Chapter 3

Nico

I stared at Maddy in exasperation. There was far too much going on for me to worry about the drama between Abi, Sebastian, and Luis. If it hadn''t been for the imploring way Maddy looked at me, I''d have totally brushed it off. I looked from her to Abi, who promptly lowered her head in embarrassment.

Are we being serious right now? I asked.

Maddy glanced at Abi then back to me. She nodded. "Yes. It''s important. She needs a safe place where she can get her mind right. Between the situation with the guys and what happened when she was captured... it''s too much. She wants to go back to her apartment, but that isn''t safe."

I looked forlornly down at the turkey and salami sandwich. My appetite had vanished. Would Donatello be willing to give Abi a safe haven? He''d offered to house my entire pack, going so far as to say he''d send in transport helicopters to prevent us from having to drive out of the pack lands into danger. But this was a single person. Was it even worth his time?

I''ll ask him, I said. Seeing Maddy perk up at that, I raised a brow in warning. "That doesn''t mean he''ll say yes, though. He may tell us to go and pound sand."

Maddy nodded vigorously. "No, yeah, I get that. Thank you, Nico."

The relief in her voice had my irritation fading. I could actually sense her relief. It came off her in waves, calming my own fears and worries. I tugged my phone out of my pocket and sent Donatello a text.

Less than three minutes later, my phone chimed with his response.

I can do that, but you''ll need to get her to me. I can''t risk using too many of my resources for one person. Get her to Miami. I''ll take care of the rest.

Maddy peered over my shoulder trying to see what Donatello had...

said.

She sighed in defeat. "How are we going to get her to the airport? She''s a human, so she''ll be fine once she''s away from here, but once she''s past those gates, who knows what those crazies out there will do."

The trip to the airport would be the most dangerous part of the entire thing. Sinthy''s wards protected everyone within the boundaries of the pack lands, but once we were out in the real world it was open season on shifters and shifter allies. Maddy was right, though. If we could get Abi away from here without anyone noticing, she''d be fine.

Can Sinthy teleport her to the airport? Maddy asked.

I shook my head. "She could, but as soon as Sinthy leaves this area, the wards come down. Even if she came right back, it took her over a week to build and cast the spell big enough to protect this large piece of land. We''d have no defenses from anyone wanting to harm us. From what we''ve seen already, I doubt we''d make it a week. And God only knows how many spies Viola has situated outside our gates. The moment they see the wards are down, the royals will be on us in no time. Sinthy can''t leave."

The cracking sound of knuckles popping interrupted our conversation. I looked up to see Sebastian leaning against the wall. I hadn''t seen or heard him come into the room. He looked pissed.

My irritation returned. I waved a hand at him. "Sebastian, I don''t want to get into this. We''ve got plans to make."

I''m not here to argue about Abi, he said, and the woman in question looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but right there.

Then how can we help you? I asked.

Sebastian pointed a thumb at the front door. "I''ll be the one. I''ll get Abi out of here and to the airport safely."

Maddy''s jaw dropped, and I was certain I had the same surprised look on my face.

Abi glared at him—her jaw set in determination. "I don''t need you taking care of me. You''re the last person I''d pick to escort me anywhere."

Sebastian ignored her. "If Abi isn''t comfortable here anymore, we should help her get someplace safe. I can do that. Better than her moping around here, pouting like she''s being held hostage."

I am not pouting.

I had to admit that there was a bit of that going on. I knew better than to point out something that would make the situation worse, though.

Look, Sebastian said, finally turning to face Abi. "I want you to be happy. I can''t live with you here making me feel bad about something I''ve already apologized for a million times."

pained expression I''d never seen in all the years I''d known him. He took a breath, then spoke again. I want you to find yourself again because this," he gestured toward Abi, "is not the person I first met. This is not the woman that I... it''s not the woman I fell for."

Sebastian turned and walked out of the room. His cheeks were red as he called over his shoulder. "Let me know when we need to leave."

