Part 34 (1/2)

Vaverek shook his mangy head, s...o...b..r raining every direction. The Weres were shooting closer.

Recedo nunc.

He s.h.i.+fts, he changes, he blends The Werebison lowered his ma.s.sive head and shoulders. Another ten feet and the Weres would beat him to me.

Defluo modo I change as he, to fit my need.

Hooves to ground he started pounding. A ma.s.s of muscle, speed and menace tearing toward me. I licked my lips and sucked in a deep breath to say the last lines, holding one hand out as if it'd stop the Weres almost on top of me.

Recedo iam My corporeal self you can not see.

I thee will it, so mote it be!

Magic washed against me, staggering me back hard enough I stumbled and fell, landing on my backside.

Thank whoever watched out for fools and inept witches, my less-than-graceful tumble meant the Weres raced right past where I'd been.

The d.a.m.n Invisibility spell worked.

I was so busy giving myself a mental yippie-kayee I almost forgot about the one-ton monster barreling down on me.

Almost.

With a choking cry I rolled away from Vaverek's hooves, so close I could feel the clods of earth pelting me as he chewed past.

Too near.

But we weren't done fighting yet.

I looked over to where Bran stood, hands stretched toward Van, freezing my brother and the two handlers with him. Good.

Jaylene, Mandy and Vaughn were not having as easy a time of it as they danced in and out of a pack of Weres attacking them. The Weres had not morphed, probably because they'd be too visible to any Council members looking out from within the building. A quick glance in that direction and I could see shadows at the second floor window.

Yup, my hunch was right. Van's drugged state was to look like a s.h.i.+fter run amuk and attacking humans. Which made it necessary that the Weres didn't reveal themselves. Except Vaverek already had. How was the Council going to ignore a raging bison?

Their problem. Mine was still stopping him. Now. He might no longer see me but that didn't mean he wasn't still lethal as h.e.l.l and looking for a new target.

Which meant Bran and my brother, or my team.

I ignored my body screaming in protest as I lurched to my feet. That's when I noticed the bullet of black-banded fur race past me.

”Dad?” The cry escaped me before I realized he couldn't see me.

The wolf paused a heartbeat, shook his head then continued to bullet toward Vaverek. Of course, wolves used to be one of the few threats against bison, but that had been when wolves hunted in packs and they attacked a young calf or ill animal for food.

Dad had already reached Vaverek, launching himself to latch onto the bison's nostrils. s.h.i.+fter wolves were larger than their pure wolf brethren, which meant Dad was a good two hundred pounds of snarling, ferocious killing machine, using his forty-two teeth to exert over two thousand pounds of pressure to tear into Vaverek.

Made me want to be a s.h.i.+fter myself just so I could have done the same.

But right now I needed to get to my team.

Staggering across the gra.s.s I was glad I was still invisible. That way I wouldn't have to live it down that I basically limped into the fray. But I was there and I'd do what I could.

Thank Stone for teaching me enough Krav Maga. A key thrust here, sideways kick there, and a few sweeps of my invisible legs to an attacking Were here and there. It didn't take long for them to start turning on one another.

Punch. Smack. Kick, Thrust.

I felt the reverberations up every bone of my body but at least they weren't getting powerful return hits on me. Weres at the best of times are a wary lot, fighting something they couldn't see just messed with their Were-sized brains.

With a jerk of his thick neck one Were, who must have been the most Alpha one fighting, growled, ”Retreat.”

Yes!

Not one of the other Weres hesitated. And it couldn't have happened a minute sooner. Vaughn was curled on the ground but alive. Jaylene and Mandy were leaning against one another, blood streaming from one's nose, the other cradling her still healing arm.

My hard-pressed team a.s.sumed Kelly had been at work since she wasn't visible anywhere. Which made me wonder where she'd disappeared to.

I didn't have time to say anything as I heard the sharp crack of a rifle shot.

As if in slow motion I pivoted and watched Bran as his arms were flung out before him. Then he toppled forward, red blooming along his side.

I was running before I realized it, racing to his side, pressing my hand to staunch his blood flow, to make sure he was still alive.

He was. Barely. But his eyes were open, his lips moving. I leaned forward, rea.s.suring him, ”Don't worry. I'll get you out of here.”

I didn't know how. But I'd do it.

He shook his head. Even here he didn't trust me. Then I made out the word he kept repeating over and over. ”Van.”

Too late I looked up to see my brother less than five feet away, his wolf lips pulled back in a silent snarl, his fur bristling, his body crouched and ready to attack.

CHAPTER 68.

I raised my hands before me, using my voice to try and reach my brother's human part, if he had any left. ”It's me, Van. Alex. I won't hurt you.”

He maintained his crouch, his yellow eyes narrowed, focusing. Good news; he hadn't immediately attacked. Maybe I could connect with him.

”I want to help you. Protect you from the people who did this to you.”

The same people I'd seen scampering off the second Bran's containment spell broke. One of them, the doctor who'd been with Philippe Cheverill the night he'd died, paused long enough to shake his head before he disappeared through the shrubbery toward the parking lot.