Chapter Thirteen

Catcher

I paused on the last step down to the sidewalk and let my shoulders sag. She was looking at me with such a hopeful expression, pausing in her pacing back and forth in front of the car with her hands curling one lock of hair around her finger again and again. Lovett was leaned back in the drivers' seat, casual with sunglasses on, but I knew he was scoping out the area. It was a risk coming to Tarv's place and by the smell of the apartment I wasn't the first to risk it.

When I walked in, I could smell bleach-cleaned blood, wolf blood. But I also caught the scent of murder and shadows, and I didn't mean the events that probably had taken place their home. Tarv and Arana were killed in there, there was no doubt in my mind –probably by the Kin– but it was the subtler scents that drew me to snoop. The tang of human sweat, a hint of greenery where no plants were present, and just a whiff of Auphe. Caliban had been here with the company of his brother and if they found Tarv, then the Kin probably found Tarv first. And promptly killed him and Arana once they knew the couple didn't know where Raff and I were anymore.

I didn't stay long, since there was nothing to find there. Tarv wouldn't leave Caliban's address lying out; he would have found out where the boys were then kept that knowledge in his head. I sifted through a few scattered papers on the writing desk in the spare room, the junk drawer in the kitchen, and moved around books on the shelf in the living room just in case, but as I figured there was nothing. So I headed out to the street where I found a pair of dark mahogany eyes fixed on me, waiting for an answer I couldn't provide. I shook my head minutely, but knew my expression alone probably told her I found nothing.

"Sorry, Cassie," I murmured when I came close enough. Her thin shoulders curled in toward her face and her eyes darted to the ground. I brushed my hand over her cheek, tapping her round chin to lift it. "Well, find them, sunshine. Let's try their old apartment. Maybe their landlord will know a forwarding address?"

She gave me a dubious look, one side of her nose wrinkling near the nostril as her upper lip sneered on the same side. "Really? A forwarding address? You realize they don't even have a single ID with their real names on them?"

My jaw worked through a few movements, but I didn't really have anything to say to that. She was right. The Leandros boys knew how to hide and they knew how to hide well, even in a city where anything that was supposed to be secret became common knowledge. "I'm up for suggestions then?"

"The Ninth Circle," she said with complete affirmation. She even spun to get back into the car, paused with the door open, then shut it sharply. "Lovett, go on back to Rafferty's place."

"Wha?" Lovett meeped from the driver's seat, arching his back so he could look over the headrest at her.

"This is New York," she replied easily. I stumbled back a step when she brushed by me, obviously on a mission. "We'll take the subway."

I watched Cassie go, then glanced back at Lovett. He shrugged, sunglasses still hiding his eyes. After another moment of hesitation, I nodded for him to go and went to catch up with our wayward hybrid. It didn't take long. Cassie wasn't taking her time, that was for sure, but my legs were almost a full foot longer and my gate ate up the distance without much effort. "Hey, speedy, what do you mean by ninth circle? You don't mean that in the literal sense do you?"

"It's a bar. A peri bar, owned by my uncle." She spun on her heel and gave me a smile. "Now keep up, fido. Nose to the ground. I need to find my kid." I smacked her arm, shoving her back around to face forward.

She almost convinced me with that sultry smile and the forced skip in her steps to hide her limp, but she was scared. She might be able to feign the facial cues, but she couldn't mask her scent and the salt of flushed skin and nerves were sharp. Manhattan was a packed city, if the brothers even remained here and didn't move to Queens or even Staten Island. They were constantly attacked due to lack of luck, lineage and the general waves that they cause among the supernatural community. I wouldn't blame them if they wanted to hightail it to an address that the Kin didn't know by heart as well as nose.

I stepped up behind her, matching her gate and clamping my hands over her shoulder. "You're faking it again. Remember what I said about that?"

"Sorry," she sighed and slowed down enough that she could rock back into my chest for a moment. "I'm trying, but how would you feel? What if you lost Rafferty? No idea where he was? No idea what kind of trouble he was in, because he's alwaysin trouble."

