Four Days (Seven Series #4) (24 page)

The Blue Door wasn’t prepared for a Shifter battle that day, but the Weston pack was armed to the teeth.
When Austin confronted Fox, I moved to get up and Fox snared my wrist. With my free hand, I grabbed my cane and struck him on the head. The silver snout of the wolf left a deep gash, and blood trickled down his forehead in thin rivulets.

Austin pulled out his gun, but before he could aim, Fox flipped the table over and used it as both a shield and a weapon. The gun went off and Fox knocked Austin onto his back. I stood up and drove my cane into Fox’s side, wishing it still had the pointy tip. Shouting, he flung the cane across the room. The air stilled when it clacked against the floor.

“Attack!” Austin shouted, and his words galvanized his men into action. Austin shoved the table away, sending Fox flying backward.

Some of the customers merely watched, as if this were a form of entertainment. One man called for the bartender, and another was throwing punches at anyone who got close.

No one had shifted and it was just fist and brawn.

Several women ran toward the door and Wheeler unlocked it to let them out. After the panicked customers exited the building, Wheeler slid the deadbolts back into place on the top and bottom of the doors.

The staff had specific orders not to kick us out, so they appeared uncertain of how to defuse the situation. The blue-haired bartender slammed his Mage energy into a Shifter’s chest, launching him across the floor.

In a swirl of magic, that Shifter transformed into a black animal made of pure muscle.

“Panther!” someone shouted.

Denver leapt onto the bar and took aim with his gun. The panther lifted his predatory eyes and bared his long fangs at him. He pulled the trigger and a bullet struck the panther in the side, knocking him over. Before Denver could finish the animal off, someone yanked him off the bar by the ankles. A large crash sounded when he fell backward against the liquor bottles and then onto the floor.

Austin must have dropped his gun, because he and Fox were throwing punches at each other. I scanned the floor in search of the weapon.

Two men had pinned Trevor to the ground, and I raced toward him as fast as my body would allow. I grabbed a chair and slammed it over one man’s back.

“Get off him!” I shouted.

When the man spun around, I recognized the Chitah who had smiled at Maizy. He had a crooked nose—the kind a man gets who’s been in a number of fights. But he made no move toward me since Chitahs wouldn’t fight a woman, even if she were stabbing him with a fork.

Which crossed my mind when I glanced at the table beside me.

“You’re on the wrong side,” I said. “Stand back and give us the respect to finish this out.”

He stood up, towering over me by over a foot. “And how do I know which side is the right one?”

Trevor smeared blood across his face with the back of his hand before he scrambled up to help our pack.

“Because if you choose the other side, you’ll be fighting beside a rapist.”

Darkness swallowed up his bright amber eyes, and his upper and lower canines punched out. Chitahs had an internal switch that, when they were provoked, would flip. They didn’t shift into animal form as Shifters did, but their inner animal took control of their human mind and body. When it happened, their eyes would roll black and a unique spotted pattern would erupt across their skin like a mirage.

I backed away.

Lexi grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side. “I had to put down my gun. I almost shot Ben. Everything’s moving so fast! My wolf wants to shift, and I don’t think I can stop her.”

“You can’t shift,” I said firmly. “Not yet. Let Austin give the signal.”

Her body shook as if racked with chills, and in a swift movement, Lexi shifted into a silver wolf with a white face and black-tipped ears. I’d been told her coloring was darker than my wolf’s—less pure. Still, she was a beautiful specimen to behold. She charged out of sight and then I heard a guttural scream.

One of the nearby tables still had dirty dishes on it, so I gripped a steak knife and turned around.

I couldn’t breathe when I caught sight of Lorenzo at the back of the room. It was as if my legs became anchors and nothing else existed.

Lorenzo fought with grace and agility, executing moves and spins I’d never imagined him capable of. My heart leapt with admiration as I watched him in action. His Asian opponent was equally skilled, each of them striking with calculated precision. Something briefly distracted Lorenzo and I turned in the direction that he was looking and saw Fox.

