Sean took the brunt of the fight, but he let Connor battle it out alongside him, knowing the lad wouldn’t be happy to be too protected. Connor’s Collar was already slowing him down, but he bravely stayed on his feet and helped drive the other Shifters back toward Liam.
Sean heard Andrea shouting at the Felines around her, Ronan roaring as he fought them away from her. He knew Fionn had her back, and that fact warmed him. The family that fights rogue Shifters and upstart Fae together ...
Liam charged through the clearing to complete the family togetherness. Liam leapt on Callum at the same time the slit to Faerie opened and about a dozen or more Fae warriors boiled through with the help of Callum’s Shifters.
They were way too close to Liam. Sean crashed the last of the Shifters he fought to the ground and ran to help his brother.
The Fae looked smug as they pointed knocked arrows at Liam. But Fionn was bellowing in an alien language, and more Fae popped out of his hole to Faerie, these armed with wicked-looking swords. The first set, alarmed, turned and tried to fire at the second set.
The Fae fought dirty. While Sean knew Liam wanted the battle settled with as little Shifter bloodshed as possible, the Fae killed each other without remorse. It was chilling to watch one of Fionn’s men drive his sword clean through another Fae and laugh as his enemy’s blood showered over him.
Callum’s Fae were defeated. Cut off from retreat by Fionn’s warriors, they died to the last man. The remaining one who struggled up from under Callum saw what was happening and took his revenge by turning on Callum.
Before Liam or Sean could reach them, that Fae clenched an arrow in his hand and drove it straight into Callum’s heart. Callum bellowed in agony, paws scrabbling in the dirt, and the Fae wrapped his arms around Callum’s neck and broke it.
That Fae died an instant later when Fionn’s sword swiped his head from his neck.
As soon as the last Fae fell, whatever Fae spell had been helping Callum’s Shifters fight despite their Collars dissipated. Feline Shifters howled in pain and dropped all over the clearing. Liam loped to Sean and rose, shifting as he stood.
Eric, the Shiftertown leader from Las Vegas, shifted to stand beside Liam and survey the battlefield. “Sun and moon, what a mess.”
Sean remained wildcat, his nose wrinkling at the stench of dead Fae. Fionn’s warriors began carrying them back to Faerie, the bodies of friend and foe alike. Callum, they simply left where he was.
Fionn stepped back to let the last of his warriors go through. As that door to Faerie winked out, Fionn wiped his sword clean on the grass.
“The rest will be taken care of on my side,” Fionn said to Sean. “It is finished.”
“Sure about that, are you?” Liam asked him.
Fionn shrugged. “I am a Cillian. We always prevail.” He walked away, his stride long and still energetic.
“And he’s going to be your father-in-law, Sean,” Liam said. “Whew. Better you than me.”
“Hey, he helped save our asses,” Connor said. He’d shifted back to human and sat, panting, at Sean’s feet, looking a little green from the effects of his Collar.
“So did Sean.” Liam’s hand landed on Sean’s mane. “Thank you, brother, for coming to Connor’s aid. I couldn’t reach him in time.”
“Yeah, good save, Sean,” Connor echoed.
Good save. Sean wanted to laugh and settled for a Feline growl. I’ll always save you, Con. Kenny never has to worry about that.
Liam turned a sudden furious eye on his nephew. “And what the bloody hell are you doing in Shiftertown anyway, Con? You’re supposed to be guarding Kim at her house.”
“Kim insisted we come back,” Connor said. “And I wanted a piece of these gobshites.”
“You should have talked her out of it. Stolen her keys. Anything. I see we need to have a little chat about clan leaders and orders and shite like that.”
Kim came around the house at that point, her Mustang in the driveway. It was over and she knew it, and she added her voice to what she thought about Shifters expecting her to stay away while they went out to nearly be killed.
Sean left them to it and returned to where his heart was. Andrea.
Andrea greeted him with a big smile and a hug around his wildcat neck. Sean decided to shift while her arms were around him and found himself against her delectable body. The silk that covered her let him slide against her in a delicious way.
“Sweet lady,” he rumbled. “I’m thinking I can’t wait for that moon blessing.”
Andrea’s answering kiss heated his blood. The fighting frenzy coupled with mating frenzy made him almost forget he was in the middle of Shiftertown surrounded by family, friends, and enemies.
“Sean,” Liam’s voice cut through his joy. “You’re needed.”
Sean eased Andrea from his arms with reluctance, but he knew Liam was right.
Callum was one of three Shifters who’d been killed in the fighting. Liam, Ronan, Eric, and Ellison helped lay all three of them out under the trees, surrounding them with fresh branches, murmuring prayers as they did so. They brought Jared from the back of Dylan’s truck, his body still wrapped in the tarp, and laid him next to the fallen.
Andrea’s hand slid into Sean’s as they both looked down at Jared. Sean hadn’t forgiven Jared for what he’d done to Andrea, but now the man was a mere pathetic heap of bones, as much a victim to Callum’s schemes as Callum had been himself. Sean looked at him and felt sad.
Andrea handed Sean the sword. She stayed next to him, warm at his side, as Sean prayed to the Goddess for the safe passage of the four Shifters at his feet. Then he lifted the silver sword and sent each of them to dust.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The moon was two nights past full that night, but Liam decreed that they were within the time range for the moon blessing. Besides that, he added with a grin, Sean and Andrea would combust if they didn’t get it over with.
Andrea once again stood in the clearing with a garland of flowers on her head, Sean at her side. This blessing was the more sacred of the two, and all Shiftertown was there, circling and celebrating. They had two things to celebrate: Sean and Andrea’s mating and the fact that Shiftertown was once again peaceful—well, as peaceful as a bunch of Shifters living together could ever be.
Callum’s men had pretty much surrendered to Liam the day before, now that their Fae backers had been defeated. Ben O’Callaghan was put in charge of seeing that the Felines followed Liam’s strictures, Ben’s penance for having joined the Felines-only movement in the first place. One day, Ben, Liam had told him, the world will belong to us again. One day. But not today.