The three of us stood in stunned silence as his footsteps receded down the hallway. Tears streamed down Abi''s face; whether they were from anger or sadness, I couldn''t tell. I''d had enough. It had gone on for far too long, and we had bigger things to deal with. I adored Abi, and she was Maddy''s best friend, but I needed to put my stamp on things.

I walked around the kitchen island, folding my arms across my chest as I stopped in front of her. "Listen," I said. "I''m done, Abi. Do you understand? Things have happened to you. Awful, horrible things, but it''s time to end this. Stop yanking my guys around by their dicks. If you can''t, then you''ll never be welcomed back here again. Understood?"

Abi nodded, clamping her lower lip between her teeth. Her tears were streaming faster now. Without another word, she ran from the room. I heaved a deep and weary sigh and turned to look at Maddy. "Too much?"

She hesitated for the barest of seconds before shaking her head. "No. It wasn''t. You''ve been telling her the same thing for weeks. She needs time away. I think that will help."

I freaking hope so. I can''t have two of my best friends being weird around each other like this. Not now. We need to be laser-focused on what''s coming.

I pulled Maddy close and kissed her forehead. She pressed herself into me. "I really hope some time alone will help her. I want my friend back."

I know, I said as I looked at my watch. "Shit. I need to go to my office. I''ve got a call with a few other alphas in a minute. Will you be okay?"

Maddy nodded and reluctantly stepped out of my embrace. "I''ll be fine. I''m more worried about those two."

It''ll all work out. I promise, I said. After brushing another soft kiss over her forehead, I headed up to my office.

Tiago and I were running the call, with over a dozen other shifters scheduled to join in. It took almost ten minutes for everyone to get on the line.

Okay, guys, I started. "Thanks for being here. I don''t really have an agenda for this call. We''re here to discuss ideas about how best to deal with the royals at this point. So, if anyone wants to start..."

Tiago broke in. "Yeah, Nico. I think Howard from the Destin bear...

clan has something to say. He texted me an hour ago. I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I''d been dealing with so many people lately, I couldn''t even remember what this Howard guy looked like.

Okay, Howard. What do you have?

Hello, a deep voice answered. "Have we spoken about taking Viola down? I mean isn''t that the best course of action? Smoke her out and put her down. It''s what you do with a rabid dog—why not this crazy bitch?"

I think that''s a little aggressive," Tiago said. He sounded a bit shocked at the suggestion. Old Howard must not have given his full idea when they spoke.

Tiago was quickly shouted down by several other alphas who were in agreement with Howard. The call devolved into chaos, with men talking over each other.

Once Tiago and I regained control, I said, "Okay, hang on. I know a bunch of you think we should take the war directly to her, but it''s not that easy."

Why not? a man asked.

She''s shown her true colors to the world, I said. "But she still has her foot soldiers and bodyguards. That''s one thing. The other is that even though a ton of her assets have been frozen, she still has funds coming in from somewhere. Money equals power. That alone will make it tough. Hell, for all we know she could be in Japan or Australia right now. It''s hard to kill someone who''s hidden over five thousand miles away."

There was a moment of silence as my words sunk in. Then another voice I didn''t recognize spoke up. "But if we do kill her, this all ends, doesn''t it? Everything goes back to the way it was before."

That was the hope and prayer of shifters everywhere. It would be nice if it were true, but I had a hunch it wouldn''t be that simple. I didn''t want to be the one to break it to these guys, but someone had to.

I don''t think so, I said. "I''ve got a feeling we''ve got a war coming with or without Viola at the head. Over the last few months, the royals have stoked anti-shifter sentiment across the globe. Guys, we''ve got a fight on our hands no matter what happens with Viola. That''s my belief, anyway. The news reports and statements from the president helped, but there are people who wish us harm and that won''t stop because one powerful guy said so."

Nico''s right," Tiago said. "I''m getting to be an old man. I don''t want to fight. I don''t want to see my boy fight. He''s just now become the alpha of our clan. He should have years of peace to learn and do what we all did as we were coming up. But there''s a cloud over the world. No other way to say it."

