I pushed her so her back hit the wall. “Fight against it. It’s going to burn like hell, but it’ll pass. Stay here and don’t move.”
I turned back to Mikey, and he and two of his buddies stalked toward the house.
A girl screamed and ran toward me. She gripped my arm. “We need to go.”
I grasped her by the wrist. “No! We stay here. We fight like Sloane said. There could be others in the woods. We’re safer together with people we trust to have our backs.”
The girl gulped, and thankfully, Sloane’s mom stepped up.
“Sloane and Lincoln are right,” she said. “We must fight. They have taken away our ability to shift. The woods will be no safer. Our enemy is everywhere. We stick together and fight to hold down the house. We only leave if we must.”
Sloane’s fingers fumbled over my shoulder, and I turned and cupped her cheeks with my palms. “Hey. Blink and try to cry it out.”
Her eyes fluttered rapidly. “I can’t see. It’s so blurry.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It will pass. I promise. Try to cry. It will help wash it out.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and snorted. “I don’t need to try to cry.”
I gave her a quick, chaste kiss on the lips. “I need you to stay right here until you can see. Mikey’s coming and a few of his friends. I have to go. Don’t move.”
She shook her head.
I swiped a few tears from her cheeks and then surveyed the damage. Some of the others were helping those who hadn’t been as fortunate as Sloane to get out of the way of the wolfsbane.
I frowned. The wolfsbane had hit me, too, but I felt fine.
I flexed my fingers. A familiar tingle shot through them.
Holy crap! I can still shift.
I flicked my gaze to my brother. He sneered at me and motioned his two goons ahead of him.
My wolf simmered beneath the surface. A growl bubbled up my throat, and I lunged forward but didn’t trigger my shift. Mikey hadn’t shifted yet. The wolfsbane had hit him too. I bet he thought I was defenseless, so I’d wait and not show my hand until the time was right.
I rammed my shoulder into the first guy just as he was climbing in over the rubble. He grunted and stumbled backward. I clenched my fist and swung, delivering an uppercut right to his jaw.
His head snapped back, and he fell into Mikey and his friend. Mikey shoved the guy away.
I leaped at my brother, wrapping my arms around his middle and dragging him to the ground.
Dirt flew up around me, invading my nostrils, making my nose twitch. I slipped my forearm under my nose as I straddled my brother and threw a right hook.
His nose crunched, and blood spurted out. Mikey howled as he grasped my sweater. I batted his hand away and swung again, this time hitting him in the jaw.
Mikey growled as he bucked, knocking me off balance, but not off of him. I grabbed him by the shoulders, lifted him up, and then slammed him back down. His head bounced off the ground, and he grunted, his eyes rolling closed as his body went lax.
I glanced over my shoulder. The two other men had disappeared into the house.
Sloane.
I stood and then promptly had my legs knocked out from under me.
I flew up, weightless, and then landed on my back. The air whooshed out of my lungs, and I wheezed, trying to catch my breath.Pain exploded in my chest, and it felt like someone sat on it.
Mikey rolled toward me as I scooted away. We scrambled to our feet and moved into fighting stances. I balled my fists and narrowed my eyes, watching, waiting for him to strike.
Mikey swiped his hand over his face, smearing blood across his cheek. “You picked the wrong side, Lincoln. You betrayed your family. All for what? Some girl? I’m going to make you pay.”