Kade’s rage was like a beacon as the Were raced around the property. Zach couldn’t block it out. It slowly calmed, at least so that it didn’t hammer into his brain.
But then it altered. Suddenly. Toconcern. Zach froze beneath the water. Then,anger,with a specific focus. And it wasn’t Zach.
A howl. Hoarser than a wolf’s, more of a roar. A warning. Something was wrong.
Zach dropped the barriers he’d so laboriously raised. And instantly felt an approaching threat. Yanking sweatpants over wet skin, he staggered into the hall.
“Incoming!” he shouted.
The commotion from downstairs indicated the Weres were already in motion. Another of Kade’s roars shattered the night.
The door at the end of the hall flung open. Jessie stood there, still in her tee and sweatpants. She hadn’t yet had time to prep for bed.
“What is it?” she asked, running toward him.
“Dires,” he breathed, and turned to run down the stairs. Her bare footsteps were right behind his.
They were met by Cara, who had run from the kitchen. The Weres were already out in the yard, clothes flying through the air as they changed to beast.
As Cara followed them out onto the porch, Zach grabbed Jessie’s hand. The resulting surge blasted through what remained of his walls. He focused on reading what was out there in the darkness, but struggled to decipher which contacts were Dires, and which were Sabres. There were so many. And only three of those beyond the yard would be Sabres on patrol. The rest would be Braden’s crew.
One was Kade. With his contact so recent, Zach identified the massive Were. He was moving at speed back toward the farm. But so were the Dires.
“They’re almost here,” Zach said.
Jessie squeezed his hand. “Let’s do this.”
She came with Zach as he jogged out into the yard, past the Weres who were already hairy, their arms and legs rippling with expanding muscle. He halted and dug for the memory of the accident.
Jessie knew what to do, this time. She helped him unearth the terror and then unleash it. Boosted by her power, it traveled outward in a wave.
The Sabres were too close, they screamed and crumpled to the ground. But Zach couldn’t stop, he had to keep pouring it out, blasting it toward the Dires. It hit them like a tsunami, sweeping through them and leaving them as quivering heaps in the dirt.
Their shrieks rang through the night, echoed by the horses in the corral. Even Storm raced around, rebounding off the panels. A form crawled toward him from the darkness. Kade. How was the big Were even mobile? But he pushed himself upright.
“That’s enough,” he groaned. “Cut it off. Stop.”
Jessie let go of Zach, and he struggled to ramp down. To rebuild the walls. It wasn’t working. Theterrorandpaincoming back at him dropped him to his knees. Cara hurried forward to place her hands on him, swamping him with hercalmenergy.
Zach clung to it like a lifeline, while around him, the Sabres went to work. They rose, snarling through long fangs, and bolted into the darkness. Soon the groans changed to snarls and shrieks as the Sabres pounced on any Dires slow to recover.
Within moments, Braden’s group was in full retreat. Zach sensed their lingeringterrorandconfusionas they ran.
And the Sabres, faster to recover, ensured that some would never run again.
23
Terrorradiated from Zach in waves. Jessie sensed it, but holding on to him as she was, she was shielded from it, too.
Otherwise, she’d be on the ground with them.
After he released her, she remained next to Zach, her entire body shaking. Goosebumps covered her bare skin. Her stomach twisted with every scream echoing through the night.
Somewhere out there, Sabres were fighting, and killing, Dires. She couldn’t imagine the damage those teeth and claws might do. She’d seen so many injuries in her tenure as an ER nurse. Including a few dog attack victims. But Kade’s beast was built to fight. None of it was for show.
He knew how to use his body to kill.
“Let’s get inside.” Cara’s voice was oddly constricted, and when Jessie glanced at her, the older woman’s face was lined in pain. Riding on the wave of Zach’s power, she felt it, too.Anguish.
