“Thanks. I’m glad you guys have faith in me.”
Maddy’s eyes were clouded with worry. There was a deepness to the look that hurt my heart. She looked exhausted and worn out.
“Nico, we have to end this. We have to win and put this entire thing to bed. Do you think we will?” Fervent hope blazed in her eyes.
I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her. When I pulled away, I looked at her, and with absolute confidence that I didn’t truly feel, I said, “We will.”
113
MADDY
The next day, I watched Nico, Luis, and Felipe carry three heavy cases up from the basement. The ones Nico and Felipe had looked like really long suitcases. Luis carried one that looked like a thick, bulky attaché case.
“What are those?” I asked as they came up the stairs.
“Stuff Dad bought years ago. I can’t even remember the last time we took them out,” Nico said. “As evidenced by the dust.”
The cases were caked in dust. Nico flipped his case up and rolled the little combination locks until the snaps popped open. When he lifted the lid, my mouth dropped open. Inside were four rows of what looked like assault rifles.
“What the hell, Nico?”
He looked at me and smiled. “Don’t worry. We aren’t some anti-government militia or something. Dad got these about ten years ago when a shifter group that was on the bad side of both ourandJavi’s pack rolled through. They weren’t afraid of packing heat, and Dad figured it was best we were prepared if they started trouble. We can die as easily from a gunshot when we’re in wolf form as we do as a human. We heal faster as wolves, but still.”
I gaped at the weapons. “Are we going to use these?”
Felipe opened his case. It was loaded with six pump-action shotguns. Luis’s smaller case held what looked like a dozen pistols—revolvers as well as semi-autos. I’d never even touched a gun. The only reason I had any idea what I was looking at was from movies and books. The sight of the guns was both scary and exhilarating.
Nico nodded. “The guys and I go shooting every few months, but we need to train everyone to use them. Like I told the other alphas, it won’t only be a brawl if stuff goes bad. And our natural speed and power will only do so much when our enemies are shooting at us from two hundred yards away.”
“Yup.” Felipe grinned and cocked his shotgun.
I flinched at the sound.
Felipe’s smile faded. “Oh, shit. Sorry, Maddy. The guns aren’t loaded. We still have to grab the cases of ammo.”
“Right,” Nico said. “There’s another case of handguns and rifles down there.”
An uneasy chuckle escaped me. Seeing the weapons in front of me brought home how dangerous things were. Nico had said the pack would start training again, but I hadn’t known exactly what that entailed until now. Before, Nico had everyone training to fight a stealth or surprise attack. Now? If the royals or anti-shifters came, it would be in the open, without fear of publicity or the police.
“I’ve… uh… never actually held a gun before,” I said.
Nico’s lips twitched. “I figured. I’ve been worried about how things would go if the time came for you to use one of these.” He stood and scratched his head. “Do you think you can?”
I looked from his face down to the weapons and back again. Could I? If I really thought about it, I wasn’t sure I could.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Nico. I mean… that’s murder.”
He took my hand and squeezed it. “That’s the first thing you need to get out of your head.” He pointed toward the front door. “If a half-dozen anti-shifters with weapons busted down that door right this minute and wanted to kill all four of us, and I picked up this rifle and shot them, would that be murder or self-defense?”
When he put it that way, it didn’t sound like murder. “Self-defense. I guess.”
I still didn’t like the idea. My parents were pacifists. We’d never owned a gun, and Dad was adamant about not ever having one. Nico must have seen the hesitation on my face.
“Listen,” he said, rubbing his hand up my arm to my shoulder. “I don’t want you to be part of any battle. I know the strength you possess from being Edemas’s heir would be an asset, but I plan to keep you as far from any fight as I can. However, I need to know you can protect yourself. I know you can when you’re in wolf form, but I need to know that you can in human form as well. We’ll practice fighting as a wolf later. Right now, this takes precedence.”
I nodded and stepped back as they unpacked the weapons. They brought up the other cases and ammunition before taking some of it outside for shooting practice in the open field. Luis ran home to grab some aluminum cans for targets, and Nico and Felipe started heading out. Before I could follow them, my parents walked up the road toward us. Shock and confusion warred on their faces.
“Hang on,” I said. “Nico, I’ll meet you guys in a few minutes.”
