Chapter 75

Charles

My heart lurched with fear as Grace went pale. I turned and led her back to our table, throwing down enough cash for the bill and calling George to come get us as Grace continued to talk to Kelly.

"Where are you, Kelly? Are you with the kids?"

"I-I'm downstairs in the kitchen." She gasped. I heard the crash of glass faintly in the background. "T-The glass, I think--Ah!"

Kelly shrieked in terror. Grace clenched the phone in her hand. "Kelly! Kelly, run!"

I hustled us out of the building, forgoing our coats as George pulled up in front. I heard Kelly screaming. There was the sound of breaking glass as we got into the car, and George started driving.

I pulled out my phone to call the Enforcer Unit that was stationed in the area. There should have been at least one Enforcer on duty while we were gone. As I opened my phone, I noticed the alerts that had come within two minutes of each other.

The first had been an alert that reinforcements had been called and the Enforcer on premises was investigating.

The second had been an alert that blood had been spilled, but there was no definitive information yet.

As George drove and Grace continued to listen in through Kelly's phone, waiting for the noise to end, I pulled her close as she started to shake. Her heart rate spiked, and her entire body was tense.

The third alert came stating there was a lycan involved, and they were trying to subdue them.

I frowned at that and tucked my phone away.

"I need you to breathe," I murmured into her ear, holding her gently. "You can't do anything if you pass out."

It came in short gasps. "Kelly, please say something. Kelly..."

I could hear the faint sound of muscle and bone being torn apart but no gunshots or other weaponry. I didn't even hear the sound of the Enforcers near the phone. Had she dropped the phone in the kitchen? I couldn't hear the hum of the appliances, but maybe she had dropped it somewhere else.

"If anything..."

I hushed her, pressing a kiss to her head. "Don't hang up, okay? It's better to hear anything you can, you understand?"

She nodded shakily.

When we finally pulled up, the house was still dark. Grace reached for the doorknob, and I stopped her. She turned back.

"You are not going in there without me or ahead of me."

Her jaw trembled, and she shook her head. "My--Kelly--"

I squeezed her hand gently and let out a low, soothing rumble. Her eyes glazed over a little, and some of the frantic fear in her eyes calmed.

"I know what I'm doing," I said and smiled. "I was trained to be an Enforcer, you are not, understand?"

She nodded numbly and let me pull her out my side of the car. George got out and passed me a gun. Her eyes widened as I activated it, letting the magic sparkle beneath the metal.

"No update," George said.

"Go left. We'll go through the front door."

George nodded and headed toward the left side of the house. I kept Graace behind me and led us to the right, darting between the trees as I tried to pick up the scents in the area.

At least three assailants. They hadn't come through the front windows.

"Who else would know you had an alarm on your house linked to the Mooncreset Police?"

She squeezed my hand. Her heart quickened, and I nodded before leading her forward. There were ten heartbeats inside. The children were upstairs. One of them was frantic and erratic, like a panic attack. I assumed it was Kelly. One was calming slowly. Then, there were the calm ones. One had to be George.

"The children are upstairs," I whispered as we got to the front door, and I slid my keys into the lock.

I pulled her down and back as I let the door swing open and peered around the door into the foyer. It was clear, and I led her forward. The scent of blood was heavy in the air. The fear and anxiety, too. My instincts kicked in, and I moved silently toward the scent. She let out a soft whimper. I knew she could smell it, too. I squeezed her hand and continued on.

The scent led me to the living room.

"A-And I was in the kitchen when I heard the glass..."

I took a deep breath at the sound of Kelly's soft whispering; it was stuttery with shock, but she didn't sound in pain. I heard the low murmur of another familiar voice and stood at my full height. Another alert came to my phone as I led Grace into the living room and pulled her forward.

The tension melted away as I rounded the corner and found a group of Lycan Enforcers. Their expressions were grim, and I could see Kelly being carefully wrapped in a blanket, her face drained of color from fright. Kelly was shaking a bit where she sat, but she seemed completely unharmed save for a slowly growing bruise on her face.

The coppery scent of blood hung heavy in the air, and I quickly scanned the room, my eyes landing on the lifeless bodies on the floor. The three had been torn apart as if a lycan had gone feral and gotten a hold of them. The living room looked like the scene of a massacre. The window to the side of the house was broken from the outside. Grace gasped behind me just as my eyes fell on Eason: huddled in a corner, curled tightly into himself wearing nothing but shredded clothing, shivering uncontrollably and covered in a layer of blood so thick it weighed down his usually bouncy curls. He looked ashen beneath the thick layer of blood.

My stomach plummeted like a stone. I knew what had happened. Still, I had to hear it.

"Give me a report."

Marcus, a senior officer, crossed the room to me, bowed and grimaced.

"No casualties among the civilians. A minor injury from one of the intruders. We've ensured that the children haven't been disturbed, but we can't get any closer to Mr. Wolfe."

I nodded stiffly. "Go on."

"Darius called for backup upon realizing there were three intruders soon after they had cut the wires for the security system. We arrived five minutes and thirty seconds later and broke out. Darius went upstairs to the children. I took the point of entry. Black and Jacob went after the intruders. Carlos entered through the window when he saw the fight going on. However, they were all dead by the time we arrived."

According to Kelly's statement, one of them had chased her from the kitchen and dragged her into the living room. They had already subdued Eason and were beating him up. When they struck her, the air changed. A beast had appeared. The next thing she knew, they were screaming. Blood was everywhere, and Carlos had broken through the window. I knew enough about werewolves to know that it was likely that Kelly had never seen a lycan in their shifted form, not even a half-lycan. Werewolves tended not to shift but once a year because it was so tiring for them.

She had been talking about Eason's form. My gaze drifted over to Eason before I looked down at the floor.

Five minutes was a lot of time for a beta lycan against werewolves who were considered lethal threats, even untrained lycans.

"Dead on arrival," I said slowly. "Have you ID'd them yet?"

"Not yet, but they're all wearing the WSU crests. One of them has it tattooed on the back of his neck. Another over his heart. Another on his back. They weren't exactly lower-tiered members."

I nodded and turned to Grace, who was staring at Eason.

"And you're certain that it was Eason?"

Carlos came over. "Yes, Your Majesty. I entered through the window when I saw him transformed. I thought one of our own had been behind it. He turned on me as if to attack but stopped and shifted back." He glanced over at Eason. "He's been like that ever since and won't speak. We've put a containment area around him just to be safe."

"Good job." Grace's eyes widened, and her mouth parted slightly. "What is it, Grace?"

"... Eason's never shifted before."

The resounding groan and curse that came from the Enforcers rattled through me. I wanted to groan and curse, too. I turned toward Eason and bit my lip. It would break Grace's heart if we couldn't help him.

"How old is Eason?"

"Twenty-six."

"For fuck's sake," Carlos cursed and lifted his wrist. "I'll call it in."

"Wait," I said, putting out my hand and watching Eason closely for a few minutes. "I'll handle it."

"Your Majesty..." Carlos trailed off.

I knew what he wanted to say, but I shook my head.

"Keep Grace and Kelly back. Call the clean-up crew if you're don't taking evidence, and... if I can't, we'll call."

"Call where?" Grace asked. "What's going on?"

I hesitated and looked back at Grace. "The Asylum."

I watched Grace's expression as the word settled over her. Then, her jaw clenched.

"You're not taking my brother there."