Just then Bran’s phone started ringing. A second later, Kate’s, Caleb’s and Ma’s phones also rang. Everyone looked at each other and then frantically started pulling out their cell phones.
“What! We’ll be right there,” Kate said, hanging up and grabbing the keys. Everyone in the diner was silent and staring at Kate as she made her way to the door.
“Everyone stay back. We’re on our way,” Bran said into his cell phone, following Kate.
“Are the boys safe? I don’t care about what he did to the pack member. Are our boys safe?” Caleb demanded, moving past Bran to get to the car.
“Connor, pack up the toys and clothes and follow in my car,” Ma said, racing after the three.
* * * *
Kate watched as Caleb continuously bounced his leg in the passenger seat of the SUV.
“If he has hurt the boys—” Caleb started.
“Rian would never hurt the boys, not in a million years,” Kate said adamantly. She maneuvered the car at break-neck speed toward the Pack house.
“What did you get from Riley, Bran?” Ma asked from the back seat.
“He said that everyone was relaxing after a late lunch when they heard a commotion upstairs,” Bran said.
“Rian had shifted and wouldn’t let anyone approach the nursery or the boys. He evidently took a swipe at Robert when he got too close. That is when everyone started reaching out to us.”
“Kate is right, Caleb. Rian would never hurt the boys. Something must have triggered his lion,” Ma said.
Caleb just gave a sharp nod and kept his eyes on the road.
Kate pulled directly up to the front door before slamming the car into park. She and Caleb raced to the front door, Bran and Ma close behind them. Immediately they were bombarded by pack members.
“Sir, he’s gone crazy!” one yelled.
“That God damn cat!” another said.
“We can’t get near the boys!” another one said.
Everyone crowded the four, making it impossible for them to enter the foyer. They had only been able to take a few steps before bodies started pressing in on them. Caleb, frustrated, growled loudly and started knocking people to one side.
Taking advantage of the opening, Caleb, Bran, and Kate ran for the stairs to head toward the nursery. That is where they found Riley standing in the hallway by the nursery door. He stepped forward to meet them. Kate grabbed Caleb’s arm.
“Let me go first. He knows me best,” Kate said. She could see his jaw clenching before he nodded.
“Hurry. I need to see the boys.”
She gave a nod and then took a step into the nursery.
“Ri?” she said, looking at the extremely large male lion standing in front of the crib.
Fully shifted, he looked nothing like the flamboyant fashionista she had come to consider her best friend. He looked deadly. He was huge with a full mane and amber-colored eyes. His paws were soaked in blood. The lion stared at her for a second before it shimmered and morphed into the smaller man she was familiar with.
“Oh, Kate! It was terrible! They came after the boys. I had to kill them!” he said, bursting into tears.
Caleb quickly stepped into the nursery, moved past Rian and picked up Landon and Lucas, who had been sitting calmly in their crib staring up at the now hysterical Rian.
“Oh thank God!” he said, holding them close. He took a deep breath, inhaling their scent before nuzzling their heads.
Bran handed Rian a blanket to cover up.
“Who did you have to kill, Ri?” Kate asked.
He looked up and pointed to the sitting room attached to the nursery.
“You can’t smell them?” he asked.
Kate took a deep breath and a growl escaped her lips.
“Hyena!” she said before stalking into the sitting room where two bodies lay in tatters on the floor. Dark-red puddles had pooled under each body and expanded outward into the carpet. Thick chunks of flesh lay around the room. She turned, walked back, and gave Rian a hug.
“Why wouldn’t you let the pack in? They could have started to clean up.”
She tucked his blanket around him, using a corner to wipe his face. His lips pulled back in a snarl.
“I didn’t know who I could trust. Kate, they had to have been invited by a townsperson to get past the perimeter and onto pack grounds.”
She gasped. Her mind hadn’t processed it that far yet.
Bran’s hands shifted into claws and he growled around his descended canines. “Bring me Arthur Raymond! Now!” He roared out the last word. She saw him breathing hard in an effort to keep his wolf under control.
“Rian, take them!” Caleb said, shoving the boys into Rian’s arms who stood closest to him. He turned and threw back his head as his wolf reacted to the intense feelings of anger coming through the bond he shared with Bran. His howl echoed off the walls of the tiny nursery. His wolf was not only clawing to the surface at the threat to their young but also reacting to Bran’s rage.