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Devon could scent the truth in every word Aiden spoke. He was giving Devon everything he could before he died. He wanted to deny Aiden’s claims he was dying, though sniffing the air, he scented only the man.

“I will find a way to get you out of here.”

Aiden spoke with cold acceptance. “There’s no point. My animal is dead. I can’t shift, so another pack won’t accept me. I have nowhere to go.”

“There has to be something.” He didn’t want Aiden to give up.

“I wish I could fight with you. See Razel brought low for the destruction he has caused, but I will take solace in knowing he was brought down by a good man. A healthy lair.” Aiden sighed before slipping into unconsciousness once more.

Devon felt Sarah connect with him. She wasn’t close yet his relief was as palpable as hers.

He sent her warmth. Love. Reassurance. He was rebuffed by her need to hunt.

Her resolve. His mate was coming for him.

But his pride was overshadowed by fear. Knowing she wouldn’t be alone was of little comfort.

She had no idea of the mess she was leading his family into.

He spoke to the sleeping Aiden. “We have to get out of here.”

* * *

Sarah had placed her jacket on the back of the wooden chair. She sat at Lucy’s kitchen table, watching Talen pace the room with his phone in his hand. He displayed the agitation she felt. They had found the site close to Galen’s that showed signs of a struggle yet no scent except Devon’s.

Hunter and Liam were following Kallan’s team.

The rest of the family was searching for Devon.

The hole in Sarah’s chest was painful as if she’d been stabbed in the heart.

She had thought that if she lived by a better standard than her father, she would overcome her family legacy.

She was wrong. A Marksman destroys everything in its sights.

Her relief was overwhelming when Devon reconnected with her. It was faint, far away, but she needed that reassurance more than she cared to admit. “I have him.”

Talen was around the table kneeling beside her instantly. “Where is he?”

Sarah shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that. I can feel him. I can’t read his mind. He’s... concerned. I don’t think he’s hurt.”

Talen encouraged her. “I need you to explain your connection. How do you know he’s concerned, but not hurt?”

“We’re always connected. I have learned to associate his emotions with certain stimuli. I know what his pain feels like.” It was hard to put into words. She was just learning herself.

“That’s good. Can you recall all the emotions Devon felt just before he disappeared?”

Sarah thought about the moments before she lost the connection. “Yes, I remember all of it. It’s strange.”

“Our cats have an identic memory,” Talen explained. “They record everything they feel, hear and see. In human form, we can connect with our animal and recall that information when needed.”

“Alright, how does that help us?”

“Think about Devon’s emotions before you lost contact. What were they?”

Sarah shivered through the recall of negative feelings. “Anger. Betrayal. Loathing. Hate.”

“Think back. Has Devon ever felt that blend of emotions before?”

Sarah connected with her cat, asking for the impossible. Her head snapped up as her animal supplied the information. “There are two instances where he had similar feelings. When Gerald and Brian were at the lodge with me and when he told me about your mother’s rape. Do you think Gerald took him?”

Talen was up, texting into his phone. He paused as he read the returning message. “Hunter and Liam are watching a facility outside Portland. Brian and Gerald got there a few hours ago. They were alone. I’ve told them to return to the lair. We are going after the coyotes.”

Talen leaned over the table. “Can you figure out where Devon is?” He said.

“I don’t know the exact range of the connection. I know he’s far from me. I should be able to hone in on him the closer we get to him,” she said confidently.

Talen’s eyes went cold. “You can’t come with us, Sarah. They took a member of our lair. They were warned what would happen if they came here again. This is war.”

Sarah understood that he was trying to protect and intimidate her.

Neither would work. She stood up slowly and leaned toward Talen, her tone as cold as his.

“They took my mate. The world knows what happens if you run up against a member of the Marksman family. These men are about to find out what happens when you poach from one.”

“Sarah. It’s too dangerous. Devon would never let...”

Sarah grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair. “You can go with me or you can follow the trail I’ll leave for you. Your choice.”

Sarah slung the rifle holster over her black leather jacket. She loved her cougar form, reveled in its sleek agility. As deadly as her cat could be it couldn’t take out a rival from eight hundred meters. Sarah could.

