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“ T hey’re darling.” I cooed at Calliope’s new arrivals, accepting one bundled up to cuddle. The sweet little ones were milk-drunk and sleeping, distributed to those visiting the proud new parents. “How’re you feeling?”

Million times better now that they’re on the outside. Calliope was stretched out, still in her tiger form, purring up a storm while Logan brushed her. I need to hire this woman to just follow me around and brush me forever. Feels like I’m at a spa instead of a clinic.

She’s good at making everyone feel cared for. I’m glad everything went well. We’ve been missing you.

Girl, I’ve been missing me too. Sat on my ass more these past few months than I have in my entire life combined.

I kissed the nose of the cub in my arms. They’ll have you run off your feet soon enough to make up for it.

She lifted her head, staring at me with intense golden eyes. You’d better fucking survive this bullshit. All of you. I’ll find a way to reverse haunt you if you die.

I’d love nothing more than to survive, trust me .

I glanced over her to where Seth and Kendrick were being moon-eyed over another baby.

Kendrick had never struck me as overly parental, but it was impossible to mistake the cozy warmth from him as anything but affection for these brand-new beings.

Everyone was relaxed in the bond, the babies doing a wonderful job of keeping their attention and ensuring the focus stayed on happier things.

Cora popped her head into the clinic. “The pilot isn’t coming.”

Nerves shot through the bond. So much for that.

“What do you mean?” Velda asked. “Why not?”

“Mechanical failure. The replacement part won’t be in until next week.”

Calliope stared at us. What pilot? What’s happening?

“We made arrangements for you, Murdoch, and the babies to go somewhere safe, or at least we tried to.”

You don’t get to make choices like that for me.

“Yes, we do,” I insisted. “You just gave birth. You need to be somewhere safe to recover.”

Her tail whacked into my side. Yeah, I agree with that part, but you still should’ve talked to me about it first. I should get a say in what happens to me.

Velda sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I wanted to have the pilot here by the time the babies were born and I didn’t want to bother you about it while you were in labor.”

So we can’t evacuate now? Murdoch asked.

“Not by air. We’ll see what else we can arrange,” Velda promised.

“Do we have safety harnesses for the little ones?” I asked Nurse Sarah.

“Maybe? We haven’t needed any for a hot minute. Worst comes to worst, they can temporarily be little sardines in a carrier. Not ideal, but it’ll work in a pinch.”

You guys are stressing me out . Calliope flopped her head back down.

I held my tongue. I didn’t want to give her unnecessary stress, but there was nothing unnecessary about this.

We knew what danger was present and we knew one of our escape routes was cut off.

If we didn’t plan ahead, we risked losing lives.

Calliope knew that even if she didn’t want to face the reality.

I’d like to sleep for a bit , she announced.

“Of course. We’ll come see you again later.”

The cubs got tucked into the incubators to stay warm and Murdoch stretched out behind his mate, wrapping his arms around her.

We all reconvened upstairs in my suite. Logan sank onto the couch. “What if I can’t save them?”

Seth sat next to her. “Have a little faith in yourself.”

“I want to, but it’s hard. I still don’t know what I’m doing. How do we get people safely out if we have to evacuate?”

Kendrick sat down on the other side of Logan, lacing her fingers with his. “None of this is ideal. We all know the risks and the cost, and it doesn’t matter how much we might want it to be otherwise. That’s not going to change Logan’s destiny.”

Velda huffed. “I don’t love having to clean up the mess of a witch from four hundred years ago, but it needs to be done, and I accepted that being a Protector wasn’t all fun and games. If lives are going to be on the line, I’d rather it’s us.”

The air rippled around us, a shudder gliding through the earth itself. A furious shriek shattered the silence.

We’d been so spoiled by the monster gorging itself on Logan’s magic as it ate away at the warding, keeping quiet, waiting for a moment of weakness.

“When was the last time we charged the wards?” Velda asked.

“During the heat, when she almost melted the torque,” Kendrick replied.

Shit. We’d been so preoccupied with Anya’s revelations and Calliope having her babies we hadn’t been focused on that part.

Logan had put off so much power in her heat, surely the torque would have held enough magic to keep things settled for at least a day or two, but maybe the creature’s appetite had grown over time.

Another shriek and I felt the collapse of the wards, like glass splintering.

I sprinted to the intercom system and slammed down the button. “Evacuation, now!”

I flipped the protective cover on the alarm button and triggered it with a smash of my fist.

“We can’t evacuate!” Logan shouted above the noise. “It’s at the gates!”

Come with me , Haru said, drawing all of our attention. The monster wants Logan, and I can run as fast as a car in my largest form. While I can’t keep up that speed forever, we could keep it distracted in the woods, give everyone a chance to get in the vehicles and drive to safety.

Anxiety filled me to bursting at the thought of Logan and Haru alone in the woods with that thing. “Absolutely not. We’re not risking both of you.”

We don’t have a choice.

Caden drew me into his arms. “I don’t like it either, but all they have to do is evade for a few minutes. That would be enough.” Caden squeezed my hand. “We have to trust them.”

A rush of fear and affection flooded down the bond. Logan looked at me imploringly. “Yelena, you have to protect everyone still here. Get them to safety. Haru and I can do this. Just trust me.”

I didn’t want to let her do this, but Haru was right: we didn’t have a choice. “I trust you.”

She and Haru took off at a run, sprinting toward the emergency stairs.

Fuck!

I wanted to scream, but there was work to be done.

“Go!” I yelled, spurring everyone to get moving, save Kendrick, who was frozen where he stood. I snared his hand in mine. “Get your ass in gear, stag.”

My touch seemed to wake him up and he stared at me with wide eyes. “Help me get the prey shifters out. Their first instincts are to hide or bolt, and they won’t be thinking clearly with all the chaos.”

“Okay, lead the way.”