Without looking back at the driver, Viola said, “Duncan? Plan A.”
The driver slid his hand into his suit, pulled out a pistol, and pressed it into the ear of the youngest child—a pretty girl who looked much like Maxwell.
I raised a hand. “Wait!”
The man grinned at me and cocked the gun. Sinthy was beside me, but I wasn’t sure even her reflexes and powers would be enough to stop a bullet at such a close range.
As though she was reading my mind, Viola turned her wicked grin on Sinthy. “Don’t think about it, you little hex-casting bitch. We may not understand all your godless powers, but we were able to create a few weapons that even you can’t work your magic on. Try if you want, but those bulletswillfind their mark no matter what you do.”
Sinthy hissed a breath of frustration. “Damn.”
Feet slammed into the grass behind me. I grimaced and closed my eyes, knowing who it was. I’d have done the same had it been one of my brothers.
Maxwell skidded to a halt beside me, his breath leaving him in heavy gusts. “Stop. Please, Mother. Don’t hurt her. I’m begging you.”
“Beg all you want, you filthy fucking traitor,” Viola spat. “If you want these little shits back, you need to fight by my side today. Make your choice. If you decide to align yourself with these vermin, then little Madeline and Devon here will be the first to die. You’ll watch as my man there splatters their brains all over my limo, and then you’ll die next. Make your choice, boy. Family? Or filth?”
Glancing at Maxwell and knowing he had no other real choice, I said, “It’s up to you. I won’t hold it against you. Family is everything. Pack is everything. Do what you must.”
Maxwell’s eyes were wet with tears as he looked from his siblings to Viola and back to Sinthy and me. She nodded sadly at him, but then Maxwell looked at the house.
“But I made a promise. Maddy and the others. Ipromised.” The last word sounded so tortured that it broke my heart. He wanted to do the right thing, and that made me loathe Viola all the more.
I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “It’s fine. It’ll be all right, Max.”
Shoulders sagging in defeat, he turned to Viola. “I’ll do it.”
Viola snapped her fingers again, and the driver thrust the children forward. Madeline almost tripped as she stumbled into Maxwell’s arms. The boy, Devon, ran to his older brother, and all three of them huddled into a tight embrace. Max whispered something to them and pointed back to the house. The kids fled and sprinted to my house. Gabriella, Mom, and Maddy stood ready to greet them. When the kids reached them, Gabriellapicked one up, and my mother scooped the other child into her arms. Maddy stared at us, and even at that distance, I could see her eyes flashing with fury.
“Oh, there’s our little wolf princess,” Viola said cheerily. She raised her voice to shout toward Maddy. “I’ll be making sure you’re the last one breathing, dear. I want you to watch all these mongrels die. Then, right before I slit your pretty little throat and take all that valuable blood of yours, you’ll know you’ve lost.”
That threat was all I needed for my rage to overwhelm me. I growled low and deep in my throat as I shifted. Behind me, my army sensed that it was time. As I ran toward Viola’s group, the sound of thousands of feet, paws, and growls followed me as my own force descended.
Viola’s driver hustled her out of the way as her own army swarmed toward us. She vanished into a sea of angry, screaming faces. When the two armies slammed into each other, it sounded like the end of the world.
139
MADDY
Istumbled backward as Gabriella and Nico’s mom took the children inside. The battle exploded across the field as I slammed the door shut. I rushed to the bay window to look down on the fight. It was the most horrible thing I’d ever seen. Even through the walls, the staccato sound of gunfire, the screams of rage and pain, and the howls of the shifter army were so loud it was like the battle was happening inside the house.
As bad as it was, I couldn’t look away. My heart ached as I watched bodies fall to the ground, writhing in pain. It was gruesome and terrible. Movies and books didn’t do an actual battle justice. This was a nightmare.
When Nico and Sinthy had left, I’d gone upstairs and grabbed the vial. I wanted it near me at all times if something went wrong. Sliding my hands into my pocket, I curled my fingers around the glass container as I watched my loved ones fight.
Nico was my main concern, but I kept trying to steal glances at Sinthy, Sebastian, Luis, and Felipe—all the people I’d grown so close to. I was desperate not to lose any of them. I’d never be able to deal with the guilt.
The battle was pure chaos, and it was hard to pick out who I was looking for. A large group of humans breaking away from the fight broke my focus. They ran, limped, and hobbled back to the cars and gates. They were in over their heads, and some of them looked like they realized it. Running was better than dying. That gave me a sliver of hope. Maybe the shifter army could end this quickly, with as little bloodshed as possible.
A stray bullet slammed into the wooden posts of the front porch, jolting me.
“Get down. Everyone stay low!”
Everyone, including the children, fell into a crouch. The children huddled around and hugged Gabriella. Abi, Nico’s mother, and my mom were holding each other beside them.
Needing to see what was happening, I l peeked over the windowsill to keep an eye on the fighting. I’d been trying to find Viola and Maxwell, but they were nowhere to be seen. If I had to guess, Viola was using Max to protect her in some way with a forcefield, invisibility, or something similar. There was no way she was anywhere near the battle. She wouldn’t want to risk breaking a nail. They’d probably retreated down the main road a bit and were watching the fight from a distance like I was.
My wolf thrashed inside my mind. The sounds and smells of battle riled her up. She was anxious, pacing and whining, desperate to join the fight. I tried to calm her to no avail. She couldn’t be consoled. Frowning, I realized she was trying to tell me something. There was something she sensed. Something was wrong. Very wrong, but I couldn’t quite tap into what she was feeling.
