Chapter 113 Maddy
MADDY
The next day, I watched Nico, Luis, and Felipe carry three heavy cases up from the basement. The ones Nico and Felipe had looked like really long suitcases. Luis carried one that looked like a thick, bulky attaché case.
“What are those?” I asked as they came up the stairs.
“Stuff Dad bought years ago. I can’t even remember the last time we took them out,” Nico said. “As evidenced by the dust.”
The cases were caked in dust. Nico flipped his case up and rolled the little combination locks until the snaps popped open. When he lifted the lid, my mouth dropped open. Inside were four rows of what looked like assault rifles.
“What the hell, Nico?”
He looked at me and smiled. “Don’t worry.
We aren’t some anti-government militia or something.
Dad got these about ten years ago when a shifter group that was on the bad side of both our and Javi’s pack rolled through.
They weren’t afraid of packing heat, and Dad figured it was best we were prepared if they started trouble.
We can die as easily from a gunshot when we’re in wolf form as we do as a human. We heal faster as wolves, but still.”
I gaped at the weapons. “Are we going to use these?”
Felipe opened his case. It was loaded with six pump-action shotguns.
Luis’s smaller case held what looked like a dozen pistols—revolvers as well as semi-autos.
I’d never even touched a gun. The only reason I had any idea what I was looking at was from movies and books.
The sight of the guns was both scary and exhilarating.
Nico nodded. “The guys and I go shooting every few months, but we need to train everyone to use them. Like I told the other alphas, it won’t only be a brawl if stuff goes bad. And our natural speed and power will only do so much when our enemies are shooting at us from two hundred yards away.”
“Yup.” Felipe grinned and cocked his shotgun.
I flinched at the sound.
Felipe’s smile faded. “Oh, shit. Sorry, Maddy. The guns aren’t loaded. We still have to grab the cases of ammo.”
“Right,” Nico said. “There’s another case of handguns and rifles down there.”
An uneasy chuckle escaped me. Seeing the weapons in front of me brought home how dangerous things were.
Nico had said the pack would start training again, but I hadn’t known exactly what that entailed until now.
Before, Nico had everyone training to fight a stealth or surprise attack.
Now? If the royals or anti-shifters came, it would be in the open, without fear of publicity or the police.
“I’ve… uh… never actually held a gun before,” I said.
Nico’s lips twitched. “I figured. I’ve been worried about how things would go if the time came for you to use one of these.” He stood and scratched his head. “Do you think you can?”
I looked from his face down to the weapons and back again. Could I? If I really thought about it, I wasn’t sure I could.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Nico. I mean… that’s murder.”
He took my hand and squeezed it. “That’s the first thing you need to get out of your head.
” He pointed toward the front door. “If a half-dozen anti-shifters with weapons busted down that door right this minute and wanted to kill all four of us, and I picked up this rifle and shot them, would that be murder or self-defense?”
When he put it that way, it didn’t sound like murder. “Self-defense. I guess.”
I still didn’t like the idea. My parents were pacifists. We’d never owned a gun, and Dad was adamant about not ever having one. Nico must have seen the hesitation on my face.
“Listen,” he said, rubbing his hand up my arm to my shoulder.
“I don’t want you to be part of any battle.
I know the strength you possess from being Edemas’s heir would be an asset, but I plan to keep you as far from any fight as I can.
However, I need to know you can protect yourself.
I know you can when you’re in wolf form, but I need to know that you can in human form as well.
We’ll practice fighting as a wolf later. Right now, this takes precedence.”
I nodded and stepped back as they unpacked the weapons.
They brought up the other cases and ammunition before taking some of it outside for shooting practice in the open field.
Luis ran home to grab some aluminum cans for targets, and Nico and Felipe started heading out.
Before I could follow them, my parents walked up the road toward us.
Shock and confusion warred on their faces.
“Hang on,” I said. “Nico, I’ll meet you guys in a few minutes.”
He glanced at my parents and nodded. “Okay. See you in a bit.”
To make matters even more awkward, my birth mom, Gabriella, stepped out the door, holding a glass of tea. It was like a rule that, no matter what, parents got the chance to question their children’s actions.
“What the hell is going on?” Dad asked, pointing toward the men carrying guns. “Why do they have those weapons?”