* * *

Hunter had elected to stay in human form to coordinate the attack. She was just getting used to communicating with her own cat let alone the rest of the Cascade family. Besides, she needed to focus on Devon.

They tracked in a zig-zag pattern. The Cougars ran ahead as scouts before circling back to see if she’d made a directional change.

She made several missteps before realizing she was heading away from Devon and corrected her course.

Though they moved at a quick pace, it was hours before Hunter motioned her to stop.

He gestured quickly. Sarah saw the cougars spread out and disappear into the thick brush. “We’re close. What is it?”

“There’s a compound a mile away.”

“Then that’s where Devon is.” She tried to calm her surging emotions. She could feel him. He was apprehensive. He knew she was here.

“They know we’re here. They aren’t attacking... something is off.” He looked around. His eyes glowed amber.

Dirt flew into Sarah’s eyes as the shots reigned down around them. If they hadn’t been behind a large evergreen Sarah would’ve been shot. She crouched to the ground, making her body as small as possible before inching under a nearby bush.

The leafy brush made the perfect cover as she pulled her rifle from its holster. She kept the barrel of the gun inside the bush as she slowly put the scope to her eye.

The bullets had hit from a high trajectory. She found the sniper six hundred feet away. He was nestled in the vee of an oak tree, searching for her. His slow movements mirroring her own. He was good. She was a Marksman.

She adjusted her trajectory to compensate for the wind, squeezing the trigger slowly before the shot rang out. She watched in silence as he jerked back in the tree before falling out.

“Sniper’s down,” she said.

Hunter was moving ahead of her, signaling her to follow. A cougar came up beside her. She didn’t know the Cascade family in their cat forms yet the gray hairs speckling the tawny coat told her this was Galen. She wasn’t sure why, but she was surprised he was there. He sprinted after his sons.

Sarah approached the compound cautiously.

She heard the growls and snarls of the fighting animals long before she could see them.

As she entered the clearing, she witnessed the ferocity of the battle.

Cougars growled and jumped on the backs of the enraged coyotes.

The cats were outnumbered yet it didn’t deter them.

She eased her way around the edge of the forest, avoiding the fighting. She sensed Hunter following her. She heard branches snap before she was hit hard from the side, knocking the wind out of her. Hunter shifted and was on the coyote before her breathing evened out.

She got up, running in a crouched position as she made her way across the compound clearing.

She reached the other side when Galen shifted to human form beside her.

She kept her eyes on the fray in front of her as he spoke.

“Stay to this corner Sarah, it’s bad enough you have to witness this,” he said.

She didn’t want to lie to Galen. A naked man with a rifle emerged from an outbuilding a few feet away.

Galen shifted and attacked the startled man.

Large red drops welled and dripped from the long gashes in the man’s chest. He screamed dropping the rifle as he shifted to protect himself from the attacking cougar.

Sarah waited until Galen was fully engrossed in his battle before backing up. She removed her weapons and clothes and tucked them under a dense bush.

She knew where she wanted to go. She reached for her cat, connecting with her feral side, feeling the freedom and joy as the resulting transformation overtook her. Her senses flared as her whiskers formed, gathering all the surrounding information.

She crouched low as she silently approached a small outbuilding located a mile from the main compound. There were trees and brush to give her cover yet she knew leaving the other cougars was risky.

She approached the door cautiously, but she needed her hands to open the door. She resumed her human form and reached for the door.

* * *

Sarah slipped into the building quietly closing the door behind her. She turned to face her mate.

Devon’s hands were wrapped around the steel bars. She ran over, placing her hands over his. “Are you alright,” she said anxiously.

Devon motioned to the injured man on the floor. “Yes, but Aiden isn’t. We need to get him medical attention soon or he won’t make it.”

Sarah peeked over Devon’s shoulder at the savaged man. “Who is he?”

“He’s the son of the former leader of the pack.”

Sarah hadn’t seen anything positive about this so-called pack. “Do you think it’s wise to take him?”

Devon linked his fingers with hers. “Don’t judge him by the people who currently surround him. He’s lost everything. He’s dying because he fought for his values.”

Sarah flinched as the shame of her judgment hit her. She knew full well what it was like to be judged by the company she kept. Still, she had done the same. “I’m sorry. Where’s the key to the cell?”

