Savage cursed as he was struck in the shoulder by a bullet. His panther snarled deep inside his mind, demanding release, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. The wound would heal, so he didn’t need to shift right away. No, he wanted to take out the human who’d shot him on an even ground. He wanted the male’s blood his own way.
“Show yourself, you fucking coward,” Savage called out, allowing his panther eyes to scan the area. There was nothing. No scent, no sounds.
The scent of his own blood tickled his nose, but he pushed back the burning pain. His feet made a rhythmic sound on the forest floor as he ran in the direction he thought the shooter had been. He shifted his eyes and ears just enough to use his beast’s heightened senses.
Bang!
“Motherfucker!” Savage dropped to his right knee when he felt a bullet rip through his thigh. Looking down, the blood was oozing out of a spot about halfway between his hip and knee. Thankfully, the dumbass shooter missed his bone.
“Stop fucking shooting me!”
A movement straight ahead caught his eye, and the scent of a human male reached his nose at almost the same time. With a snarl, Savage pushed himself to move, but the pain in his leg was too much. Damn, he wasn’t going to go out like this. No, he had to keep his pride safe from this asshole.
His panther ripped from his skin, shaking off the change. In his shifted form, the wound began to heal, but not quickly enough for him to run at full strength. Only the thought of this male getting to his mate and babe pushed him forward.
Savage rounded a tall shrub and saw him. The male was tall, muscular. He wore all black clothing and a ski mask. In his hand, he held a pistol as he ran quickly toward the back of the property.
Where are you?
His alpha’s voice pushed into his mind. Savage replied, telling him he was not far from the old fence line. A few seconds later, the sounds of his leader and brothers arriving caused a cat-like smirk to pull at the corner of the panther’s mouth. This human was as good as dead.
Bang!
Everyone scattered as the male turned and fired off a shot that went wild, hitting the trunk of a tree. Savage’s beast wanted this ended… and now. With a push of his hind legs, he climbed a tree and used the large branches to get himself up higher.
Herd him back toward me.
Talon must’ve conveyed the message to the other Guardians because they all split up and made a wide berth, circling the male. When he realized he wasn’t going to make it to the fence, the shooter doubled back the way he had come.
Savage’s beast calculated the perfect time to pounce, taking the human down as soon as he was near, but the human rolled out of his grasp. The male screamed out when Savage’s claws dug into his thigh, taking flesh away from the bone. Talon was calling to him, telling him to leave the human alive so they could question him. He’d obey, but that didn’t mean he wanted to. Savage regained his footing and started to leap for the male, but the human put the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger.
The back door flew open and Talon stepped through with anger on his face. Evie gasped quietly at the distress coming from her alpha. Behind him, Storm, Ranger, and Taze looked equally pissed off.
“Is my mate and daughter safe?”
“Yes, sir,” Evie answered, looking toward the hallway where the safe room was hidden. “We’ve had no problems here at the house.”
“The land is clear and the male who shot Savage killed himself before we could get answers,” Talon snarled, his eyes completely amber.
“How’s Savage?” she asked.
“He’s with the healer now,” Talon replied as he marched past her, but stopped and turned around on his heel. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied, watching her leader walk away.
Kye’s body shimmered as the shift from his beast made him human again. He stood and pulled her into his arms. “You did well, Evie.”
“Thank you.”
Kye kissed her forehead and followed his brother. She was sure he was going to find his clothes. Within minutes, a sense of calm filtered through her, and she saw the Guardians visibly relax. Talon’s mate must’ve calmed him, and thankfully, was okay.
The house began to fill up with pride members. Her mother entered holding Landon, Savage and Mary Grace’s little boy. She immediately came to Evie’s side.
“Any word?”
“No, mama,” Evie answered, but she didn’t look at her mother. Her eyes scanned the pride, wishing they weren’t so afraid.
“Can you take Landon for me? The females are going to start making food for everyone. I’m sure the alpha will want everyone at the house tonight.”
“Let me return my gun to the security room.”
“Take your time,” Marie replied, reaching out to squeeze her hand. When Evie looked at her mother, she saw pride and relief in her eyes.
She left the front room, stopping at the door to the security room. She knocked twice and looked up at the camera above the door. A click sounded when someone inside released the lock, allowing her entry.
She slipped into the room, noticing how Talon was holding Liberty and Ember close while he scanned the monitors next to Noah and Kye. Evie didn’t say a word while she returned the weapon and holster to the hidden room. She didn’t need that one, because she usually kept one in her bag or on her person, but since her and Kye had shifted to run in the woods, she had been without her protection.
“Evie?” Liberty called out as she turned to leave.
“Ma’am?”
“You did a great job.” Liberty smiled, hiking her daughter higher up on her hip. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” she said as she smiled warmly. “I’m going to watch over Landon until we hear something. My mother and some of the other females are going to make a meal.”
“I’ll be out shortly,” Talon vowed. Kye looked up from the monitors and winked at her as she headed out the door.
