I answered the phone with a shrug. “Hello?”
“Nico?” He sounded panicked. “You need to turn on the news. Now. Right fucking now.”
The frantic tone of his voice had goose flesh breaking out over my skin. “Javi? What’s happened?” My voice was hollow and full of fear.
“Just turn on a fucking TV. You’ll… shit… you’ll see.” Without another word, he hung up.
I ran inside as fast as I could. My family and friends must have seen how worried I was and slowly started to follow me in. I didn’t pay them any attention, just grabbed the remote and turned on the TV in the living room as my pack started to trickle in, curious about what had me so worked up.
It took me a second to get to a news station, and when I did, my heart dropped into my stomach. A massive red banner was plastered across the bottom of the screen in big, bold letters:SHIFTER CRISIS.
“Nico?” Dad asked from beside me. “What is all this?”
“I don’t know, hang on,” I said, turning the volume up. There was some type of press conference going on in what looked like the White House Press Room.
A reporter stood and raised their hand, and the press secretary pointed at them to speak. “Yes, can you give any detail as to the crisis facing the country right now?”
The press secretary nodded. “Yes, as you may or may not have seen recently, we’ve had multiple reports of shifters going feral. We all know that this is a very, very rare situation with their race. Most of the time, it is handled within their packsor familial units, while other times, law enforcement becomes involved. This new situation is a bit worrisome. The reports show shifters are going feral spontaneously, as well as the fact that their animals or beasts have more than doubled in size. The Centers for Disease Control have been in close contact with the president as well as his chiefs of staff. We do believe that there is some type of unknown vector causing this. Whether it be an external cause like a virus or bacterium, or a type of biological warfare is unknown at this time.”
I was clutching the remote control so hard in my hand the plastic was cracking. What the hell were they saying? This made no sense. I’d never heard of any such issues. Where were they getting this?
The press corps erupted in chaotic questions, and it seemed like thousands of flashbulbs were going off. The secretary managed to calm the reporters down and pointed at a woman in the front row who I’d seen for years on the nightly news. “Yes? Samantha?” the secretary said, gesturing to her.
She nodded and stood. “What is the administration’s plan for dealing with this? From initial reports, there have already been nearly a dozen deaths by these infected shifters. How are you going to keep the public safe? Are there any cures in the pipeline?”
The press secretary looked uncomfortable for a moment, then glanced down at his notes before taking a heavy breath. I knew that whatever came out of his mouth next would not be good. Not for shifters anyway.
He nodded, finally looking up from his notes. “Yes, this situation is very dangerous. The population of the United States is almost thirty percent shifter. Those numbers, coupled with what is going on, have forced the president to… go to extreme lengths to protect not only the human population but the shifters as well. As of noon today, the president has institutedmartial law, but only in regard to our shifter citizens. An immediate and mandatory quarantine is to be instituted for all shifters. Multiple facilities will be set up in each state for admission. The National Guard has been mobilized to help facilitate the quick and seamless check-in process in each state. FEMA has also been activated and will be assisting with the setup of these temporary hospitals and camps.
“As you can imagine, this is unprecedented, and the government must lean on our friends, and one of those friends is the Monroe Group. They were the first organization to discover this issue and bring it to our attention. The Monroe Group and many of its subsidiaries will be instrumental in helping make sure this is handled with the utmost care and expediency. With that being said, I would like to turn over questions to the executive president of the Monroe Group. Miss Viola Monroe.” The secretary stood aside, and the camera panned over to a familiar face stepping up to the microphone as a new explosion of questions erupted.
“Son. Of. A. Bitch,” Sebastian hissed.
Everyone in the pack had learned who this woman was, and multiple people growled at the TV as she smoothed her suit for the cameras. Maddy was pressed against me, her hands digging into me in fear.
Once the press had calmed again, Viola started speaking. “I’m sure there are many questions. I assure you that thesubstantialfinancial backing of the Monroe Group and thousands of our employees will be keeping a very close eye on what happens over the next several days and weeks. Mister Secretary was correct in that The Monroe Group scientists were the first to make the connection to this emergency. I myself was witness to one of the feral shifters. I can tell you that what you imagine isn’t even close to how terrifying these sick individuals are. I barely escaped with my life. All I can say is that I fearfor humanity. If this medical emergency can’t be isolated and stamped out, then there is a huge possibility that all shifters may end up being affected and turning on humans.
“As heartbreaking as it may be, all shifters must understand that they need to move to the nearest detention center as soon as possible. If nothing else, they should do this to protect their human friends. The director of homeland security has informed us that any shifter who does not turn themselves into the nearest facility or refuses to be rounded up by government agencies will be considered enemies of the state and handled accordingly.”
I was shaking. The mood in the room was one of panic. We all knew what was happening. They’d tricked the entire goddamned government into rounding us up and putting us in internment camps or arresting us. Or be shot and killed by the police or National Guard. How the fuck had Viola pulled this off? The tricky bitch was smarter and more powerful than I’d imagined.
Viola gave the crowd a sad shake of the head that could have won an Oscar. “The individuals more than likely do not know that they are infected. I have made the recommendation, and the administration has agreed, that all human citizens have the right to defend themselves. We want the nation to understand that if a feral shifter is seen attacking, you have the right to defend yourself or your loved ones in any way you see fit. With that being said, under the specialized martial law that has been instituted, any citizen who does defend themselves will be, for the duration of the crisis, fully exempt from any criminal wrongdoing.”
Jesus Christ. I growled at the screen. Viola smiled back with perfect red lips and an icy cold gleam in her eyes. My blood was boiling. Rage, fear, anger, and terror all warred within me. With one swift action, she’d just put a bountyon every shifter in the country. Every asshole with a gun would be aiming for us. They could kill any shifter they wanted with no repercussions. All theyhad to say was we were attacking. We were wolves. We were supposed to be the hunters. Now?
We were the hunted.
FATED TO HER ALPHA PROTECTOR
78
MADDY
The leaves crunched beneath my feet as I sprinted across them. My paws moved so fast that I almost floated. For a moment, I had the sensation of flying. The wind rustled along my fur, tickling the skin beneath it. Running through the forest was almost a transcendent experience. The smells, the sounds, and all the tiny details I didn’t or couldn’t notice in my human form were amplified a hundredfold when I became my wolf.
Sheltered by the canopy of the trees, the early morning sunlight shone through in small spears and shimmers. It was late fall, almost winter, but the pine forest was still lush and thick—the perfect place to get rid of some tension. My anger and anxiety were less intense and easier to manage when all I had to worry about was me, my wolf, and the forest around me.
I had a lot going on in my mind, and running had become my main source of therapy. It was the only thing that could calm me down when I started to get overwhelmed. That had happened this morning. Nico had let me know that he was planning a trip to Croatia. He’d explained that the scroll left behind by Edemas was noted as the location of the vial and treasure. How it hadgotten all the way over there, I didn’t know. My only assumption was that when Edemas realized what was coming, he sent the items farther away to protect them.