I hugged her, stopping us on the sidewalk. The street wasn't busy, but there were still plenty of humans veering around us; humans, they didn't know why they avoided the predators of the night but at least they were smart enough to do so subconsciously. I spun her around when I felt her give of a frustrated sigh. "I get it. I do, but what if your uncle doesn't know where they are…"

"My uncle is Ishiah –Robin Goodfellow's boyfriend, Caliban's boss. I think he'll know."

I tilted my head to the side and gave a shrug. Fair enough; he probably would know. "Right then, lead the way."

The way was two separate subway trains and a six block walk down a very shady street. It was mid-afternoon, so the grime and litter were clear in the gutters, but at least the nightmares and riffraff weren't about in the sunshine. Of course, that also meant that her uncle's bar was probably closed. I didn't mention this, not wanting to bring her down again when she was trying so hard to stay positive. We stopped in front of a three story building that obviously had apartments rented out above it. It was a typical New York building, with concrete chipping and missing shutters, but the first floor was something wholly other. The front was made up of several glass windows, one of which had recently been replaced and still had tape around the frame on the inside. My guess was that probably happened pretty often. Peris were known for their tempers and with the crowd of critters this bar attracted fights were more than likely a nightly occurrence. Outside were several large trees climbing up to the second story windows. Inside were a scattering of smaller trees that looked like they wove their way right into the rafters. Maybe the apartments immediately above weren't rented out, or they could be residence to peris; the winged non-humans were fond of wooden areas. They were too civilized to actually live there, but they certainly liked to bring the culture with them. By the flicker of colored shadows in the dimly lit room those trees were inhabited by friends of the peri, again bringing their culture in. Other than the smaller avian wildlife it seemed to be empty.

"Don't think they're open."

Cassie snorted and plucked a bobby pin out of her hair; actually no, that wasn't a bobby pin that was a lock pick. She went at the deadbolt like a pro, unlatching it. She did the same with the second deadbolt, a little faster this time. Cassie the door swing open wide with a flourished hand, inviting me in. I smirked and shook my head. "You really were best friends with a puck for a few centuries, weren't you? But regardless." I stepped through the threshold and splayed my hands to motion around the main room. "No one's home."

Cassie frowned and took in a deep breath, not that it would help her much. She didn't have a Wolf's sense of smell, so I could only imagine the heady mix she was breathing in. Foliage, bird shit, alcohol, and varying other scents from the patrons, including several peri scents that were all remnants. No one was here now. I couldn't hear anything, not steps or a heart beat, nothing rustling in the back rooms. Just the air conditioner kicking on with a moderate rumble. Cassie came to same conclusion a moment later and I saw all that optimism draining from her entire body.

"Could you call him?" She gave me another dubious look.

"I may seem well adapted, but I have been in and out of Tumulus for the past three hundred or so years. You really think I know how to use an Iphone?"

I smirked. "Well, at least you know what one is. Do you have his number or is that a stupid question too?" Her look said it was, so I dropped it. "I'll check out the office, see if I can scrounge something up. I'm sure he has an employee listing or something."

Cassie didn't argue, so I meandered. I weaved around a Fichus tree, eyeing the birds perched within the branches and daring them to dive at me. The bar was pretty standard, taps behind the lip, glasses hanging overhead, top shelf liquor literally on the top shelf. I slipped down the hall to the right, finding it much less decorated than the nature-hippie main floor. I paused when saw back door at the end of the hall. The formerly green metal was rented with four distinct claw marks that were almost deep enough to rip through. They weren't made by any werewolf or succubus, those were the same razor-thin indentations that were slowly healing along Cassie's chest and stomach. If that wasn't a calling card that Cal –or at least his extended family– had been here, I didn't know what was.

