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Ryland barely had enough time to shift into his wolf before the man in black jumped on him, suddenly a lynx. They rolled on the hot pavement, blows and claws flying. Wilder joined in, shifting into his own wolf to attack the other three lynxes.
There was the sound of vague screams as humans ran from the terrible and frightening sight. A few people tried to record the whole thing, but a snap of one of the lynx’s jaws sent them all running.
The street was deserted now, not that it mattered to Ryland. He hit the cat with everything he had. He didn’t relent. Fur and blood flew in every direction as the battle wore on. Soon, Wilder had dispatched one of the others, and the brothers joined together. They faced the remaining three lynxes.
Ryland took stock of his opponents’ injuries. The cats weren’t as menacing now, bleeding on the pavement. Ryland made a low sound in the back of his throat, wordlessly telling his brother that he would go left. Wilder inclined his head in the smallest of nods, and immediately, he took off for the right.
The brothers fought well together. They were a unit, and before long, only the last lynx remained.
The scarred one. The man in black.
Wilder sat back on his haunches and licked the blood from his lips, quietly telling his brother that he could take this fight.
And fight Ryland did.
He flew at the lynx, and his claws sliced through the lynx’s injured jowl. He jumped onto him, pinning him to the ground with vicious force. He closed his maw around the lynx’s neck and bit down.
The animal yelped and tried to dislodge Ryland with his paws.
Ryland bit down more before letting go. The lynx lay there, breathing hard and ragged. It would take little effort to kill him, but Ryland needed him alive. Slowly, he took on his human shape again, and Ryland waited until the transformation was complete to do the same.
“You’re beaten. I can kill you right now, and I won’t lose any sleep over it. You’re gonna leave the Bonettis alone. The vases do not belong to you.”
“They don’t belong to anyone,” he coughed. “They have to stay hidden until we can use them.”
“Use them?” Ryland laughed. “You can’t possibly think they’re real.”
“We’re men who turn into lynxes. Why wouldn’t the vases be real?”
“Because they were a woman’s wish that her husband would come home to her. They’re a lover’s prayer. Nothing more. They’re buried, and they’ll stay that way. The other three out there belong in a museum. Not to lunatics like you.”
“We won’t stop.”
Ryland sighed and looked back at Wilder. “Is there someone we can call to lock these people up until we figure out what to do with them?”
Wilder nodded and shifted back into his human form. Before long, he was on the phone, organizing transportation for the lynxes. They would be taken to Italy, back to Rome, where they would face the consequences of their actions.
“Is it really over? The lynxes will leave my family alone?” Lina asked, gripping the door to her shop with trembling hands.
“Not over yet,” Ryland responded. “But they will stop terrorizing your family.”
“They won’t get their hands on the other vases!” She clapped her hands together. “Did they kill Dino and the Frenchman?”
Ryland shook his head. “No. There’s another player in all this. As soon as we get this bunch back to the proper authorities, we’ll be getting to the bottom of it. We’ll keep you posted, Mrs. Fiore.”
She bowed her head in thanks. “And to think that all we needed was a different kind of shifter to release us from the lynxes.”
“Tell me one thing, Lina,” Ryland said. “Whydidyou sell the vase to Laurent La Forest?”
“His partner had bigger teeth than the lynxes,” Lina shrugged. “There was nothing I could do. Even when I knew it would upset the lynxes.” She touched her head and wobbled on her legs. “Excuse an old woman for needing her rest.” She quickly retreated back to the shop.
“This isn’t over,” Ryland sighed. “We need to figure out who else is after the vases. But first …”
Ryland went to the back of the truck and snapped the lock on the door with little effort.
There in the back was Caroline, hands tied behind her back and a piece of tape dangling from her cheek. She blinked in his direction, her eyes adjusting to the sudden appearance of sunlight in the dark and dank space.
“Ryland?” Caroline gasped.
