“Yes,” Ocean whispered. She wrapped her arms around herself, a pained sound coming from her throat.

On the lawn, Cameron slid at lightning-speed and snapped at the hunter’s paw just as Gavin turned to the pack and howled. His long wail cut through the afternoon sky like a siren, and a shiver struck me, because something deep inside me told me that sound was more than just a howl—it was a calling.

The men watching the fight all eyed one another, their bodies beginning to tremble, their faces taking on expressions of excitement but something else, too, something darker and more primal.

“No.” Ocean’s face crumpled just as the first spectator shifted.

I took a step forward, my heart pounding. “What are they doing?”

Another man shifted, and then another. Since only men could shift into wolves—female werewolves only carried the gene—the women stayed watching. Before I could blink, six more wolves were circling the Fire Wolf, all of them looking toward Gavin and Cameron.

Cameron snarled at them, then lunged at the hunter.

It was all the direction they needed. The six wolves descended on the hunter at once, their massive bodies becoming blurs of fur and malice.

My jaw dropped as rage strummed through me. Another commotion came from the crowd as more men appeared. They began to lift their shirts and unbutton their pants, all while the Fire Wolf became a spinning blur of jaw, fang, and claw.

“Oh no, you fuckers don’t,” I said, seething, and pushed against the porch, my legs carrying me as fast as the wind.

I reached the circle just as the newest men began to shift. Magic erupted from me in a hot wave of wrath and rage. My binding spell hit the men in a stinging roped tether. They all stopped mid-shift, their bodies distorted, their jaws partially realigned. Squeals of pain came from some. I could only imagine what halting mid-shift felt like, their bodies between man and wolf—bones not fully aligned, muscles partially torn—but I was beyond caring. What they were doing was bullying at its highest level, and I didn’t give two shits if I ripped them all to shreds and was breaking every pack law in the universe.

With a fling of my arm, telekinetic magic skated down it in a full blast as I unleashed a huge well of power. When it hit them, the men flew through the air. Gasps and shocked whispers came from the women, children, and other men who hadn’t joined the fight.

The half-shifted wolves landed two houses down, their bodies still twisted into those partially transformed shapes. Magic crackled around me as I swung around in a circle, daring anyone else to try to join in the fight.

The crowd all took a huge step back, their expressions turning from shock to disbelief to fear as they took me in.

Snarls and growls continued behind me, and I swirled around to the wolves, my palms tingling as my hair lifted with the energy crackling around me.

Cameron and Gavin, along with all of the other wolves, were biting and slashing at the hunter at every opening they could find. The hunter was still a blur, moving too quickly for me to see him, but he must have sensed me, must have known I was there, because he stopped mid-movement, just after he whipped one of the wolves off of him.

Fire raged in his eyes, and when he saw me striding toward him, the wind whipping my hair around my shoulders as the crowd leaped away from me, I could have sworn I saw a glimmer of pride in those blazing irises before his entire body erupted into flames.

The onlookers shrieked, stepping back even more as a flurry of whispers erupted among them. Words like devil, demon-spawn, and abomination reached my ears in those hushed comments.

With a sweep of my hand, I shot out a blast of power, knocking the three wolves closest to me to the ground. They tipped over like bowling pins just as the hunter descended on the others, his flames licking their skin and singeing their fur.

Whines and yelps of pain came from those he burned, and I stopped, watching in awe as the Fire Wolf pounced and slashed, ripping and tearing his way through the remaining wolves, no longer fighting as just a wolf—because he wasn’t just a werewolf. No, he was so much more.

Even his brothers didn’t stand a chance despite their immense alpha power and magic, not when a demon wolf was raining his fury down on them.

Cameron let out a squeal when the Fire Wolf’s jaws closed around his throat. The scent of scorched fur, then burning flesh, filled the air. Flames closed around his oldest brother as the crowd surged back even more, terror coating their faces.

A massive snarl abruptly cut through the crowd, coming from near the street. The entire crowd froze before they parted like an opening zipper as a huge middle-aged man barreled toward the fight. Murder shone in his gaze.

“That’s enough!” the man roared. A wave of dominant energy shot out of him, firing like a weapon through the crowd.

All of the neighbors cowed, most wincing, before almost all of them dispersed and scurried back to their homes. They raced along the sidewalks and across the street, many of them glancing over their shoulders fearfully at the man who’d just appeared.

The half-shifted men I’d thrown did the same, finally changing back to their human forms, and they took off running, their bare asses mooning all who watched.

Another wave of power shot from the newcomer, and when it hit the Fire Wolf, Cameron, Gavin and those I’d knocked to the ground, all of the wolves ceased in their tracks, their heads whipping toward the old wolf.

My eyes widened when the newcomer’s power hit me. And when it did . . . holy shit. If I thought Cameron was strong, he was nothing compared to the man who had just appeared.

I slowly backed up, keeping my attention on the old wolf as he stalked toward the brawling brothers.

“Let me guess?” I said to Ocean, who’d raced from her porch to get closer. My teeth chattered before I pulled my shield spell back up. “He’s the alpha?”

Ocean nodded. “Yes, that would be my dad. Meet Paxton King, the alpha of the Ontario pack. Also known as Kaillen’s father.”

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 15

Paxton didn’t waste any time admonishing the other wolves who’d joined in the fight. With kicks to their rears and promises of retribution, he had them all scurrying away, their faces portraits of fear at the coming punishment their alpha promised.

And in two swift moves, Paxton had the brothers ripped apart—Cameron in one hand, Kaillen in the other, while Gavin’s wolf bobbed to the side, his head bowed before he rolled to the ground, going belly up.

If the brothers’ fight hadn’t been so disturbing, I would have laughed at the comical sight. A fully grown, middle-aged supernatural werewolf held two, just as big, fully grown wolves by the scruff of their necks, dangling them in the air as if they were wee pups, while the third looked like a docile canine trying to avoid a whipping.

But the rage shining from the alpha’s gaze smothered any amusement in me. Whatever was going on here, it was serious, and something told me it spanned decades. Because this had been far from a benign brotherly brawl, in which they could kiss and make up. Oh no, this went much deeper. It was obvious that Gavin and Cameron truly hated their younger brother.

“Shift back, now!” Paxton’s command reverberated through the block and shook my shield.

Ocean, not having magic to protect herself, bared her neck, her chin jutting up as a strained expression formed on her face. Seeing all of this reminded me of how incredibly fucked up werewolf packs could be. Everything in them revolved around dominance, some packs still living in the old ways of male-dominated hierarchies where women were lowly servants or prized wives to be bred.