“But what?” she snapped.
“It’s just… Ox.”
“What about him?”
“There’s never been anything like him.”
“He’s a fluke,” she snarled. “A freak. Whatever he is, whatever Thomas Bennett did to him, it doesn’t matter. He can’t be trusted. And if those goddamn hunters could have actually done what they were sent to do, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. The humans are useless.” She couldn’t admit out loud she’d been stunned into inaction in the weeks that followed the destruction of the hunters. It’d been over so quickly. She never should have trusted Meredith King. Humans were weak. The Bennetts were stronger than she expected.
She wouldn’t underestimate them again.
“You haven’t stood before him,” Dale said quietly. “Not like I have. He exudes power. Unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Be it the territory or something else, it’s… intoxicating.”
Michelle shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. He bleeds. Which means he can die.”
“And what of the packs that have helped them? The ones who have taken in Omegas?”
“We’ll deal with them later. They won’t dare stand with him. Not if it means the eradication of their entire pack.”
“I think you shouldn’t underestimate his reach,” Dale said. “He’s already proven himself formidable. They all—”
Shouts and snarls. From out in the compound.
Michelle rose behind her desk.
Dale went to the door and slammed it shut. He pressed his palm flat against it, muttering under his breath. There was a pulse of light underneath his hand as he warded the door.
It didn’t help.
The door exploded, knocking him back. He slammed against the far wall, slid down, and slumped against the floor. Blood trickled from his nose. He groaned, looking dazed.
A man walked in through the ruined doorway.
He was older, his skin wrinkled, his hair in thin white wisps around his head. He was dressed for the Maine winter, heavy trousers and a thick black coat.
But every step he took was measured and fluid. He moved with purpose.
And she knew who this was.
She’d just seen a version of his face glaring angrily at her moments ago on a connection to the other side of the country.
She should have seen this coming.
“Alpha,” Robert Livingstone said, a small smile on his face. “I thought it time we meet.”
“You can’t be here.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Oh, I think you’ll find I can be wherever I wish. We need to have a chat, you and I. It would seem that you’re no better than Richard Collins at handling a meager threat. Hunters, Michelle. Honestly. What could you have possibly been thinking? Even with my assistance at the wards, you still failed. The level of incompetence I seem to find myself surrounded by is astounding.”
“Assistance? What assist—”
“Though you did do me a favor,” he said, as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’d been tracking Meredith King for months once I discovered she was in possession of something that belonged to me.”
“You come into my territory uninvited,” Michelle said, her shift starting to come over her. “You are not welcome here, witch.”
He laughed. “Oh, I don’t need an invitation. Sit down.”
Her claws popped and her fangs lengthened.