My Alpha’s face hardened in an instant, and he suddenly seemed to take up much more room than his actual physical bulk should have. His nostrils flared, as if scenting the air for the stench of my fear, and I have no doubt he found it. I’d just stepped into the inferno blazing inside him, and could practically feel my flesh smoldering.

Everything went still and silent around me. The guys knew better than to move and attract his attention, except for Jace, who nodded at me almost imperceptibly. I’d picked a very bad time to question the Alpha’s authority. But I’d had no choice.

“If we wait, we won’t have the element of surprise,” my father said through clenched teeth, his fist crumpling the pages he still held.

“We don’t have it now,” I insisted, trying to bolster my courage with the knowledge that I was almost certainly right. That my father wasn’t thinking clearly, and that if I couldn’t make him see that, more cats would die.

“Faythe, you have no idea what you’re talking about. And beyond that, this is not a democracy!” my father roared, so deep and loud I had to fight the urge to cover my ears, afraid the sudden movement would trigger something even worse. “I am still the boss here, no matter what the rest of the werecat world seems to think. I am your sire and your Alpha, and you will respect me!”

Startled, I sank onto the couch, and Owen flinched beside me. Dan’s breathing had quickened noticeably. The tension in the room felt like an electrical charge, and I was afraid that if I moved, I’d be shocked by the air itself.

“Yes, Daddy,” I said, because he seemed to be waiting for an answer from me. I’d never seen him like that before—in the grip of so many conflicting emotions. On the surface was the expected pain and rage over Ethan’s death. But below that, there was frustration in the line of his jaw, guilt in the slant of his eyes, and determination in the hard, straight slit that his mouth had become.

I wanted to leave it at that. A large part of me wanted to pull my cell phone from my pocket and start dialing the numbers on the list, just to keep from further upsetting him. Questioning my father’s judgment—even for a very good reason—felt like a bitter betrayal, especially when his fellow Alphas had already cast such serious public doubts about his abilities.

However, letting him take the wrong road this time would only lead to more doubt and mistrust when our invasion failed. So I spoke again, trying to calm my heart so the obvious sign of fear wouldn’t set him off.

“But going in now—”

My father had started to turn away, but when I spoke, he whirled on me, so angry I barely recognized his face. His lips were curled back from his teeth, and his eyes blazed with anger. In fact, they looked a little strange. His pupils weren’t round anymore; they’d started to take on familiar points at the top and bottom.

Son of a bitch! His face was starting to change! He was well into a partial Shift, with no instruction at all, and no warning.

My mouth snapped closed and I stared at him in surprise for a moment before realizing I could hear a very feline growl coming from deep within his throat. Was it Shifting, too?

Shit. My pulse spiked. It was not the time to admire his accomplishment. His temper had given him feline attributes for a reason, and soon he might have teeth to match his eyes and voice. And while I was sure he would never, under any circumstances, actually hurt me, he looked ready to eat me alive, and I wasn’t taking chances.

I had to talk him down. Quickly. There was no time for pulling punches.

“Look at us!” I spread my arms slowly, avoiding sudden movements, to include Jace, Dan, and Owen. But I was unwilling to take my eyes from the enraged Alpha. “Do you want all of us to die, too?”

My father blinked those increasingly catlike eyes and froze. I took that as my signal to forge ahead.

“Because if you send us into Malone’s territory today, that’s exactly what will happen. He’ll be expecting us. He’s manipulating yo—” Oops. It’s never wise to point the blame at an Alpha “—us into attacking him, and he’ll be waiting with reserves in place to slaughter us all. Then you’ll have at least a dozen more corpses at your feet, and a bunch of funerals to plan.”

Had I gone too far with that last line? I thought so, but my father seemed to be listening, at last.

“She’s right, Greg,” Jace said calmly, firmly, and I almost choked on my own surprise. “We should think it through before we rush into anything.”

My father whirled on him, growling again, but to his credit, though Jace did drop his eyes out of respect, he didn’t take back anything he’d said. Nor did he apologize.

“You have two minutes,” our Alpha growled, turning slowly to pin me with his feline gaze.

Okay, here goes nothin’. I took a deep breath, then launched into my argument, leaving Jace out of it to protect him in case my stand ended badly.

“I think it would be wise to wait and talk to the other Alphas first. Everyone who wasn’t in on the closed vote. If we’re going to retaliate in full for this—and personally, I think we should—” all over the room, heads were nodding in agreement “—then we’re going to need allies. And allied troops. Malone will have backup from the Alphas who support his bid for leadership of the council, and so should we. Our vengeance for Ethan should also be a stand in support of you.” I hesitated, daring a small smile. “You know—two birds, one stone?” And lots of backup…