“Thank you. You don’t know how much I appreciate this. They’re in my office with Madisyn.”

Makenna was glad that Ryan stayed at her side as they headed to the office; the simple contact of his arm brushing hers was somehow soothing. She was pissed, she was worried, and she wanted to burn shit down. The shelter was supposed to be a safe place, a sanctuary, and Remy had ruined that.

“Do you think they’ll agree to leave with us?” Ryan asked Makenna.

“They might for the simple reason that Zac trusts you all. But honestly, I’m not sure. Riley is . . . well, you’ll see.”

As they entered the office, the scents of cheetah, snake, and raven hit Ryan all at once. His wolf stilled, already on edge due to Makenna’s anxiety. Madisyn rose from behind the desk, and the other adult female planted herself in front of two small children. He’d seen the three from afar during one of his visits.

He doubted they were at all related. The adult female was small and had dark iridescent hair typical of a raven shifter. The little boy had a mop of blond curls and was crouched behind the raven, ready to pounce. The second child, who coiled herself around the raven’s leg, had caramel pigtails and golden eyes that didn’t once blink as she took in the strangers with a solemn expression.

Zac held up his hands. “Guys, it’s okay; this is my cousin, Ryan, and my pack mates, Dominic, Jaime, Dante, and Trick.”

The little girl tried to dash to Makenna, but the raven barred her way with her arm.

Dawn sidled up to the loners. “Riley, you can stand down. They won’t hurt you or the children. In fact, they’ve offered to give you all a place to stay. They’re good people. We wouldn’t have let Zac join their pack if they weren’t.”

“But like Zac said, one of them is his cousin,” said the raven, cutting her eyes briefly toward Ryan. “Just because they’re good to him doesn’t mean we should trust them.”

“They wouldn’t expect your trust, Riley,” said Makenna. “They just want to help.”

Riley’s keen gaze studied the Phoenix wolves. “Why would you want to help us?”

“It’s the right thing to do,” replied Jaime. “Every child—human or shifter—should be protected. You’re clearly willing to protect them, but you’ll have a problem doing that all by yourself if someone comes for them. I don’t know what your story is, and I’m not asking. All I’m asking is that you let us help. For their sake.”

After a long silence, Riley glanced briefly at Dawn. “We’ll come. But just until this all blows over. This is Savannah, who’s four, and Dexter, who’s two.”

Dominic got down on his haunches, smiling at the children. “I’m pleased to meet you.” Zac squatted too, and both he and Dominic told the children about the pack and their territory, about how much space they would have to run and all the local wildlife. Savannah and Dexter listened intently, gradually relaxing.

Makenna leaned into Ryan as she said in a low voice, “Dominic’s good with kids. I didn’t expect that.”

Jaime snorted. “Dominic can charm anyone . . . although sometimes that charm is a little twisted.” Ryan grunted.

“We parked the Chevy near the side alley,” said Dante. “It should be easy enough to smuggle them inside. The windows are tinted, so they don’t need to worry about being seen. Trick and Dominic will be staying behind at the shelter. From now on, there will always be two Phoenix enforcers around. If Remy’s done what you suspect, there will be trouble at this door soon. The protective wards will stop them getting inside, but magick won’t stop them from causing a huge fuss or damaging the building.”

“No offense,” said Makenna, “but if that happens, two enforcers won’t be able to take them on.”

“No,” agreed Jaime, “but it will knock them off balance.”

Trick nodded. “If any of those assholes come here, they’ll do so expecting to be able to easily break into the building and take whomever they’ve come for. They won’t anticipate loners having the protection of a pack. When they realize that their actions will mean taking on our pack, they’ll be careful how they proceed.”

“Our pack might not be as huge as Remy’s,” said Dante, “but it’s one thing that his is not: respected. The fact that we’re also strongly allied with the Mercury wolves—a pack that’s equally respected—makes us people that most shifters hesitate to fuck with.”

Makenna rubbed the back of her neck. “You’re right in what you say, and having some enforcers around here can only be a good thing. But if your pack is seen to be helping us, someone could guess that you’re the ones hiding those that need sanctuary.”

“Not if we tell them how Remy’s just trying to sic people on the shelter to make it easier for him to claim this territory.” Trick shrugged. “It’s not the complete truth, but it’s not a lie. I doubt they like him much anyway, since he’s constantly taking over packs and increasing the size of his territory. Shifters won’t like that because it can make him a threat.”

Ryan wondered if Remy had considered that if he were seen as too powerful, there would be shifters who would unite to take him out. That would be a really good day.

Minutes later, Jaime, Dante, Zac, and the loners exited through the side door of the building and headed to the Chevy. While Dawn and Makenna briefed the remaining residents on Remy’s actions, Ryan, Dominic, and Trick did a thorough patrol of the shelter’s territory. Satisfied that no strangers were lingering around the border, they headed back to the building.