Evie returned to the kitchen and took the baby from her mother. Little Landon was only nine months old, having been born on Thanksgiving night the year before. He was such a stout baby too, already strong like his father. Savage had been such a proud papa when Landon came into the world.
It took about an hour before the females of the pride had food on the tables. The males stood back and waited for everyone to make their plates before getting their own. Evie watched as her pride gathered together, talking quietly while they waited on word about Savage.
“We are going to increase patrols on the land for the next few days,” Kye announced as he approached. “Liberty isn’t allowed to be at the bar, so Dane is going to be there full time from now until this is over.”
“We all need to be careful,” she said, transferring the baby to her other hip.
“You’re a natural with him.” Kye smiled at the little boy.
“Ah, thanks,” she stammered. Turning her head, she didn’t want Kye to see the sadness on her face. She still hadn’t told him about what the healer had said, and she didn’t think she could. It wasn’t the time or the place, anyway. For now, she’d push that information to the back of her mind.
The back door opened and Savage entered with his mate, Mary Grace. She looked exhausted and worried. The male came straight for his son, taking him from Evie. “Thank you for watching over him.”
“He’s a great baby.” Evie tried to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“You okay?” Savage asked.
“Yeah, just a little uneasy.” She shrugged, hoping the half-lie wasn’t detected by the Guardian. “How are you?”
“Perfect,” he winked. “We’re going to be okay. This will pass.”
“I hope you’re right,” Kye said, wrapping his arm around her waist. The connection was welcomed as the sun was setting on a disastrous day.
The rest of the Guardians arrived not long after, their expressions masked for the sake of the pride. It was no secret that they’d disposed of the body in the woods. She was sure the sheriff had a hand in making the man disappear.
“Where’s the sheriff?” Evie asked. She’d expected him to be around since he was the one who had warned them of the human on their land, but he’d been scarce since it all began.
“He’s coming,” Talon answered as he entered the kitchen. “We will get to the bottom of this, and I want everyone on rotation until this is over. It may take some time, but I refuse to let this cult, or whatever the fuck it is, destroy us.”
Sheriff Lynch’s heart beat at a gallop as he drove through the gate at the entrance to the pride. Two of his deputies were on duty and nodded as he passed. The entire situation with the male entering the pride’s land was as messed up as could be. The human male was sent by the Community, but Garrett had no damn clue that the fucker was going to kill himself when he was caught.
The Guardian Booth was at the door when he knocked. He had his hand on a gun at his waist, but didn’t have it drawn. Booth nodded and stepped aside, his face somber as he spoke. “Talon’s in his office waiting for you.”
“Thank you,” he replied and turned down the hallway. It was hard to not look at the members of the pride as they watched him with all of their icy blue eyes. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know all of them very well. It was his task to keep them safe, and he’d become very drawn to them all over the past few years. The thought of something happening to the pride honestly scared him. Not because if they were gone, he would be too, but because he really cared.
“Give me an update,” Talon ordered as Garrett entered the office.
Storm and Kye were at their leader’s side, both with their arms folded over their massive chests. The alpha’s baby brother had filled out over the past few months. Nearing his twentieth birthday had been a time of growth for him and, from what he’d been told, Kye was to be an alpha one day.
“The Community had made a last second decision to send in that human male to try and kill as many as he could before he was caught. My vision happened within minutes of warning your brother and Evie.”
“So, what? They waited to tell the male what to do until after he was at our fence?” Talon frowned. “That makes no sense.”
“Does anyone else know about you?” Storm asked, his eyes flashing amber.
“No.” Sheriff Lynch shook his head. “You are the only ones. Why do you ask?”
“Could they’ve known you have visions and are working with us?” Storm ran a hand through his short-cropped blond hair, cursing when Garrett shook his head again.
“I’m unknown to everyone except the pride,” he promised.
“Then how?” Kye asked, his brow pushed forward.
“I do not know, but I will find out,” he stated.
“What about the male killing himself when he was caught?” Kye continued, dropping his arms and placing them on the desk next to where Talon was sitting. “They had to have known something for this male to off himself.”
“My only guess right now is that they don’t want to be caught for some reason,” the sheriff answered. “In wartime, an enemy is trained to kill himself to keep from being tortured for information. This is the only reason I can come up with for now.”
“Has the Community made a statement?” Talon asked.
“No, they’ve been too busy scrambling for cover since a new lab was raided just a few hours ago.”
“Where?” Kye asked.
“About a hundred miles outside of Phoenix, Arizona.”
“Shit,” Talon cursed. “How many facilities do they have? And how long have they been setting this up?”
“That’s what I want to know, along with the fact that I only started seeing visions of them coming for you now that the threat in North Carolina has been eliminated.”
“Are you sure they are not working with other paranormal entities?” Kye asked, his panther growling behind his words. “Is this why you didn’t know anything until the human crossed over our land?”
“I really don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” Sheriff Lynch promised.