“Do the sirens have the power to create a tsunami?” Brock asked, probably deliberating whether or not he was going to try to fling me over his shoulder and force me to safety.
Cass scowled. “I think they do. These sirens are legendary. Calista let us take her into custody so she could break her sister out.”
“I agree,” I said. “Together they could probably pull it off, because Calista’s had her magic enhanced by nasty witches.”
“The nastiest,” Tianna said, nodding. “With the assistance of witches, Calista could probably pull that shit off.”
“Let’s go,” I told Brock. “I’ve got a gate to protect.”
The alpha just settled his beautiful mouth into grim lines and helped me ashore. From the distracted look on his face I could tell he was already communicating with Ray. We’d need all hands on deck to survive this one.
20Preparing for Doom
Brock and Tiannadrove us back to the property like they were Formula One drivers courting a death wish. Engines whirred and gunned, tires squealed, as we raced, unimpeded, in the opposite direction of the thousands of people fleeing the tsunami. A few kind-hearted drivers flashed their lights and honked to warn us we were headed into danger. Several drivers of less kindly dispositions shouted obscenities at us, suggesting we were idiots. Of course, none of them had any way of knowing that heading straight into danger was how we rolled.
We were their best bet at stopping the tsunami. Congestion along the highways prevented traffic from moving rapidly enough, and chances were slim that these families would manage to put enough distance between them and the giant wall of destruction barreling our way, building momentum beneath the ocean’s waters.
The sirens were all about saving themselves, and maybe also about saving the third sister locked inside the underworld—for now. They were most likely hell bent on destroying Earth. Who knew what their true motivation was for siccing a tsunami on the northwest? I just wanted them dead. I had no intention of returning them to Mack. They were too dangerous. No, I’d have to kill them and tell him it was an accident, life or death. Screw the hundred grand bounty. I needed to be able to sleep at night. I couldn’t risk them breaking free yet again.
Our only hope of saving all these people from the tsunami was to find and stop the sisters. If my hunch was right, and their magic was encouraging the tsunami to build in force and head this way, interrupting their magic was the only way to stop it.
And the only chance of sparing the fleeing families from the vicious creatures from the underworld was to seal that fucking gate. If the gate tore all the way open and those underworlders crawled out of it, there’d be no escaping them. There’d be no place far enough that anyone could flee to secure their safety. Humanity would be well and truly fucked.
Save the world. No pressure.
I rolled my neck to either side to alleviate some of the tension. Brock noticed and placed a hand on my thigh as he turned his fancy truck onto the long drive toward home in a squeal of tires.
“Damn, that woman can drive,” Molly said from the back seat, where she was sandwiched once more by my warrior protectors and looking out the windshield at Tianna ahead of us.
“It’s not her, it’s the car,” Haru said.
“That’s onefinecar.” Reo nodded his agreement beside him, his sexy man bun bouncing along with his head.
I stared ahead at the sleek lines of Tianna’s ‘67 Mustang Fastback. She’d pulled ahead of Brock at the end, and I could tell Brock was pissed he didn’t have the chance to pass her before we arrived at the property. The cherry red finish of the Mustang gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. No doubt, that was one fine car, all sexy curves. But still, Tianna kicked ass and took names.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s the woman,” I said.
My bestie was definitely going to have his hands full with that wild woman. And he was going to love it.
Brock ignored our chatter about Tianna’s ride. “Ray’s gathered all the wolves.” His words were curt and strong—he was in alpha mode. “I’m going to have to tell them about you, Ev. The gate you protect—everything. They’ve seen your fox form and been good about not asking a lot of questions, but they need to better understand what’s going on since we’re going to need their help protecting you.”
I squirmed in my seat. “Okay. So you’re going to tell them I’m a kitsune?”
“I think I should. The stakes have gotten too high to keep them in the dark. I’m asking them to risk their lives and remain in place while a tsunami comes for them. I’d like to be able to explain so they understand. They’ll follow my orders no matter what I command, but everything will go smoother if they know why they’re doing things.”
I suspected this was as close as the alpha was going to get to asking for my permission. His responsibility was to me and our baby, but also to his pack. And there were a lot of wolves in his pack—inourpack. I was a part of them too. They were my family as much as the people in this car.
I turned to the back seat. “Haru? Reo? Will that be a problem?”
The brothers exchanged a look. “Not anymore,” Reo answered. “The greatest danger was having the Akuma find out what you are.”
“That cat’s well and truly out of the bag, meowing like a bitch in heat,” Molly grumbled. She rubbed absently at the puckered scar on her belly. I imagined it’d be a long time before she could forget what the Akuma did to her.
Haru squeezed her hand. “I’d still recommend asking your wolves not to share the information, Brock. The fewer people that know, the safer Evie will be.”
“You don’t need to tell me that twice,” Brock said, throwing the truck in park amidst a plume of dirt. A second later he was out of the truck, racing around the hood to open my door. I hopped out and we turned to face his advancing wolves.
They were walking out of the woods in large groups. There had to be nearly a hundred of them, all strong and fierce as they took in their alpha and my motley crew.
