“Because mixing ourselves with them and their world makes us weak,” Callum said with heat. “Going to their bars and shops, our cubs wanting their toys like stupid cell phones and satellite dishes. They’ve forgotten that Shifters are supposed to be fighters, warriors, a hell of a lot better than humans.”
“So you’re putting Shifters in danger because your son’s been bothering you for a nicer computer, are you now?” Sean asked. “Good logic, that. Now, Callum, are you going to run or stay and pay the price?”
“Don’t be an idiot. You won’t call the police.”
Sean rotated his thumb over the button. “But I will. This human toy, you see, lets me talk to people from far away.”
“He’s right, Sean,” Ben broke in. “If the cops take the humans, they’ll just tell them we hired them. The police will come after us then. You’ll make it even worse for us.”
Sean knew that, had known it, hated that. In retrospect, it was a good thing that Kim and Silas, and Sean, hadn’t been able to convince the human police to take the problem more seriously. The detectives would have found Shifters at the end of the trail. Shifters would be rounded up, guilty and innocent alike, interrogated, not likely to be let go in a hurry, probably punished, which mean being put to death. Shifters did not need a lockdown and arbitrary arrests, especially not just now with Liam and Dylan performing their experiments on the Collars. Callum’s little plot to keep Shifters pure could be the death of them all.
Sean smiled, thumb still poised. “What do you suggest then, Callum. We kill your humans?”
Callum liked that solution, Sean could see, and the humans saw that he liked it too. But as much as Sean wanted to tear off their heads, he knew that dead humans were another risk they couldn’t take.
“You want it too much, Callum,” Sean said in a quiet voice. “So what I’ll do is call my dad. He and my brother’s trackers will escort these humans out of town, somewhere far, far away, where we won’t ever see them again. Ben, why don’t you and some of the Shifters you trust here help with that? Take them somewhere that I or my brother won’t happen on them. Either that or I take them to San Antonio and let them face Ely’s mate.”
Andrea growled in agreement. Female Shifters defending their mates were the most dangerous Shifters of all. They didn’t care who died, as long as those who’d attacked their mates bled. A lot.
“We’ll help your dad take care of it,” Ben said quickly.
Two of the other Shifters disarmed the humans so fast they didn’t have time to react. Sean’s adrenaline eased the slightest bit. Ben would be smart enough to see the wisdom of hiding the mess and throwing the police off the scent. Whatever evil deed they’d been planning here today wouldn’t happen.
Callum, on the other hand, wasn’t about to obey. “I think it’s time the Morrissey clan had a new Guardian.”
He leapt at Sean, shifting to his wildcat in midair. Sean blocked Andrea from attacking, at the same time half shifting so that he caught Callum in a claw-filled embrace. Callum’s Collar was sparking, the electricity from it singeing Sean’s skin, but it didn’t slow Callum much.
Sean’s own Collar bit shocks deep into him, but he clenched his jaw and kept the pain at bay, as he’d trained himself to. Andrea was snarling in fury, barely holding herself back. Sean fought himself away from Callum’s vicious teeth, and in a lightning-swift move, he hurled Callum across the room. Callum crunched into the wall and slid down it.
Breathing hard, Sean dialed his cell phone again and got Spike, one of Liam’s trackers, loyal and the smartest of the bunch. Spike had been waiting for the call, in fact, Liam telling him to stand by in case Sean needed backup. He was there in a few minutes, followed by the other trackers and Dylan. Dylan looked white and almost ill, but he ignored Sean’s look of concern as he pulled Callum off the floor.
Andrea remained a wolf, still growling at Callum. Sean retrieved his sword and swept the remaining Shifters a stony look.
“Go home. It’s over.”
Sean deliberately turned his back, showing he didn’t need to keep them in his sights to make sure they obeyed. He also knew none of them would try to take on Dylan. They were at least that smart.
Andrea had left her clothes in an almost tidy pile on the bar. Sean scooped them up and stared down the human bartender, who cowered in a corner.
“My advice?” Sean said. “Find another job.”
He yanked open the door and walked out at a deliberate pace, Andrea, still in her wolf form, trotting beside him.
“My underwear, Sean?”
Andrea unfolded herself from her cramped position on the floor of the car. Normally she wouldn’t worry about her nakedness after shifting, but like hell she’d let those gun-toting humans see her in all her glory. She’d waited until Sean had driven out of the parking lot to shift to human form, and now she didn’t feel like flashing greater Austin while Sean sped them home.
Sean pulled a tiny pair of panties out of his jacket pocket. He looked good for a Shifter whose Collar had just shocked the hell out of him, very good, even better dangling her underwear just out of reach.
“The black lace again,” he said. “I like these.”
Andrea snatched them. “Great. I’ll buy you a pair.”
“Have you taken over all my underwear shopping now?”
Andrea had pulled on her shirt and now wormed her way up to the seat, which was cold to her bare behind. She lifted her hips to get the panties up over her butt. “I never said that.”
“But you rushed to defend your mate from attack in there. That was sweet.”
Andrea’s face heated. “Of course I did. Callum is an ass**le. He’s responsible for Ely almost dying, and I wanted to kill him.”
“Agreed. But no one’s ever leapt to my rescue like that, not since I was a cub. It felt good.”
Andrea looked at him in surprise. “Never?”
“Never.” His words were emphatic.
“I probably didn’t need to,” Andrea said. “You could have torn Callum apart. Your Collar wasn’t stopping you.”
“Could have, yes. Did I think it wise? No. Shifter deaths, they’ll only cause problems. That’s a certainty.”
“You’re evading the question, Sean. Why didn’t your Collar bother you?”
“Why didn’t yours?”
Andrea shrugged. “The Collar doesn’t work on me.”