A second text from Luis contained a link to a video. As soon as I clicked it, a growl erupted in both my and Maddy’s throats. Our anger and irritation came from the fact that as soon as the video started, Viola’s face appeared.
She was missing her trademark bright red lipstick, and it appeared that she’d not had access to makeup or hair products for several days. Even then, she still had a strange regality to her that made my skin crawl.
“Good evening,” Viola said to start. “As many of you are aware, my name is Viola Monroe, CEO and owner of The Monroe Group. If you’ve watched the news and listened to the lies they’ve been spewing, then you know my character and the reputation of my family’s company have been besmirched. They say that I am trying to end the lives of all shifters. That I want them to be eradicated. That I created a drug, or poison, in their words, to help end their race.” She smirked at the camera, pausing for effect. “Well, I tell you that all those things are true.”
I gaped at the video and looked at Maddy. “She’s admitting that? Why?”
She shook her head in wonder. “No clue.”
Viola continued. “Thesethings,” she spat the word like it tasted bad in her mouth, “are nothing but mutations. An abomination on the face of the earth. Everyone keeps talking about how the way we are treating them is inhumane.” She heldup a finger and bared her teeth. “That is the problem. We can’t be inhumane to somethingthat isn’t human in the first place. These accidents… No, these monstrosities need to be dealt with. They are here not only to steal your sons and daughters and to seduce them into relationships that are nothing more than filthy bestiality, but they are also breeding indiscriminately. They will one day overrun us, destroy our way of life, and spread their demonic beliefs across the earth.”
My jaw tightened in fear. I remembered all the anti-shifter demonstrators screaming at our gates. Those were only the ones who were the most aggressive and open with their hate. How many hundreds or thousands more believed what Viola was saying? How many had kept their bigotry hidden to blend in with society and modern standards? All they were waiting on was a figurehead. Someone charismatic and outspoken. A leader who would tell them what they believed in their hearts was good and right. My breath hissed in and out of my nostrils as I listened to what she had to say.
“I call on everyone, each and every good son and daughter of humanity, to rise up with me. We can create a new order. A world without those we know to be lesser, more evil beings. I need an army. I want an army to rise and wash across not only the country but the entire world. If you rise, I promise no one can stop us. If everyone who wants to see the shifter menace eradicated stands to fight, then our numbers will outmatch anything the world has seen. Kill them in their sleep, assassinate any of these creatures you find, destroy their homesteads and compounds, refuse them service, and inform on them to others in our cause.” She glared into the camera, and I had the distinct feeling she was speaking directly to me and Maddy. “I declare war on shifters. Any who support or stand with them will not be spared. This is the beginning of a new era. A planet cleaned andreborn. A world without shifters. Follow me, and witness what we can do together.”
FATED TO THE ALPHA DEFENDER
110
NICO
Three days had passed since Viola threw the cloak off what she and her family had been planning. Three days of chaos for me and the rest of my pack. Three days since she and the royals openly declared war on us. Not only that, but she’d called on every bigot and wannabe shifter-hunter with a gun to join in the hunt.
I’d been on the phone with all the other pack leaders in Florida pretty much non-stop since Viola’s announcement and was just getting off the phone with a bear alpha from Miami when Luis stuck his head into my office.
“You seen the news lately?”
I gave a weary shrug. “No. Something else bad, I assume?”
Luis stepped into the room, grabbed the remote for the small TV mounted on the wall, and tuned it to a twenty-four-hour news channel. On the screen, a news anchor read a report. Viola’s face was superimposed on the screen alongside him.
“To reiterate, The Monroe Group’s marketing team says they were wholly unaware of the anti-shifter agenda being propagated by the upper levels of the organization. Even so, senior vice president of marketing and research, Allison Wiess,has been arrested in connection to the dozens of crimes now being uncovered by the FBI, NSA, INTERPOL, and the British NCA. She maintains her innocence and promises to assist the authorities in any way to help with the capture of the fugitive CEO and owner of the Monroe Group, Viola Monroe.”
I looked at Luis. “This isn’t news. I’ve been hearing them say the same or similar stuff for days. That’s like the twelfth executive they’ve arrested so far.”
Luis pointed at the TV. “This is a replay of a report I watched earlier. Wait for what this next guy says.”
The anchor turned to a man sitting to his right. “With us is legal expert Shawn Montross, here to discuss how Viola Monroe’s pronouncement might affect legal proceedings against the organization and what ripples we may see in the government. Shawn, welcome.”
Shawn nodded to the anchor. “Thank you, Tom. Glad to be here.”
“So, what does this mean for The Monroe Group as a whole?” Tom asked.
The guest gave a nonchalant shrug. “The Monroe Group as we know it is done. Bankruptcy is the most likely outcome, followed by a government-mandated dissolution of any holdings, real estate, and stocks. That is if the government actually does anything.”
The anchor’s brow furrowed. He looked as confused as I felt.
“I’m sorry, Shawn. Do you think the government maynotpursue charges? Even though Miss Monroe has, more or less, declared war on a large portion of the citizenry?”
Shawn shook his head wearily. “Tom, you and I both know there is a fairly significant anti-shifter bias in the world—and it’s not only confined to the general public. I think what we are about to see is a full realignment of allegiance. There are members of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the military,not to mention local police forces and the National Guard, who may lean toward what Miss Monroe is proposing. That’s not conjecture, simply facts based on numbers.”
Luis turned off the TV. “That dude knows what’s up.”
I rubbed my temples. “Can you believe how surprised that news anchor was? I mean, sure, the government will never come out and say she’s right, but we all know there are people on the inside who think she is. That guy can’t be that blind. I bet several have already reached out to Viola to offer support.”
He nodded. “There’s a reason they’ve only arrested executives and some of her rich dumbass cousins so far. In today’s age, there should be no way she could hide this well.”
My father strode into the office, interrupting our conversation. He nodded to us.
