Tatijana emerged from the Lycan she just healed and smiled at her sister. “Fen is a terrible tease, isn’t he? I’ll kick him for you when I have the strength.”

Thanks, Tatijana, Branislava said. You’re the best sister a girl could have.

“I have strength,” Skyler volunteered. “I’ll do it for you.” She suited action to words, landing a fairly easy kick on Fen’s shin. “That’s from Bronnie.”

“Nice, Skyler.” Fen scowled his most fierce scowl. “Dimitri, control your wild woman.”

Dimitri shrugged. “You do find a way to rile them all up, don’t you?”

Gregori emerged next and Ivory was immediately beside him, giving him necessary blood. They sat together in silence, the Lycans they’d saved still unaware and the one who lay dead a testament to Xaviero’s cruelty.

Fen, Dimitri and Zev all swung around at the same time, facing outward, leaping to their feet. Zev could feel the disturbance coming at them. The energy was low, almost too low, but the intent was murderous.

“What it is?” Gregori asked. He closed the wound on Ivory’s wrist at the last moment.

“Xaviero has found another way to attack us. He’s sent another wave of his army racing toward us. This is a rogue pack and they’ll kill and devour every species,” Zev answered. “The Earth is telling me they’re only a few kilometers away from this clearing. Those outside the circle of protection will be killed. We have to get to them. Leave those healing here.”

Zev glanced at Fen and Dimitri. “I’ll go at them from the front. They’ll come at me hard. You close in from either side. Daciana and Makoce know what to do. They’ll be in the thick of it. Gregori, can you mop up after the kill? It’s a difficult job to continually sever heads, but it has to be done.”

“Are you okay to do this, Zev?” Fen asked. “You’re wounded, and so is Bronnie. Gregori’s exhausted.”

Zev shrugged. “It has to be done.”

Gregori nodded. “No problem. If Zev can do this, so can I. I’ve fought them enough times now that I know how they work. No need to worry, I’ve made my own silver sword according to your blueprint of specs.”

Zev turned his head to frown at him. “Mine?” His eyes met Tatijana’s.

She grinned at him and shrugged. “I can’t help it if you talk in your sleep. You passed out, remember?”

Branislava pushed herself up to her feet. Her head felt as if it might explode, a testimony to the ice spears Xaviero had sent. “Nice to know I can get all kinds of information out of you,” she commented. It took a moment to get her legs back. She swayed a little, but then straightened her shoulders, shrugging off weakness.

“You and Tatijana take to the sky,” Zev told her. “You’ll serve us better up there. Both of you know the distances wolves can jump, so take that into consideration when you fly low.”

Branislava nodded. She circled his neck with one arm and kissed him lightly. “We’ll be careful. You come back to me.”

He kissed her back, and then turned his attention to Skyler and Ivory. “You two both can use your connection with Mother Earth as well as your wolves. Pick off the strays and stragglers. Stay to the outside of the main pack coming at us. Remember to watch for traps. Your wolves will ferret them out better than you. Listen to the Earth, and don’t get killed.”

Skyler and Ivory both nodded.

“Gregori, open a path through the clearing. If we’re lucky, we can run some of the rogues right into this trap,” Zev said. “And if we’re very lucky, they will not be led by a Sange rau. If you run into one, or even think there’s one in the vicinity, call out to Fen, Dimitri or me. I’m not as adept at fighting them. I think Fen is the most advanced version of the Hän ku pesäk kaikak, so if it comes to that, we’ll all follow his lead.”

Fen nodded. “Let’s get this done, before they find any of our people.”

Gregori immediately lifted his hands, facing outside the protective, double-ringed sphere.

I call to thee Air which propels and blows,

I call to thee Fire which burns below.

I call to thee Water, send forth your gales,

I call to thee Earth that brings forth a mist that cloaks and veils.

Cleanse and clear,

Seal this pass.

Closing all,

After all here have passed.

Zev left the protection of the sphere first, with Fen and Dimitri fanning out on either side of him. Each of them tested the air and the ground beneath their feet. Gregori had opened a wide enough path that the chaos from the lightning forks didn’t affect their ability to scan for information, but it did wreak havoc with the hair on their bodies. Dimitri sent Zev a small, quick grin and nodded toward Fen. He mouthed the word skunk.

“I can see you,” Fen pointed out.

Dimitri raised an eyebrow, trying for innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, bro.”

Behind them, Tatijana and Branislava followed closely. They needed to find a spot where they could shift and take to the air. Instead of looking for a large enough place to accommodate a dragon, they simply gave themselves running room and took to the sky as small birds, leaping high as they shifted.

Ivory and Skyler came next, moving fast, jogging toward the forest where they could better hunt prey with their wolves. Razvan angled to meet them, running fast through the trees to intercept them in the forest itself. Clearly, Ivory had shared every detail of the events and danger with him.

Gregori moved out of the circle last, walking with long, purposeful strides straight to the edge of the forest, where he turned, lifted his hands and sent his command once again to close the path behind him.

Lightning struck the ground and raced back into the sky. The ground shifted and water bubbled up. Inside the circle of protection, the three Lycans remained asleep, and the fourth, Igor, rested in peace.

Zev signaled to his elite hunters. They turned and melted into the forest, spreading out as they went. He could always count on them. Daciana with her steady hand and fast reactions. Makoce, handy with sword and short knife. Lykaon, who couldn’t be matched with his ability to throw any object with deadly accuracy. Arnau, who seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and a steadfast nature, loyal to a fault. That was his pack and he believed in each of their abilities.

They knew one another very well, how they thought, where they would be in any given fight at any given time. They believed in one another and counted on each other. Now his pack was extended to Dimitri and Skyler and Fen and Tatijana. And his lifemate, Branislava. Somehow just knowing she was going to be in the sky in her fiery dragon form filled him with a kind of joy—or maybe the Lycan in him was so strong he just looked forward to battle.