Devon motioned to the side wall. “It’s the big one on that hook.”

The door burst open as Sarah grabbed the key. She threw the keys through the bars and shifted. Her cat was barely formed when Razel attacked, biting into her shoulder.

Her cat prioritized its senses at once. The fiery pain that seared through her shoulder, the sound of ripping flesh and the smell of iron assaulting her senses.

She stumbled before her reflexes kicked in, twisting away, as she swatted Razel across the muzzle.

He yelped, positioning himself in front of her, eyeing her throat.

Razel’s coyote swayed back and forth looking for an opening. She moved with him, countering his moves, hoping for more time. He rushed her, bowling her over like a battering ram. His powerful jaws, clamping down on her throat like a vise before he jerked hard to the side, releasing her.

She watched Devon’s cat circle the enraged Coyote. His thick muscles twitched under his fur. His angry low growls filled the room.

Razel took a second glance as Sarah moved to Devon’s side. Her growls matched his before the coyote dashed from the room. Devon rubbed against her before chasing after him.

Sarah exited the building cautiously though it proved unnecessary.

When she reached the clearing, the Cascades were loosely positioned in a circle.

The agitated coyote paced in the middle.

With the exception of two men with their hands behind their heads, on their knees, the rest of the pack lay dead or dying on the ground.

Devon moved in front of her when Razel shifted. “You have no right!” He screamed at the older cougar slowly approaching him.

When Galen shifted, Sarah averted her eyes, keeping the men in her peripheral vision.

“You had no right to touch my mate. To abduct my son. I have every RIGHT.” Galen roared.

White froth formed at the corners of Razel’s mouth. “You already had five sons.”

Galen huffed in disgust. “If you had spent your time searching for your mate instead of your stupid quest for power, you could have had sons of your own.”

“I should have been the pack leader. Not my brother!” Razel screamed.

Sarah’s swift intake of breath had Devon’s cat swing his gaze to her. She shrugged off the sick knowledge of what Razel had done to his own nephew.

“Mother Nature disagrees,” Galen said.

“Fuck you and fuck HER. Your whole species is going to be extinct. HE wants cougars, not coyotes.”

Galen goad the coyote, looking for information despite what Razel had done to his mate. “Does he ?” Galen said coldly.

The men with their hands on their heads stood up. One stepped forward. “Razel what have you done?”

He turned on the man. “I have ensured our species will be spared.”

“From what?” The man said.

“Extinction,” Razel said.

The man gestured around them. “Look at us Razel. We are extinct.” He turned his back on Razel as did his pack mate beside him.

“Don’t turn your back on me. I’m your leader.” He would have rushed at the man, but Galen stepped between them.

“You are nothing, but a traitor. Your brother should never have spared your life after you attacked my mate. You have not only constituted the destruction of your own pack, but have put every shifter species at risk.”

“You think that because you are the leader of your lair that…”

“I am no longer the leader of my lair,” Galen interrupted.

Sarah noticed all the cougars react in surprise except Devon. Growls and side glances populated the surrounding cougars.

“You are,” Razel said with certainty.

“Unlike you, I respect Mother Nature. She gave me my rewards in this life. A loving mate. Eight sons. Now my time is winding down and my oldest son has taken up the mantle of leadership.”

“You’re aging,” Razel said with disgust. Then a renewed interest gleamed in his eyes. “You have to fight me.”

“No Razel. What was once my right has now fallen to my son.”

Sarah felt Devon’s respect and love for his father surge through their bond. She felt the same way. Galen put his family, his species, above all things, including his own revenge.

“He is MY son!” Razel screamed.

Galen shook his head. “You cling to this foolish hope that your genes will live on. They won’t. They will perish right here, when MY son’s teeth puncture your throat, suffocating the life from you.”

“NO.” Razel rushed Galen, but Devon, prepared for the attack, leaped onto Razel’s back taking him to the ground.

His teeth punctured the soft flesh at the side of Razel’s neck.

Clamping down with all his ferocity and strength.

Razel struggled without success to dislodge him, jerking with one last twitch before going limp.

Sarah watched as Devon’s eyes collided with Galen’s. She shifted then retrieved her clothes.