I opened my mouth, intending to say something brilliant, and comforting and singularly appropriate. But before I could think of a single thing, the screen door squealed open at the end of the hall, and footsteps pounded on the tile.

“Greg!” Marc called, dashing past the guest room in nothing but jeans and a pair of work boots.

I was out of my chair in an instant, running after him in time to see my father emerge from his office, a pen in one hand and a legal pad in the other. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s here.” Marc leaned over, propping his hands on his knees as he caught his breath after what had obviously been a mad race to the main house. “Luiz is here.”

Blood drained from my face, and chill bumps popped up all over my arms. For a moment, I couldn’t move. Could barely even breathe. Then a slow smile spread over my face. Luiz is here. On our land. My land.

There were half a dozen of us, and only one of him. He didn’t stand a chance. I was going to get a second shot at him. Or was it my third?

Regardless, it would be my last, and when everything was over, there would be one less jungle stray to worry about.

“Where?” my father asked while I crossed the hall into my room, still listening as I prepared for the fight.

“In the woods. Parker and I found his scent on the back edge of the property, just past the stream. It’s fresh.” The guys had been patrolling twice daily since we got back from Henderson, just in case.

“Faythe!” my father bellowed as I pul ed my shirt over my head, stripping in preparation to Shift. It would be suicidal to face Luiz again on two legs.

Still wearing my bra and shorts, I jogged into the office, where Marc, Vic, and Owen stood, apparently waiting for me. My father nodded when he saw me, then turned toward the guys. “Vic, Marc, I want you to Shift, then spread out into the forest with Parker. We’re going to search every acre of our woods, and the preserve, too.”

He paused, rubbing his temples with one hand as he considered how to continue. “Owen, go to the guesthouse and help Jace over here. Put him in Ethan’s bed, then you Shift and join us.”

Owen headed straight for the door.

“Move silently and quickly,” my father said. “Don’t give away your position until you find Luiz, and once you have, roar loud enough to wake the whole damn county. Forget about taking him alive. Manx can tell us what we need to know about her fellow tabbies. We’re going to take care of this jungle cat once and for all.”

I gaped at my father, a silent thrill coursing through me. He was going hunting, too. For the first time since I’d become an enforcer, I was going to get to hunt alongside my father. My Alpha.

“Faythe?”

“Yes?” I stood ready for my orders, eager for a piece of the action.

Luiz deserved to die slowly and painfully for what he’d done to Andrew, to Manx, and to all those other girls.

My father stared down into my eyes, his expression both serious and concerned. And skeptical. Crap. “I want you to stay here while we search the forest—”

“Hell no—” I started, but he cut me off with a furious look and a strong, firm grip on my left arm.

“For once, you’re going to do exactly as you’re told. That’s your job. If you can’t follow orders, you can spend the night in the cage with Ryan. Is that clear?” I nodded reluctantly, and he continued. “I’m taking the guys with me, so we can cover the grounds more quickly. But I can’t leave your mother, Manx, and Jace here without knowing I can count on you to take care of them. To defend them, should the need arise.”

A hint of a grin appeared on my face, in spite of my best efforts to keep it hidden. “You want me to protect the women and chil—er, the wounded?”

My father frowned. He obviously had no idea why I found my assignment so amusing. “Well…yes. Can you handle that?”

“It sounds like babysitting to me, and I’d rather go hunting.”

“We’ve al done our share of babysitting recently,” Marc said, throwing my time under house arrest up in my face.

“Think of it as paying your dues.”

I glared at him. But then I nodded. I could pay my dues, even if my father was using the lame assignment to keep me safely out of the action.

“Lock all the doors and windows until we get back. And close the curtains, just in case.” My father’s voice deepened and went gravelly in anger as he uttered what would normally have been a ridiculous order.

We’d never needed to lock up before, because we’d never been threatened at home by anyone but our Alpha, who considered it his right to intimidate the living shit out of us on a regular basis.

For a moment, as he watched me, my father looked like he might smile. Then the moment passed, and his expression was unreadable again. “Thank you,” he said, and the guys followed him into the hallway and out the back door.

I watched them until they rounded the corner of the house and passed out of my sight. When I could no longer see their afternoon shadows stretching out behind them, I turned and plodded slowly toward the front door, which I closed and locked. I left the back door open for Owen and Jace, then moved into my own bedroom, to start closing and locking windows.

As I flipped the lever to lock the one, high window in my bathroom, I heard the screen door creak open. Owen had arrived with Jace.

“Faythe, is that you?” my mother called as I pulled the worthless lace curtain closed.