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Oyo was deeply entwined in the arms of her lover, but my grandmother had been right—she sensed the shard of magic the instant it touched him. Struggling to free herself, her eyes met mine for a split second...just as Yuki thrust the magical dagger directly into his beloved’s breast.
I’d thought I was prepared for this eventuality. After all, Sakurako had assured me this was only a magical neutering, not a death blow. But I still flinched at the horror on Oyo’s face as she realized that the man she loved had conspired with the woman she’d trusted in order to take her down.
Light flared around her body as fox ears sprouted from the top of a still-human forehead. The sulfurous stench deepened as Oyo cringed down over her belly, moaning as she was caught in the worst sort of shift.
“I thought you loved me,” she cried...or at least I guessed that was what she was saying. Because vulpine teeth were now sprouting past lips that had been plump and human a moment earlier. Her words were almost irreparably slurred.
Then Oyo could speak no longer. The flare of light shrouded her, shrunk her...and settled into a golden collar encircling the throat of a black-furred fox. At the same time, the rotten-egg aroma was abruptly and entirely gone.
Beneath us, the meeting erupted into shouting followed by the unmistakable metallic clangs of swordplay. Oyo’s hold over my pack mates had faded the instant she was separated from her powers and I needed to get below as quickly as possible to make sure neighbor werewolves didn’t do anything terrible in their haste to regain the upper hand.
But, instead, I stood frozen by the tableau before me. Watched and listened as Yuki proved that Oyo wasn’t the only one who had been broken by my grandmother’s heavy-handed control.
“I love the mistress,” Yuki answered coldly. “And I loved you when I thought you might one day be the new mistress. Unfortunately, it looks like that will no longer be the case.”
Then he turned away as if Oyo was nothing, never mind the fact that the fox he ignored was scratching so frantically at her collar that it spun around and around her throat without stopping. In half an hour, she’d be raw and bleeding. But Sakurako had assured me Oyo would never get the restraining circlet off.
And, given the certainty of his job’s completion, Yuki simply didn’t care about the agony he had left behind. Didn’t even reach out to calm Oyo’s scratching to prevent future pain to the shifter he supposedly cared for. Instead, he strode over to the fire escape, preparing to guard my pathway to the ground.
This was the pack I was willingly walking into. This was the pack I’d chosen as my own.
For Kira’s sake, I reminded myself. Then ignoring my own squeamishness, I snapped a lead onto Oyo’s collar. “Let’s go,” I told her as I followed the male down.
***
BY THE TIME WE REACHED the door at the front of the community hall, the interior had become a battleground with no clear evidence of who might win. Atwoods outnumbered the invaders by a wide margin, but only the sword-bearing females seemed willing to do more than protect themselves.
Instead, it was as if the command Gunner uttered three days earlier—fight only with swords—had gone into effect with a belated vengeance. Which gave our enemies an extreme advantage as they pressed in against the ring of females now intent upon safeguarding rather than containing their family and friends.
“Where to?” Yuki asked, his sword angling across to guard me rather than his own body. Together, we watched wolves in their prime lunge at Atwood grannies while Gunner’s best warriors snapped, feinted...then failed to fight back.
This was going to be a slaughter if we didn’t shut it down quickly. So despite Yuki’s not-so-subtle wish for us to return to Sakurako’s secluded hideout, I told him the obvious: “I’m going to cut off the head of the serpent.” In other words, I intended to make the invading alphas call off their underlings by hook or by crook.
And, to my surprise, Yuki didn’t even attempt to argue. “Sounds like fun,” he admitted. Then, glancing at Oyo and raising his eyebrows, he added: “May I?”
It seemed cruel to place the collared fox into the arms of her former lover. But I wasn’t used to fighting with a living being tucked under one arm and I needed to reach Gunner ASAP. So I nodded...then lost track of Yuki entirely as I took a running leap onto the top of a banister that encircled one side of the room.
From my elevated perch, I could see the invaders much better....and, unfortunately, could be seen by them as well. So I wasn’t surprised to be met by a wall of weapons at the far end of my raised pathway, proving that the Atwood tradition of swordcraft extended to the neighboring packs.
“I don’t suppose you guys would like to let me through to talk to your alphas?” I called downward...then dove forward without waiting for a reply. Because at any minute the enemy alphas would realize they only had to threaten Gunner in order to make his entire pack—including me—submit to the boot poised atop our neck.
Which would leave us in a worse bind than we currently suffered from. So I slashed and parried and noted that the five males I faced were good enough to overcome a lone swordswoman of any caliber if given enough time. Which meant I couldn’t risk disarming them gradually. I’d have to dole out more punishing blows and hope the injuries didn’t scuttle future reconciliation with neighboring packs.
Or that would have been the case if two warm bodies hadn’t materialized at my shoulders. Elizabeth on one side, the male who’d snarled during our sword practice on the other. Neither one had a reason to help me, and Elizabeth had a very good reason to push me in front of a bus.
After all, even though I hadn’t wanted anything to happen to her father, I had indeed turned out to be the reason for his death. But perhaps Elizabeth hadn’t yet come to that conclusion. Or perhaps pack was simply more important to her than personal grudges. Whatever the reason, she met my gaze evenly before she and her companion both dove into the battle so furiously I was able to slip around my opponents and ascend the stairs onto the stage.
“You came back.”
The enforcer who’d beaten Gunner stood before me, and I barely managed not to skewer him in retaliation for the pain he’d doled out. But this battle wouldn’t be won with a weapon. Instead, I let my sword trickle back into my skin while I peered over the enforcer’s shoulder and met the eyes of three neighboring alphas one by one.
The males were glancing back and forth between me and Yuki, who held Oyo in his arms in a very visible spot at the other end of the hall. The visual aid was appreciated, so I used it. “I’ve collared the rogue kitsune,” I told the alphas, having to raise my voice almost into a shout to be heard above the battle. “Her power has been neutralized and she will be punished....”
I’d intended to continue explaining then to move on to threats if necessary, stopping only when the neighboring alphas released their hold over all Atwood wolves. But to my surprise, Gunner was the one who answered, his voice rough, urgent, yet entirely clear.
“No, Mai, you can’t do that. Oyo is under my protection. I refuse to allow you to trade her life for mine.”