I palmed the knife, tightening my grip and moving toward them. Then I realized something crucial that changed the game: I’d never killed anyone while they were in human form. My spirited wolf had always been the warrior between the two of us, and after I’d brought life into the world, my human side had grown more compassionate. I couldn’t sneak up behind a man and cut his throat. It wouldn’t be an honorable death, and his spirit would haunt me. So I backed away and allowed Lorenzo to fight his own battle. Before I turned, he nodded at me once, showing his appreciation. Interfering would have meant taking away his dignity. But suddenly the thought of him dying because of that choice terrified me to the core.

I turned just in time to see Wheeler on his back with a large man pinning him. Wheeler spat out a curse, and the man shifted into an enormous panther. The muscles along his back tightened, and he roared, exposing all his sharp teeth. Wheeler’s eyes didn’t widen with fright, but they narrowed with intent. He gripped the panther by the throat and punched him in the face.

Wheeler’s wolf stood little chance of defeating an animal of this caliber. While most men would cower and run, Wheeler eyed him as if it wasn’t the first time he’d come face to face with a panther.

“You like that, kitty cat?” he asked, throwing another punch. A sharp canine broke off and fell against the black carpet.

I came up behind them, but not quietly. The panther turned his head and vaulted in the air, his powerful body sailing toward me like a dark shadow.

“Sonofabitch!” Wheeler lurched forward to grab his tail, but it was too late.

The panther’s body, rippling with solid muscle, collapsed heavily on top of me. A sharp breath of air escaped my lungs when my back slammed against the hard floor. His crushing weight was suffocating me.

“Ivy!” Wheeler shouted.

“I’m okay,” I croaked. “Get him off me!”

He grabbed the haunches of the animal and dragged him away. I scooted back and saw that a dark streak of blood stained my dress. The knife I’d been holding was buried in the panther’s chest to the hilt, straight through his heart. His eyes had gone murky; the Shifter had crossed over to the spirit world.

“You really know how to shake things up, don’t you?” Wheeler said. “Let me know if you want some earrings and I’ll snatch a couple of his claws.”

“Why didn’t you use the knife you carry around?”

He winked. “I’m saving that for a special occasion.”

Wheeler dropped the animal’s tail and turned his attention toward Ben. Two Shifters were closing in on him as he guarded the hall to our private room. Bystanders stood against the outer walls, trying not to get involved. Wheeler ran across a booth and leapt over a half wall, diving into action.

With my heart still beating wildly, I limped halfway across the room before a husky voice yelled out, “Hey,
bitch!
”

I whirled around. A Shifter plucked the knife from the panther’s chest and hurled it at me. The blade rotated toward me like a propeller slicing the air.

A split second before it struck me in the chest, a man appeared out of nowhere and rushed in front of me. I trembled, touching my bloody dress in disbelief.

“You’ll pay for that,” the stranger shouted.

When he turned around, I recognized the bright-haired Vampire.

“I don’t believe we’ve had introductions. I’m Atticus,” he said coolly, the handle of the blade still protruding from his chest. “With your permission, I’d like to ask for a dance. Not right this moment of course, but perhaps later?”

I stood aghast, bemused by his politeness amid the chaos. “All right,” I heard myself saying.
Did I just agree to dance with a Vampire in the middle of a Shifter war?

The knife made a terrible sound when he pulled it from his chest and grimaced. “Splendid.” Atticus crumpled into a chair, his face pale. Vampires could heal, but the consumption of blood made the process quicker.

I stepped forward and met his gaze without looking away. For Vampires, that was a show of trust. “What if I give you a drink instead of a dance?” I would have never offered my blood to a Vampire, but Atticus had saved my life.

His black eyes were cold and bottomless. “Not a chance. Just catching my breath before I crush the idiot who threw the knife—the one I can hear walking toward us.”

Atticus spun out of his chair and gripped the man by the neck, pulling him close and sinking his fangs into the Shifter’s throat. I turned away, my stomach twisting in disgust.

Lexi and Trevor had teamed up against a Shifter—her wolf intimidating and biting him while Trevor assailed him with a series of punches. Denver was lying semiconscious on the floor. He had a broken nose, a gash on his arm, and blood matted his blond hair from a laceration on his head.

“Denny!”

To my horror, a burly Shifter strolled into the room, dragging Maizy by the hand. Her eyes widened at the sight of Denver’s unconscious body not twenty feet ahead.

