Page 66 of Dance in the Stones

JC arrived next, translocating directly into the castle’s courtyard. His dark hair was pulled back, his blue eyes already assessing sight lines and defensive positions.

Then the others came in rapid succession. Lamont materialized with his characteristic grin, followed by Faron’s massive form. Raoul appeared with Java, both looking ready for violence. Cain and Beau translocated together, then Giorgio with Petrov, and finally Edgar, the quietest of the pack but no less deadly.

The cottage couldn’t hold them all, so they spilled into the castle’s courtyard. Twelve massive men who all shared certain features - powerful builds and eyes that occasionally flashed red.

Redford had met Kolton, Lamont, and JC before. The others introduced themselves quickly, their greetings warm, but they were clearly focused on the upcoming fight. They’d come because Damon called, but as they learned more about the sanctuary, it was clear there were a lot of protective instincts firing up.

Finn and Kara emerged from the west wing, drawn by the commotion. The young fox shifters stopped dead, overwhelmed by the sheer power radiating from the assembled hellhounds.

“How many…” Kara’s voice cracked. “How many are there?”

“Twelve including me,” Damon said, pride threading through his tone. “This is the entire original pack. And we can’t forget our extra gargoyle.”

Finn’s eyes went wide. “All of them came? For us?”

“For you and the sanctuary,” Kolton corrected gently.

The castle thrummed with awareness, its consciousness pressing against Redford’s. Curiosity mixed with caution as it evaluated each hellhound, cataloging their power, and assessing whether they posed a threat.

Twelve guardians, the castle seemed to whisper through the stone. Twelve protectors who answer one call.

Malcolm’s truck rumbled up the drive mid-morning, interrupting the strategy session. The contractor climbed out, completely oblivious to the supernatural tension saturating the air.

“Just checking on the west wing progress,” Malcolm called cheerfully. “Wanted to make sure…” He stopped short, taking in the crowd of massive men filling the courtyard. “Bloody hell, Damon. You didn’t mention your whole family was visiting.”

Damon smoothly stepped forward, blocking Malcolm’s view of Petrov, whose eyes had flashed red. “It was a last-minute decision. Everyone wanted to see the great work you’d done on the castle.”

“Well, you’ve got a fine support system,” Malcolm said, shaking his head in amazement. “All brothers, are you?”

“Something like that,” Lamont said with a grin that showed too many teeth.

Malcolm didn’t seem to notice. “I was going to talk to you about the east tower, but we can chat about that another time.” He clapped Redford on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine with this lot looking out for you. Nothing to worry about with family like this backing you up.”

Redford managed a smile. “No. Nothing to worry about at all.”

After Malcolm left, the pack reconvened in the castle’s great hall. JC spread documents across the table - information gathered through his network of contacts across Europe.

“The Keepers of the Old Ways would be an interesting bunch, if they weren’t being a pain in our collective asses,” JC began. “They’re not a sanctioned organization. Think of them more as a loose coalition of powerful paranormals who believe exposure equals extinction.”

“How loose?” Raoul asked.

“Loose enough that they operate independently, but organized enough to coordinate attacks on locations they deem threatening.” JC tapped the first document. “Their leader is Magnus Kenric, an 800-year-old mage who specializes in control magic. He can bind other paranormals’ powers if they’re not careful.”

“Hellhounds are immune to magic,” Beau pointed out.

“But gargoyles aren’t,” Simon said quietly. “And neither are fox shifters.”

JC nodded. “Magnus travels with Sergei Volkov. He’s a vampire and consequently is fast, strong, and has enough power to dominate most shifters through presence alone.” He pulled out more papers. “The rest of their group varies, but intelligence suggests five others will accompany them tonight. All alphas of their respective species - wolf, bear, lion, eagle, and serpent. They’re used to commanding through dominance and intimidation.”

“They’ll try to overwhelm with a show of force,” Cain said. “Make us back down without fighting.”

“They’ve clearly never met a pissed-off hellhound,” Faron growled.

The confidence in the room was almost tangible, and if the situation had been different, Redford might have felt sorry for the seven paranormals who were turning up thinking they could use intimidation alone to take or shut down anything they didn’t like.

“The castle will help,” Redford said, drawing everyone’s attention. “It has defensive capabilities, although we haven’t fully explored them yet. But I can feel them through the stone.”

“That’s right,” Simon added. “There are ancient protections keyed into the stone against specific threats.”