****
Raul looked around outside of the shed where the panthers were being held, scenting the air to make sure that none of the other members of the pack were close enough to see what he was going to do. The fact of Reginald’s judgment—the knowledge that the Alpha of the Pack fully intended to put three panthers to death without even a trial—had eaten at Raul long after he’d left the shed to shower and dress his wounds.
The only other member of the pack present was Cam. Raul sighed; Cam would go along with him—as Raul’s second, he had no real choice—but he would rather have found the shed utterly deserted save for the three panthers. “Cam,” Raul said quietly, knowing that the other man’s preternaturally acute hearing would catch the whisper.
“All quiet in there,” Cam said, moving out of the darkness and taking up a position in front of the door.
“I can tell,” Raul reminded his second. “I need you to step aside.” Cam smirked.
“Oh, you want another try with that female?” he looked Raul up and down in the darkness. “I think she got you pretty good the first time.”
“I’m fine,” Raul said, letting a low growl come into his voice. “Step aside, Cam—or challenge me, one or the other.”
“What are you going to do in there?” Raul shook his head.
“Better you don’t know, man,” Raul told Cam. “I don’t like this summary execution business.”
“You’re not alone in that,” Cam murmured. “But for myself—they could have killed wolves with that fire. Or normal humans. They have to be stopped.”
“We’re supposed to be better than the worst parts of our animal nature,” Raul said quietly. “All I need you to do is step aside. And forget that I was here.”
“What if Reginald asks?” Raul considered; if Cam tried to cover for him by saying that he’d fallen asleep, or that he’d been away from his post, he’d be in trouble—punished by the pack in general and the Alpha in particular.
“A bunch of panthers came in, sprayed you down with wolf’s bane, and got them out,” Raul suggested. That was something that wouldn’t arouse suspicion.
“They’ll test my clothes,” Cam countered. Raul’s lips twitched in a smile.
“Guess you’re going to have to douse them in wolf’s bane then, aren’t you?” Raul growled low in his throat, a warning sound. “If you have a problem with it, you challenge me right here and now.” Even injured, even tired as he was, Raul knew that Cam wasn’t a match for him; he’d sparred with the other wolf before.
“If they find out and Reginald challenges you, I’m not going to be your second,” Cam said. Raul shrugged.
“I won’t need a second for a battle like that,” he said simply. “Now step aside and look for some fucking wolf’s bane to roll around in.”
Cam moved away from the door, and Raul brushed past him, striding into the shed. The smell of blood—the panther’s and his own, along with splashes of what he was certain belonged to other members of the pack—filled Raul’s nose. The gloomy light revealed the three panthers, bound in their copper chains, watching the door. The she-panther was coated in sweat, blood spattered across her face and body, but despite her position she stared at him defiantly as Raul closed the door behind him. “I’m going to get you three out of here,” Raul said quietly.
“Right,” one of the two males said, snorting. “I’m going to trust a wolf.”
“You might as well,” Raul said, shrugging. “This is the last chance you’re going to get.”
“We make our own chances,” the other male said. “And if your asshole pack tries to take us out, we’ll take some of you out with us. And the rest of our clan will come after you.” Raul smiled slightly.
“We outnumber you,” Raul pointed out. “There are more of us, we have more allies. You don’t stand a chance if we come against you.”
“So why help us then?” The she-panther finally stirred as she spoke. She was obviously in bad shape.
“I’m not going to sit around and watch while the Alpha does something that’s against the Pack’s laws,” Raul said simply. “Either you accept my help, or you take your chances when it comes time to get the fuck out of here or die.” One of the two men looked closely at the she-panther.
“Take her out,” the man said. “Lachlan and I can take our chances.”
“Asshole! We could get her out of here,” the other male—presumably Lachlan—said.
“Do you want to risk it? She’s mating age.”
“Not like it matters to either of you anyway,” the woman said. “I wouldn’t mate with you even if I was in heat.”
“Take her out,” the first man said again. “Get her out of here.” Raul nodded and moved forward. The she-panther growled as he approached, pulling back her lips to snarl at him. “Keira—let him help you. Let him get you out of here. So help me god…” Raul met the woman’s gaze for a long moment.
“I’m not going to touch you in any way other than to get you out of the chains and into my car,” he told her firmly. “You can let me help you, or you can wait here for the rest of the pack to come in and lead you out to your death.” She stared into his eyes for a moment longer and then sighed, slumping against her chains, giving him implicit consent. Raul looked around, met the prideful, bitter gazes of the other two panthers, and went to work on disentangling the woman—Keira—from her chains.