“
Denny!
” she cried out.

“Let the little one go!” I shouted, approaching him unarmed.

The man lifted her onto the bar with a violent motion and she hit her knee on the edge. Maizy lay on her side, holding her leg and crying.

He bared his teeth. “Everyone back off or I’ll—”

Before he could finish the thought, a Chitah tackled him at lightning speed. The man made a gurgling sound as the Chitah tore at his throat with sharp canines.

Austin rushed to Denver, making him shift to his animal and then back. Denver sat up, holding his head where a small bump had formed. Then he shoved Austin away when he heard Maizy’s cry. Knowing his nudity would startle a human child, he put on his jeans and went to her.

“I got you,” he said, scooping her into his arms. She turned into him to avoid seeing the mayhem around her, and Denver disappeared with her into the kitchen behind the bar.

I stumbled when a loud shotgun blasted. Lynn centered herself in the hall like the angel of death, aiming her gun at anyone who crossed her path. “Where’s my daughter!”

“Lynn, she’s safe,” I called out. “Denver has her.”

When a man attacked her from the side, knocking the gun out of her hands, I unleashed my wolf.

***

Lorenzo circled the Shifter, keeping his reflexes quick and his eyes sharp. While the man was a worthy opponent, Lorenzo decided the guy’s ego would lead to impulsive decisions.

Of course, Lorenzo had a weakness of his own: impatience. He wanted to wrap his fingers tightly around Fox’s windpipe. Despite how quickly this fight needed to end so he could accomplish that task, he’d been relieved when Ivy hadn’t intervened. She understood the true Shifter ways and how to fight with honor.

“You move like a rabbit.” His opponent swept out his leg.

Lorenzo jumped out of the way and delivered a forceful kick to the man’s chest. “And
you
fight like a giraffe.”

The man staggered back and then flipped over a table to make more room. “This is a good boost for my ego to fight an alpha. The fact I’ve lasted this long gives me a little hope.”

“Hope for what?” Lorenzo dodged a punch and threw a hard right.

The man spun away, his black hair rippling around like a wave. “Taking out Fox when the time’s right.”

Lorenzo knocked him in the jaw. “You’re two men down.”

“Two
weak
men.” He spat out a mouthful of blood. “Panthers are strong, but they’re fucking crazy and everyone knows it. Fox was an idiot for bringing them in.”

“There is more honor in following an alpha Packmaster than a rogue pretender.” Lorenzo arched back and weaved around another punch.

“Some of us would rather lead than follow.
Fuck
alphas. You guys think you’re invincible, but half of you aren’t even fit to lead a pack. I’ve seen better men in lower ranks more capable of being a Packmaster. What the hell makes you so goddamn special?”

With each exchange, Lorenzo delivered a kick, a punch, or a defensive maneuver. “Because an alpha is born with a gene you do not possess. It’s a calling. We will bleed and die for our pack and do whatever it takes to keep the family together. Courage. Spirit. Strength. Loyalty. These are weapons you do not possess.” Each punch became more solid than the last. “Greed is your shield and envy is your sword. No man can win a battle with armor forged from fear. You will never become a leader unless you are willing to die. That’s what separates the alpha from the omega!”

Lorenzo roared, striking mercilessly until the Shifter fell onto his back. He grabbed a knife from a dirty plate, wiped the sharp instrument clean on his pants, and fell to his knees, plunging the blade into the man’s heart. His enemy’s pupils engorged, and his mouth opened in a soundless scream.

“Die a good death, Shifter. Take your dark spirit elsewhere.” Lorenzo ran his fingers over the man’s eyes and closed them.

He flinched when a shotgun went off. The older woman in Austin’s pack fell over when a man knocked the gun out of her hands. Lorenzo’s heart stopped when he saw Ivy’s long braid swing as she shifted into her silver wolf and attacked the Shifter.

“Ivy!” He shoved a man out of the way.
Jesus, he had to get to her
.

The blue-haired bartender threw a blast of energy into Austin. Neither the staff nor the customers knew what to do except attack anyone who came within reach.

The Shifter flipped Ivy’s wolf onto her back, but she had latched onto his shoulder with a mouthful of angry teeth. The bastard punched her in the side with a tight fist, making her bite harder.