“Is there something we need to know?” Mom asked.
Gabriella said nothing as she took a seat on the porch couch, watching quietly.
“We’re gonna go down to the field. Nico’s going to teach me how to shoot.”
My mom looked aghast. “Is that safe?”
I did my best to keep from rolling my eyes. Even with my own hesitations and fears, I didn’t sound as terrified as she did. Dad, however, looked more furious than anything.
“No, it’s not. Maddy, I don’t think this is a good idea,” he said.
“Dad, it’s for my safety. Nico wants me to know how to use one if the time comes. If a big fight or battle breaks out, he wants me ready.”
Sneering, he waved back at the house. “Well… wouldn’t the best thing be for you to hide? I mean, isn’t that safe room in there a better option than blasting away with a gun?”
“Right,” Mom added. “We don’t want you involved.”
“That’s a nice thought but unrealistic,” Gabriella said.
I groaned inwardly. This was not going smoothly.
“What do you mean?” Dad asked. “Of course, it’s realistic. If someone is in trouble, the safest thing to do is to hide. You’ve seen what these people are capable of.”
“Oh, I know,” Gabriella said, setting her tea aside. “That’s why I’m sure it is the best thing for Maddy to learn how to fight. Both as a wolf and as a woman. If learning how to use a weapon will help keep her safe, I’m all for it.”
“Well, that’s your opinion, Gabriella. But aren’t bullets flying around more dangerous?” Dad asked.
“Enough! Enough, okay? I’m going. For God’s sake, I’m an adult. If I want to go and shoot a damned gun, it’s my prerogative. Gabriella is right. It’s like what Nico told me. If someone broke in and I had to choose between dying and knowing how to use a gun, I’d rather know how to use the gun.”
“So you’re taking her side?” Mom asked, pointing at Gabriella.
I wanted to scream—to tear my hair out. Of all the stupid shit for them to get in a fight over, this was at the top of the list.
“I’m not taking anyone’s side, Mom.” I thought about it for a second before changing my mind.
“Actually, no, I am taking a side. My own. I’m doing it.
There’s a war coming, and I need to be prepared.
Honestly, I think it would be good if you were too, but that’s your decision.
I’m leaving.” I stormed off before any of them could say anything else to piss me off.
By the time I got to the field, I’d managed to calm down.
Felipe and Luis looked at me, then quickly continued loading the guns. Nico grinned. “So, that went well.”
“How would you know?”
He tapped his ear. “Shifter hearing.”
I sighed. “Let’s not talk about it, okay? Show me what I need to know.”
“Okay, we’ve got some time before Sinthy comes down.”
“Uh, Sinthy?” I said. “Is she also gonna learn to shoot? Is that necessary with what she can do?”
“Not really,” Nico said. “But she told me she had worked out something to make training more realistic. Not gonna lie, that sounds a little scary, but I guess we’ll see what she has up her sleeve.”
Nico showed me how to load, unload, and turn the safety off all the different gun types.
A dozen more of his pack mates arrived, and eventually, we were all taking shots at cans sitting lined up on an old wooden fence.
Nico and his two friends kept grumbling about how out of practice they all were.
That irritated me because, from what I’d seen, they could hit the targets without issue.
Me? I was struggling my ass off. I’d fired off at least thirty rounds before I finally put a shot through an old beer can.
“I am terrible at this,” I said as Nico took the pistol from my hands.
“You hit that one,” he said, pointing at the can lying in the grass.
All around us, the pop pop pop of gunfire was going off, muffled by the earplugs I wore. I was about to tell him to be honest and tell me how bad I actually looked, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Sinthy strolling through the grass toward us.
Nico held his arm up and shouted for the shooting to stop. Sinthy was grinning and looking very proud of herself.
“Okay, what’s this surprise you’ve got for us?” Nico asked.
Sinthy clasped her hands together and bounced on her toes. “Oh, you’re gonna love it. First, I need you all to put the guns back in the cases—can’t be too careful.”
Nico sighed and frowned. “Sinthy, this is the whole point of the exercise. How are we gonna teach people to use the weapons if we aren’t holding them?”
She pulled a piece of paper out and waved it around. “I’m telling you that I’ve got it. This took me, like, a week to create. You’ll see in a second.”