Through the window, I watched the wedding scatter as massive shapes tore through the crowd. Not regular wolves. These werewrong, twisted, moving with the jerky gait of rabid animals. Rogues, diseased like the one that had bitten me.
“Upstairs,” I ordered the twins, already moving. My heart hammered as I herded them toward the stairs. “Remember the safe room? The big closet in Noah’s room?”
We’d practiced this. Knox had insisted on emergency drills after Mary’s attack, showing the twins how to hide, how to stay quiet, how to protect themselves if the worst happened. I’d thought he was being paranoid. Now I blessed his caution.
“Yes, Mama,” Rowan said, grabbing Thea’s hand. His little face was serious but not panicked. My brave boy.
They ran up the stairs as glass shattered somewhere on the first floor. Not the kitchen window, maybe the living room. The sound of claws on hardwood followed, then snuffling, searching.
I pushed the twins into Noah’s master bedroom, then into the walk-in closet. It was bigger than most bedrooms, with a small window for emergency escape and a lock on the inside. Knox had reinforced it himself, making it as secure as possible.
“Stay quiet, no matter what.” I kissed both their foreheads quickly, trying to keep my voice calm. “Don’t come out until I say so or until Knox or Noah comes for you. Promise me.”
“Promise,” they chorused, Thea’s eyes wide but trusting.
I closed the closet door, hearing the soft click of the lock engaging. Good. My babies were as safe as I could make them.
Now I just had to keep whatever was in the house from finding them.
Claws scraped against the bedroom door, testing. Then harder, deliberate. Whatever was out there knew someone was in here. The door shuddered under the first impact, wood creaking ominously.
The bedroom door shuddered under the assault, each impact making the frame crack a little more. The beasts slammed against it with inhuman force, snarling and slavering loud enough that I could hear the drip of saliva hitting the hallway floor. My hands shook as I grabbed my phone, frantically scrolling to Knox’s number.
He’d be at the wedding, fighting, but maybe he could send someone. Anyone. The door splintered further with a sound that made my teeth ache. They’d be through any second.
The phone rang once. Twice.
“Knox-” I started the moment it connected.
“Sorry, he’s busy,” Mary’s voice purred through the speaker, saccharine sweet. “He’s protecting me right now. Too busy for you. Again.”
The line went dead.
No help coming. Of course Mary would find a way to twist the knife even during an attack. She had his phone, which meant she was at the wedding, which meant...
The door exploded inward in a shower of splinters.
Two massive beasts prowled into the room, and up close they were even worse than they’d looked from the window. They didn’t speak, didn’t posture or threaten. These weren’t regular rogues with some shred of humanity left. These were rabid animals, and they were sniffing the air, heads already swiveling toward the closet where my babies hid.
I stood between them and my children, grabbing the nearest weapon I could find. A ceramic lamp from Noah’s nightstand. Not much against werewolves, but better than bare hands.
Behind the closet door, I heard Thea whimper softly. Then Rowan’s whispered “Shh, we promised.”
My babies were feet away from monsters, trying so hard to be brave.
The first beast lunged without warning. I swung the lamp with all my strength, shattering it against the thing’s skull. Ceramic shards exploded everywhere, but the beast barely flinched. Claws raked across my shoulder, tearing through shirt and skin with casual ease.
I bit back a scream, not wanting to scare the twins more. The second beast circled, trying to get behind me, but I grabbed a shard of mirror from Noah’s dresser and slashed at it. The silver backing seemed to sting because it yelped and backed up a step.
Small victories. I was bleeding, they were barely scratched, and I was running out of things to throw.
One beast got its jaws around my forearm, teeth sinking deep. I screamed then, couldn’t help it, and heard answering cries from the closet. My babies knew I was hurt.
A black wolf crashed through the bedroom window in an explosion of glass.
The snarl that came from Knox’s throat sounded close to “mine” but deeper, more primal. The sound shook the entire house with raw fury.
He tore into the first beast with savage efficiency, teeth finding its throat before it could even turn. Hunt burst through the broken bedroom door, joining the fight immediately.
