Rys roared, then lurched out of the door, and for one horrible moment, I thought that was it. But then he staggered, legs giving out, and fell sideways onto the path.
He shifted back and then everything happened at once.
Jake and his partner raced up the path, securing Rys with magical dampening handcuffs at the same time as Talis answered Rys’s roar with one of his own.
Oh fuck.
I scrambled back through the doorway too late to do anything but watch as Talis launched himself at Max, claws out and teeth bared.
Max shifted, clothes tearing as he changed in an instant, his light brown wolf meeting Talis’s charge head-on. They rolled over together, smashing the coffee table to pieces, wood splintering and flying everywhere.
They snapped and snarled at each other. Max tried to keep Talis at bay while Talis went for his throat time and time again.
“Max!” I yelled, wanting desperately to help but knowing there was nothing I could do. The police would be here any second, and if they saw this…
“Talis!”Axel pushed himself upright on shaky arms. “Stop.”
Talis froze at Axel’s voice, then let out a pained whine and padded over to nose at the wound in Axel’s side.
Max shifted back and hurried over to me. He glanced out through the door. “Now.”
Jake ran inside, aimed his gun at Talis, and fired.
I held my breath, not daring to let it out until Talis stumbled into my sofa, sliding it across the floor before collapsing. He shifted back, like Rys had done, and Jake rushed to secure him.
“Fucking hell,” Max murmured, hand shaking as he ran it through his hair. “For a moment there, I thought he was actually going to kill me.”
I let out a slightly hysterical laugh. “So did I.”
Jake stood, shrugged out of his jacket, and threw it to Max. Who was very much naked standing next to me. I didn’t miss the way Jake’s eyes raked over him as he handed Max his jacket. “Here.”
“Thanks.” Max tied it around his waist, oblivious.
Jake’s partner rushed in with a blanket for Talis. I turned quickly to see someone had covered Rys too. But even from here I could see him shivering.
Rushing out the door, I knelt next to him.
Sweat coated his forehead.
“What’s happening to him?” I asked as Lady Sarhin and Rys’s father joined me at Rys’s side.
“The antidote we gave them isn’t an instant cure, but it dilutes the effects, helps them process the poison quicker,” Sarhin answered.
“How long?” I pushed his hair back from his face.
“A few days, maybe more.” Rys’s dad set a hand on my shoulder. “But they’re no threat to anyone now, and that’s the main thing.”
It was.
Thank fuck.
I drew in a shuddery breath, feeling lightheaded all of a sudden.
“Come on.” Rys’s dad said, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “Let’s get them home.”
“What about them?” I pointed at the other cars as more paranormal police arrived on the scene. “And my house?”
If what Tombs said was true, there was a haul of fae drugs hidden in there somewhere.
