Page 89 of Outnumbered

He nodded. “Kara and I worked on it for several hours.”

“I’m so excited!” I gasped and looked over the blueprint he had started. It was definitely a better setup than my barn and house had been. “This is going to be perfect.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Rhys said.

“Come on, we’ve got to get you home before your stomach comes to live and eats us,” Triston teased as my stomach growled loudly again.

“Bye,” I waved to Fox and Rhys who had started back on the blueprint they’d been reviewing when we’d walked in.

They waved and I skipped out of the office and to the elevator.

“What do you want to eat when we get to the house?” Riddick asked.

“Hm, sandwiches of some kind,” I suggested.

“Okay,” he said with a nod.

“Club sandwiches,” Branson suggested.

“Oh, yes, that,” I agreed and nodded.

We started our drive home, but the traffic came to a full stop and didn’t move at all. People ahead of us started getting out of their vehicles.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I’m going to find out,” Caleb said and got out of the SUV. He shifted into his wolf form and trotted through the stopped cars.

We all watched, waiting for something.

A giant black hound the size of a house jumped into the roadway and howled. The sound sent the hair on my nape on end and my instinct was to flee.

“What is that fucking thing?” Branson asked.

“Demon hound,” Ezio growled. “We’ve got to kill it before it hurts others. Branson, Riddick, with me.”

“I’m not staying in the fucking car,” I told him and climbed out. “We don’t split the group anymore.”

“Come on, stay at my side, okay,” Triston said, grabbed my hand, and we ran to assist Caleb, who was fighting the hound in his warrior form.

Ezio shifted, climbed atop a nearby SUV, and used it to jump up onto the hound’s back.

“We’re going to make sure the civilians are far enough away for safety,” I told Branson and steered Triston towards a mother and daughter hunkered down by a wall trying to hide from the demon hound and stay out of sight.

Rhys flew down from the sky over our heads and Fox leapt off of his back, a sword in his hand, joining the fight against the demon hound.

“Come with us,” I ordered the mother.

She picked up her daughter, and ran away from the hound, towards safety, with Triston and I behind her until she was far enough that we knew we could head back.

Thankfully, there weren’t any others nearby in danger, so we waited nearby, watching as they worked together to carve into the hound.

The thing was bleeding like crazy, but its blood was black and looked inky.

“Where did that come from?” I asked Triston.

“I don’t know much about demons because they’re rare. I just know they’re strong and cause a lot of trouble when they do show up.”

“Status?” Jolie asked behind us.

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