Filed To Story: Secret Shifters Next Door Series PDF Free
“And you!” He jabbed a finger in Tate’s direction. “It was one of your kind that took my wife from me. The love of my life was stolen and killed by a filthy flying lizard.”
His eyes slid to Jared, and his scowl became more disgusted. “Jared. Such a disappointment. I should have had the men put a bullet in you when we found you.”
“Shut up!” Jared screamed, his sudden outburst making me jump. “You’re such a fucking liar. All these years, you tried to make it sound like that dragon alpha stole your wife. She left because you were a shitty husband and father. She left to be with someone who loved her and took care of her. You had her murdered when you found her. You couldn’t look at her because you were disgusted. Stop trying to change history.”
Antonio went rigid, his body shaking with anger. “Liar,” he hissed.
“It’s not a lie!” Tate called out. “Maybe after repeating it for so long, you’ve tricked yourself into believing it, but it’s the truth. You killed her for leaving you. She left and took your daughter because you’re a fucking monster. We know all about you. All your dirty little secrets.”
Antonio’s face was as red as a tomato. I hoped he might keel over with a heart attack. Instead, he sliced a hand through the air. “Lies! All fucking lies. She loved me. She would never leave.
No one leaves
me.” He jabbed a thumb into his chest for emphasis. “I am Antonio Lowry. I say when people get to leave.”
“Right,” Miles said. “You’re always in charge. Like you were in charge when you twisted Marianna’s mind into a crazed shifter hater. You fucked her up bad enough that she tried to kill her adoptive brother, but accidentally killed herself in the process.”
A murmur of confusion swept through the crowd of hunters. They had all known Marianna and they’d heard Antonio’s official story. This revelation surprised them. It was too much to hope that we could turn his soldiers against him, but at least we could reveal some of his lies to them.
Antonio was apoplectic, saliva spraying from his lips and hanging in strings from his mouth as he shouted at us. “Filthy fucking animals! Liars! Bastards! Pieces of shit! I fucking hate you. I hate you! Lies! You killed my daughter!
You!”
Tate shook his head. “Believe what you want, but this is the last chance you get. Leave now, and you can keep your life.”
The rage in Antonio’s face vanished and an incredulous smile appeared. He looked back at his men, then at us, and laughed. “You want us to leave? This is your last chance. The five of you against this?” He swept his hand back at his army. “How do you think that will work?”
Tate smirked. “Even though you like to think so, you do not always know everything.”
He put two fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill, ear-piercing whistle. Silence accompanied the whistle, but an instant later, a howl erupted from the forest to the right of the field. A howl that was soon joined by others until dozens of wolves howled into the morning sky.
Antonio’s men turned to look toward the sound, but their heads jerked to the opposite side as the roars of bears exploded from the other side. Soon, the roars and howls became a cacophony of noise echoing back and forth across the valley.
Before we’d left the office, Tate had put a call in to the other alphas who’d come to town. We’d told them what was going down, where to meet, and to wait for the signal. Dozens of them were hidden in the woods. There were also a dozen of Gio’s men—the ones who hadn’t been at the house for the attack. We were still outnumbered, but we had the element of surprise.
Antonio turned to look at us, his face twisted in rage. As he pulled his pistol from his holster, he screamed, “Kill them!”
Chaos erupted. The idyllic field of flowers turned into a hellscape of battle. Our allies poured out of the forests toward the hunters. Wolves, bears, and a few panthers descended from the woods with Gio’s men. Gunfire exploded around us. Miles, Steff, and I shifted and sprinted into battle.
As I descended into the midst of battle, I let my panther take over. His instincts were better than my own, and his lust for battle more intense than mine. I did my best to stay focused and kept looking around to check on my brothers, but the bloodlust and mayhem made that difficult.
Antonio fired his pistol gleefully. His main target was Tate and Jared, who’d yet to shift. “Change, you fucker!” Antonio shouted. “I want to see that scaly skin. I’ll peel it from your corpse!”
I plowed into the depths of battle. I watched as the hunters fired at our allies. Several shifters and some of Gio’s men hit the ground, bullets piercing their sides, chests, and faces.
The horror of death consumed me. A group of hunters had formed a small cluster and were firing into the crowd of enemies. I barreled into them, leaping and extending both my front paws. My claws shredded the neck of a woman firing an assault rifle toward Steff and a man who’d been reloading a pistol. Their blood sprayed into the faces of their friends, blinding them for a moment. Before they could clear their eyes, Steff crashed into them, shattering their bodies with his bulk and trampling them with his massive paws.
A series of shattering impacts crashed into my side, and I stumbled. A hunter had fired a volley of bullets at me, but the armor I wore bore the brunt of the impact. I sprinted toward the man and tackled him, sinking my teeth deep into his neck before ripping out a massive hunk of flesh. I ran, leaving the hunter to writhe and die on the ground.
Over and over, I attacked and killed hunters. It was so brutal and carnal. If I hadn’t been worried about dying, I would have been horrified by what I was doing. But there was too much at stake to worry about morals. When life and death were on the line, sometimes you had to be a beast.
Miles and I sprinted together toward a group of hunters who were firing at some of Gio’s men. Our paws flashed across the ground as we angled toward them. I jumped into the group, but as I descended onto a hunter, Miles yelped in pain.
I savaged the hunter in a burst of claws and blood and turned to see Miles sprawled on the ground. I lost focus. All I could see was my friend hurt, possibly dead.
I didn’t register the man I’d just mauled. He was dying, but he was not dead yet.
A searing explosion of pain ripped through my side. I squalled in pain and spun. The man had driven a knife into my side between the armor plates, sinking it deep into my flesh until only the hilt stuck out. Blood dripped down my side. I swiped a paw at the guy, tearing through his neck.
As agonizing as the pain in my side was, I hurried over to Miles. A sound like a million angry trumpets reverberated into the valley, so loud and angry, the fighting paused for an instant. I’d know that roar anywhere. I turned and saw that Tate and Jared had fully shifted. Their dragons hovered above the battle like gods of war.
Antonio was on his ass, scurrying back. He’d asked for them to shift, and now he looked like he didn’t enjoy what he’d asked for. Horrified, he tried to stand up but fell over again, his face crashing into one of his hunters.
Steff, the largest bear on the field of battle, sprinted around the corner, running toward one of the clumps of more organized hunters.
Antonio looked in his direction. A sneer split his face into something more monstrous than even Tate’s dragon. He dug a pistol out from the dead man below him and locked his eyes on Steff. My friend didn’t know he was being targeted. I looked down and saw that Miles was still breathing, albeit erratically. A sigh of relief left me. I had less than a second to make my decision. And I did. Dirt flew behind me as my paws propelled me forward.
My black form racing toward him must have caught Antonio’s eyes because he turned, his eyes wide in surprise and fear. My speed was unlike anything else on the battlefield. He turned his weapon away from Steff’s back and toward me. Exactly what I’d hoped for.