"The brotherhood will have questions. They'll test you. And there's no going back once you're brought in officially."
"I crossed that line the moment I saw you shift." She straightens, squaring her shoulders. "So call the brotherhood. Let's have this conversation with everyone who needs to be involved."
I pull out my phone and type quickly:
Warehouse. Emergency. Bring backup. Human witness—alive, needs protection.
The response comes almost immediately.
On our way. Soon. Keep her there.
"They're coming," I tell her. "Last chance to run."
"I'm not running." She moves to lean against the kitchen island, positioning herself where she can see both me and the door. She's still tactical, still thinking like a cop even surrounded by predators. "I'm preparing to meet your supernatural crime-fighting brotherhood. And hoping they're not all as terrifying as you."
"They're worse." I don't soften the warning. "The brotherhood decides together—five equal voices weighing your life against operational security. Declan's calculating and pragmatic, the kind who'll argue for elimination if he thinks you're a liability. Grayson will back that assessment if the tactical math supports it—they've fought together too long for sentiment to cloud judgment. Rafe's got connections that could make you disappear before questions get asked, and he won't hesitate to use them if the vote goes that way." I pause. "Jax has been burned by trusting the wrong people. He'll push hardest for your death. Finn's ancient, powerful, and impossible to predict—he could argue for mercy or execution with equal conviction."
"Wonderful." Dry sarcasm cuts through the tension. "Meeting the family."
It's dark humor in the face of death. Everything about her calls to the predator in me, and that's going to be a problem if the brotherhood decides wrong.
Minutes crawl past—longer than I expected. The abbey is at least fifteen minutes away, even at the speeds Declan's trucks can manage. But finally, the sound of approaching engines filters through the loft windows. I hear multiple vehicles approaching with a heavy presence. The brotherhood is arriving in forceto judge the human who now knows our deepest secrets—and decide whether she lives or dies.
Catriona stands straighter, cop mask sliding into place. But I catch it—the tremor in her hands before she folds them behind her back, the accelerated breathing, the fear she's trying to control.
"They won't hurt you," I tell her quietly. "Not while I'm standing."
"Bold promise from someone who just admitted the brotherhood might decide killing me is necessary."
"They'd have to kill me first."
The declaration surprises us both. It's too protective and too possessive, too close to claiming behavior my tiger wants but my human logic knows would complicate everything beyond repair.
The warehouse door below clangs open. Footsteps echo on metal stairs. Declan enters the loft first, his presence filling the space with the kind of authority that demands attention. Grayson follows, massive and solid as stone, cataloging threats. Rafe materializes from shadows near the entrance, having likely scouted the perimeter before entering. Jax prowls behind them all, scarred and dangerous, watching Catriona with focus that makes my tiger snarl warning.
"So," Declan says, his gaze moving between me and the human standing defiant in the center of my loft. "You violated the most sacred rule our predecessors agreed to centuries ago. You transformed in front of a human. You revealed our existence. Give me one good reason why we shouldn't put you down right now for compromising all of us."
Catriona steps forward before I can respond. I reach for her arm to pull her back, but she sidesteps my grip without breaking stride. "Because he saved my life. Because the syndicate you're fighting sent assassins after a police chief investigating theiroperations. And because killing him would make you no better than the criminals he's been gathering intelligence against."
The room goes utterly silent.
Every shifter present stares at the human who just challenged Declan without flinching. Who placed herself between his threat and my survival despite knowing exactly how deadly we all are.
Declan's lips curve. It's not a warning this time but something closer to approval. His gaze slides from Catriona to me, reading something in my posture that makes his expression change. It's not quite approval and not quite warning, but recognition—the kind that comes when an alpha sees another predator preparing to protect what's his.
"Oh, I like her." The words carry amusement and something sharper. "This just became significantly more complicated."
The brotherhood will decide what happens next. I already know what I'll do if they decide wrong.
CHAPTER 7
CATRIONA
I'm standing in a warehouse surrounded by predators who could kill me before I draw my next breath.
Every instinct I've honed through years of law enforcement screams at me to run. To reach for the weapon I'm no longer carrying. To put distance between myself and the men watching me with the same kind of intensity that Kian possesses. But my tactical training overrides panic, taking inventory of details that might keep me alive in the next few minutes.
The man who entered first commands the space with authority that makes grown men step back without realizing they've moved. Muscular in dark jeans and a shirt that leaves no doubt he’s strong, carrying himself with the easy certainty of a man used to being obeyed. This is one of the men who will decide my fate tonight.
