“Oh, Jesus. We got ourselves a baby wolf in the house,” Rebecca said.
I calmly turned around so as not to draw attention to my leg. “Tears are not just for children. My mother once told me that a soul is a river and that the spirits give us teardrops when we have converged with another life. We overflow with them because our spirits become wider and deeper than before. Those who lack love or compassion will not be given the gift of tears.”
She chortled. “Well, go on and cry a river for me, sweetie.”
“Shut the fuck up, Rebecca,” Caleb spat out, seemingly enthralled by my words. “Maybe the reason you don’t cry is because your soul is as dry as your vagina.”
She lunged and scratched his face before Watcher stepped between them and broke it up.
“Intruders on the property! Intruders on the property!” a voice boomed from across the house.
A riot of noise erupted as heavy footfalls came from all directions in the house. When I moved through the hall and into the front room, people were scattering like leaves. A few looked at me suspiciously. More than fifteen men had run out the front door.
“Are the alarms set?” I shouted.
A slim man with bright blond hair gave me a funny look. “We don’t need alarms. Who the hell are you?”
“If someone decides to sneak in through one of the back windows, are you still going to say you don’t need alarms? This is a large house.”
Watcher snapped his fingers and four men ran to the back of the house. Goodness, what Lorenzo had in numbers gave him false security. Anyone could get inside.
A wolf ran past me and skidded to a halt, cocking his head and curling his lips back. I stood still and offered him the palm of my hand, lowering my eyes to the floor. He smelled me and then trotted into another room.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Watcher peered out the window. “One of our men spotted two rogues circling the property. Panthers.”
I could hardly breathe. Panthers were deadly to wolves and had taken out entire packs with only a few members. “Do you have weapons?”
“Yeah.”
I raised my voice. “Then arm your best men and have them surround the house. You need two lines of defense. My father didn’t believe all battles could be settled by our animals, and the odds could be tipped in their favor. Let your wolves be your first line of defense and a group of armed men be your second. Then a third inside. I know who’s behind this, and he’s a wolf. Send out the strongest bitches in your pack and put them on the front lines. His wolves won’t attack, and it’ll create a distraction.”
“Jesus, where did you come from?”
“My father defended our pack against rogues on three occasions. He never lost.”
Watcher chewed on it for a second before going out the front door. I heard a sharp whistle and some talking.
I glanced around the house at the intimate sense of warmth and home. Elegant wood floors spanned the house, and dim lights reflected an amber glow within the rooms. I walked up to a wall, admiring the Native American artifacts mingled with modern art. A spear, arrowheads in a case, a painting of a sunset—Lorenzo had expensive taste and yet held on to his roots.
A shrill scream came from the back of the house and a wolf lurched into the room. His jaws were wet with crimson, his ears flat, his tail straight out from his body. A pack member would never behave this way among his own family, and a chill crept down my spine as I stared into the eyes of an enemy wolf. Four men within sight were too far to get to me in time.
Rebecca dashed through the room and shouted, “I saw a panther!”
Her eyes went wide when the startled wolf leapt at her. Without thinking, I grabbed the spear from the wall and threw it at the wolf. It sliced into his shoulder and punched out through the front of his chest. A spray of blood darkened the floor and the wolf yelped as he fell to his side.
Two of the men made it to us and dragged the downed wolf outside by his hind legs, the spear still in him.
When another wolf trotted in from the back, Watcher appeared and shifted into a massive black wolf. The two stood on their hind legs and savagely attacked each other. Unarmed, I backed away and grabbed a man’s arm. “There’s a breach at the back of the house. A door must be open and they’re getting in. Hurry!”
The sound of wolves fighting outside riled up my spirit wolf, but this was not the time or place. She didn’t know this pack and would turn on them. I felt a rising sense of panic when two men ran toward the sound of shouts coming from the kitchen.
My God, Fox knew I was here.
***