Austin shifted to human form and stood motionless. “Stay behind me, Lexi.”
I placed my hand on his back and became his shadow as he approached Judas.
Austin threw off his alpha power in a single command. “Stand down.”
The wolves didn’t understand language, but they obeyed the alpha magic woven in the tone of his voice. They refrained from attacking as Judas made it to the bank.
He wiped his wet hand across his mustache and beard, pulling at the ends.
“Is this all that’s left?” Austin asked, motioning toward Judas’s wolves.
Judas widened his stance. “I might have lost the battle, but I’m not losing the war. I want your land so I can have a position here. I’m going to use your pack as a reminder to everyone that we’re not finished.”
“Oh, you’re finished,” Austin said, voice clipped. “Done.”
I couldn’t see Judas smiling beneath his beard, but I saw it in his eyes.
“Do you think your band of misfits can take on all of us?” he asked, his arms extending wide.
I stepped forward to confront Judas. “Can’t you see you’ve lost? There’s no shame in admitting defeat. The only shame is claiming victory where there isn’t any.”
He shook his head, eyes on our pack. “I see no victory here.”
“Maybe not, but killing us will accomplish nothing. You’ll lose more men in the process, and none of the Packmasters in this territory will let you stay on our property for long. You can bet on that.”
He tucked his left arm around his midsection and stroked his beard with his right. “I’m willing to negotiate for a trade, but I’m not going anywhere unless I’ve reaped a few spoils.”
Austin cut in front of me so fast, I almost stumbled backward. He sliced his hand in the air and said, “That’s where this conversation ends.”
Judas inclined his head. “As you wish. May your pack die a good death.”
“Not so fast,” someone called out from the left.
My jaw slackened. More men than I could count advanced toward us on land and water. Charlie led the way, and familiar faces stood out in the crowd. Atticus, my new Vampire employee, was not far behind. Also, a tall Chitah I recognized from pictures Ivy had shown me of her son’s adoptive parents. Two of Lorenzo’s men came into view—a dark-skinned man named Moreland and another I’d never met but had seen at a few peace parties. I even saw one of the regulars at Howlers whom everyone knew was a grizzly bear.
Charlie met eyes with Austin and inclined his head. “A group of us tracked their movement when they began to retreat. It seems we picked up a few supporters along the way.”
I gripped Austin’s bicep, watching in disbelief as Breed stood side by side—united by a common goal. I’d never seen anything like this before, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see anything like it again, but it was beautiful.
“Why would all these strangers put their lives at risk for us?” I whispered. “They have nothing to gain and everything to lose.”
Austin looked down at me over his shoulder, his brow heavy. “Fate tells them to,” he said quietly.
The group slowed when they neared our pack. The wolves were circling, barking—eager to taste flesh and bone. Some of the Shifters from Charlie’s group began shifting into their animals, and I became nervous that they might attack our wolves.
“April, keep them back!” I shouted.
She tugged at the fur on Reno’s neck. “Charlie, they’ll kill each other.”
He smiled. “There are enough of us to keep that under control. We worked out a plan along the way.”
Rage manifested on Judas’s face. The veins in his forehead protruded, his face reddened, and his lips peeled back like those of a feral animal.
My attention snapped away when I heard a bizarre scream coming from my right. A wolf who looked as mad as a hatter was heading our way, eyes wide and full of crazy. Denver’s grey-and-white wolf ran in our direction, his body almost in a curl each time he leapt off the ground.
I chuckled. “That is one crazy-ass battle cry.”
Denver’s wolf bypassed us and skidded to a halt in front of Maizy’s blond wolf. He licked her snout and then turned in a circle, licking his fangs as he eyeballed everyone within sight. Nobody knew what to make of Denver’s wolf because he used body language to confuse his opponents. The tail wagging was really setting some of them off.
The two Packmasters faced each other, each waiting for the other to back down. Judas wanted to save face with his men and claim at least one piece of land, but I wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Surrender and leave!” I yelled at Judas. “We have Vampires and Chitahs on our side. You can’t win!”