or rogue Werewolves can find and decimate the village! Where is Sir Rodney?”
They came out of the shadows and onto the stage at The Fair Lady. But it only took a few seconds to process the threat that greeted them. Three huge Werewolf lieutenants rushed them in human form, eyes blazing wolf, canines ripping through their gum lines.
Sasha ducked, pivoted, and flipped off the stage. Hunter went into a low roll as two attackers sailed over him. One crashed into the bar and the other hit the wall, as a third snarled and circled Sasha, sending Hunter into a death stalk behind him.
“No, wait,” she shouted. “Seung Kwon, we can help Shogun. We didn’t come to attack him!”
Sasha’s words gave Hunter pause as he looked to the far side of the stage.
“Shogun!”
Seung Kwon left the floor, hit the stage, and barreled toward Hunter. In an evasive shake-and-bake move, Hunter flipped out of the way of a claw swipe and landed on his feet beside Sasha while three slow-moving, snarling Werewolf lieutenants circled their leader-his brother.
“You think we are foolish and that our eyes are blind?” Seung Kwon shouted. “Your bitch baits my cousin, the co-leader of the Wolf Federations, into an early transformation, which you both know will leave him vulnerable-and then you both return to finish him off so you can lead alone!”
“No!” Hunter shouted. “I came to help him. He’ll die like this!”
“We have medicine-Hunter has had this happen to him before!” Sasha stared in horror at Shogun’s shuddering frame. “Let us help, and if it doesn’t work,
Shogun lay on the floor in so much agony that all he could do was moan. His legs were twisted in mid- transformation, cramped in the position of backward-bent hindquarter limbs. His thumb was distended to where his dewclaw would have been, partly up his forearm, and his jaw was distended into a wolf’s snout, but his forehead, back, and torso were still human.
“Kill them,” Dak-Ho yelled, glancing at his brothers. “These are tricks to take full control of the Southeast Asia Werewolf Federation. Shogun’s dead sister Lei Ho was right!”
“Wait,” Chin-Hwa urged. “The she-Shadow claims she has medicine. They did not kill Shogun before when he had the sickness. If they were going to do it, that would have been the opportune time.”
Seung Kwon walked away, circled Shogun, and pointed at him with tears in his eyes. “You fix this! He transformed only to dominance-battle for you! How could this be possible? The moon hasn’t risen yet. No Werewolf can turn before the moon takes her due-only Shadows can do that. What has your mate’s bite infected him with? That contagion still lingers! It can be the only true explanation!”
“It’s not Hunter’s bite. It’s the dark magick in this region.” Sasha tentatively jumped up on stage. “You have to get him out of here… This is where the epicenter of the spell happened, we think.”
“You lured him here!” Seung Kwon yelled, his voice breaking. “He couldn’t follow you into the shadows and you knew it! He tried to change back to save face and then… You fix this, bitch!”
Hunter was on the stage within seconds, snarling. “Beta, if you address her out of turn once more…”
“Safe haven!” Sasha shouted, spinning on Hunter. She lowered her voice. “Safe haven. They don’t understand.” She turned to Seung Kwon, her eyes appealing to any compassion he owned. Guilt and heartbreak ripped her insides. “Shogun has been like this for hours-suffering. Can’t you see the man’s in pure agony? We can’t just sit around battling or debating this! You can’t wait on the moon several hours from now, that’s not going to make it better. He won’t last till then.”
Hunter lolled his neck and focused on Shogun. “When my system was rejecting the demon-infected virus, my transformations were hard like his. Brutal. They have antitoxin at Tulane… a small stash from just after the war here. It was an emergency supply my grandfather insisted be left here, just in case.”
“It was based on the same meds they used to shoot PCU human soldiers up with-the ones that got bitten.” Sasha began to pace, talking with her hands. “But they’ve perfected it with Shadow Wolf blood in the serum. The demon-infected Werewolf blood isn’t in it any longer. It’s the only chance to get Shogun out of this aborted transformation.”
“This is bullshit! You lie!” Seung Kwon shouted. “How do we know the truth from your lies?”
“Shadow Wolves do not lie,” Hunter said in a slow rumble, walking forward, ready to attack. “That’s why we can wear silver. Scent it in my aura. Truth smells like sterling. Do I look like I’m lying when I tell you that I’ll kill you if you let my brother die, punk?”
A pained gasp followed by a long, agonized moan stilled the group. The sounds of bones snapping caused them all to cringe.
“He’s transitioning back to human form too slowly!” Sasha shouted. “What about this don’t you understand?”
“That’s my brother you are dooming to a suffering death that lacks honor or dignity. I will not allow you to do that just so that you can be his successor.” Hunter’s voice was low and steady as he continued stalking forward. “If you don’t allow us to take this man to the only source of transformation meds we know of, he will go into shock and die.”
“We’re not allowing you to take him anywhere while he’s vulnerable to an assassination.” Seung took a fighter’s stance in front of Shogun’s body, gaze hardened for war.
“Fine, die your way,” Hunter said, preparing to lunge. “It’s either that, or be merciful and shoot him.”
Clarissa stared at her cell phone the moment the call disconnected. Bradley and Winters didn’t say a word; their expressions spoke volumes.
“It was Doc,” she said in a far-off tone. “He just left Tulane with Silver Hawk… headed toward The Fair Lady with antitoxin. Woods and Fisher have gotta bring artillery backup. This is not a drill.”
“What
“No,” she said quietly, as Bradley stepped down harder on the gas. “It’s not for Hunter, it’s for Shogun.”
CHAPTER 10
Pounding on the front door of The Fair Lady drew snarls from everyone, including Hunter. Sasha rushed forward, seeing the flashing red lights through the glass panels, her feminine intuition kicking in. She knew how Doc functioned; the males with her didn’t. If Doc had gone to Tulane to get the meds while they all stood around and argued about how to move Shogun, Doc would have commandeered an ambulance, calling in his military markers.
“Stand down,” Sasha shouted as she crossed the wide floor. “It’s Doc and Silver Hawk with meds. All of our jeeps are in the bayou, en route. You guys didn’t have a vehicle and wouldn’t let me and Hunter try to shadow jump with him, so they brought an ambulance, okay?”
Muscles relaxed, hackles lowered, but still Shogun’s men didn’t move from their protective stances in front of him as she opened the door. But the moment she did, she froze.
Doc stood beside Silver Hawk, his troubled gaze locked onto hers. Silver Hawk had a shotgun, cocked and loaded with silver shells. Low warning growls were behind her, a clearly compromised Shadow Wolf elder stood before her. The dance would be delicate.
“We are no longer at war with the Werewolf Clans,” Sasha said calmly, staring into Shadow Hawk’s eyes. “Shogun is Hunter’s half-brother. You know this… Grandfather, you are being affected by dark magick.”
“His people killed my daughter,” Silver Hawk said flatly, looking over Sasha’s shoulder toward the stage.
“His father tried to save your daughter,” Sasha said softly. “He died for her, fought and bled for her. Now we must return the favor and try to heal his son.”
Gently and slowly, she reached out and lowered the gun barrel and then watched Silver Hawk release the hammer so that it was no longer cocked. She and Doc shared a look.
“Tensions are running high,” Doc said quietly.
Sasha nodded.
