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Apparently, that had gotten respect.
“They look up to someone who will protect their own,” Dagger had said when at least twenty shifters had arrived at my door.
“Alpha,” a fox shifter said, coming to us where we stood on a side road. “They’re here.”
When I turned around and looked in the direction he pointed, another group of shifters had pulled together.
I cleared my throat and walked to them.
“Thank you for being here,” I said. This was the third group of shifters who’d arrived, and I was going to give them the same speech I’d given the others.
They all nodded, looking at me with jeweled eyes, their animals already close to the surface. I knew each and every one of them, but I’d kept them all at arm’s length for so long, they were like strangers to me. I wished I could change that.
After today, if I made it out alive, maybe I could.
“I’m not asking you to lay down your lives for me. Hell, that’s what I’ve been trying to avoid.”
“Dagger told us,” someone said.
“You should have mentioned it before,” another answered.
I shrugged. “I didn’t want to drag you into my mess.” They only looked at me, so I kept talking. “It’s going to get messy in there. The creatures are a mix of demons, monsters, and vampires with dark magic. They can be killed—except for the demon—but wounds don’t heal the way they should. If you get injured and you think it’s going to end, get the hell out. I don’t care if you have to run. If you want to leavenow, you can without hard feelings.”
No one moved. In fact, they all nodded.
“We’re here until the end,” someone said. “We did it for Hauser. We’re doing it for you.”
That made my heart constrict. “I’m not Hauser.”
“You’re not Cal,” someone called from the back, and I chuckled despite myself. I guess there was a silver lining to everything.
“Right,” I said. “She’s in there, somewhere. If you find her, just make sure she can fight, and she’ll take care of herself. You’ll know it’s her when you come across her; there’s no guessing.”
“She’s the alpha’s bonded mate,” Dagger said.
A murmur traveled through the crowd, and I wondered what they thought, what they would say about the mating.
Still, no one left.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” I finally said. “We don’t have time to waste.”
The group dispersed.
“None of them are leaving,” I said to Dagger.
“Theywantto be there for you, Brax,” Dagger said. “You know they do. They were there for Hauser. They want someone to look up to the same way.”
It made me feel all kinds of emotions when I thought about it. I’d thought I didn’t deserve to be respected and followed the way Hauser did. I was tainted, after all, a shifter walking around with the promise of death on my head, and everyone who got involved could suffer.
I’d never thought they’dwantto suffer if it meant being there for me.
“The fight is going to be brutal,” I said.
“They’re all choosing to stand by your side. Even if they die.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” I turned back to the house and looked at the neglected piece of shit property.
“There are always casualties,” Dagger said.
