“How many will he have with him?” Preston asked as we pulled into the posh Lake Austin neighborhood where Corey made his home. It was a bizarre thing to be in such a beautiful place going up against such a terrible person. Things like this happened in the movies and at some rundown part of town, not one of the most desirable places to live in a hundred-mile radius.

“No idea,” I admitted. “It was only him last time, and I don’t know that much about his family.”

“Well, they’re rich assholes,” Terry chimed in. “Like the Vandertons.”

“Are they as dangerous though?” Preston asked.

“Fuck if I know,” Terry replied. “But buying an omega from his foster father doesn’t make them sound like a box full of cupcakes.”

Corey’s house came into view and I slowed the truck a few houses up the block so as not to be spotted. It looked basically the same as it had last time I’d come, the only real difference being that it was now daytime.

“That’s it?” Chuck asked, hopping out of the back of the truck. We’d picked him up at Evening Glory, the organic store he and Jamie co-owned in downtown Austin. “That modern stack of boxes there?”

“Yup,” I said, my voice soft and my jaw clenched. I had nothing but bad memories of this place already, and had no idea what lay in store for us this time. I’d have preferred to wait until dark in order to avoid any humans seeing what was going on, but he had my parents. This couldn’t wait.

“How do we want to do this?” Terry asked. “We need a plan. Going in there blind isn’t going to work out well.”

“We could all go in the front,” Chuck suggested. “They might not expect that.”

“Or they might,” Preston countered. “They might think Juan will be coming back on his own. Juan, do they know about us?”

I shook my head.

“Okay,” he continued. “So, if they think it’s just you, what would they expect?”

“Not the front door,” Terry said.

“No, they’d expect some sneaky shit,” Chuck added.

“Front door it is then,” I said, unable to wait any longer. My hands were starting to shake from all the adrenaline racing through me, and the dam holding back the river of rage inside me was about to crumble.

“Here we go, boys!” Preston called out as we exited the truck.

I felt like a member of a squad or gang as we marched towards the house. We’d have to wait until the last moment to shift—leap over the fence and then take our bear forms before barging into the house. The outside wall was high enough that the rest of the neighborhood wouldn’t be able to see what was going on. This had to be an in-and-out job. Quick, fast and successful.

I jumped first, landing easily on the other side. Preston followed quickly, landing beside me, followed by Terry and Chuck. A white sedan I didn’t recognize sat in the driveway.

“Backup,” I said, nodding in its direction as I raced towards the front door of the house. Without hesitation, I shifted, exploding out of my farm clothes as I charged forward. Snarling, I threw my body into the door with all my might.

It shattered off its hinges and spilled into the house, crashing down onto the marble foyer. I heard a roar beside me, but before I had a chance to move, someone slammed into me and sent me sprawling.

Jaws clamped down beside me, narrowly missing my neck as I scrambled to my feet. The marble was slick beneath my claws and I looked up to see an alpha staring me down. It wasn’t Corey, and he wasn’t as big as me, but he was savage looking, with sinews and tendons visible beneath his matted coat.

One of Corey’s hired help…

He made another move towards me, but that’s when Preston came through the door.

His jaws caught the alpha’s front right leg. I heard it snap and the alpha collapsed to the floor. Terry hit him hard as he came barreling through the door, sending the poor bastard crashing into the wall which buckled hard under his weight. Someone roared from the top of the stairs and three more alphas came charging down to meet us.

Chuck and Preston caught two of them head-on as they leapt down, sending them toppling head over heels across the floor. I whirled around, trying to spot Corey, but he was nowhere to be found.

Really, Corey? You’re just going to let your goons fight for you?

One of them slammed into Terry and drove him against the wall, his jaws snapping for Terry’s throat. But Terry clawed out and tore a chunk of the alpha’s cheek out. He yelped and leapt back, whimpering as his companion joined his side.

There were now only two of them and four of us. Could it really be this easy?

But then I heard it. A roar from the kitchen, and I knew who it was before I even looked. I could smell him.

Corey, with another two alphas at his side. They were bigger than the ones we’d already been fighting. One of them was missing an eye, and was covered in scars—obviously a fighter.

His eyes were on me, but so were Corey’s, and he was the only one I cared about.

I growled, alerting my pack to the new threat. Instantly, they were by my side, our backs to the wall to prevent any flank attacks. The two we’d been fighting slowly grouped with Corey and the other two. Now we were outnumbered.

I glanced at the alphas by my side, then narrowed my gaze at Corey. They all understood what I was thinking: if Corey fell, there was a good chance his men would give up. That was a better plan than trying to fight outnumbered.

They circled, trying to drive us towards the stairs which was more open than the corner we had backed ourselves into. I held my ground, my eyes fixed on Corey, my heart overflowing with hatred and rage.

Beside me, Terry feinted for one of the alphas, then darted in between two of them, knocking one aside. He spilled into the others, sending two of them to the floor. I saw my opportunity and struck.

Kicking off the wall, I soared forward towards Corey, my jaws open and aimed straight at his neck.

Got you, you son of a bitch! I thought triumphantly as I took aim for the killing blow.

But just as my jaws were about to snap shut, one of his alpha goons leapt in front of me, low, striking me in the chest and knocking the wind out of me. I sprawled backwards and slammed into the doorframe to the living room. Pain flared in my spine as I landed on my back, my soft belly exposed to the enemy. I struggled to right myself, but before I could, I felt a claw tear at my abdomen.

Howling in pain, I lashed out with both feet and connected with something. An alpha roared in anger and went flying back, crashing into something hard. I twisted quickly and landed on all four feet, blood dripping from the fresh claw marks on my stomach.

My pack was fighting—losing. I had very little time.

Corey had his back to me, slashing out at Preston with both claws. I darted forward, again aiming for his neck. But Preston slammed into him and again, I missed my strike. Corey landed beneath me, sending me tumbling over him, my back feet flipping up into the air sending me into a front roll. I crashed into the hallway wall and smashed a small table to bits as I fell.

Someone howled in pain behind me. I looked up as I stumbled back to my feet. It was Terry. One of Corey’s alphas had sunk his teeth into his shoulder. Preston instantly grabbed a mouthful of the alpha’s haunches, trying to free Terry from his bite, but the alpha held strong.

This is bad…I thought, eyeing the battle. We’re going to lose if I don’t stop this!

I leapt forward, my claws tearing up chunks of the marble tile as I ran. Corey whirled around as I raced towards him and snarled. I licked my fangs as I leapt at him, my eyes focused on the soft spot of his neck that would end his life when I sank my teeth into it.

This is it…