My muscles stiffened when I felt movement from the open office to my left. My instincts saved me from being run through by a thick broadsword, but he still managed to slam me in the jaw with a strong upper cut. I didn't catch his scent or the sound of wings unfurling to my surprise, but then considering I could only smell that earth scent that came with most peris when he was thrusting me against the wall, it reaffirmed a little of my confidence. Something was masking it, an anti-cologne. And I probably hadn't heard his heart beating because the air conditioning hadn't stopped rumbling through the whole building.

I kicked him in the thigh, but he held me in a vice around my throat. So the next kick slammed into his stomach. That got him. He doubled over and I wriggled out of his hold, if only for a second long enough to look him over. He was a broad peri, long blond hair in a ponytail at his nape and dark brown eyebrows in a strong furrowed slash across his forehead. He was handsome enough and the scar along his jaw would make any Kin envious of the battle wound. I held up my hands in surrender as he lifted the sword again, eyes blazing gold with that infamous peri temper.

"Back off, big bird. I'm not Kin." I figured that was what the sudden attack was for. If the Kin were after the Leandros brothers then they were probably scouting and threatening their every contact. The peri didn't want to hear it, though; he swiped the sword at me again. I ducked, cringing when it hit the wall and embedding a few inches in. I bolted under the blade and back toward the front hall. One, I didn't like fighting and two, I certainly didn't want to fight someone Cassie might know.

I also hadn't meant to crash into her at the end of the hall; apparently she had heard the fight and came rushing over to help. We went down in a pile on the wood floor, before I flipped over her onto my feet in and crouched. She rolled and sprang in front of me arms out in a placating manner rather than defensive. "Uncle Ish, wait!"

Oh lovely, she knew him. That made things a little easier. I stood up behind Cassie, keeping my arms raised to stave off any residual belief that I might be an enemy. Her uncle's attention wasn't on me anymore. Wide eyes, now blue gray, were fixed on Cassie, mouth slack with shock and sword barely in his grip anymore. "Castiella?"

"I know," she paused to swallow. Her fingertips looked to be shaking as she held them out. "I know I'm probably the last person you want to see. I know you must hate me for...I'm sorry, I never wanted to hurt them—"

She cut off when the peri dropped the heavy sword. It clanged and teetered on the wood floor hard enough to make me cringe and leave scarring on the already abused surface. He took several long strides over to her, face fixed in something that could be interpreted as both shock and fury. Cassie's hands curled up to her chest in preparation of being struck, all the muscles in her back knotting with the same reaction. And I fisted my hands to defend her...against the most absolute hug I'd ever seen.

His much larger frame bent her back was he clutched her to his chest. His arms were wrapped so tightly around her I doubted she could breathe. It was the beautiful reunion that I had hoped to see, just not the person I expected. Not that such matter. All I wanted was for someone she loved to hold her and tell her she was missed. It made it that much better that he was peri and her uncle. Blood family.

"I can't believe it," he whispered against her crown. Little wisps of blond danced back from the current. He pulled back just as abruptly as he'd hugged her, clasping her shoulders. Over her head I could see his light eyes flickering to each of hers. His calloused fingers brushed over her cheeks, drifting over the scars there. "He told me you were dead. He thinks your dead, Castiella."

"Surprise," she said meekly.

"How is this possible?" It was so cute. He just kept brushing his hands over her hair as if it would prove she was there. Prove she was real.

"I met a healer; he saved me." He let off a breath and nudged his long nose to her temple. His dark eyebrows were dipping down in concern instead of anger now and his eyes finally darted up to me in suspicion. He even pulled Cassie closer to him by her nape to protect.

I gave a little wave and a smile. "Hi, still friend, still so not Kin." Apparently that was enough for him to ignore me again. He cupped his niece's cheeks, pulling her focus on him.

"Why didn't you come to me? Even if you were scared to go to Cal, why didn't you come to me?" He brushed her autumn-toned hair back like a father celebrating his daughter's return from running away or maybe a military tour. He even kissed her forehead. "I could have helped you." He reached down and touched one palm to her scarred stomach. "Both of you."

