Taryn gave Caleb a smile of appreciation. “Thanks for caring so much for Kye.”

“We’re grateful for the support,” said Shaya.

At the sound of the main door closing and two males laughing loudly, Taryn said, “Oh, Nick, that’ll be your brother.”

Nick arched a brow. “My brother?”

She shrugged. “Derren told me he was going to collect him and bring him here. Apparently the guy refused to miss out on whatever happens with the extremists.”

“That’s typical of Eli and his lust for action,” Nick grumbled to Shaya.

“I don’t like the idea of your brother in danger, just like I don’t like the idea of anyone here in danger,” said Shaya. “But if Eli’s willing to help, it would be dumb to turn him away.” A moment later, Derren entered the room with a powerfully built male who had the most enormous brown eyes. He wasn’t as tall or as broad as Nick, but he had the same indomitable look about him. Everyone exchanged nods with him—they had all seen him before at one point or another, as he often went with Nick to pack meetings or social gatherings and had actually been one of the wolves who fought alongside the Phoenix Pack against Trey’s uncle.

Grinning, Eli walked toward Nick, all self-assurance. “Hey. I tried calling to ask you to pick me up, but you didn’t answer your cell.” They exchanged one of those weird male body hugs, though Shaya could see Nick found the contact a little awkward. Clearly his brother was too used to that to care, because he didn’t comment or appear to be the slightest bit offended.

“I was a little preoccupied,” said Nick.

Knowing just what he meant, Shaya almost blushed.

Nick curled an arm around her. “You guys haven’t officially met. Eli, this is my mate. Shaya, this is the adrenaline junkie of the family.”

Eli laughed and then turned his attention to her. “It’s good to finally meet you, Shaya.” He cocked his head, studying her for a minute with an analytical gaze. Then he nodded, apparently satisfied about something. “Derren’s right. You’ll make a good Alpha female.”

Shaya frowned. “You don’t even know me.”

“Ah, but I know things about you. You evaded Nick for a long time, so you’re clearly smart. A number of the wolves here went all the way to Arizona to check on you and refused to leave until they could be sure you’re safe, which means you’re good at earning loyalty, and that says a lot about a person. Also, Derren tells me you insist on being at Nick’s side through all this, which proves that you’re brave and believe in protecting those who matter to you. If you’re Nick’s mate, you must be as strong as he is. Not physically, no, but being physically strong doesn’t make someone Alpha material. It’s a good trait to have, but that’s not the be-all and end-all.”

Shaya looked up at her mate. “I like your brother.” Eli gave her a winning smile.

Nick snorted. “Don’t let that smile fool you, baby. He’s a ruthless f**ker.”

Shaya could believe that. Eli was almost as dominant as Nick, but he wore that dominance in a very subtle way—much like Dominic. Eli’s wolf, however, wasn’t so subtle. Shaya’s wolf could easily sense his wolf, sense his curiosity and edginess.

Eli’s expression suddenly turned serious. “Derren updated me on what’s been happening. In my opinion, it won’t matter what the verdict is tomorrow morning. The extremists will attack in any case.”

“But we’ll be ready for that,” announced Taryn. The others nodded.

“Ready and waiting,” rumbled Trey.

The next morning, the court hearing was held to hear the case put forward by the human extremists. And every shifter worldwide celebrated as the case was dismissed.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

It was eleven thirty in the evening when the humans finally came. Shaya and the others were all in position, planted in various spots—waiting, silent and still. While many were in their wolf form in the woods, Shaya was positioned on her stomach on a thick branch of a tall tree, allowing her to oversee whatever would come next. Despite the anxiety running through her body and mind, her hands were steady as she held the rifle. It felt right in her grip, made her remember the times her dad had taken her hunting when she was younger. For long periods of time, they would lie still as she was doing now, their senses on high alert. As such, this wasn’t unfamiliar, but still her wolf wasn’t so steady; she was too frightened for her mate’s safety.

Most of the females, Kent, and, of course, Kye had remained in the caves, guarded by Caleb, Gabe, Rhett, and Cam. As such, there was a total of eighteen wolves—including Shaya—taking cover in what would soon be a battlefield: Nick, Derren, Eli, Taryn, Trey, Dante, Jaime, Roni, Tao, Trick, Marcus, Ryan, Dominic, Bracken, Jesse, Zander, and Amber.

It wasn’t long before, one by one, the humans began to enter through the gap that Tao had deliberately made in the perimeter fence. Forty-six humans in total. The fact that they were all dressed in black made Shaya roll her eyes. Dark clothes worked well as camouflage, but black would make a person easier to see, as true black looked unnatural, outlining a person’s silhouette. Even from her distance one hundred yards away, she could clearly see with her shifter-heightened vision that the humans were well armed with guns and knives. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was still alarming.

Knowing his stature and posture well, she could easily spot Logan co-leading the group with another figure as they slowly and cautiously began to move. Could that be the shifter responsible for the creation of the game preserve? Quite possibly. Just the idea had her wolf growling.

Shaya’s advanced hearing barely picked up much noise from them, but she guessed they were all quite experienced at going unseen and unheard if they had been enjoying themselves in the game preserve. Instantly, the images she had seen on the news flashed in her mind, making her sick to her stomach. Having a perfect view of Logan and his co-leader, it was so tempting to just shoot them both there and then. But that wasn’t the plan.

The entire day in the caves had been spent going over the plan. It was simple. They had to lure the humans far inside the expansive territory, which served two purposes. One, it meant Tao could seal up the opening in the fence, thus trapping the humans inside. Two, everyone felt the humans deserved to be tracked and played with, just as they had done to the shifters in the game preserve. Only once the humans were deep in pack territory would the shifters all begin to attack. When images of the mutilated child shifters once again flashed before her, Shaya felt a surge of anger. Yeah, the bastards had this coming.