Page 103 of Found Objects

His sigh was deep before he turned back to Matthias. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“I will gut him.”

“You won’t,” Cole declared, and I could hear his conviction.

“Is this him? Your fucking mate?” Matthias asked snidely, moving over to stand in front of me. “I understand you’re formidable. You must be—you killed eight of my men. There’s no one in the pack other than Cole who could have.”

I squinted at him. “I have a question.”

He smiled at me, seemingly amused. Obviously, he hadn’t expected us to have a conversation. “Please.”

“When Tuss was here the first time, demanding tribute, why did he ask for Cole or Justin? If you specifically need alpha sperm,” I said crudely, “what was the point of that? I mean, that day, if Tuss had threatened to kill everyone, of course Cole would have gone with him. Sacrificing himself for his pack is second nature for an alpha. He would have done that in a heartbeat, and all this would have been over.”

“You son of a whore,” Tuss muttered under his breath.

“Did you want Justin?” I asked Tuss. “I mean, you’re wolves, so gender is meaningless, but still… Your father wanted Cole, but you screwed up, and now you can’t have him anymore.”

“And why can’t I have him?” Matthias asked, the amusement clear in his voice.

“Because he’s mine,” I said flatly, taking several steps back and letting my eyes begin to glow.

“They’re going to kill Evan,” Abel yelled at me. “Didn’t you hear them?”

“I heard everything,” I replied calmly, getting ready to change my form as Cole prepared to do the same. But at the moment that Cole’s eyes went gold, Matthias lifted his hand.

“Up!” he shouted, and all the men behind him reached into their coats and withdrew handguns, with a couple in the back even having assault rifles. All of which were immediately pointed directly at us.

I took a moment to contemplate the new situation we found ourselves in. If I were alone, the firearms would mean nothing. But with Cole standing beside me, they meant everything.

“What exactly were you expecting to happen here? That you’d shift and everyone, including me, would brawl with machetes and knives? Why would I do that?” Matthias mocked Cole. “You think you’re dealing with my son, whelp, but now you’re facing the sire.”

Cole froze. No matter how strong the wolf, in the end, they were mortal. Enough bullets, and they would die. On his own, Cole could probably escape, even being shot several times. But Reggie and the others, who weren’t as powerful, would definitely die.

I could see him thinking about the members of his pack as he turned toward me, so much pain there, his gaze beseeching me to save them.

I was a big believer in prevention. Set the boundary, keep the bad out, and protect what was good. The problem was, every now and then, just like the previous week when I’d had no choice but to kill the two men Tuss had ordered to kidnap the children…prevention failed. Now the same thing was happening again. Evil threatened my mate and his pack, and there was no other path forward to protect them. I turned to face Matthias and his men as I steeled myself for what was about to happen.

“Guns won’t help you against me. You have confessed your sins and now must suffer the punishment,” I intoned, my voice deep as I prepared to show them all my true form.

“No!” Abel screamed. “He’ll kill us all!”

“He’ll save us all!” Reggie yelled as he and several other men and women of the Swann pack readied themselves.

I concentrated, breathing out⁠—

“You better think before you join this fight,” Matthias warned me. “I have people outside of your precious shelter, with guns, far enough away not to fall victim to your damn boundary, but close enough to kill.”

“They’re innocent,” I choked, horrified by his threat.

“I don’t care.” He laughed at me. “Walk to the side, away from the others, or they die.”

I glanced at Cole a moment, saw his anger at his current helplessness, and had to turn away, moving as Matthias had ordered.

I couldn’t go, and if I didn’t, women and children would die. But I couldn’t leave my mate either, it was impossible.

Never had I needed help before. Even the other night when I’d been torn as to what to do when Ondine had returned to the house, I could have filtered through the noise, changed, and shown everyone my true power.

But now, in this moment, I absolutely had to be in two places at once. I had to save my mate, and I had to save everyone at my shelter.