I could hear Cassie swallow hard enough to be audible to human ears. "Do you know where they are? Cal and my son...I can't find them. I don't really know where to look. And my senses are still a little dull since everything is focused on healing me."

The peri frowned. I really had to start correlating him with Ishiah; Cassie's uncle and Goodfellow's lover. That second one was still a little unnerving to think about. I always assumed the puck was a pitcher in a same sex affair and I just couldn't (and didn't want to) picture this bad-ass peri baring himself all vulnerable like that to such a cocky bastard. Ishiah straightened at Cassie's plea. His eyebrows lifted, then pulled together again. He slid his hand over her shoulder to take her by the upper arm, motioning back down the hall. "We need to talk. Let's go sit down in my office."

Well, that didn't sound good. I waited for him to glance back at me in invitation as well. I didn't really want another tussle. I was always a lover not a fighter.

I followed a step or two after them, lingering in the doorway as Ishiah practically had to force Cassie into a sitting position on the beaten up leather couch in his office. "Ishiah, I just want their address..."

"It's a little more complicated than that, just sit." He stepped back once she had complied and remained on the couch. His wings had vanished so he could perch on the edge of his desk. "I wish I could..." I saw the look on Cassie's round face and her uncle obviously didn't want to mess with that temper anymore than I did, so he came out with it. Dropped the bomb without regret so to speak. "The Kin have your son."

Shock didn't begin to cover the scent that filled the room like thick honey and vinegar. I cursed under my breath and knocked my fist to the door frame. It didn't help that Raff and I thought that was what the ominous silence that lingered in Niko's message said. The Kin had taken Dante, because of me. Because of my stupid postcards that did nothing but let me brag about being on two feet again.

"What do you mean?" Cassie whispered in disbelief. Unfortunately she had caught my reaction as well, mahogany eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Robin hasn't told me much. Just that the Kin ambushed them while Cal and Niko were on a case that the Kin were involved in. It was a set up to get to the child. Apparently the Wolves found out there is one of their kind that can create an All Wolf and they're demanding Cal connect them with that Wolf or they will take the boy's life. I'm sorry Castiella..."

"Did you know about this?" she snapped and, shit, her eyes were still locked on me.

I cringed. "Not more than assumption. Raff got a call from Niko telling us not to come. That something was up with the Kin, but we figured they would be able to keep the damned mafia out of their hair until we got you to them."

Her gaze didn't waver, but the rage in her scent subsided. "You didn't tell me, why?"

"Because I may have only known you for a week, but I know you. If you thought Dante was in trouble and if you knew we would be hunted the moment we set foot in New York you would have gated. You would have risked the Auphe honing in on you to save your son and protect me and my cousin. And it would have been stupid and rash and probably have gotten you killed."

Ishiah made a little harrumph sound, then cleared his throat when Cassie glared. "What?" the peri countered her sneer with a small smile. "He does seem to know you well."

Huh, now that I looked closer this guy kinda looked like Niko...or rather Niko looked like him. No wonder the puck had been cozying up to the elder Leandros so much the first time we met him. Blue gray eyes flickered over to me instead of stark gray though and there were a few more wrinkles around them. "I take it you're the Wolf that can create the All Wolf then."

"No, I'm the Wolf that used to be All Wolf. Not the best way to be either. Slowly losing your intelligence to primal needs. I nearly ripped out my own cousin's throat five times before I completely lost it to...our roots, you might say."

"And where is your cousin?"

I frowned. "I think it might be better that you don't know."

Ishiah lifted his dark eyebrows, then nodded once in agreement. Cassie sprung up from the couch like a catapult released. "Uncle Ishiah, please. If Dante is in any form of danger I need to know what you know now. Pleasantries can be exchanged at another time."

"I don't know much. Robin has been scouring the area for a black van in constant movement driven by werewolves of the Lupa pack. We don't know if the Lupa pack still has a hold on your son, considering that other Kin are involved now."

She crossed her arms under her chest in a gesture of fear masquerading as defiance. "A black van? That's it?"

