White Tiger

The lock clicked, and the door opened.

“Remind me to ask you how you did that,” Kendrick said as they peered into the room.

It was dark. Kendrick’s Shifter vision saw plenty of shapes but he couldn’t make out anything clearly. Tiger, on the other hand, scanned the room as though he saw everything without a problem.

“Light switch there,” he said, pointing a little way down the wall. “If you need it.”

Tiger didn’t sound superior; he was stating a fact. Kendrick moved toward the switch, which was a push button, and pressed it.

Lights flickered to life. By them, Kendrick saw that every cabinet door was either open or hanging broken from its hinges, and that glass cases that had decorated the middle of the room had been smashed. Any valuables that they’d housed were gone.

“Dylan needs to see this,” Kendrick said, turning.

Tiger was just inside the doorway, looking around. As soon as Kendrick swung back to him, Tiger jerked his head up, peering sharply at the ceiling.

The big man shouted, “No!” then a sharp, grating sound cut off the word.

The main door was set back in an alcove. From the top of this alcove, a solid metal door screeched downward, cutting Kendrick from the entrance, and Tiger.

The door was a single, smooth sheet, no handles, keypads or anything on it. Tiger slammed into it from the other side, but the door stayed in place, not budging.

All the lights in the treasure room went out. The darkness was complete, even to Kendrick’s Shifter vision.

He drew his sword, hearing it but not seeing the flash of the blade or flicker of runes. Tiger thumped the door from the other side again, and then there was nothing.

Kendrick was alone in the dark and the silence.

*   *   *

Addie had never shot through the town of Loneview so fast in her life. Zander was riding far over the speed limit—if the local police wanted an easy ticket, they’d have it today.

Not that Zander would bother to stop for them. Addie clung to him as they zoomed past the town square, Zander following her bellowed directions to her house.

Ben came behind them on another motorcycle, riding with Jaycee. She was taking seriously her commitment to not leave Addie alone for a single moment. She’d made arrangements for the strongest of the Shifters left at the ranch, and Charlie, to take care of the cubs.

Ivy’s house loomed up in the heat of the afternoon. Addie’s heart thumped as Zander halted in front of the familiar Bermuda grass yard with the live oak tree, Josh’s bike resting against the garage door.

Addie was scrambling off the motorcycle before Zander shut it down. She ran for the front door, but Jaycee caught her, spinning her back.

“Don’t even go in there before we check it out,” Jaycee said sharply. “Don’t be a too-stupid-to-live heroine.”

“My sister and her kids are in there!” Addie yelled. “With that monster.”

Jaycee’s grip on Addie’s arms tightened. “Addie, he’s just a Shifter. Zander and I are plenty tough enough to fight him, and I’m guessing Ben can do something to help, or Kendrick wouldn’t have left him with us. Plus Zander’s a polar bear, and they’re just big. We’ll take care of this.”

“Lachlan is a Shifter with a love for firearms,” Addie pointed out. “It won’t matter how strong or fast you are if you have bullets in your body.”

“We can also surround him and take him down, no matter what weapon he has.” Jaycee’s words were low and rapid. “But you don’t go rushing in when you don’t know what’s waiting for you.”

Addie forced herself to acknowledge the truth of this. Still, it was very difficult for her to remain hidden behind the thick bole of the tree while Zander disappeared around to the back of the house, Ben went to the side window, and Jaycee approached the front door.