I jerked the whip hard, dropping her to the ground. “Now, did you have something to say to me?”

“He’s mine!”

I burst out laughing and flicked the whip so it uncoiled from her legs. “Liam, this is your territory. You want to deal with her, or should I? I really don’t want to kill anyone else. At least, not tonight.”

Liam moved beside me so we faced her together. She let out a groan as her eyes flicked over me, pausing as she took in a deep breath, her nostrils flaring as she scented the air. Her eyes widened with understanding, and a wicked glimmer crossed them. “Oh, I see what this is. Liam, you should have told me about her. Shameful, so very shameful between a wolf and a human.” Her eyes flicked up and down my body. “You know it will kill her, when the time comes.”

What happened next couldn’t have shocked me more if Faris had put on a dress and said he was marrying Doran. Shit, I didn’t think Beauty’s words hadn’t been that bad.

Liam lunged forward as he shifted. She scrambled backwards, her eyes wide, but no one shifted as fast as Liam, and Beauty was no exception. His teeth closed around her neck and she scrambled to push him off. A sharp twist, the crack of vertebrae, and she stilled with a last single gasp of air. Even in death her body was stunning, her hair fanned out around her head as the blood dripped down her pale neck and over her perfect chest, her hands open in an artful gesture.

Didn’t seem to affect Liam, though. He threw her body away from us and into the night where the lights from Louisa’s home didn’t touch. The werewolves around us sunk even lower to the ground, their teeth chattering in a creepy, clacking unison that brought Alex running from the back of the pack.

He skidded to a stop when he saw Beauty’s body and clamped his oversized paws on his muzzle. “Oh, shitty dips.”

Liam didn’t glance at him, just shifted back into human form. “She was bound to cause more grief than either of us need right now.”

I couldn’t keep my eyes from widening further, if that was possible. That did not sound like Liam.

He glanced at me and just shook his head. “We have to get out of here, you know that, right? The ogres aren’t going to take long to figure out where we are. The other guardians were possessed, and I’ve no doubt that they have some sort of connection with those possessing the ogres. ”

Well, wasn’t that just peachy. Explained what happened to Bear and the other guardians, though. “What about Louisa?”

“I sent her and Crystal on to London. They were clean.”

I choked a little. “All the other shamans?”

“Dead.”

What the fuck, we were losing allies left and right. But that was what Orion wanted, he wanted us cut off and fighting on our own.

“The only doorway on this side of the world that we know will still let us into the castle is back home.” I turned to look in that direction. It wasn’t close, but ultimately it would be faster than trying to get to London via Blaz. The old mine shaft had become a veritable highway for us when it came to crossing the veil.

It didn’t take much convincing on my part. Frank was still done in and even if he could open the veil directly to Jack’s, Liam would still be stuck in New Mexico.

“Liam, you wait here with your wolves. Blaz, are two trips going to be a problem?”

Don’t insult me. His voice boomed through everyone and, of the newbies, it was Coyote who let out a laugh.

“Does that mean I’m coming with you?”

“You don’t have to.” I looked him over. “But I’m thinking that being on your own at this point probably isn’t the best idea.”

Coyote bobbed his head once, his silver eyes serious, though he had a big grin on his face. On the outside, he might look like this was all just fun and games, but there was a lot going on behind those eyes of his. “I’ll come with you. It’s been a long time since Wolf and I hunted together. And he is rather fun to poke at.” He winked at me as Liam snorted.

The werewolves backed away into the darkness waiting for Liam. He came to me, touched one hand to my cheek and bent his head to mine. “We need to have a long talk, as soon as we get to London. No more distractions, no matter how bad they are. Promise me.”

Shit, that didn’t sound good. “If it’s that bad, tell me now.”

“Not bad, but we have to sort some stuff out that won’t wait.” His eyes never left mine, as if trying to impress something important on me.

My stomach clenched. He was talking about the secrets he’d been keeping the last few months. I’d wanted to know, pestered him about them, and now that the moment had drawn close, I wasn’t so sure anymore I had any desire to know what he’d been keeping from me.

He kissed me, quick and clean, and then backed away, shifting. Moments later, a chorus of howls broke the night air; at one time, the sounds would have sent shivers down my spine. Not anymore. Though I couldn’t tell them all apart, I could hear Alex and Liam adding their voices to the mix, and their voices soothed my fears. I had my boys; they would stand by me no matter what.

Pamela helped Coyote, boosting him with her magic onto Blaz’s back, and then followed him up. Frank and Berget were right behind them, then Kyle and India. I paused, looked to Erik and saw the same hesitation on his face.

“What?”

He shook his head, his eyes narrowing. “Something big is coming.”

“Yeah, four horsemen, end of the world, all that shit.” I said the words, but in my heart I knew he was talking about something else.

“Don’t dismiss this, Rylee. You are always going to be the center of things and your intuition is trying to tell you something, isn’t it?”

I flicked my hand at him, silently asking him to follow me, and we walked to the edge of where the light touched the night.

“The witches are dealt with. No more demons should easily be able to possess supernaturals. The ogres have been outed. But that damn doorway, it’s still open, and we are planning on walking right by it to get to London.”

Erik put a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing at the skin. “The horsemen shouldn’t be coming through yet, not until the packs do some serious damage in preparation for them. I think we have time in that regards. But there is something else. Like a crux in time, a moment where we aren’t going to be able to fix whatever it is that happens.”