"Castiella..." She shook her head, hands up in a sharp movement to silence him. Then she started storming out of the room. I stepped in front of her, catching her arms on instinct.

"Where are you going?"

"To save my son! Get the fuck out of my way!"

"Cassie, we don't even know where to start—"

She flung my hands away from her body, eyes blazing gold and a set of impressive white wings ruffling on her back. Well, if I didn't believe her peri before that cinched it. That Auphe blood had tainted even the angelic parts of her though; the wings were white, but barred with black, hints of deep red highlighting a stem or two in view. "I'm going to hunt them down. I will find him and I willkill them. If you have a problem with this, go back to your cousin!"

I held up my hands as she strode passed me feeling, not for the first time in all of this, completely helpless. I glanced over at her uncle and saw him sharing my solemn look. "I just have one question before I catch up and make sure she doesn't get herself killed again."

There was a small twitch at the corner of the peri's mouth that almost looked like a smile. "Yes?"

"She thinks Caliban hates her. She fears he's going to reject her when she finds him again." I was asking if that was true and I'm sure he could hear the disbelief in my tone. A girl like Cassie, well damn, she would be perfect for the brat. She was strong and capable which meant he wouldn't fear her getting hurt because of him...as much. She was an adorable beauty and was obviously sexually involved with him and, honestly, who would turn her down. Her fire, her confidence, her near sunshine-gold spirit. And the best part for Cal, her darkness. Her tortured past was a selling point there. Cal had been through a lot of shit and she would understand and commiserate on every level. So why would he ever hate her for trying to protect him and trying to save him?

Ever so slowly that tiny quirk in his mouth dipped into a frown and he should his head. "He has been more lost without her than I have ever seen him."

I nodded curtly. Thought so. "I better go." I turned from the room and jogged back out onto the street. Peering down both sides I didn't see Cassie, but sniffing the air I caught a trail leading farther down the street away from the way we came. She shouldn't have been that far ahead of me, unless she gated...or flew. "Shit."

There was a sharp jingle behind me of keys and the bar's front door shut with solid thunk. I turned to see Ishiah coming down the stairs with a determined look on his face. "You drive?"

"Yes?" A set of keys sailed through the air in front of my face. I snatched them back-handed and watched as the peri continued down the street without breaking stride.

"It's the Explorer. Try and keep up." And he was in the air, above the neighboring buildings within a few seconds. I watched in awe for a brief moment; it was quite beautiful. The sun reflected off his wings like they were drenched in liquid fire, but all too soon he was almost just a flash of white on the horizon. I shook my head out of its stupor and dashed across the street to the silver SUV parked next to a meter that had probably been broken for years.

As I squealed the tires into a donut to turn around I could see his form joining another, both looked like large birds sweeping across the cloudy sky, hiding among the pinks and purples of the fading sun. I slammed my foot down on the gas and flew in my own right after them. Part of me thought shifting and bolting after them on four legs might be faster, but we would probably need a getaway car if we ended up finding Dante. I jerked the wheel, nearly clipping a parked car as I skidded around the curb. They were at least a mile ahead and another two or three above me, with a good distance separating them. Smart, they were searching nearly half of Manhattan like that; if their eyes were good enough for that.

They veered away from each other, one north toward the Bronx and the other arching east then south to Brooklyn. Since I'd just come upon the exit for the Brooklyn bridge I veered and followed the closer speck of shadow and white. I could only watch helplessly in traffic for a while. It wasn't rush hour yet, but the bridge was always the victim of careless accidents or just overpopulation. I squinted out at the horizon to watch the peri I'd followed dip down a few times across the city and take a wide swoop over lower Queens. The shadow always popped back up into the sky though, empty-handed. Getting off the bridge, I nearly lost sight of them. Broke a few laws along the way, including almost t-bone-ing a bus when I ran a red light. I hoped Ishiah had good representation because there were several photo flashes from the street lights I swerved and weaved through.

