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Matt sets Calli to his side, then turns to the crowd. “Emergency protocols only. Everyone to their positions. Let’s show this motherfucker who he’s dealing with,” he grinds out with a growl.
Chapter twenty-seven
MattpullsCallicloseand leans his forehead to hers. His voice is thick with emotion as he says, “I need you to be safe, both of you.” He slides his hand across her abdomen.
Calli nods. Her green eyes are wide and overly bright when their gazes meet. “I’ll go to the dam with the rest of the women who aren’t fighting to help calm the children. We’ve got a solid plan, Matt. We’ll be safe there.” She pulls him in for a tight hug, whispering, “Do what you need to do. Just come back to me, okay? I love you.”
Matt’s wolf paces within him, not happy to be separated from its mate, wanting to be by her side to protect both her and their pup growing within her. He has a town and people to protect, but the instinct to take her away, to keep her safe, gnaws at him. His only consolation is that this will end here and now to safeguard their future.
A tap on his shoulder has him turning to find Jax and Beth standing behind him. “Time to go,” he says.
Beth takes Calli’s hand and turns back to Matt. “I’ll protect her with my life–both of them,” she promises.
Jax’s eyes widen. “I’ll get them settled in the bottom of the dam. Harold, Pete, and I have run this scenario a hundred different ways. We’ll be in the control room, and Beth and the other moms with their children will be safely stashed. Nothing will get by Grizilla, especially when there are kids involved,” he finishes. He claps Matt on the back, then ushers the women to his truck. Turning at the last minute, he says to Matt, “Let’s give them hell.”
Matt grunts out his approval and then gathers with Finn and the rest. Finn would have been the logical choice at the dam, but separating mates in a battle would add extra stress on everyone involved. God knows it was gutting him to send Calli away, but she is human and pregnant. A war is no place for someone in her condition. Unfortunately, in Lilly and Gage’s case, it is unavoidable. Gage needs to monitor the lake, and Lilly will be handling the security details. Jax’s traps in the forest are set, and he’s confident that the man would give his life to guard the dam, especially with Beth being on the premises. Although his money is on Beth going feral, if anyone tries to enter the room she’s guarding.
“Finn, you ready?” Matt asks.
“Yeah,” he says before turning to Brook. “Stay in the communication room at the town hall with Lilly. I’ll be right outside in the forest with Matt. No matter what happens out here, I need you to be on that radio so I can hear your voice. Please, Brook, don’t be a hero. I need you both safe.”
“Brook…” Lilly says, and Finn’s eyes dart to Brook’s mid-section.
Brook gives a quick nod to Lilly, her eyes speaking volumes before she turns back to Finn. “I promise.”
Matt’s heart beats rapidly in his chest as the implications of the exchange set in. “She can go to the dam,” he quickly offers. Another one–another life to protect.
Finn sighs. “She won’t. I’ll need to stay close to town along the tree line. My bear is ripping me up inside as it is.”
Matt understands this all too well as his wolf paces within him. He stands back as Finn and Brook embrace before Brook gets in her SUV to wait for Lilly.
Gage approaches from around the truck nearest them, Kaitlyn, Taryn, and JD following right behind him. Gage thumps the passenger door twice on his way by. “You’re good to go.” He calls out to the occupants before they drive off. Stopping in front of Matt, he places his hands on his hips. “That’s the last of them. Everyone should be in place.” His alert gaze flickers from forest green to turquoise, then back again, a sure sign of high emotion. Matt can relate, and his wolf growls low in his chest, ready for battle.
Gage’s walk is almost predatory as he approaches Lilly. Cupping the back of her neck with his hand, he brings his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. “Be safe,” he says against her lips.
Her arms wrap around his shoulders as she hugs him tight. “You, too.”
Gage pulls back from her, his eyes shining bright turquoise when he stares at Matt, his voice not quite human as he growls, “Let's kill these motherfuckers.”
A breeze drifts over Matt’s face as he looks up to the darkened sky from where he’s perched near a log between the trees. The ominous dark clouds that rolled in just when the setting sun was kissing the horizon brought a heaviness to the air. A flash across the sky briefly lights up the area, and a deep rumble follows it. Matt turns his face to the sky; Mother Nature herself is warning of the dangers to come. The scent of rain is heavy in the air as the breeze picks up with the impending storm.
With his Homani sight, he can track the various clones and shifters in the trees, visible only as dark shadows in the branches high above the ground. Static from the walkie-talkie at his hip jolts him. He had demanded radio silence unless the situation was critical. His scalp prickles and his wolf’s hackles raise as he grabs the handset.
“Matt! It’s Carl. They’re here! They’ve thrown molotovs over the fence. The forest is on fire. He’s got a dump truck and is ramming the gate–it won’t hold much longer!” he shouts, each frantic word punctuated by gunfire.
“Hold the gate for as long as you can. Lilly, send out the water brigade to get control of the fires. The wind is shifting. If it picks up more, the town will burn,” Matt barks, knowing all parties involved are listening in on the emergency channel.
“On it, over,” comes her curt reply.
“From what we can tell, Vance has about a dozen trucks. Don’t know how much–”
“Carl’s hit! They’ve busted through–” someone shouts, then silence.
A seething rage spreads like wildfire through Matt’s veins.They’ve breached the perimeter. A hint of smoke reaches his nose as the wind shifts.Fuck. Matt hopes the trenches they dug about a quarter mile in the woods from the fence will hold off any spread, but with the dry weather they’ve been having, he doesn’t like the odds. He looks to the sky and begs for rain.
Matt crouches behind an aging pine tree, and his focus sharpens on Vance’s men advancing through the increasing smoke. By his estimation, at least fifty humans have descended upon them. From all sides, the traps in the forest are sprung. Hidden snares tighten around unsuspecting legs, tripping the attackers, while strategically placed tripwires send them tumbling to the ground. His fellow Homani, masked by the dense foliage, launch surprise attacks, striking and retreating into the cover of the forest.
Amidst the chaos, Matt maneuvers with agility, his senses heightened by the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He evades retaliatory gunfire, narrowly dodging bullets as they zip past him.
