Chapter 136 Nico #2
Maddy and I were glued to the TV over the next several days.
An attack on a shifter compound in Nevada had met the same fate as the attack on Doug’s pack.
No shifter deaths and massive injuries to the attackers.
Again, the humans had been spared death.
A coordinated attack on a tiger pack in India was thwarted in a similar fashion.
I’d never spoken to anyone from there, but their alpha released a statement thanking me for helping them realize they needed to prepare for war.
It was astounding, and it looked like we were making headway.
The media, which had been toeing the line between both factions, suddenly swung completely pro-shifter.
Out of nowhere, they were firmly in our camp.
Several regular reporters were missing from broadcasts, and I wondered if they were upset about the change in priorities.
Maybe they were closeted anti-shifter activists.
The fact that these attacks were still happening, but the shifters were showing the attackers mercy and not killing them, helped sway public sentiment in our direction.
Things had been shaky ever since Viola had used the drug to force us to shift. Those orchestrated attacks, all on video, had done severe damage to the shifter cause. Now, though? It was like all that had been erased. Everyone was starting to see that we were the ones under attack.
Even the government was doing more than lip service.
They’d arrested everyone associated with the attacks and were pushing for the most severe punishments.
The president and multiple governors had addressed the public, touting the Shifter Crisis as the most pressing issue of the day and promising further assistance where necessary.
We were watching another news bulletin when Felipe came barreling into my house. He was panting, his eyes wild.
I got to my feet, tugging Maddy up with me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, though I already had a suspicion.
Felipe gestured back toward the gates. “Massive group of humans. Almost all of them are armed. Headed this way. One of the guards was manning the drone and caught sight of them. Two miles out. Probably less than a mile by now.”
“Shit,” I said. “Are Sinthy’s wards still up?”
Felipe nodded. “They are, but she’s too weak to enhance them. They’re nothing like they were before. More like a fence than anything. I’m… hell… I’m not sure they’ll hold.”
“Come on. Get everyone to meet at the gate. Move.” I looked at Maddy. “Stay here.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, but she slumped onto the couch, her breath leaving her in a huff as she crossed her arms.
“This is going to be okay. I promise,” I said as I left.
For some peculiar reason, I wasn’t worried.
In fact, as I walked to the gate, I was completely calm.
Sinthy’s barrier wasn’t as strong as the last. If a big enough force tried to push through, they would probably be successful, but they’d suffer for it.
It would be painful, and even if they got through, we’d make them pay.
By the time I made it to the gate, it was already a moot point.
The rest of my pack had heard the approaching vehicles and headed to the gates.
The attacking force had been determined.
They’d managed to push nearly a half dozen of their group through the forcefield, but those had been ineffective fighters as the electric shock of the spell—while not as strong as before—was still painful.
My pack had given them a few bumps and bruises to remember us by, then pushed them back through the barrier. It was like watching someone push a person through thick gel.
I stepped close to the barrier, raising my voice. “Go home. There’s nothing for you here.”
A man in a rather nice suit came stomping forward, nearly pressing against the barrier.
“You filthy motherfuckers! We’re here to rid the world of you. Viola Monroe knows what’s going on. She will lead us in eradicating your filth. Do you understand?”
Behind him, the flashing blue-and-red lights of cops heading our way lit the sky. I bared my teeth.
“If you’re so dead set on it, then come on through. It’s a little painful, but I’m ready if you are,” I said, staring him dead in the eyes.
The sirens became louder as we stared at each other. Finally, whether he was afraid to put his money where his mouth was or the idea of getting arrested for being a violent bigot got to him, he and the others sprinted back to their cars, jumping in and peeling out as the cops approached.
“Everyone good?” I asked as I turned to my pack.
“All good, Nico,” Luis said. “We got this. I’ll talk to the cops. You can head on back.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need me for anything else. Make sure our people on patrol around the perimeter have enough help. I don’t like that they were able to push through the barrier so easily.”
“It wasn’t that easy,” Luis said. “Did you hear them screaming as they went through? Didn’t look like fun.”
“Yeah, still. Add people if needed.”
I was back at the house less than ten minutes later. If I’d hoped to relax, I’d been terribly misguided. It seemed the drama of the day wasn’t quite done yet.
My phone rang as I walked in the door. This number wasn’t masked, and it wasn’t another alpha calling to give me his support. It was Viola. My eyes jerked away from the screen and locked on Maddy’s face. She jumped up, sensing my fear and anxiety.
“Is it her?” she asked.
I nodded and answered the phone on speaker so Maddy could hear.
“Hello, Viola,” I said with as much calm confidence as I could muster.
“You, Mr. Lorenzo, have become a very large thorn in my side.” Her voice was controlled, but I could sense the undercurrent of rage beneath it.
“In what way, Viola? Are you mad that your little sycophants can’t murder babies anymore?”
Viola chortled a brittle laugh. “Oh, I don’t consider your types human. Killing a shifter baby is no different from stomping on a maggot that churns in the rotting flesh of a rat carcass.”
