Chapter 75
LEAH Not knowing what was going on, I stared through Tala’s eyes. “Tala!” “Rogues are here, Leah,” she murmured. “I may have to fight them.” I said nothing. She was better equipped for this than I was. Shaking my thoughts away, I sighed and watched everything unfold. Josh pulled Lucy back and turned to face her. “Stay here,” he said, glancing at Tala and then back at her. “They are here for Leah. They don’t know she’s a wolf so that we can use that to our advantage.” “What the hell does he mean by that?” I asked Tala. Tala pushed me back slightly to look at me. “It means they are fighting a human and two wolves.” She looked back and headed toward the window. I moved closer again to get a better look, and there were loads of men in front of the house. I counted them—twenty, but the man behind them wore a grin. It was him from earlier. Who the hell is he? A door opened from the kitchen, making Tala look over her shoulder to see Lucian coming in. “There are ten out back,” he said, which brought the total to thirty. How were we going to get out of this? There was a commotion outside, which made Tala look back. Everyone in the room, including Lucy, came toward the window to see. My stomach churned at the sight. The man had Dani by the hair and was on her knees before him. Growls erupted around the house. “Mum!” Lucy shrieked. “Fuck!” Josh murmured. I watched as the woman I had known most of my life cried. “Come out, come out, little human.” The man called with a snarl. “Or I will rip your friend to pieces.” There was silence in the house. “Tala, I need to show myself to them,” I said, which caused her to look back at me, confused. “Listen and say nothing,” I murmured. “What if I showed myself he wants me, then let him think he can have me?” “Leah, we can’t—” “You can shift back when we are close.” The words tumbled out of my mouth, cutting whatever she would say next. Her eyes bore back into mine, but she said nothing, making me continue with what I would say. “Like you said, they don’t know about me being a wolf. We can shift and kill that man, save Dani.” “What about the men? They won’t stand by and not fight,” she asked, which made me push forward to look out the window with her. None of the men have moved from their positions. “Do they take orders?” Tala huffed. “Rogues are not like pack members,” she said. “They can be feral and never listen to anyone.” “Don’t you find it hard that they haven’t moved?” Tala looked back and knew I was right. “That could mean they are waiting for us to come out.” “We haven’t got all day.” The man taunted. “Bring me the human girl, and you can return to the pack.” “That’s not happening,” Josh gritted. That part surprised me. “He’s protecting you,” Tala said. “He’s not as bad as you may think. He helped you with your first shift.” Tala looked back at Josh, who was looking out the window but must have felt us staring at him. He gave a small smile. “There is no way I am letting him take you.” Pride swept through Tala, which made me think more about what she had just said about him being with us. He may protect me because of my mum, but he didn’t have to be here if he didn’t want to be. “Tala, how do I shift back?” “Think about being human, and you will become one.” Closing my eyes, I thought about being human. There was no pain until I heard a gasp. My eyes opened, and I found all three faces in the houses staring at me. “Leah,” Lucy murmured, then scrunched up her nose. “You’re naked!” Looking down at myself, my cheeks flushed. Tala laughed while I placed my hands to cover the important parts. “Here,” Josh said, handing me a shirt. I grabbed it and quickly placed it over my head. Pulling it into place, I looked up at him with a smile. “Thanks.” “What the hell are we going to do now?” Lucian looked on as Josh nodded. “What the hell are we going to do now?” he asked. “We are outnumbered.” There was silence between them, but I knew I had to tell them what I thought. It will work. Tala needs to get close enough to kill the man. Then, if it comes to it, we can all kill the others. “I got something,” I said, making everyone look at me. “What if I go out there?” Growls echoed around the room, but I stared at them. “You can’t,” Lucy whispered. “They will kill you and mum.” I looked at her. There was something about her, something that she wasn’t telling us. “Do you know who he is?” Both men were looking at us, but I kept my eyes glued to my friend. Lucy looked to the ground and then back up, tears glistening. “He turned up a day after you left.” Lucian stepped back and looked out the window, which was odd considering how he had acted moments ago. “What did he say? What did he do?” Josh stepped closer, placing his hand on her shoulder. “We need to know. These men work for people who are after Leah. We don’t even know if they are going to kill her or—” “He knew her father.” What! “He knew—” I didn’t understand what she had said. Her tears spilled. She stepped toward me and placed her hands on either side. “He said he knew your father. The man out there was his boss.” That couldn’t be true. I knew most of my father’s colleagues at work but had never met him. I shook my head. “I met who he worked with—” “Not for his second job,” she exclaimed. “I can see three others who worked with him, too. They approached him about working on their construction site. They paid your father good money, but something went wrong. The day of your accident, I heard your father talking to my mum. He said they are not what they seem and are dangerous.” Did my father know they were werewolves? My heart squeezed in my chest, which made me pull away from Lucy. More tears fell. “Mum did not know he was the man your father was on about until he mentioned about you. He asked where you were and that your father told them they would look after you if anything happened to him.” “They must have gotten to him,” Lucian muttered, looking over his shoulder. “My father must have found where they lived and set rogues to learn more.” He turned to face us, but his eyes went to Lucy and me. “We have to do what Leah suggested,” he said. “Like you said, we are at an advantage that they know she isn’t a wolf.” I looked at Josh. His face hardened. “She’ll get hurt,” he said through clenched teeth. “No, I won’t,” I said, making him look at him. His eyes softened. “Tala will kill him. She will take complete control and will do it. I believe in her.” “Thanks,” she whispered, sending warmth through me. Josh said nothing. Moving closer to him, I placed my hand on his arm. “This needs to happen,” I said. “We are outnumbered, but we can take out the one who thinks he is in charge. That way, we can get more control of the situation after. They may not be on board with any of this.” “Josh, she needs to do this. We have to protect her this way. If someone gives them orders, then it will show. “And what if they don’t?” Josh said, giving Lucian a hard look. Something tells me something is brewing between them, but what? “Then we fight,” I said before they could speak. They looked at me. “We all fight, including Lucy.” “I can’t—” I could hear the fear in her voice. We are all in this now, even her and Dani. Placing my hand on her arm, I gave her a small smile. “You’ll be with Josh. He will protect you and will be in wolf form.” Looking at Josh and remembering some stories I heard over the years—silver was harmful to them. “Is silver harmful to you?” I asked. “I mean, that’s what I read in some books.” Josh nodded with an amused look. “Yeah.” I looked toward Lucian, who may know if anything could be used against them. “Have you kept any—” “Knives,” he said with a grin and gave me a nod. “Down in the basement.” “Give them to Lucy. She can use them if they get close to her,” I said, looking at her. “Stay with Josh or his wolf.” Looking at my uncle, who was walking toward the kitchen. “Do you think you can get my back out there?” My words hit him, which made him stop. He turned around and looked at me, his face full of pain. “You’re my niece,” he said. “I will never let anything happen to you.” I gave him a nod and looked toward the window. I could see the man getting antsy. “We need to do this now,” I muttered, moving toward the front door but looking back at them. “When Tala shifts, we fight if we have to.” They nodded. I turned to the door and placed it on the handle. Panic set in, but I had to do this. I had to save my friend’s mum.