Hunter was on the stage within seconds, snarling. “Beta, if you address her out of turn once more…”
“Safe haven!” Sasha shouted, spinning on Hunter. She lowered her voice. “Safe haven. They don’t understand.” She turned to Seung Kwon, her eyes appealing to any compassion he owned. Guilt and heartbreak ripped her insides. “Shogun has been like this for hours-suffering. Can’t you see the man’s in pure agony? We can’t just sit around battling or debating this! You can’t wait on the moon several hours from now, that’s not going to make it better. He won’t last till then.”
Hunter lolled his neck and focused on Shogun. “When my system was rejecting the demon-infected virus, my transformations were hard like his. Brutal. They have antitoxin at Tulane… a small stash from just after the war here. It was an emergency supply my grandfather insisted be left here, just in case.”
“It was based on the same meds they used to shoot PCU human soldiers up with-the ones that got bitten.” Sasha began to pace, talking with her hands. “But they’ve perfected it with Shadow Wolf blood in the serum. The demon-infected Werewolf blood isn’t in it any longer. It’s the only chance to get Shogun out of this aborted transformation.”
“This is bullshit! You lie!” Seung Kwon shouted. “How do we know the truth from your lies?”
“Shadow Wolves do not lie,” Hunter said in a slow rumble, walking forward, ready to attack. “That’s why we can wear silver. Scent it in my aura. Truth smells like sterling. Do I look like I’m lying when I tell you that I’ll kill you if you let my brother die, punk?”
A pained gasp followed by a long, agonized moan stilled the group. The sounds of bones snapping caused them all to cringe.
“He’s transitioning back to human form too slowly!” Sasha shouted. “What about this don’t you understand?”
“That’s my brother you are dooming to a suffering death that lacks honor or dignity. I will not allow you to do that just so that you can be his successor.” Hunter’s voice was low and steady as he continued stalking forward. “If you don’t allow us to take this man to the only source of transformation meds we know of, he will go into shock and die.”
“We’re not allowing you to take him anywhere while he’s vulnerable to an assassination.” Seung took a fighter’s stance in front of Shogun’s body, gaze hardened for war.
“Fine, die your way,” Hunter said, preparing to lunge. “It’s either that, or be merciful and shoot him.”
Clarissa stared at her cell phone the moment the call disconnected. Bradley and Winters didn’t say a word; their expressions spoke volumes.
“It was Doc,” she said in a far-off tone. “He just left Tulane with Silver Hawk… headed toward The Fair Lady with antitoxin. Woods and Fisher have gotta bring artillery backup. This is not a drill.”
“What the fuck is going on, guys?” Winters dropped back against the seat, demoralized. “Oh, shit. You mean Hunter came out of the shadows full blown again?”
“No,” she said quietly, as Bradley stepped down harder on the gas. “It’s not for Hunter, it’s for Shogun.”
CHAPTER 10
Pounding on the front door of The Fair Lady drew snarls from everyone, including Hunter. Sasha rushed forward, seeing the flashing red lights through the glass panels, her feminine intuition kicking in. She knew how Doc functioned; the males with her didn’t. If Doc had gone to Tulane to get the meds while they all stood around and argued about how to move Shogun, Doc would have commandeered an ambulance, calling in his military markers.
“Stand down,” Sasha shouted as she crossed the wide floor. “It’s Doc and Silver Hawk with meds. All of our jeeps are in the bayou, en route. You guys didn’t have a vehicle and wouldn’t let me and Hunter try to shadow jump with him, so they brought an ambulance, okay?”
Muscles relaxed, hackles lowered, but still Shogun’s men didn’t move from their protective stances in front of him as she opened the door. But the moment she did, she froze.
Doc stood beside Silver Hawk, his troubled gaze locked onto hers. Silver Hawk had a shotgun, cocked and loaded with silver shells. Low warning growls were behind her, a clearly compromised Shadow Wolf elder stood before her. The dance would be delicate.
