She smiled. “You can hang it up when I’m done.”
I smiled at her. Then the alarm sounded. I stiffened and felt my stomach sink. Ilsa quickly covered her ears and frowned at me. “It’s loud.”
I pulled myself up, and my office door opened. Jenny, one of the workers, looked at me with wide eyes. “Brandon, a hybrid is in town.”
Shit. Shit. Shit!
“A what?” Ilsa looked at me with wide eyes, and I turned to her.
“Don’t worry,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “Jenny is going to stay in here with you while I go check it out.”
I turned to Jenny. “Stay with her.”
I hurried past Jenny, taking off down the hallway. I shoved the doors to get outside and found everyone was running everywhere. A screeching sound filled the air, and my headsnapped toward the noise. I took off down the road and made a sharp left turn.
I skittered to a halt as I took in the sight. The hybrid stood over a massacre. There was blood everywhere, painting the road red.
In front of it stood Jade. She had her hands up, and flames flowed out of her fingertips. My mouth dropped, not believing what I was seeing. My heart stopped beating seeing her so close to the monster that could so easily kill her.
The hybrid tried to move from her fire, but Jade moved with it, forcing it to take a step back. After a few, it finally turned and ran for it.
I wanted to run to Jade and pull her tightly into my arms. I wanted to inhale her scent and check her over for any wounds, but I didn’t have a long window before the hybrid would get away, and we needed it.
I shifted, taking off after the hybrid. I got a few blocks when I spotted Kaleb in his wolf form, tracking him down as well. The hybrid was just a few feet in front of us before it took a sharp right, heading straight for the woods.
I ran faster, not wanting him to get away. I had questions. How the hell did he get into our town so quickly? Who had he gotten past?
The hybrid ran faster, and I could tell we were nearing the border. Kaleb and I both came to a stop and lost the hybrid.
I shifted back into my human form. I punched the tree next to me, yelling out as I did. I hated this. Hated not being able to keep everyone safe. My worst fear was coming true, and I hadn’t been able to stop it.
Kaleb shifted, sighing heavily next to me. I turned to him, seeing Jade and the fire. “Your sister. Since when did she have magic?”
Kaleb looked at me, confused. “What are you talking about?”
I licked my lips. “She has magic, Kaleb. I just wanted her to use fire to protect herself. Since when?”
Kaleb looked stunned at me. He shook his head. “That… that’s not right.”
“I saw it.”
“Magic has been dormant in our family for generations. It goes down with the woman, but the last person to use magic was our great-great-grandma, and she hardly had any. I love my sister, but she’s weak. We were always told only the strongest get it.”
I ran a hand over my face and started to pace. I knew what I saw, and Jade had magic. I had no idea how long she’s had it, but she did.
“How do you think it got in?” Kaleb asked, his eyes searching the woods.
“I have no idea, but we’re doubling security. This cannot happen again. It shouldn’t have happened the first time.”
I can only imagine what was waiting for us back in town. I didn’t like how easily it got it, and how far it got. There were going to be injured people, dead people.
“I want a report by tonight,” I said.
We headed back into town, and I found it exactly how I expected. There were already police officers and body bags present at several locations. My eyes paused on the place wherethe hybrid had been standing when I found it. The body bag that lay there now.
Asher and Westley walked up to us, looking tired. “Looks like it took down two people on the west side and worked its way down.”
“What was it looking for?” Kaleb asked. “It’s odd for a lone one to come out like this.”