I caught back up with the lower swooping dot of white through Prospect Heights. It was Cassie; I could tell from her size. I barreled down back roads and almost took out a few pedestrians walking casually through the slums of Crown Heights. I came screeching to a halt when I saw Cassie's smaller form dive bomb down about two streets further into the urban decay. I waited, my eye on the skyline, but she didn't return to the air.

Hesitating only a moment, I threw the SUV into reverse, finished possibly my worse parking job ever, and leapt out of the car. I shifted right there, mostly because the hood-rats were eyeing Ishiah's rims and I wanted to scare the shit out of them. They would avoid the car now that they saw a large roan wolf snarling in front of it with the keys dangling from its mouth.

I kicked out of my pants and was off. Propriety could be worried about later. I could hear the sounds of a fight now, or rather the sound of heavy tires screaming for mercy and the feral barks and growls of wolves in the midst of a smack down. My claws scraped along the pavement as I dodged a car trying to flee the scene, just a sedan with an old lady looking like she was in the middle of a heart attack behind the wheel. Turning the corner I could see where that terror was coming from.

Cassie didn't mess around.

The peri wings were out, catching drafts and helping her pivot and launch away from the four female Wolves attacking her. Cassie grabbed one by the neck and whipped around faster than the Wolf could snap her jowls in her general direction. The force cracked something in the gray-coated female's neck, but it was the bite that slashed her artery. It'd been a while since I'd seen a humanoid creature be so vicious. The last time was Cal ripping into the deer on the highway, but I hadn't really been of sound mind then either so watching Cassie latch onto the Wolf's throat and come back spitting a huge chunk of flesh and fur was pretty disturbing.

But I understood her desperation. I could hear the plaintive cries of her son from within the van. Tiny and only whimpers, but he was scared and upset and wanted his mommy. Mommy was a little busy at the moment though.

Cassie lifted in the air with a beat of her wings to dodge the next blur of fur charging her. And thrust the heavy body into the idling black van with her wing. That left a nice dent in the side exterior. I dashed in to finish the job, while she tangled with another, but came up short when I noticed the one female still in human form, sitting on the hood of the van in tight pants and a cropped shirt. Not a spec of blood on her creamy amber skin. A beautiful creature that I knew had the most flawless white coat of fur when wolf. Delilah.

Right, so there went any chance that I ever got to tap that. If she was the one behind stealing Dante away then Caliban would have my hide if I so much as drooled in her direction and I would be damned to admire a bitch that would stoop so low in her ambitions as to threaten a child. I lifted up my lips to bare my teeth and let off a low growl. She seemed to catch the distinct difference of sound compared to her female pack and met my eyes.

Her thin eyebrows lifted over almond shaped eyes, they flashed a brighter amber in excitement and she hopped down from her perch on the van's hood. She walked through the fight as if it weren't even happening. The moment Cassie saw her, the hybrid powerhouse ignored the secondary wolf launching at her with full force and fang and lunged for the Alpha. She didn't make it. Brought down by another Lupa female by her wings. I tensed at her cry of pain and launched at the bulky female Cassie had butted aside. The shaken Wolf was on her feet again, but soon off them again when I barreled her into the side of the van. Before I could latch onto the furry throat exposed only for an instant, Delilah stepped in front of me with a hungry smile and a strong backhand to the side of my skull. "Hello, Catcher."

I snorted out some of the dust from my nostrils, the dampness in my snout making an impressive spray. How sweet, she remembered my name. I growled in response, hoping it encompassed every ounce of hatred I had toward her right now. She just smiled, wrapping a finger around a lock of white blond hair then tossing it back over her shoulder. I was glad to see she looked a little worse for the wear. She had several bullet holes scarred over pink and exposed like a new pearl necklace. Most notable was a nasty rent had scabbed over on her temple that looked like it had once been a bullet to the head that came dangerously close to ending her life. Bravo Caliban.

