Armed with that information, Burke had informed O’Sullivan and then circumvented the Lakeside police’s chain of command by calling patrol captains Zajac and Wheatley for help. Before Police Commissioner Kurt Wallace, who was a member of the HFL, even knew there was a potentially lethal problem, the police were locking down the city—and bracing for whatever was coming.

“Gods, this feels creepy,” Kowalski muttered as he pulled into the Courtyard’s Main Street entrance and then eased the patrol car down the access way.

“Like a ghost town you read about in stories.” Once the car was parked in a space usually reserved for the earth native delivery trucks, Monty hurried toward the medical office. “Did Ruth and Merri Lee say where they would be?”

“With the kids and Theral and Pete Denby. Safety in numbers.”

He hoped that was true.

•••

Vlad hung up the phone with exaggerated gentleness just as Eve Denby strode up to Howling Good Reads’ checkout counter. He’d managed to avoid dealing with the female pack since the Wolves went into hiding. Now...

“Did my son cause whatever this is?” Eve asked.

Vlad shook his head.

“Then I’ll hand out a suitable punishment.”

He said nothing. Tolya’s voice on the phone. So flat, so... empty.

“I’ll clean up Meg’s office. Being a mother, I’ve dealt with my share of puke.”

He said nothing.

“Hey.” Eve reached out. Almost touched his hand. “Is Meg really hurt?”

He looked at her. Honest concern. Would that make any difference now? “Joe Wolfgard is dead.”

“Oh.” Immediate sympathy. “Some kind of accident?”

“No. We called to warn him, and he tried to stop the pack from running into the trap, but...” Vlad sighed. “Except for the nanny who went with the pups, all the adult Wolves in the Prairie Gold pack are dead. Slaughtered. By humans.”

Eve looked out the store’s windows. She’d been working across the street. She would have heard the sirens, seen the police cars. Probably had a call from Pete since she knew about Nathan dealing with Robert.

Eve rammed her fingers through her short hair. “Does Simon... Does anyone else here know?”

“Not yet.” He felt so strange. The Wolfgard and the Sanguinati were different forms of terra indigene, but he felt so strange. One death was sorrow, but a whole pack... Maybe it was because Tolya had sounded so empty when he called.

Or maybe it was because Vlad thought he would sound the same way if it had been Simon.

“Can I do anything for you?”

He focused on Eve. “No. Thank you.”

She nodded. “I’ll get Ruth and Merri Lee. We’ll give Meg’s office a good clean and airing. Put the Closed sign on the door.”

“Yes. All right.” Had to tell Grandfather Erebus.