agreed to bond them, then that leadership would be left vacant when she graduated. They needed to set up something for the future, because it shouldn’t be fellow students who led them. All of the shifters needed proper representation at the collegiate level. They needed their own provost, their own lecturers and their own fucking curriculum. These were needs that had gone unaddressed for far too long.
That was a battle for the future, however. Right now, what they needed was someone to boost their morale, to give them pride in their actions, and to help them back onto their feet. Justin had lived long enough to know. This wasn’t over. It was only the first battle in a war.
He did not intend for them to lose it.
24. Ryan
It was hard. He knew what had happened as soon as they walked through the door of the cottage. The overwhelming scent of sex was everywhere. Ryan’s wolf alternatively whimpered and growled. His witch was here, she’d been a part of it, and Ryan had not.
Fuck, he could smell all three of them, what the hell had gone on in here?
Unfortunately Asher was the first to emerge. There was no way in hell he was asking the surly wolf, although when Justin stormed in the front door, he had no hesitation.
“You all fucked her?” he snarled in an odd voice.
Obsidian scales spread up Justin’s arms and his eyes were burning silver, the pupils a vertical slit. His teeth elongated, as did his fingers, turning into massive claws, but the shift didn’t stop there.
Fuck, Justin was going to lose his shit.
“Dude, back up. You can’t shift in here, you’ll rip the building apart,” Ryan shouted.
Dean came rushing out of his bedroom, his hair in wet curls. Asher’s was in wet spikes. What the hell was that about, were they showering together? Was she in there too?
But then the door to Melody’s room opened, and Trent joined them.
That’s when things went to shit.
If Ryan had thought the scent of sex was strong before, it was nothing compared to the scent of Melody all over Trent. He realised that neither of the others had her scent on them, although he could smell their seed in the cottage.
Pieces started to fall together. Whatever happened, it was between Melody and Trent, and the others hadn’t been able to help their reactions. Yeah, that made more sense.
His wolf subsided a little, but he still pined for her.
Justin’s reaction, however, was much louder.
“She fucked the fox? The newest familiar? She fucked him?” he roared.
“Jus,” Nick said firmly. “What she does and with whom is her call. You don’t get a say in it, and if you don’t like it, stiff shit. That speech you gave to the shifters, about protecting our family? Was that all hot air?”
Nick stood in front of Justin, preventing him from attacking Trent, who stood his ground. Ryan had to give him kudos for that. Not only had he got there first, but he wasn’t afraid of the dragon.
“She’s part of that very family we fought to protect. We fought to protect our freedom, our choices, and you can’t take them away from her because she didn’t choose what you wanted,” Nick said, pushing against Justin’s chest.
Justin backed up a step, not because Nick was stronger, no, Justin actually was. Which meant that Justin’s dragon was listening and he was allowing them to be backed up. The scales had spread across Justin’s chest and up to his chin. They might be backing down a little, but he was still shifting.
“Nick, he’s gonna blow,” Ryan warned him.
“You think I don’t fucking know that?” Nick snapped.
Ryan flinched. Nick never snapped at them. He was always the consummate leader, cool, calm, collected. They could be walking through an exploding minefield and he’d tell them to take a step to the left and forward four more, without batting an eye at the debris flying towards them. Nothing, but nothing made Nick snap.
Except this, apparently.
Ryan stepped forward and joined the dragon, the two of them pushing Justin outside, but before they could get
