Page 123 of Those That Are Lost

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“How many?” I ask, instantly on alert once more. Panic rises in my chest. With Adicious dead, and us literally surrounded by their bodies, who the fuck is entering the property. It must be after midnight as well.

“Eight, maybe ten. It’s hard to tell as there is a shielder amongst them.”

I turn to Red and see she’s already thrown her glamour in place. She looks fresh, clean and she doesn’t have a mark to show from the last few hours. Her clothes are dark so don’t show the blood. She also corrects her posture, the tiredness lifting from her body. That’s all her, not her magic. She can pull herself together from the brink of collapse and look completely fine. It awes me as much as it scares me. I hope she never hides her true feelings from me again.

“Which direction are they coming from?” she asks.

“The drive. They’re in cars.”

Who in the ever loving fuck?My tired brain works overtime trying to calculate who could be coming after us this soon.

Red goes to move but I grab her hand. Seeing her thoughts, I’m horrified at her plan.

“I can head them off, whoever they are. Let me go meet them on the drive and send them packing before they see all this.” She gestures to the backyard that looks more like a morgue slash crematorium currently.

“Alone? Not a chance.” My grip on her tightens as I pull her back towards me.

“I’m the only one who doesn’t look bloodied and beaten. How are we going to explain all this?” She waves with her free hand. “If I can stop them coming round the back, maybe we won't get arrested for murder tonight.”

“And if they’re here to cause trouble, it’s putting you at ten against one. Not happening.” I gaze down at her, pleading with her. Feeling her in danger once tonight is enough. In fact, I’ve had enough of that fear for a lifetime.

“It's the authorities,” Mitch calls. He’s managed to stand again and is hobbling over, using a stick as a makeshift crutch,

My heart stops beating.No…

“How would you know?” Red asks. Even through her glamour her skin pales.

I pick up the noise of the engines now, they’re racing down the long driveway.

“Yeah, how would you know?” Ash has shifted back now and repeats the question, but there’s an edge to his voice I can’t place. It’s like he’s not surprised.

“You need to go!” I snap, realising the danger the wolves are in. They’re outside of their territory. The authorities might capture and kill individual vampires if they discover them but by breaking the shifter treaty, the four males currently outside the Northern Isles are handing the authorities permission to execute the entire pack. The treaty was absolute. Any wolf found outside their little sanctuary means the lot of them die.

The cars come to a screeching halt on the gravel. Doors are thrown open.

“Go!” Red shoos Ash.

“Wait. It’s fine,” Ash tries to explain, his packmates joining him. “We didn’t get a chance to explain it to you, we’re allowed to be here.”

“Since when?” I hiss.

“It went through, didn’t it?” Mitch asks excitedly.

A yell comes from the other side of the house. We all fall silent. It’ll be too late. If these visitors are supernatural then they’ll have heard us, will hear the fire crackling.

I tug Red’s hand again and she comes willingly into my side, although I note she doesn’t press against me as it’s my injured side.

Ash comes up to my other side. “If it’s the authorities, it’ll be okay.”

“I don’t fucking see how,” I fire at him in a hushed yell, snapping my fangs to show how pissed I’m feeling. Pissed, and absolutely terrified. We didn’t go through hell the past few days for it to end like this.

I order most of the males into the house by the rear entrance. We can’t do much about the bodies littering the lawn but I feel better putting some form of barrier between them and whoever is currently making their way around the property. Only Mitch—who refused to budge—Ash, Henry, and Antares remain with Red and me.

Mitch tries to talk to me again but I wave him off, too occupied in ensuring we don’t get captured tonight after we just gained our freedom.

Two males appear round the side first, both brandishing blades. When they spot us through the darkness, standing just off the porch, they freeze.