Thanks, I said. "We need our packs to prepare for battle. Whether that comes in the form of a full assault from the royals or from sympathizers who want us dead, either way, we all need to be ready to fight back and kill if need be. I know that sounds savage, but it is what it is at this point.

You''re saying we should get ready to kill humans? Howard asked, sounding shocked and a little sick.

"If it was between the people you loved and some crazy anti-shifter humans? For me, that answer comes easy. I''m not saying we bum rush the towns in our area and lay waste to them like some heathen feral shifters. That''s not what we''re doing. We''re getting ready for what I believe is coming, to pull the metaphorical trigger when and if it does happen. No one in any government will punish us for protecting ourselves. Even if people get hurt.

One issue, Nico,"" Tiago said. ""I know all these boys here are law-abiding like your pack and mine, but you and I both know there''s some dirty sons of bitches out there who will take this as open season on the human population. I know there''s far more bigotry toward us, but there are shifters who aren''t too fond of humans either."

That was the real dark horse of the whole plan. If this went sideways and some shithead shifters started taking their frustrations out on humans, public sentiment might flip back against us. Rape, murder, and lawlessness were guaranteed ways to get on people''s bad side.

"I''m aware, Tiago, but we have to hope that those people are few and far between. Hopefully, things will stay calm. I guess that''s the keyword for this whole meeting. Hope. That''s all I can give or ask from you all. Our people need to be ready to fight hand-to-hand as well as with weapons. If we can agree on that, then I''m not sure what else there is to discuss.

Does anyone else have anything? Or are we done?"

There were some murmurs but nothing of significance. Tiago took over and ended the call. By the time I''d ended the call, I was even more stressed than I''d been before I stepped into my office. It felt like nothing had been accomplished, and there was still so much to worry about. Rubbing a hand through my hair, I went to find Maddy.

She was on the porch with Sinthy. It would have been a lovely afternoon if I couldn''t hear the faint shuffle of feet and chants from the crowd down by the gates. I dropped down beside her. The anti-shifters in town wouldn''t be giving up anytime soon.

Still there, I see, I said, nodding in the direction of the gates.

Yup, Maddy said.

They''re as annoying as gnats. I''m thinking of adding a little something to the wards, Sinthy said.

The glimmer in her eyes had me cocking an eyebrow. "And what...

Would that be?

Sinthy smiled and bobbed her shoulder in a half-shrug. "Oh, a little razzle-dazzle," she said, waving jazz hands around.

I chuckled. "Do I want to know what ''razzle-dazzle'' means?"

I''m glad you asked. I''m thinking of making the wards shoot confetti or glitter whenever they zap someone. You know, to sort of spice things up a bit. It would be a good show if nothing else.

Maddy and I both laughed, unable to help ourselves. The witch tended to have a bright outlook on almost everything.

After a few minutes of silence, Maddy nudged me. "How''d the call go?"

Like shit.

I gave them a rundown. That we''d all basically decided to prepare for war, that humans who attacked us would not be safe, and that we weren''t going to go after Viola directly, at least not yet.

Maddy shook her head in disbelief. "I still can''t believe this is happening. I mean... it feels like yesterday I was happily running my bar. Now I''ve been all over the damned world, and my entire life has been turned into one never-ending drama.

I guess deep down, I realized a war was coming. Whether I wanted to believe it or not." She gave a resigned sigh. "I trust you, Nico. Whatever your judgment, I trust you."

Same for me, Sinthy added. "Since I guess I''m technically part of this pack now."

Thanks. I''m glad you guys have faith in me.

Maddy''s eyes were clouded with worry. There was a deepness to the look that hurt my heart. She looked exhausted and worn out.

Nico, we have to end this. We have to win and put this entire thing to bed. Do you think we will? Fervent hope blazed in her eyes.

I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her. When I pulled away, I looked at her and with absolute confidence that I didn''t truly feel, I said, "We will."