Page 28 of His to Claim

“That’s what I’m hoping for.”

We both looked at each other as Jonas walked out the door. When Max turned to face me, his expression was grim. “If what the doc said is true, if the bullets had remained inside of you, he doubted you would have made it back here.”

“That freaking poisonous.”Jesus.

“Yeah, and as you can imagine, if those bullets are tainted and poisonous, our entire pack could possibly be wiped out. We have another war on our hands.”

The news was just as terrifying as I’d suspected. “What the hell is going on here, Max? Does this mean the damn curse everyone is so terrified of has returned? Or is this about some act of revenge?”

“From what my father taught me and the teachings from the time I was a boy, neither the curse nor the disease has anything to do with poison-covered bullets. This is entirely new territory. Revenge is an excellent thought, but who and why?” He tipped his head, offering a slight smile. “One thing is certain, I’m going to need to talk to that girl of yours. Maybe she knows more than you realize.”

“She’s not my girl, Max, but I’m not going to watch her die because of a vendetta against our kind.”

“Then why does her scent remain? Why did you lose all rational behavior around her? We have no way of knowing if anyone witnessed this attack and if they did, you better believe the hunters we’ve faced in the past will feed off the revelation, perhaps finding new recruits in their endeavor.”

I heard the disgust in his voice and knew the dangers we faced were greater than from what up until now had been a ragtag group determined to hunt and kill our people. They’d been quiet as of late, perhaps too much so. “And I’m not going to allow that to happen.”

“There may be no way to stop it at this point.” He gave me a hard-edged look before heading toward the kitchen, stopping short the moment we sensed a presence. “We have company.”

The heavy feet on the front porch indicated anger. The fisted knock meant urgency. At the same time, his cell phone rang. He jerked it out, glaring at the screen. “It’s Kathleen. She’s on duty tonight. My guess is the attack is all over the news.”

I headed toward the door, noticing Max’s hand immediately moving to the shoulder holster he’d put on since I’d passed out. After taking a deep whiff, I opened the door, leaning against the doorjamb.

“Hello?” Max said, answering the phone, shifting away from us.

“Why in the hell are you here?” Gregor asked, lifting a single eyebrow before glancing toward Max.

“Long ass story. What’s wrong?”

“I have some news you’re not going to like.”

Gregor was also an old friend, a man I used to look up to, even considering him a brother. We’d called ourselves the three amigos, as tight as boys could be. Now he was a man whose anger and bitterness had almost pushed him over the edge. Hell, we’d been close enough to be able to read each other’s minds. Then life had happened, difficult challenges that had nearly broken us. While he remained somewhat standoffish to me, Gregor and Max were tight again.

I eased away from the door after giving him a long onceover. “Spill it. I’ve had about as much shit for news as I can take tonight.”

Gregor glanced up and down at my condition, shaking his head. “Two Wolfen are down.”

“Down?” I asked, as Max moved closer, sliding his phone into his pocket.

“Two shooting victims and the shit is bad,” Max stated. “Kathleen is at the morgue now and as expected, a story about a wolf has already leaked. Some asshole swore in front of the press that a vicious man wolf nearly attacked him in his car.”

I hissed, looking away. “What else?”

“From what I heard, both of the pack members are dead from wounds that shouldn’t be fatal,” Gregor added.

“Poison-tainted bullets,” I said under my breath.

As Max glanced in my direction, his face bore the weight of being pack leader.

We were indeed facing a crisis and one that could destroy our kind.

CHAPTER5

Stone

Annihilation.

As kids, the three of us had talked about the improbable concept of the extinction of our kind. Mention of the return of the disease had brought fear into the heart of the pack, altering their seemingly normal lives. We’d been told stories by our parents and our leaders, the elders who truly ran Roselake with iron fists. There were reasons for their strident rules, the ugly punishments for those who disobeyed them. Perhaps that’s why the majority of pack males were dominating as hell.

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