The Dires skidded to a halt, their gazes rising to the top of the rocky ridge. Zach sensed theirsurprise, theirshock.
He tapped into histerrorand sent a pulse out, hard and fast. He’d gotten better at projecting with the practice. All he had to do was tap into the accident dream, and there it was. Without Jessie, he had a fraction of the power and range, but he was counting on them not knowing that.
Their reaction was immediate. They dropped to the ground, some crying out. Twice now, these Dires had been attacked by him. Theirfearrebounded on themselves, and he fed it with a sustained burst.
It almost took him with it. He cut it off but swayed on the mare.
“Thirty-fourr.” Cody kept his voice low as he shook his head. “Too damned many.”
Zach shouted as they slowly rose from the ground. “I am warning you. Turn around and go home. This is not your fight.”
The leader of the group straightened and paced to the bottom of the rock wall. “Whoo are yoou to say that?” he snarled. “We are Pack.”
“Is that what Braden tells you?” Cody growled back. “No pack can function at this size. Despite what he says, you arre not all Pack.” He shook his maned head. “What do you hope to gain from this? Because you stand to lose everything you value. Particularly yourr lives.”
“We are Pack,” another repeated with more heat.
“Braden has made us Pack.” The original speaker stood on his hind legs. There was something familiar in the sharp features. He sneered up at Zach, and recognition dawned. The hatchet-faced hulk from the storage facility. What had Jessie called him? Troy?
“Hello, Troy,” Zach said.
Troy’s lips lifted in a snarl. “I should have killed yoou that day. Yoou have caused more trouble than yoou’re bloody worth.”
“What do you hope to gain from this?” Zach asked.
“That should be obvious,” Troy pointed out. “Without females, we are not Pack.”
“Three women? They are all Braden’s,” Zach said.
Cody shot him a look. But Troy answered.
“Yoou know nothing,” he growled. “Braden is Alpha. He will breed the females. But we will all share them.”
Zach stiffened in shock.
“It’s trrue,” Cody murmured, just loud enough for Zach to hear. “The entire pack can share the females. But it’s supposed to be herr call, not theirrs. And I’ve neverr heard of a pack this size.” His voice vibrated in anger.
“Three women?” Zach called to them. “Among over forty of you? You would risk your lives for that?”
“Brraden is selling your lives too cheaply. You arre nothing to him,” Cody added.
“Shuttup, Sabre,” Troy snarled. “Our plans are so much bigger than yoou know. And we have powerful friends.” His focus swung back to Zach. “And yoou. Freak. Why are you talking? Why don’t you just blast us like you did before?”
Zach’s gut twisted. Powerful friends? What was the Dire yammering about? It took effort to keep his expression stoic. “I’d rather settle this peacefully. I am tired of this fight.” He gestured to the rest of the group. “I ask you again, is this worth it to you? This is a battle you cannot win.”
Some looked at each other. A few lowered their heads.
But Troy glared at Zach. “Yoou may not have fur, but yoou are as big a pain in the ass as any bloody cat.” With a final snarl, he sprang.
Zach blasted him, as hard and fast as he could. The Dire screamed as he fell back, limbs thrashing. The blast took out the two to each side of him, but the Dires beyond, unaffected, came at Zach.
Or they tried to. With a roar, Cody crashed into them. The dark Sabre moved like lightning, a snarling, slashing ball of fur and fury that rolled through the Dires.
Without Jessie, Zach couldn’t do the blanket wave, but he fired it in bursts. Some Dires screamed and crumpled. Others climbed up the rocks. Cody sliced through the group like a scythe, leaving blood and mayhem in his wake.
Zach got ready to jump off the mare and let her go. Who knew if his own legs would support him? It likely wouldn’t matter as he wouldn’t last long on his feet among this lot. But instead of backing away, Storm reared and squealed at the Dires, her ears flat to her skull and teeth bared. And then she sprang straight at them.
Clinging for dear life, Zach maintained his focus as Storm skidded down the steep rock face, crashing into Dires and sending them flying. He managed a few bursts on the way down, enough to stop others from slashing her to ribbons. Then her feet hit hard-packed gravel, and she spun on her forelegs, lethal hind legs lashing out in an arc. It came close to unseating Zach, but his fingers were so tangled in her mane that he held on even when his legs slipped. He lost track of where his pulses landed, but he managed to miss Cody, at least.
