The security lights popped on when they neared the house.
Atticus sharpened his hearing. “Are there more?”
“Nope. Looks like that shithead might be a scout.”
As they ascended the porch steps, Atticus shook his head. “I’m surprised Tak hasn’t killed him.”
Lucian opened the door. “That remains to be seen.”
The house stirred from all corners. Upstairs, someone complained that she couldn’t sleep with a Vampire under the roof. He recognized Mercy’s voice in the kitchen, where she was repeating the same concern.
“Keep the lights on outside,” Atticus said. “If they’re only activated by motion, change the setting. And if you have any dark spots, you need to set up something temporarily even if it’s flashlights or lanterns.” They stopped in the hallway by the back door. “How many are guarding the property?”
“Five,” Tak answered from a doorway behind him. “That’s all I can spare. Catcher, Lakota, Krys, Montana, and Robyn.”
“What about Melody?”
Tak gripped the doorframe above his head. “Downstairs, guarding her prisoner. The rest are watching from the windows.” He locked eyes with Lucian. “I hear chatter in the house. Remind everyone they need to keep their voices down and be on alert. His friends might be coming to get him. Make sure they’re armed.”
Lucian gave a curt nod and pivoted away.
Atticus had never seen as many changes with packs as he had in recent years. Long ago, Shifters ruled the lands and livedin harmony with the wild. Eventually their numbers threatened other immortals, so to control them, other Breeds put them in bondage. Shifters became wary of everyone, including their own kind. Even after they reclaimed their freedom, it was hard to forget the past—hard to trust.
This pack intrigued him. They called themselves a pack, yet they weren’t all wolves. One had three legs, another was a horse. And then there was Lucian, a Chitah living among wolves. Tak came from a prominent tribe under well-respected leadership, so his options weren’t limited. It was clear he had a good head on his shoulders and chose his family wisely. Joy worried they might reject her, but he couldn’t imagine a more accepting pack, if not an unusual one.
“Follow me.” Tak turned around and ducked into the storage room. The hatch doors on the left revealed a staircase that descended to an underground tunnel. Food filled the wooden shelves on either side, most of it provisions they’d canned themselves and bulk items of rice and flour.
After turning right, Tak ducked beneath a door that opened into a small room. By the looks of the safe and desk, they managed their finances down here.
Melody was sitting cross-legged on the desk with a dagger in her hand. Her green eyes flicked up. “Hey, Atticus!”
Atticus frowned. “He’s paralyzed. What’s the knife for?”
“He tried to hurt Lakota.” She squeezed the handle. “Did they tell you what happened?”
“Some.”
She hopped off the table and kicked the Vampire, who was lying face down on the floor. “Lakota caught up with him and bit his arm. Thisidiotthrew Lakota’s wolf fifty feet before he struck a tree.”
Tak suppressed a grin. “Lakota exaggerates. I’m certain it was ten feet.”
“I don’t care if it was only one foot.” Her lips pressed into a mulish line, and the young girl Atticus remembered was almost gone.
Tak put his hand on her shoulder. “I need you guarding the house. If his friends come looking for him?—”
“I’ll shoot them in the ass,” she finished while stalking out the door.
Before she made it out, Tak pivoted and snatched the blade from her hand. He gripped the wooden handle, the backward hook on top of the dagger promising more pain when it was removed.
Tak sheathed it. “How do you want to do this?”
“We have to remove the stake first. I’ll charm him.”
“Will he let you?”
Atticus gripped the man by his neck and hoisted him to his knees. “I’ll cut off his eyelids if he doesn’t comply.”
Tak grabbed a handful of the Vampire’s black hair and glowered at him. “Remind me to tell you a story about how my people once found a Vampire trespassing on our land. Did you know that Vampire blood makes excellent fertilizer?”
