Zheng lunges forward again and the two begin rolling across the ground and it’s all I can do to track their movements. One second Diego is on top and the next, Zheng is. Limbs are flying everywhere, fists and paws crashing into whatever body part they can find. A plant is knocked over, spreading dirt across the tiles, and it mixes with their blood, leaving smears of murk in horrific streaks of brown and red.
Diego seems to have the advantage despite Zheng’s size and I know I have to do something. Stop them somehow. Isa must have the same idea because she steps forward beside me, her arms shifting into those of her wolf, and I force myself not to stop and stare. “Wait,” I tell her. I flick on the faucet, letting a steady stream of water come out of the sink before drawing on my hydrokinesis. I manipulate the stream into a large sphere and direct it at Diego, encasing his face in several inches of water.
He doesn’t need to breathe to survive. He’s already a vampire, part of the undead. But having your head submerged in water still elicits a fight or flight response, and being a vampire is no different. He claws at the water, unable to do anything but splash some of it around while I do my best to hold the sphere in place.
The front door slams open, fracturing my concentration, and the sphere of water crashes to the ground as all eyes turn toward the door. Isa visibly relaxes beside me when she catches sight of Rafael—Desmond and Jordy right behind him.
A jolt of fear spears through me. Jordy is here. He can’t be here. Not right now. Not like this.
Rafael assesses the scene in a matter of seconds before he throws himself forward into the fight, adopting a partial shift as his claw-tipped hands strike out, tackling Diego to the ground.
Diego has zero time to react before Rafael is pummeling his face into the tile floor, a murderous glow in his eyes.
A gasp on the stairs has me looking up to find my mom standing at the top of the staircase, César clutched in her arms as she watches the scene below. “What are you doing? Get off of him!” she shouts, and I rush to intercept her as she runs down the steps, heading right for Rafael and Diego. I pull César from her arms, my focus completely on my son’s safety, just as Jordy steps up to my mother and says in a low voice, “He tried to kill a seventeen-year-old shifter. He has to answer for that.”
My mom tries to shove past him, but Jordy sidesteps her, blocking her path. She pushes against his shoulders, but he refuses to move. “You can’t do this. You have no right—”
“He attacked a seventeen-year-old girl with the intent to kill,” Desmond adds, his expression stony. He hasn’t moved since coming in, and despite his words being for my mother, his gaze is glued to the fight in front of us, almost like he’s waiting for something.
“Diego would never do that. Whatever you think you know is a lie. He—”
“Admitted it Mom,” I say in a whisper, imploring her with my eyes. My vision blurs but I refuse to let a single tear fall.
She jerks back as if I struck her. “Watch your words, minha filha.”My daughter.“You don’t know the truth of it. Diego would never do what they’re accusing him of. He has no issue with the Pack. I’m calling the HPED.”
“They won’t help you. This is a paranormal matter. Our Alpha is already on his way. The Seethe will be notified before his sentencing,” Desmond says, and as soon as the words leave his lips, we hear a chorus of howls in the distance.
“Time’s running out,” Jordy says, his words directed at Rafael, but he doesn’t hear him. Rafael is straddling Diego, his arms no longer able to defend against Rafael’s attacks. “Rafael!” Still no response.
His jaw clenches before he meets Zheng’s molten gaze across the room. Silent communication passes between them before they both step forward and rip Rafael off Diego’s body. Rafael doesn’t give up without a fight, and it takes both boys holding him back to keep him from throwing himself back at Diego, who’s barely moving on the floor as it is. There is blood everywhere and body parts outside of Diego’s body that I know are supposed to be in it. Rafael looks crazed, his eyes ablaze and his lips pulled back in a snarl. “I’ll fucking kill you,” he shouts. “You’re a dead man.”
Isa rushes to Rafael’s side, her arms wrapping around his waist. His nostrils flare, but he manages to pull himself together enough to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight against his chest.
My mother rushes to Diego’s side, pulling his head into her lap as she sobs over him, and I just stand there, holding my baby boy, my world falling apart all around me. “You almost killed him,” she wails, and if I’m honest, I’m surprised he isn’t dead. The real final kind of death because Diego doesn’t look like a man anymore. He looks like a haphazard mound of flesh and bone that’s been put through the grinder. Two men come through the door and one immediately begins barking orders. There’s an air of authority to his voice that has everyone in the room immediately moving to obey him.
“Rafael, get Isa and get out of here. I’ll get statements from both of you later.” Rafael nods and leads Isa through the open doorway and outside. The sound of a car starting and pulling out of the driveway can be heard from outside, letting us know they’re gone. The man—who must be their Alpha—takes one look at Diego, who’s still on the ground but has managed to push himself up into a sitting position, and says, “You’re being detained for the attempted murder of Isa Romero. Your Seethe will be notified, but your sentence will be determined by the Pack.”
I don’t bother listening after that. I stumble backward until my back hits the wall and let my body slide down until my butt hits the floor, César clutched safely in my arms. KeAnna is beside me in an instant, but then so is Desmond. “Go wait in the car,” he says.
She shakes her head. “I’m not leav—”
“Now, KeAnna.” He holds her gaze, dominance radiating from him before she lowers her head and turns an apologetic look my way.
“It’s fine. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I tell her. No way can she get mixed up in whatever all this is. Her family would never let her see the light of day if they found out what happened. They’d never let her hang out with me again if they knew what my mom’s boyfriend was accused of doing. The danger I put her in just by having her over. Desmond has the right to get her out of here before any more members of the Pack show up.
“Call me later and let me know you’re okay,” she says, and I nod.
Desmond walks her out, but seconds later he’s back and heading straight for Meiying. They argue but I can’t make out what’s said and the next thing I know he’s throwing her over his shoulder and storming out of the room as she snarls at him to put her down. Zheng watches the entire thing, still in feline form, before following Desmond out the door, presumably to take his sister home.
The new arrivals pull Diego to his feet and drag his still broken and bleeding body out the door, my mom right behind them. “Mom—” I call after her and she turns to face me. “Where are you going?”
“I’m sorry, minha filha. But I love him.” Tears fall down her cheeks, her expression torn.
My brows furrow. What is she saying right now? “Mom?”
She doesn’t say anything else. She just shakes her head and follows the men out. I’m still standing there, staring at the empty doorway when Jordy appears beside me. “You okay?”
I jump at his words, managing to startle and wake César in the process. How he managed to sleep through all the noise is beyond me, and I wish he would have stayed asleep a little longer because now Jordy is looking at him with open curiosity. “He yours?”