"The deal was for your cousin. Not the weak puppy that can't handle power of All Wolf." Delilah bared her teeth at me as well. The fact that they were near-perfect white and human didn't negate the intimidation of it. I knew how heartless she could be now and to become the first female Alpha...that premise wasn't lost on me. "You were right. You were what we strive for and you shunned it. Traitor. Useless ingrate!"

Cassie broke free from the wrangling werewolves and tackled Delilah to the pavement before she finished the last syllable. Obviously, the white Wolf hadn't expected my tenacious friend to survive her pack. Delilah had no defenses up and, as a result, Cassie almost managed to choke her out as she straddled the Wolf. Delilah was laughing, though it sounded more like a chortle. She wrapped one leg up and around Cassie's shoulders, turning the tables and pinning Cassie to the asphalt sideways. I snapped my teeth at Delilah's throat, but she dodged and the big bitch I'd been engaging before knocked the wind out of me with a bull rush and her skull to my side. I slammed my shoulder against the edge of the van, rocking it on its shocks. I recovered and leapt in a circle to stop the continued attack on my hide, but the concussion that the light-furred Wolf incurred knocking into the van didn't hinder her in the least.

I lost track of Delilah and Cassie's vocal battle as I reared up and had one of my own with muscle-bound blondie in front of me. It didn't last long though, one clawed swipe across my cheek and a vicious bite to her shoulder and suddenly I was rolling from a swift kick to the gut from something heavy that crashed between us like an anvil. I scrambled back on to my paws, but my fight was over with my adversary now halved with her thick blood sliding over the soles of black boots.

I glanced up, frightened for a split second then recognizing the broad peri brandishing a two-handed broad sword with one as Cassie's uncle. I snorted out a thanks, then swung around to see where I was needed next. The last unattended Wolf was the skinnier than the last and taking careful steps backward as she snarled at us. Cassie and Delilah were separated a pace and spitting threats at each other instead of slashing each other to bits. Though they also seemed to be catching their breath.

Cassie's wings were bloody and one she held at a weak angle. Her skin also sported several washes of red that would bruise within the next hour and a trail of blood down the bridge of her nose to the curve just at the side of her mouth. Delilah had her shirt nearly ripped off and a moon-shaped, jagged cut on her shoulder where Cassie had obviously tried to dole out another bite. She would have some bruises as well as a black eye and she was holding her arm as if Cassie had broken it. I couldn't tell since her flesh was smoothly hiding any fracture. She was still in human form, insulting Cassie with the underestimation, but Cassie hadn't broken out the Auphe guns yet.

"Give me my son, you heinous bitch!"

"Mangy bird, I will tear you to pieces and leave your bloodied corpse for pretty boy to find."

Pretty boy, I knew was Caliban and, though I highly doubted Delilah would win this, the thought that he would have to see such a thing made my stomach turn. My ears perked at the screeching of tires approaching and my nostrils flared at the scents. A Jeep lurched to an abrupt stop at the end of the street and from the interior emerged back up…for them not us. I snarled and Ishiah flipped his weapon to ready for another fight. It was another six females; they just kept coming, huh.

"Mangy bird? Mangy fucking bird?" Cassie growled. It was a growl too, not like a human with a grumpy tone, but a feral, vicious rumble that only her father's side of the family could make. Her eyes were still blazing gold, but even a brief glance and I could see the red blossoming like blood over a sun-drenched pond. "Is that all you think I am?" She let off a short, sharp laugh that I felt in my gut. Like glass ripping open flesh. "Of course you would, you self-entitled twat."

Delilah growled. She ripped off the rest of her mangled shirt, revealing two perfect breasts and a toned core. Damn it, she was hot. Cassie was stirring something in me too, though, when she took three defiant steps toward Delilah. She lifted her chin in glorious rebellion. "Let me clear some things up for you, Delilah. One, you were just a step short of crazy for taking my son away from Cal, you have no idea how daft you are to keep him from me. Two, Caliban never was and will never be yours. You touch him again…you look at him again and –if I don't do so tonight– I will skin you alive then cauterize the wound, slowly. I have watched over him and protected him for far too long to have you shit on one fiber of his happiness. Three," she paused dramatically here, stepping up directly in front of Delilah who was preparing to shift and rip Cassie's throat out. Cassie's hands were at her sides though, leaving her neck completely exposed as if teasing. "Do you really think that Caliban would match so perfectly with a mangy bird?"

