“Tracker.” The woman sneered and shoved past them, stepping into the house. “You didn’t kill him. Both my dolls died because of yourincompetence,” she spat, standing in the hall and dripping blood like a Carrie reject. “Now the bitch has disappeared, likely to her lover, and you’re going to help me find her.”
“Why the hell would we do that?” Quinn asked, stepping between her and Lukas.
She gave a good impression of a wolf baring its teeth as she leaned into his personal space. “Because her lover is your little mage’s father, and I have it on good authority that he wants you all dead. So help me, or I’ll take him your heads and see if that’s payment enough for what I want.”
Fuck.
Quinn shared a quick look with Lukas before yelling into the house. “Cap, you better come out here.”
Chapter 23
THEY PLANNEDthe attack for the dead of the night.
With Caius’ old pack assisting, they had almost thirty shifters, plus Ghost. As glad as Max was to have the help of an experienced mage, he made sure to keep a healthy distance between them. The mage who’d helped abduct him had vanished with the promise to send intel on the Order, but no one seemed to expect anything to come of that. If the Order had orchestrated the attacks on Lukas and Max’s abduction, he doubted any of them would survive declaring open war.
The neighborhood was quiet as they slipped through the shadows and surrounded his father’s property. Thanks to Quinn’s hacking, all the security cameras would show an uneventful loop for the next several hours, and the alarms were disabled. Once they made their move, Quinn would disable communications and scramble the phone signals for the entire block. It wasn’t much, but it would hopefully give them a buffer of time before the neighbors farther away noticed and decided to call the police.
Max stared at the long drive behind the iron gates, absently flexing his fingers and focusing on the bite of his nails against his palms. Even if he wasn’t expected to go in with the wolves, he couldn’t help the anxious twisting of his guts. He’d been a prisoner in his own home for years, and he knew if he stepped foot inside, there was a chance he’d never get out again.
Aradia chirped and rubbed against his cheek, and he turned his head with a faint smile, nuzzling into her soft fur.
He thought he’d hid his nerves well, but Caius settled a hand against the back of Max’s neck as he gave orders to the others. He closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, some of his tension easing when Caius dug his thumb into tight muscles.
Orders given, the last of the wolves peeled away, melting into the shadows to take up their positions and leaving Max with his pack. Caius slid his hand up and tangled his fingers in Max’s hair. “Do you want him left alive?”
Max sneered, unable to look away from his previous home until Caius stepped in front of him, forcing his eyes up. He’d never consideredhimself a killer, and he certainly never wanted to become like his father, but obviously something had broken inside him at some point because he didn’t feel much need to tell Caius yes. He’d imagined killing his father so many times, or dying tragically and painfully in so many ways, that it felt unreal to know it might finally happen.
“Do what you want with him,” Max said quietly, and was rewarded with a brief, fierce smile before Caius kissed him.
“Stay with Quinn.” Caius stepped back and glanced down the street at Leon. A moment later, a mix of howls from human and wolf throats alike went up, confirming everyone was in place. Then Caius nodded to Max. “When you’re ready.”
The first stage of the attack depended on Max. He knew the house layout well enough to surround it in a wall of flames, ensuring there was only one way in or out.
Max shook his hands and blew out a sharp breath. When he lifted them, small flames flared up in the center of each palm as he strode forward. The security gate activated and slid open as they approached, courtesy of Quinn.
There were the usual two men on patrol outside of the house, but Ghost took control of them. They stopped midstep, bodies going slack as if all their tension vanished. Then they turned as one and silently moved into the house. Max might have been impressed if it weren’t so disturbing. He didn’t know exactly what kind of mage she was, but his skin crawled whenever he got within a few feet of her. Like her magic was unnatural.
Once they stepped onto the main property, Max tossed the flames at the house, but he must have held back too much because they sputtered and died out.
Ghost scoffed but rolled her eyes and mimed zipping her lips when Caius glared at her.
Max muttered under his breath, creating large fireballs instead of flames and throwing them on either side of the front door. This time they caught and held, racing down the sides when he spread his arms as if smearing the fire. The sudden rush of power was exhilarating, the urge to let the flames engulf the entire building momentarily overwhelming him. It’d be so easy to let the fire have its way. None of them even needed to step inside.
If he concentrated hard enough, he could sense the structure of the house through the flames. The walls and floors and the heat of bodies inside. No one would escape.
Caius gripped Max’s shoulder and squeezed, bringing him back to himself. “We have a plan.”
“This would be easier,” he muttered, but he coaxed the flames into sticking to the outside wall. Gunshots echoed from inside as he nudged the flames higher to cover the second-story windows, followed by yells, more shots, and snarling howls.
Ghost jerked as if hit, stalking towards the door and swearing loudly in German.
“Go,” Max said, bringing his hands together to join both walls of fire at the back of the house. His heart stuck in his throat when Caius drew his gun and rushed inside, Lukas at his back.
Quinn stepped closer and pressed their shoulders together, but before he could say anything, magic flared nearby. A shimmering, translucent door appeared in front of them. Quinn’s snarl echoed Max’s own as the guy who’d attacked them in the parking lot stepped through.
“Motherfucker,” Quinn hissed, pushing Max behind him. Even Aradia let out an angry bark and lifted into the air in front of Max.
He’d known this was too easy. There was no way his father would still be here if he wasn’t overconfident in his safety.
