“Liar.” Xen roared. He took a step towards Axel. Both Talis and Rys growled out a warning and Dathal tensed.
I shared a look with Jake, hope flaring back to life. If Axel said he’d seen it, then I believed him. We still needed to find the proof, but at least it gave us a direction to look in.
“It might have been self-defence,” Axel carried on. “He came at you with a knife, didn’t he? Silver, laced with the poison that hunters use. You smelt it as he came at you and reacted without thinking.”
“I—” Xen stared at him, mouth moving but no sound coming out.
“Why didn’t you call the police?” Elliot looked between the two of them. “If it was self-defence, why wouldn’t you let them investigate it?”
Xen clamped his mouth shut.
So Axel filled in the blanks. “Because he saw an opportunity and he took it.”
“Get out of my fucking head,” Xen hissed; all the blood drained from his face.
“Is it true?” John Allen stood taller, finally free of the crushing weight he’d carried for the last three months. “Did you kill Faris?”
Xen’s gaze darted around. Even from here I could taste the panic, could see it in his eyes. “No.” He shook his head. “Of course not.”
He was lying, and we all knew it.
“He’d seen John at the cemetery…” Axel cocked his head as he studied Xen and I prayed that his proximity to the gateway and to Talis kept his magic working. “He knew what day it was, knew John would be vulnerable and in pain. And he took advantage—”
“Stop!” Xen roared, rage exploding out of him as he lunged at Axel, shifting mid-air.
Talis shifted to meet him, cutting in front of Axel and Dathal, but Rys was quicker.
His black wolf was little more than a blur as he leapt into the air, slamming into Xen and sending them both skidding into the trees.
Then all hell broke loose.
“Mh’alth!” Chylath cried out and fell backwards, clutching his head as he collapsed. Syl and Wyn caught him between them, their arms wrapping around him as they dragged him to safety, Wyn’s shield expanding around them all.
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Owen yelled, expression murderous as he raced after Xen and Rys. Elliot intercepted him, tumbling him to the ground. I didn’t have time to see how that played out because Myla was being bundled back in the car while the other members of Frost’s pack advanced on John.
“Jake,” I hissed, dragging him forward. “Your dad.”
As soon as he registered what was happening, Jake raced forward, leaving me for dust. He barrelled to intercept the two shifters heading for his dad, but it was two against one and they were built like tanks.
Sasha and the others had gone after the remaining members of Xen’s pack as they tried to help their alpha. “Talis,” I yelled as I hurried after Jake. I’d help him as much as I could, but I was nowhere near fully healed yet.
Dathal moved to guard Axel and Talis sped past me, already shifted.
But I’d forgotten all about John.
Before Talis even reached them, John shifted into his wolf, his roar full of outrage as he stood alongside Jake. The three of them together were more than a match for the two members of Frost’s pack, and soon enough they both backed down in submission.
Thank fuck.
Rys was already dragging Xen out of the trees, both looking bloody and bruised, but Xen had his head bowed, tilted to the side, exposing his throat.
Goddess. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
This could’ve been so much worse.
I looked for Jake, smiling when his eyes met mine.
Then his expression changed, morphing into a look of horror. I had two seconds to wonder why before I felt the sting of claws at my throat and caught the unwelcome scent of Haylen Frost.
