“What’s the mutt doing here?” he growled, eyes flaringyellow.
Isaac pulled his staff out, shoved it up under the sorcerer’s chin, and shot a pulse of orange magic up into his face, making him crumple to theground.
My jaw opened and then snapped shut. “You have to teach me how to do that,” I said inawe.
Isaac nodded and pushed the door open with a groan, flattening himself against the wall as Logan and I stepped fully inside the small dark hallway, Dominic in front. The lion shifter shook the belt and I allowed it fall to the ground. I could see now, close up, that there were patches in his mane that didn’t grow hair because of the scarring, and rage pulsed through me, fresh andhot.
“Keegan and Danny are on their way,” Logan told us. He must have used the mental link to the pack to communicate thesituation.
The mild roar of a small crowd had risen up from the steps below. “And Nadine?” Iqueried.
“Creating a distraction,” Logan offered with a grin, then he looked to Dom. “It’s your turn now, Dom. Go get ‘em.” With that, Dominic tore down the steps and Logan pulled out a gun for eachhand.
‘Stay safe, behind me,’he ordered, and I pulled my small cold black Ruger from my waist. Not a problem. I knew when to be the hero, and when to cower behind the guy who was a much better shot thanme.
We took the stairs two at a time, trying to follow the swishing tail of a very large and angry cat. When Dominic peered through the black velvet curtain that closed off the hallway, I didn’t know what to expect. Something savage and ugly, makeshift? But it was fancy, classy—rich. The curtain had pulled back enough to give me a generous view of the space. Wait staff in full tuxedos carried champagne in dainty flutes—tables covered with white linens, poker chips, and cards dealers, a crystal chandelier above it all. The first thing that surprised me was how small the crowd was, a little over a dozen people total. The second thing was that one quick scan told me they were all males. Not only were they racist in making sure only purebloods could join in the black-market fun, but they were sexisttoo.
It was all so out of place compared to the brutal fight unfolding on the center stage. Two shifters were locked in battle. A large white wolf and a … pit-bulldog.
“I didn’t know there were dog shifters,” Iwhispered.
“There aren’t.” Logan’s teeth groundtogether.
Oh.Oh hell no. Making a shifter fight a freaking dog. Admittedly, I loved dogs more than people. This was NOT okay. Heads would roll tonight. I wasn’t leaving withoutjustice.
I didn’t have time to contemplate, because Dom tore through the curtain lightning-quick, and up to a raised dais off to the side of the center stage. That’s when all hell brokeloose.
The sorcerer sitting on the raised dais was cruel and powerful-looking, wearing a canary-yellow suit that was almost as offensive as his curled mustache.Almost.I barely had time to take in his appearance before Dominic leapt and landed on top of him. Logan, Isaac, and I funneled out into the room, gunsraised.
“Don’t move!” Logan fired a shot at the ground and everyone hit the floor, hiding under tables and behindchairs.
For a beautiful second we had them enthralled—three people with weapons, a lion shifter snarling and trying to tear out their host’s throat—we were powerful, feared. Until they remembered who theywere.
Yellow magic started hurling from everywhere, orbs and magical nets soaring across the room at us. You couldn’t shoot magic with guns—at least I didn’t think so. Isaac went into action. He slammed his staff down on the concrete floor, and sent a burst of orange magic out in a flaring high arc, eviscerating the yellow assault headed ourway.
“I need grass! Trees!” Isaac grumbled. Lack of mother nature in this situation was a bitch and just might get uskilled.
“Need some help?” Danny’s voice came from behind us and I nearly sagged with relief. I was hoping not to have to use this gun today, but like Dominic had taught me, don’t pull it out unless you were one hundred percent ready to use it. I was and Iwould.
Danny threw his hands out and a yellow dome erected over us, shielding us from the magical harm of the room’s occupants. The fight on the stage broke up when the wolf shifter ran off, taking the other exit out into the club. The pit-bull, a light chocolate color, had collapsed onto the floor, panting, dripping blood. The other sorcerers were so preoccupied with us that they didn’t notice Dominic locked in a battle to the death with the canary-yellow douchebag. It looked like the man was electrocuting Dominic with magic, but the lion never relented, tearing into the sorcerer’s neck, mauling him with the anger and ferocity of someone who’d been abused for too long by hishand.
Keegan slipped out of our bubble, crawled along the ground, and popped up at Dominic’s side to help finish Canary off. I thought we were good, that we were actually going to pull this off, until a red ball hurled from the back of the room and shattered our magicalbubble.
Druid.
For a moment I expected Steven or Ardan. As if they would magically show up wherever I was and wreak havoc on my life. But it was some unknown female—black hair shaved at the sides, tattoos climbing up her neck. I realized then that it wasn’t all males; she was the one female permitted to attend, and for some reason that terrified me. How powerful must this woman be to be allowed entrance into this all-male exclusiveparty?
“Isaac…” She breathed his name as if it were asin.
“You’re pretty popular with the bad guys,” Danny stated. He tried to resurrect our protective dome butfailed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him. The woman and two of her cronies were walking our way; the others seemed to have noticed Danny was having trouble as well. They abandoned their hiding spots, some going to help the canary-yellow man, who was now most definitely dead, but most were gunning it forus.
“Someone’s blocking me!” Danny growled, sweat beading hisbrow.
Great. Just freaking great. My dragon was smashing against my body, trying to rip free, but I pushed her down. This would be the worst possible place to out myself as askyborn.
A shot rang out and I noticed it was Logan, next to me. He’d shot a sorcerer who was trying to hurl magic at Dom and Keegan. Dominic was a bloody mess, limping and half dead-looking but …alive.