With that her eyes burned red, almost glowing in the night. Her hands flexed and long black talons shot out of every fingertip, at least eight inches each and sharp enough to glint in the lamplight. Delilah tense and actually stepped back in shock. Cassie grinned. "Shocker, huh? How can this be? Another half Auphe, what is the world coming to? But I'm the first. I'm the original and I…have had a lot more practice."

Her hand swipe to the right, aimed toward the new Jeep and the Wolves shifting and loping closer to await their Alpha's call to arms. A foot in front of Cassie's palm the air rippled gray, then split with a vast inky black between. A gate. I felt my tail unconsciously slip between my legs and I scooted back onto the sidewalk, good thing too. A second later that rip lashed out horizontal, like a brush fire as wide as the street itself. That black void expanded all the way to the jeep and through it, but lengthwise. I could see normal space above and below it, but like the blade of a guillotine it mowed down every werewolf on her way toward us. They fell in pieces when Cassie reeled the gate back in and the Jeep whined on its frame, then the top half slid askew before toppling onto the asphalt with a loud crack.

That was possibly the most terrifying and more impressive attack I had ever seen.

Delilah seemed to think so too, for she body slammed Cassie's smaller frame, running her over as she shifted. Cassie raked her claws along Delilah's side, probably sawing through several ribs along the way, but that didn't stop the white Wolf from snapping her elongating jowl in Cassie's face and getting out one last phrase before she lost her human tongue. "Harbinger! You kill my brothers, I will taste your heart." Then it was nothing more than a rumble in her throat. She smacked her claws at Cassie's face, but the Harbinger evaded. Then Delilah was bounding off the small girl's body and dashing out of sight. Letting off a little yip, her last minion skittered off after her in a hasty retreat. One leaving a gushing trail of blood while the latter left a line of piss.

Cassie roared in fury and rolled over onto her knees to launch after Delilah. "Castiella! Your son!"

Ishiah's call stopped her in her tracks. Breathing heavy she stared after Delilah's white and red coat, flickering through shadow, then spun toward the van. I could still hear the little whines and calls coming from inside. They were so soft, hardly the sounds I expected. A child that scared would normally be wailing about now.

Cassie hopped onto the back bumper and drove her claws into the upper corner of the van doors, then used her weight and strength to slice it open like a sardine can on a diagonal. She did the same to the other corner, then withdrew the talons and started peeling back the torn edges. I didn't mention that it might have been easier to unlock it from the passenger's side door that was gaping open; it was probably better for her to vent her dissatisfaction this way.

I shifted back to my human form to help, accepting Ishiah's duster and tying the belt to prevent any mishaps to fleshier parts of my anatomy. The three of us managed to get the metal bent back enough to see within and what I saw made my heart both leap and shudder.

Within the van were two cages and a bench seat. One cage held a young girl no older than seven or eight with bedraggled dark hair and piercing black eyes. Her body was swathed in a fine mist, implying Wendigo, as did her pointed ears and silver-flashing pupils, but she obviously hadn't gotten enough handle on the power to slip through the sturdy cage. There was also a smattering of bruises in various shades along her face and exposed arms; the Lupa were not kind to her. In the other cage, the one closest to us, peered a tiny little boy whom seemed relatively unscathed. He gripped the rungs of the prison (several of which were split like a blowtorch as fine as a knife sliced through them) with chubby hands and bounced gleefully when he saw Cassie. There was no mistaking it; from the dark mop of unkempt hair and round gray eyes he was, no doubt, Dante Leandros. And he was the cuties damned monster I'd ever seen.