The leader nodded. “So long as Savages refrain from killing humans, you aren’t our problem.”
“Oh, but us killing other Voiders is just fine with you?” Logan asked sarcastically.
A female next to the leader answered, “One less Voider is one less monster we have to watch out for.”
Kate grinned at her. “Well this monster will skin you alive before you can blink if you fuck with a Savage. Bank on it.”
The leader swore. “Stow this shit. We don’t have time for this. For all we know, the Savages are on their way.”
“En masse,” another of them said. “ETA, five minutes.” At that moment, a loud howl raised the hairs on Will’s back.
The leader wasted no more time, and neither did Will.
He launched himself at them, taking down two men before the first shot struck his thigh. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jesse and Logan shove Kate to the ground as bullets flew. But none of them were aimed at the Savages.
One by one his Lawless kin dropped, the scent of blood and death saturating the air. Two more rounds hit his back and arm. Then a burst of pain exploded in his gut.
He dropped to the ground and rolled to his side, trying to regain his feet. But the world wouldn’t stop spinning.
Then he noticed the silence.
He blinked into the barrel of a hot automatic.
“This is for Michelle, Brad, and Carly.” The leader lowered the gun and shot Will’s dick off. The pain was agonizing. “Have fun in hell.”
Another pop, and then Will Lawless knew no more.
* * *
Kate still couldn’t understandhow so many humans could make so little noise as they left. Nor could she smell anything but the scent of gunfire and Ravager blood. And that worried her.
“Kate, you okay?” Logan asked as he rolled off her and they all got to their feet.
When the firing had started, he and Jesse had thrown her to the ground and covered her with their large, furry bodies. To her shock, it seemed none of them had been hit.
“Eric is going to kill someone for this,” Jesse murmured. “We don’t have to worry about the Lawless clan anymore, but the Watchers are obviously more than a myth.”
“Great. Humans who think they can police Voiders. Monsters my ass.”
Logan pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “I love you so much. I was worried one of those dicks might hit you with a stray bullet.”
Jesse shook his head and studied the surrounding carnage. “Nope. Precise shots. No scent, light treads. A quick and easy retrograde. These fuckers have been here before.”
Kate felt a hint of sadness hit her. “Our special place isn’t so special anymore.”
Jesse rounded on her with lightning speed. “It’sours.And it’ll be ours after this is gone. We’re pack, Kate. Your pack. Nothing’s ever going to change that.”
His ferocity at first startled then soothed her. “Oh Jesse.” She accepted his kiss and sat in their group hug until Eric and the others arrived.
Her prime had brought at least fifty Ravagers with him, all shifted into theirguerand frothing at the mouth for war.
“What the fuck happened here?” Eric growled as he sniffed the air. “And what do I smell that’s missing?”
Jesse snapped his fingers. “That’s what’s been bothering me. The humans have covered their scent with an odd kind of emptiness. If we know what to look for, it’s detectable.”
Malcolm, Prime’s packmate and the head of security in the compound, roared his displeasure. “Humans in Savage woods? Jesse, Logan, Kate, one of you needs to tell us what happened. Now.”
Chapter Sixteen