“Lovely to speak to you as always. Each time is a delight.”
I wasn’t surprised that she’d reached out. She was the face of the anti-shifter movement, and by no planning of my own, I’d become the face of the resistance. It had only been a matter of time before she called. That didn’t make things any easier.
“Your little rebellion has gone far enough,” Viola said. “It’s time we settled this once and for all. From the moment you saved that bitch of yours— ”
“Her name is Maddy. If anyone is the bitch, it’s you, so watch your goddamned tongue when you speak of her.”
Viola’s breath caught. I’d touched a nerve. She wasn’t used to being interrupted, and she definitely wasn’t used to being called a bitch. I grinned as I listened to the silence.
Finally, she said, “I want this over as much as you do. We can finish this, and I can finally have what I’ve always wanted.”
“Which is?” I asked.
“An end to shifters. I want the vial so that no shifter can ever take the mantle of werewolf again. Once that is gone, eventually, you all will do what mongrels do, and you’ll weed yourself out.”
I furrowed my brow, looking at Maddy. She shrugged, a deep crease between her eyebrows.
“I still find it hard to believe that you’ve done all this simply because you hate shifters.”
“Shifters infiltrated my family. They stole the throne from us. Diluted the blood when Edemas pushed his filthy cock into that traitorous queen. His progeny are a blight on the Earth and stole what should have been ours. They made a mockery of the royal name. My family has never recovered from having that animal blood mixed into our family line. That vial might hold the key to restoring the true royal family to what it once was. I want to bring about a renaissance.”
“And how do you want to do that? I’m not giving you the vial, and I’m not giving you Maddy. So, explain how you want to end this.”
“First things first. You have my son. I want him back.”
I jerked back like I’d been slapped in the face. The change of topic was jarring, and I had a hard time believing this woman truly cared for her son or had a single maternal bone in her body.
“Why would I do that, Viola?”
“I will release his siblings. I have no use for them anymore. Worthless as they are, they proved inefficient in my experiments. They are no longer useful to me. I release them, and in return, you give me my son back.”
Should I tell her that Maxwell was no longer our prisoner? He’d decided to stay of his own accord. There was zero chance I’d ever force him to go back to his mother. Not in a million years. Instead, I sidestepped.
“That might be possible, but I need to know where this final meeting will happen. What are the terms?”
Viola laughed again, dark malevolence in her voice. “I thought to make it like the olden days. Two armies on a field, facing one another. A battle that will seal the fate of the world. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like melodramatic bullshit, but I’m game. When and where?”
“Your pack lands. I’ll even give you the benefit of home-field advantage, as they say.
One week from today. I’m sick of these games, and I want to get back to living my life the way I did before that mate of yours showed her pretty little face.
Understood? My army against yours. We’ll see who has the last laugh. ”
My stomach flipped and twisted into knots.
An end to this whole thing… The very thing I’d been praying for from the start was in sight.
At least, it was if she was telling the truth.
It could be a trap, but could I keep living like this, standing around, running from fights because I was afraid we couldn’t win?
No, this had to end. Even if she had some strange shit up her sleeve, we needed to do this.
Sinthy was almost back to full strength, and my pack and the surrounding packs were ready.
I’d make every call I could and bring in as many shifters as wanted to fight.
This would be the end. Every instinct I had told me we would come out on top, but there were no guarantees.
Win or lose, it was coming to a head now.
“Fine,” I said, “We’ll be ready for you.”
She clucked her tongue in disappointment. “I do hate that it came to this. I never wanted this blood on my hands. See you soon, Nico.”
She was lying through her teeth. This was exactly what she’d always wanted. Even with her living in hiding and being hunted, I had the feeling she was thriving on this. Almost like she’d been desperate for war all these years and was ecstatic that her plan would finally come to fruition.
Maddy bit her lip. “One week.”
I nodded. “One week.”
That afternoon, Viola released another of her videos. It was broadcast on every channel as usual. She called for every able-bodied member of her movement to get to Clearidge, Florida for a final confrontation that would determine the fate of humankind.
Taking a page from Viola’s own book, I had Luis help me release my own video where I called for the same thing. Any shifter who could make it to my pack lands would find safe haven here and would be welcome to fight alongside us.
Needless to say, the authorities were less than pleased, threatening to arrest anyone who took part in the fighting.
Even as I watched them announce it, I had a sense that law enforcements and governments around the world were possibly a bit relieved that it was coming to an end.
It had been disastrous for months, and if it could be settled in one day, they were more than likely to turn a blind eye when it all came down.
My phone was inundated with texts and calls almost immediately. Most packs couldn’t send their entire fighting force to me, but nearly everyone was sending at least a dozen men and women our way to fight. The local packs had promised nearly their full force.
A vague memory of a bible verse kept coming to mind. The one about the end of days. About a great battle between good and evil. It was to take place on a field, and that field was named Armageddon. I looked out my window at my pack lands and wondered if that was what was about to happen.