He landed in hate and fear. Maybe the two emotions were the same thing.
Noelle was closest to Raoul, but her eyes were on a pair of bristling wolves near the wall. When Raoul roared his defiance, she was caught off guard, jolting sideways in surprise. That gave Ryan the space to save her life.
He leapt forward to protect her and was met with Raoul’s open jaws. The prick had gone wolf and was of a damned impressive size and strength. Ryan’s only hope was to go grizzly or lose an arm. But when he reached for the power, it wasn’t there. He might be a healthy human, but his magical tank was empty from all the shifting he’d done. Which meant—
Frankie shoved him aside. She was in full hybrid mode, both wolf and woman as she saved Ryan and protected Noelle. She rolled with her brother’s attack, dropping him into the center of her circle without suffering any damage. But Raoul wasn’t staying down. He scrambled on the wood floor but was able to gain purchase as he spun back and attacked.
Ryan tensed to intervene, but a cry to his right showed him that Raoul wasn’t the only werewolf too afraid to open up to what Frankie was offering. Some of Raoul’s men were attacking as well, and Noelle was not trained in hand-to-wolf combat.
He wanted with every part of him to protect Frankie, but he knew she had to face her brother alone. It was the only way for her to establish dominance over the pack. Plus, he had complete faith that she could hold her own. She might not defeat Raoul, but it wasn’t going to be a quick fight and Noelle needed the protection now. So Ryan engaged the wolves coming at them. Two medium-sized ones with speed behind their assault.
He pulled Noelle out of their path and timed his own attack for the exact moment they sprang past. To the other side, he heard Hazel chuckle, apparently pleased with whatever attack she was handling. And then there was no more time for thought. Just duck and punch, kick and haul ass. Most of the bystanders scrambled away while a few closed in to help.
It was just like before. In the sewers and the loading dock. The sweat, the adrenaline, the blood. Only this time something else stood with him. A shimmering pool of strength inside his soul.
Frankie was with him, and suddenly, everything was different. He was still tired, but his heart and his head were at peace. Whatever came from outside, inside he was at home with Frankie. And since he was no longer fighting himself, he had more power to use in the fight. He countered claws, bites, and a couple very human fists. But this time the good guys had the advantage of numbers. It would be over soon.
He knocked the nearest wolf out while Noelle fouled the footing of the other one. He heard a yelp behind him, but didn’t know if it was Raoul or the one fighting Hazel. He spun, intending to deliver a knockout blow to the remaining wolf’s temple, his fist raised—
Freeze!
The message was blasted psychically throughout the room, but if there was any doubt, a loud voice followed next.
“Stop!”
He recognized the voice immediately. Hard to forget Emory Wolf’s command tone. It was enough to pause Ryan’s fist, but it had a dramatic effect on the wolves. They all dropped to the ground and gave some sign of submission, human and canine alike. Even Ryan tilted his head to the side, exposing his throat in an instinctive act, though it was only a slight tilt. Emory wasn’t his alpha, and so the impact was significantly lessened.
That gave him the strength to straighten up to his full height and study the situation. First and most important, Frankie had Raoul on the ground, her hand on his neck and her knee in his back. Her arms were bloody, but Ryan didn’t see any wounds on her body, meaning the blood was likely Raoul’s. Behind Frankie, Hazel straightened up as well. She wasn’t a shifter, so her head wasn’t canted to the side like everyone else’s, but she wasn’t fighting either. No need since everyone who’d come at her was stretched out on the floor, most of them as unconscious as Delphine.
He quickly scanned the rest of the room. Nobody moved. Everyone who could was looking at Emory, who was leaning heavily on Simon’s arm. And behind Simon was Alyssa, Vic, and…now there was a surprise. It was Brady, the wolf he thought had skipped the city but had apparently been around enough to bring help when the shit had hit the fan. And then stepping around the lot of them was—hell—Captain Abraham.
Ryan’s gaze shot straight to Frankie, but she was ahead of him. She’d already reverted to her human form. Everyone else was either fully human or fully canine. That meant no shifter exposure to his very vanilla boss.
Meanwhile, Frankie looked at her father. “Dad? You’re looking better.”
Was he? To Ryan’s eyes he looked frail. The man had been a force within the shifter community, but now he leaned heavily on Simon as he gazed around the community center. At least his physical wounds were healed. He’d probably woken enough to shift. But some vital aspect of him had weakened considerably. Still, his words carried loud enough into the silence.
“Is this what we’ve come to?” he asked. “Brother against sister, men against women, wolves attacking our own?” His gaze went to his two children. “How did this happen?”
Simon answered, his voice carrying throughout the room. “It’s the shit in the water. It makes us all angry.”
Emory looked to his son. “I thought it made us all strong.”
Ryan winced. That was as much of a confession as his captain would need for a temporary arrest.
Meanwhile, Frankie stepped back from her brother. “Does this look like strength, Dad? We’re destroying ourselves and hurting everyone else in the process.” She looked down at her brother who was slowly gaining his feet. Or rather pushing to his four paws. He was still in his wolf form and was not about to get arrested for his crimes.
Emory shook his head. “What was I thinking?” he murmured.
Which is when Ryan understood what had happened. Frankie, too, because she spoke it out loud. “They gave you the antidote. You’re thinking clearly now.”
Her father nodded as he looked around the room. “I renounce leadership of the pack. I failed you all.”
Frankie took a sharp step forward. “No!” she cried. “It was Raoul and the serum.”
Emory spoke slowly, his words having a double meaning. “I’m not above the law,” he said, meaning both human and shifter law. He or Raoul had broken both, and as alpha, Emory was ultimately responsible.
“You didn’t know what you were doing,” Frankie said, her voice breaking. She knew, as did everyone else here, that her father was going to take the blame for poisoning the city of Detroit. And the humans were not going to be kind.
