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I turned and glared. He had opened up two portals on either side of him so he could communicate with both teams at once. Past him, a crowd of familiar Moon-Ghost faces looked out at me. Even Jett and Sabine stood around, though I couldn’t tell exactly where. Daphne’s father, the pack’s old Beta, was there too. I wanted to growl at the sight.
“Can we start?” I snapped.
“Yes.” The demon looked back and forth between our groups. “The second trial begins now.”
Cole and the others took off. They’d agreed to borrow the motorcycles from the Fangs, something the Alpha had agreed to with no small amount of reluctance. Getting to the other camp as soon as possible was critical.
As I watched them go, I realized in my decision to trade places, I had failed to consider how I’d feel sending all the people I cared about off while I stayed back with strangers.
“I always wanted to ride one of those,” I mused.
Ian snorted. “The men or the bikes?”
My urge to smile was stifled by my worry. “The bikes. I was a shitty shifter, but I figured if I could ride, it wouldn’t matter so much.”
“I could take you for a spin,” Lewis offered, an easy grin on his face.
The Fang Alpha glared. “I don’t think her mate would like that. And I wouldn’t get on the wrong side of him if I were you.”
I blinked. For a moment, my mind conjured an image of Jett. But of course, they’d seen the markings Cole and I had left on each other. We were mates. In the eyes of all the shifters around us, we belonged to each other.
It soothed me.
“Come on. I’m not letting the flag out of our sight.” I went back into the bar and sat at the round table we’d chosen for our base. Per Phaidros’s many rules, the flag could not be hidden or held by a member of the team unless it had been taken by the opposing team and snatched back. Otherwise, we could just bury the flag and no one would ever find it. We’d settled for barring the door. It wasn’t much, but at least it would give us some warning if they came in.
“You play?” Lewis asked, producing a deck of cards from seemingly nowhere.
“Depends on the game,” I hedged. If it could be played by two people, Daphne and I had done it. If it needed more, then no, I hadn’t. “I think the one game we’re playing is enough.”
Ian shrugged. “May as well pass the time. It’ll take them a couple hours to get to the base on the bikes, and twice that long for those prissy Moon-Ghosts to get here. They’ll likely drive at least part way, of course, and finish the rest on foot, but in any case, we have sometime.”
Moon-Ghost territory and Fang territory were next to each other, while Moon Rock and Wind-Blood territory were both south. I’d have to take his word on the distances, but we shouldn’t be facing them anytime soon.
Ian had a point, so I relented. Lewis dealt each of us a hand, and they taught me one of their pack’s preferred games. The two were easier to talk to than expected, and the Wind-Bloods relaxed, joining us as well. The Fangs had a reputation for toughness that was thoroughly belayed by the easy laughs around the table. They told me more about their pack, which seemed to operate differently from both others, and I filled in the gaps that had been left from Daphne’s sparse but highly effective recruitment pitch.
Lewis had just slammed his losing hand down with a good-natured moan when I froze in my seat.
I closed my eyes, trying to get a better listen, then stood.
“They’re here.”
No sooner did I give my warning than eight massive wolves hurled themselves through the bar’s windows.
Chapter XXVII
Arain of glassfell around us. The sound pierced the quiet of the night, our peaceful game destroyed as the world descended into chaos.
Nine on five. Bad odds.
Jett hopped over the wreckage, unshifted, the silver sword glowing in his hands. Sabine joined him, wielding silver daggers with gloves.
Make that ten on five.
Had they really not left anyone to defend their base?
Lewis and Ian tossed aside their leather jackets and began to shift. The Wind-Bloods stood behind, readying themselves.
Sabine didn’t hesitate, hurling her two silver daggers straight at the Fang Alpha and Beta in their vulnerable state. I managed to knock aside the one headed for Ian. Lewis landed straight in his throat. A fountain of red erupted as he choked.
