“You won’t get close enough to set one foot inside,” he said, trying to remain calm. It felt like a losing battle, but he had to keep trying.
“Oh, do you mean because of the man you had on the roof? He won’t be any help to you. Guess that means there are only six of you, after all.”
His heart stopped. Fuck, what had he done to Dmitri? Tarun started moving to stand up and he flexed his fingers on her waist, shaking his head when she glanced back at him. They still had the element of surprise, as small as it was.
Trust me, she mouthed, easing away. He watched as she went to each shifter, whispered in their ear, and then moved to the next. One by one, their eyes shot to his, but they didn’t stop what they were doing, immediately resuming their conversations.
He was still frozen, unsure of what to do. They’d taken Dmitri out. His friend could already be dead. In fact, knowing Jerry, it was likely. Maybe he should give himself up, to spare the others.
Don’t you dare. Damara’s voice filled his head, and he glanced over to where she sat across the room, glaring at him. He hadn’t realized she’d opened her telepathy connection. You’re not giving yourself up to die. And don’t worry about Dmitri. He’s fine. Furious that they got the jump on him, but they just tied him up. He’s alive, and in no danger of dying. We can still do this, Luke. Stick to the plan to keep yourself alive.
He inhaled deeply as the other shifters in the room nodded, clearly having heard her, as well. Even the War Cats had heard, and he found himself extremely grateful for their presence. Maybe that was what Tarun’s gift hinted at. Because without those three tigers, they really would only have six able to fight.
But with them, they had nine, and most of them had powerful gifts. Winning the battle was still doable.
All he had to do was figure out which lion was Jerry. If he could take him down, it would stop the fight.
Blake nodded at him as he and Vynn moved toward the front door and Noah and Jameson moved toward the back. Inhaling deeply, he finally spoke. “I’m not going out there. Bring it on, motherfucker.”
A beat of silence echoed over the phone. “So be it. Just remember the deaths of your friends and mate are on you.”
The moment he was done speaking, both doors were kicked in. The Enforcers at the doors engaged in human form while the rest shifted, but they weren’t able to hold them off long as the lions shifted, as well.
Then chaos reigned as more lions poured through the doors, and soon everyone was fighting. He tried to stick close to Tarun in case she needed him, but she was doing amazingly well on her own, and he was distracted as two lions rushed him at once.
He threw one of them off while raking his claws down the side of the other, the whole time moving his eyes around, frantically trying to figure out which one was Jerry. If he’d ever seen him in lion form, it was years and years ago, and he couldn’t remember it.
Fuck, he didn’t know which one he was. If he could find him and force him to shift back to human, the odds were good that the other lions would stop fighting. He had to find him.
His heart stopped as another lion approached Tarun while she was already engaged, and his distraction meant a set of claws raking down his back. He shrugged it off, trying to fight through another set of lions after him so he could get to Tarun, but Liam swooped in, his white raven bright in the room, ripping his beak and claws into the lion’s back, distracting him from Tarun.
Fuck, that had been way too close. He looked around again for Jerry, making sure he touched his eyes on all of his friends. They were battling with all their might, and he watched as Blake fixed his gaze on a lion stalking Damara. The lion roared, his body arching before falling to the floor, writhing in pain as Blake used his gift.
But then Blake was engaged, and once his concentration broke, the lion got up and started fighting again. Blake’s gift was powerful, but the pain he caused was a mental thing, not physical. As soon as he wasn’t using his gift, the pain vanished, although weakness lingered for a few moments after.
A screech sounded against his sensitive ears, and he glanced over to find one of the tigers limping from the blow of one lion as another stalked him. Tarun saw and interceded, but it was another close call.
Shit. Maybe the fight had been a bad idea.
He fought off another lion, deciding that he was done trying to play nice. He’d been trying to hurt but not kill. They were fighting because Jerry was a power hungry, insane fucker. He was fairly sure it wasn’t because they truly wanted to.
But Luke’s people were getting hurt, and he couldn’t—wouldn’t—stand for that. He’d personally take the life of every enemy lion in that room before he let his friends get hurt.
Another lion rushed him and Luke didn’t play around that time. He went straight for his neck and bit down until the lion crumpled to the floor. The moment he did, Luke turned for another and did the same thing.
It was when he finished with him that he saw who he thought was Jerry. He was flanked on either side by a lion, his face scarred and his blue eyes cold as he stalked Luke. He saw Tarun spot him at the same time, and she must have realized who he was, too, because she took off, murder in her eyes.
Fuck. She didn’t know Luke had a plan. Heart in his throat, he watched as one of the lions rushed her and engaged. She was winning, but the other lion with Jerry was looking between her and Luke, like he wasn’t sure who he was supposed to go after. If he chose Tarun…
There were battles raging all around him and more lions trying to make their way to him. He was more vulnerable in human form, but his gift was more effective in that form, so he had to take a chance, even though the odds weren’t good for him.
Pushing the shift made it hurt worse, the pain agonizing, but he ignored it and pushed even harder. The moment he was standing in human form, he focused on Jerry.
“Jerry, shift back, now!”
With a roar of agony, Jerry shifted, whimpering on the floor from the pain of the forced shift. Luke immediately walked toward him, watching as the lions slowed in confusion. Most of them gave up their fights completely, and he knew he’d been right—as long as Jerry wasn’t fighting, they wouldn’t either.
But one of the lions clearly didn’t get that the war was over, and he rushed toward Luke, fury in his eyes. As he leapt through the air, Luke tried to shift back, but he knew he wasn’t going to have enough time.