“I should have known your pack had something to do with this! Don’t think I know about the shit that goes on here. I may not live here, but everyone whispers about those freaks in Blue Creek,” Bryce shouted.
“Please, what do you know about us? That we are loyal to each other? That we protect our own?” Barbara rolled her eyes.
“Enough! You’ll be the first one to die, and I’ll make her watch!” Bryce shouted as he began a full-on charge toward Barbara.
“No!” Sara shouted before whispering a quick chant. She flung her arms toward Bryce, sending all of the magic she could muster into a blue fireball that landed squarely on his chest. He bounced off the dining room wall and landed on the floor with a sickening thump.
“Wow!” Barbara cheered, turning toward Sara. “That was some quick thinking! And impressive!”
Just then, her back door was busted down, and Tristan and Rhett tumbled in.
They assessed the situation and then looked at Barbara and Sara. “I see we’re too late.”
Every muscle in Sara’s body itched to run into Rhett’s arms. Her instinct, or her wolf, egged her on, and she pleaded with Sara to go to their mate. He looked so damn worried. She fought tooth and nail, willing herself against it.
“And I now need to replace two doors,” Sara mumbled, leaving the dining room for the safety of the kitchen, allowing the men to deal with Bryce’s limp form.
Barbara followed her. “I let Tristan know what was happening through the pack link.”
“We ran back here as fast as we could,” Tristan added.
“I guess we could have taken our time,” Rhett said, crouching down to take Bryce’s pulse.
“I take it that this is Bryce?” Tristan asked.
“It is,” Barbara answered before turning to Sara. “What in the world did your hex do to make him come undone like this?”
Sara smiled, despite the situation. “His fingers would tingle and burn every time he tried to type a lie, and his throat would fill with bubbles and burps when he tried to speak one.”
“Damn.” Tristan’s word spoke for everyone as he leaned in close to examine Bryce.
“But honestly, I don’t regret it. He deserved it,” Sara crossed her arms over her chest.
“Oh, I’m not saying that he didn’t deserve it.” Tristan stood, shaking his head. “He did. I’ve kicked this man and his roaming clowder out of our territory more times than I care to admit.”
“Wait! You know him?” Barbara turned to face her husband.
“Not him in particular. Otherwise, I would have recognized his scent last night, but he looks similar enough to be at least cousins to that cougar shifter who was giving some of the girls a hard time a few years ago.”
“You mean the cougar who beat the hell out of Andrea during some sick sex game of his?” Barbara asked.
“That’s the one,” Tristan said before stepping to the door, where a team of his enforcers had shown up. “Take him away. I’ll deal with him later.”