Autumn Feast - Charlie Richards Page 0,52
expelled a loud breath in relief.
“If you’re canine and able to move, you better get your ass out of here in the next three seconds, or we’ll fill it full of lead.” He cocked his shotgun back, reloaded, and slammed it back in place. The clicks snapped out to reinforce his words. At first, an unnatural stillness surrounded them. Nobody moved. “One.”
The remaining wolves scrambled for the woods and the road, leaving many bodies both injured and dead behind. Martin directed his men to take care of the dead and the injured, moving both to the waiting trucks.
Rory shifted back to his muscular human form and ran across the lawn, avoiding the worst of the casualties. Donner quickly followed.
Rocco had been injured badly and was set up in the living room. He’d broken a bone in his leg. Shifters healed much differently than humans. He needed to keep it immobile for a minimum of twelve hours before shifting. That alone would heal it, making casting unnecessary for such a short time, but he needed to be still for it to align properly.
Rory bumped into Donner’s shoulder and raised his eyebrows as Emma tended to him.
“I know.” Donner had other things to worry about besides Emma’s interest in the buck. The attack had been a declaration of war. He left Rory to look after the herd and proceeded to corner Martin near the garden shed. “What are you doing out here?”
“We need to tend to your yard. It’s... destroyed. Bloody.”
“You need to tend to the wolves.” Donner crossed his arms over his chest. The anger he’d been suppressing since the stone had crashed through his front window coursed through him like a flashover of flames in a tight room.
“We took care of it.”
“No. I mean Pritchard and the rest of them. Didn’t we create the council to stop this kind of thing from happening? The wolves have committed mutocide multiple times. The lions almost totally eradicated the hyenas—”
“We stopped all that. There’s been peace.” He threw his hands up in obvious exasperation.
“Not anymore.” Donner grabbed a heavy-duty rake with metal tines. “I can kind of understand the lion-hyena conflict. They’re competitors. But in the wild, nature’s wolves do not destroy the herd. They’d lose their food source if they did. But not shifters. They don’t actually eat other shifters. They’re simply pricks.”
Martin took the rake. “I get it. I hate this. We risked sanction bringing guns here.”
“I can’t blame you. It was the only way to get them to stop.”
“I know you’re right. About all of it. I’m working on something.”
“While you’re working on it. I’m preparing to take Pritchard down. This is my family. One I’ve worked hard for. Suffered for. I’m not letting him get away with this.” Donner punched the air between them with his index finger, pointing at Martin. Neither Martin or the others were at fault, but it didn’t matter—his anger wanted a target. “Fucking wolves. This time they went too far.”
Donner walked back into the main house, searching for Rory. When he found him, he grabbed Rory by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug. He needed comfort from his mate, and he bet Rory needed it, too. “Let’s go to bed. There’s nothing else we can do for now.”
Martin had sent guards to walk the perimeter, but it didn’t ease Donner’s tension much. He led Rory up the stairs to their room. The twins had since moved to a different wing of the house where they could have separate bedrooms. Rory had been sad about it, but Alana wanted more privacy. They had to support that. Luckily, their home was large enough for all their new family to fill the empty rooms.
Their suite occupied most of the center of the second floor. A comfortable sitting area and a big king-sized bed, where he led Rory, framed the huge fireplace that centered the room. He yanked the covers off, then slowly undressed his mate. Rory’s auburn hair shimmered in the low light, and Donner plunged his hands through it. Rory grunted when Donner tugged. He needed them to be closer, and he bet Rory did too.
He pulled his mate to him, pressing their bodies together, and blew a breath into his hair. “Rory...”
Rory’s arms came around Donner’s waist. “I’m here. We’re both here. Relax.” Rory stretched up for a kiss. He took Donner’s mouth gently, sucking on his lips, then giving him a quick peck.
Donner went in for more. Another peck. A flick of