Page 42 of Night Returns

A wave of relief washed through me. The big man I was betting my daughter’s safety on wasn’t a maniac, just acting like Kalchik while giving Mosa a reason to separate from the six guards Henric had brought with him.

“You!” Henric screeched as he jabbed a finger at Doone’s chest.

The guards circled around their boss and the wolf they thought was Kalchik.

“What little man?” Doone growled back. “Was he your buddy? Don’t worry, she’ll bring it back, just a few bite marks.”

“If-you-sold-me-out-with—”

Every word was a jab by Henric at Doone’s chest until the giant grabbed the finger and held it with an iron grip.

“Do something!” Henric snapped at the nearest guard as he tried to wrangle his finger free from Doone. “Call someone!”

My heart, locked in a slow beat since hitting the water with Justine, accelerated with joy at the guard’s reply.

“Can't, my reception is down.”

“Mine, too,” another echoed.

Both men quaked a little delivering the bad news. I wanted to shout, laugh, and stomp as if I already had Henric’s thick skull under my boot heel. It was no coincidence that the cellphones had stopped working for Henric and his guards. I just hadn’t been a hundred percent sure Clover would be able to control their communications, starting with suppressing Henric’s summons for everyone to gather at the creek. I just knew she was going to try.

A sleek black form slid in next to Justine at the exact moment Henric shrieked in pain.

The damn idiot still hadn’t freed his finger from Doone.

Doone leaned in close, his voice a taunting whisper.

“How about I take your finger like I took your mate? Hmm?”

Without any more warning, the big wolf ripped the finger off and tossed it with the same long distance grace as the guard’s head. A second later, carefully placed gunfire from Taron’s assault rifle peppered the ground a few feet from Henric and the guards. It was all the distraction Doone needed to separate from the group as everyone in the huddle jumped for cover.

“Kalchik, you motherfucker!” Henric screamed. “You double crossed me!”

A small whistle sounded from the tree above Doone’s new location. Then a shotgun dropped. Doone caught it, pumped a shell, and blasted the guard stupid enough to jump in front of Henric. The guard fell, the new hole in his chest too big for his beta powers to heal.

Catching some of the shrapnel, Henric screamed in pain.

Doone and Taron took advantage of the chaos to move closer to where I waited with Justine and Mosa.

“Give her the rifle,” I told Taron with a jerk of my head in my mate’s direction.

Taron’s mouth pursed with hesitation, his honey brown gaze questioning my decision.

“Best marksman I’ve ever seen,” I growled.

Taron handed the rifle over to Justine before giving one of his pistols to Mosa.

One of the guards remained close to Henric, blocking Justine’s view. She put a bullet through the man’s head.

“My face!” Henric shrieked as shards of bone cut into his flesh. “Get me the fuck out of here!”

The four remaining guards weren’t taking orders. I picked my best shot, clipping the ear on the guard I had sniffed out as a tiger. He rolled out of sight and started stripping so he could shift.

That meant, tiger or not, he wasn’t alpha.

Still…no one wants to fight a fucking tiger.

I reached for the M203. Justine stilled my hand.

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