Quinn cracked his knuckles. “So we go through them. I can take about five, maybe more if they stop me from getting to my firefly.”
Panahasi’s eyes flared brighter for a second, the only indication he’d heard. Without another word, the demon started across the street. Not rushing, just walking with that unhurried confidence that said he could level the building if he felt like it.
Zeppelin fell in beside him, the rest of the pack fanning out in formation.
Wade’s heart thundered as they closed the distance. Through the window, he watched Alex’s head snap up, eyes widening when he spotted them. Relief flooded his mate’s expression for half a second before terror replaced it.
Alex’s mouth moved, probably warning the others, and all four mates turned to look.
Then the men inside moved.
Before Wade’s boot hit the first step leading to the door, one of the demons near the counter raised his hand. Lightning crackled between his fingers, blue-white and vicious, illuminating his face with harsh shadows.
Valcore.
Had to be.
No time to confirm. The demon hurled the bolt directly at the mates.
Alex shoved Newt and Sasha sideways, sending them sprawling behind the counter as the lightning scorched the air where they’d been standing. The smell of ozone flooded through the open door, sharp and acrid.
All pretense of civility shattered.
Panahasi wrenched the door off its hinges with one hand and hurled it at the nearest demon. The guy went down hard, pinned under twisted metal and glass.
Chaos erupted.
Wade barreled through the entrance, targeting the demons closest to his mate. One lunged at him with claws extended, moving fast enough to blur.
Twisting sideways, Wade drove his elbow into the guy’s throat, felt cartilage crunch, then grabbed him by the collar and slammed him face-first into the nearest table. Wood splintered. The demon went limp.
Another rushed him from the left. Wade ducked under a wild swing, came up inside the demon’s guard, and drove his fist into the soft tissue below the ribcage. Air whooshed out of the guy’s lungs.
Wade followed up with a knee to the face that sent teeth flying.
Around him, the pack tore through Valcore’s men with brutal efficiency. Zeppelin snapped one guy’s arm like kindling then used the broken limb to clothesline another.
Quinn moved like water, flowing between attacks and delivering devastating counters that left bodies crumpled in his wake.
Vaughn fought with a fury that suggested he had personal scores to settle, each hit landing with bone-crushing force.
But Valcore stood in the center of it all, untouched, lightning dancing between his fingers as he watched Wade with cold calculation.
“You’re persistent,” Valcore said, his voice cutting through the violence. “Stupid, but persistent.”
Launching himself over an overturned chair, Wade closed the distance. Valcore raised his hand and released another bolt.
Wade threw himself sideways, felt the heat sear past his shoulder close enough to singe hair. He rolled, came up running, and angled left to throw off the demon’s aim.
Another bolt. This one clipped his thigh, pain exploding through muscle and nerve. Wade’s leg buckled, but he forced himself forward, teeth gritted against the agony.
“Stay down,” Valcore suggested, already charging for another attack. “You’re only making this harder on yourself.”
“Harder for you, maybe,” Wade snarled then lunged.
Valcore released the bolt at point-blank range. Wade twisted, felt electricity rake across his ribs, smelled his own flesh burning.
Wade didn’t stop. He slammed into Valcore with his full weight, driving them both backward into the counter. Coffee mugs shattered. The register crashed to the floor.
