"Trust me." Her cousin's blue eyes held steady. "Protect the families. That's always been your gift. Let us handle the unknown."
Another scream echoed, closer this time.
Maeve's heart hammered against her ribs as Emmett, Callum vanished into the darkness beyond the lantern light. Around her, the gathering had transformed from celebration to tensewaiting, parents pulling children close, witches murmuring protective spells under their breath.
Dante moved to her side, his shoulder pressed against hers.
"Everyone stay calm." Maeve raised her voice, letting her alpha presence fill the square. "Patrols are checking the disturbance. Until they return, no one leaves the square. Stay close to the fire pits, keep the children in the center."
People moved to obey, the crowd reorganizing with practiced efficiency. They knew how to respond to threats. They'd survived worse than Hector Cross.
But as Maeve stood surrounded by her people, watching the tree line for signs of attack, she couldn't shake the feeling that the real danger hadn't shown itself yet..
36
DANTE
The first rogue came from the west.
Dante saw the massive lion emerge from between buildings half a second before chaos erupted. No warning. No hesitation. Just fangs and claws and murderous intent launching toward a cluster of families near the cider station.
"Get down!" His roar cut through the square as he shifted mid-sprint, clothes shredding, bones reforming with brutal speed. His lion surged forward, golden and furious, meeting the rogue's charge with a collision that shook the snow from nearby trees.
Screams erupted. Children crying. Parents shoving their young behind them as more rogues poured into the square from three different directions.
The eastern disturbance had been exactly what he'd feared. A diversion.
Dante's jaws locked around the first rogue's throat, tasting blood and fury. He threw the male aside, already tracking the next threat. Two more lions heading for the gazebo where Moira stood frozen, one hand pressed protectively over her rounded belly.
He launched himself between them and her, taking claw marks across his ribs that burned like fire. Didn't matter. His roar shattered the night, buying Moira precious seconds to run as Lucien materialized in panther form, black as midnight and twice as deadly.
"Protect the families!" Maeve's voice rang clear despite the madness, her lioness already golden and magnificent as she herded civilians toward the Griddle and Grind's reinforced walls. "Fighters to me!"
Dante registered Kieran shifting into his massive tiger, all stripes and lethal grace as he positioned himself between the children and advancing rogues. Freya stood behind him, hands glowing green with protective magic, her wards flaring to life around the most vulnerable.
But there were too many rogues. Eight, maybe ten, all coordinated, all targeting civilians deliberately. If Hector’s pride were this many here, Dante was worried about how much it had grown since his initial split.
A rogue broke past Dante's defense, heading straight for a woman clutching two small children. He pivoted, ignoring the blood streaming from his ribs, and tackled the male from behind. They rolled through snow and overturned tables, teeth snapping, claws tearing.
The rogue was massive, easily fifty pounds heavier, and fought with the desperate viciousness of someone who had nothing to lose. Dante took another hit to his shoulder, felt something tear deep, but held on. He couldn't let this bastard reach those children.
His jaws found purchase on the rogue's foreleg. Bone crunched. The male howled.
Then Maeve was there, hitting the rogue like lightning, her smaller frame carrying power that sent the male sprawling.She stood over him, bloodied and magnificent, her golden eyes blazing with fury that made even Dante's lion want to bow.
The rogue tried to rise. She put him down again with claws to the face.
Around them, the battle raged. Emmett and Callum had returned from the mill, both in wolf form, working in perfect tandem to drive rogues back. Ryker moved like liquid death, his auburn coat streaked with blood that wasn't his own. Even Tom Brewster from the Gazette had shifted into some kind of massive badger, his photographer's hands now sporting wicked claws.
But for every rogue they put down, the civilians grew more terrified. This wasn't just an attack. It was terrorism designed to break Hollow Oak's spirit, to prove their leadership couldn't protect them.
Dante shifted back to human, his wounds screaming protest, and grabbed the nearest child who'd frozen in fear. "Run to the Griddle and Grind. Now. Don't stop."
The boy took off. Dante turned to shield another family as he felt rather than saw the rogue coming from his blind side.
The impact drove him into the ground. Claws raked down his back, tearing muscle, scraping bone. Pain exploded white-hot behind his eyes. His lion roared, trying to surge up, but the rogue had position and weight and was going for his throat.
A snarl split the air. The weight vanished.
