He turned and made some movements with his hand and she watched as his men took their places while she took hers behind Megan.

They moved through the woods quietly. So quietly that it shocked Nina. Apparently when she became a werewolf she got wicked mad ninja skills too. She stifled an amused laugh, knowing that Lex would so not appreciate her levity at that moment. Her ears were very sensitive, her muscles fluid as she moved. She felt more aware than she ever had, noticing every sound in the trees, differentiating between birds and small rodents, even two deer that watched them all from a safe distance.

She realized that she’d begun to take being a werewolf not necessarily for granted, but simply as a fact. She would deal with it because it was now her reality and it was what she had to do both to survive and to stay at Lex’s side. Moreover, she felt the responsibility to the Pack in a way she couldn’t have understood before she transformed earlier that evening. For whatever reason, she truly felt Second. She felt responsible for the wolves in Cascadia Pack. They were hers and in a very real way, she was theirs. Even if she still didn’t quite know how to get around what happened at the Pack house when she was attacked.

After a few minutes they approached the house. The lights were on inside and the back of the house faced the woods. From the tree line they could see into the living room. There were three men sitting in front of a television and one in the kitchen. A BMW 800 series sat in the driveway, not a very usual car, even in BMW-happy Bellevue.

Lex didn’t say a word. His face was impassive as he directed his people with hand signals. He looked over at Nina and gave one hard shake of his head. She knew he was ordering her to stay out there and she nodded. He looked to Megan and gave her the palm of his hand—she was to stay with Nina. Megan inclined her head and backed Nina up into the trees a bit further, but they still had a view of the house.

Nina watched, holding her breath, as they headed out. While the other guards on Lex’s team fanned around the house, he, Dave and Stoner walked straight up the back deck stairs and kicked in the back door. He was impressive and scary and Nina watched in awe as he did his Enforcer thing. Something deep inside her responded to how he moved, how he took charge. And she had to admit that knowing he was doing part of this whole thing to avenge Gabriel’s death touched her deeply. There’d never been anyone in her life she could count on, on that level. Having Lex made her whole. Made everything all right even if it still brought a lump to her throat each time she thought of how pointless Gabriel’s death was.

Lex shot two of the men in the head before they’d even stood fully. Stoner stood off to the side, weapon drawn just in case. Nina gasped as one of the wolves jumped at Lex, knocking him off balance but not off his feet. He was all violence and menace as he moved with liquid speed and threw the other wolf into the glass and out onto the deck.

There was a short struggle, but Nina’s attention was torn from the scene by the sight of two men running toward them. Megan drew and one of them turned and saw her and jumped on her.

The other turned and moved toward Nina, growling and snarling.

It was time for her to do her job as Second. The weight of that fell on her until time slowed. With great clarity and a sense of purpose, Nina reached out, sighted down her arm and squeezed the trigger. The sound exploded, the acrid scent of gunpowder hung in the air around them. In an odd sort of calm, she squeezed again, and one more time, and the man crumpled to the ground.

She felt a touch on her arm and looked to see Megan speaking to her but she couldn’t hear anything but the ringing in her ears. Her shoulder hurt, her eyes burned. Megan put an arm around her and squeezed. Nina had done her duty to her Pack and she’d saved her life and the life of her sister-in-law in the bargain.

Remembering Lex and the battle on the deck, Nina spun just in time to see Lex heading toward them at top speed. Fear on his face, he looked at Megan, who smiled and nodded, and he closed his eyes for a moment. Relief clear on his face, he moved to pick Nina up and cradled her against his body, holding her there as they walked back through the forest.

By the time they’d gotten back to the car she had her hearing back and his heartbeat was keeping time, lulling her.

He set her down next to the car and unlocked it. “Beautiful, are you all right?”

Nina sat down. “Yeah. I think so. I really don’t like shooting people, Lex.”

“I don’t like you shooting people either, Nina. But you saved Megan’s life. You saved your own life. You did what you had to do and I’m proud of you for it. You’re strong and I’m thankful.” He knelt in front of her and ran his hands up her legs and put his head in her lap for a moment.

She ran her hands through his hair. “Did you get the virus?”

“We got two vials. Jack Reed, the Alpha of the Rogues, is dead, his people in the house are dead. Our wolf was gravely injured, they took him to Dr. Molinari. I hope he makes it.”

“What about Pellini?”

Lex shook his head. “He denied any involvement when I called him earlier and you know we couldn’t find anything concrete tying him to any of this.”

Megan came out of the woods and Lex went off to speak to Stoner and the guards for several minutes before coming back to the car and taking them back home.

“Is Stoner okay with what happened back there?”

Lex nodded. “He understands our need to run our affairs. He’s going to be a liaison between the Pack and the police. I think it’s a good plan. He’s a good man.”