“We are no longer at war with the Werewolf Clans,” Sasha said calmly, staring into Shadow Hawk’s eyes. “Shogun is Hunter’s half-brother. You know this… Grandfather, you are being affected by dark magick.”
“His people killed my daughter,” Silver Hawk said flatly, looking over Sasha’s shoulder toward the stage.
“His father tried to save your daughter,” Sasha said softly. “He died for her, fought and bled for her. Now we must return the favor and try to heal his son.”
Gently and slowly, she reached out and lowered the gun barrel and then watched Silver Hawk release the hammer so that it was no longer cocked. She and Doc shared a look.
“Tensions are running high,” Doc said quietly.
Sasha nodded.
“How are you and Hunter feeling?”
She looked at Doc, not blinking. “Better now that we’ve been to the shadow lands to purge.”
Doc nodded. That’s all that she needed to know; he’d gotten her unspoken message.
“Maybe later Hunter can go with you on a spirit walk,” Sasha said, now looking at their clan elder.
“Yes…” Silver Hawk said in a faraway voice. “I am a man of reason and of peace.” He thrust the gun at her, presenting it in a lateral move. “Take this. I don’t know what has come over me.”
Sasha immediately took the gun and turned to face Shogun’s wary lieutenants. “Meds have arrived with an armed escort to be sure they weren’t hijacked. We’ve experienced that before.”
She waited and watched the Werewolves try to decipher the truth from the bit of yeast she added to it for peace. They had been hijacked before for antitoxin, and after a moment they accepted her rationale for the silver-slug-loaded shotgun coming through the door. Besides, what else could they do? She was a military-lab-made member of the Shadow Wolf Clan and didn’t own an aura with a silver lining, so whatever she said would have to be taken at face value.
The thought gave her pause as she walked forward with Silver Hawk, Doc bringing up her rear. That meant she was inscrutable to even Hunter… deep. She was scaring herself and shook the inappropriate thought as she leaped up on the stage and helped Doc up with a hard pull.
“My suggestion is that they take him out on a gurney to get the meds in him while not in this spell hot zone.” Sasha looked around at the men assembled. “He’ll need fluids-an IV hookup, maybe even oxygen-and he could even go into cardiac arrest, so the back of the ambulance, where they have a defibrillator and all the necessary elements of a crash cart, is the safest place for him. Once he stabilizes, we can transfer him to a room at Dugan’s old B &B… Without nurse Margaret there at Tulane, it could be risky to have him where humans could screw up his treatment-or be in harm’s way if something goes haywire.”
“If he dies, you die,” Seung Kwon said, staring at Sasha.
“How many times have I told you that if you address her out of order, it will be your ass, beta!” Huge canines ripped though Hunter’s gums, his wolf seconds from emerging.
Sasha raised the shotgun and fired it toward the ceiling. “Safe haven!”
The Werewolves surrounding Shogun hesitated. Hunter walked off the adrenaline rush, pacing. Silver Hawk’s lips circled into a snarl while Doc balled his fist at his sides, ready to fight to his death.
“Two things, Seung Kwon-one, you are delaying a healing and you know Shadow Wolves are natural healers. Two, I have told you that there’s a bad spell affecting everyone. Look around.” She leveled the shotgun toward his chest. “You are talking a lot of trash in front of a really off-the-chain alpha male about his mate, going up against a military-trained alpha she-Shadow, standing in front of our clan elder, who has kicked more demon-infected Were-wolf ass in his lifetime than you can imagine, and who is just ready for a shape-shift. Plus, Doc ain’t no slouch. So, do not let the spell make you that foolish, because if you lunge, we will take you and your men down, hard and permanently. The only thing that has saved your stubborn, arrogant ass thus far is the fact that we’re trying like crazy to save your man, who, if you would listen, also happens to be Hunter’s brother. Now back off!”