He turned away, then turned back. “Don’t try to call my bluff about this. I am standing with the Lakeside Courtyard because I think it’s the only way to save the people of this city. If you can’t stand with me, you need to be gone by the end of the day.”

He walked to his office and wasn’t surprised when Louis Gresh came in right behind him.

“That was quite a speech,” Louis said.

“You think so?”

“You usually get what you want when it comes to having men transferred out of this station, but... a humans-against-humans war when there’s another potential enemy?”

“They didn’t think it through.” Burke settled in his chair. “You kill off one kind of predator, you leave a void. Sooner or later, something will fill that void, and in this case, I think it will be sooner rather than later. The HFL wants to talk about land reclamation? They have no idea what they started—and I have no idea who among us will still be here to see where it ends.”

•••

Deciding on visible police presence, Monty asked Kowalski to park in the Courtyard’s customer parking lot.

“Check on the Denbys, warn them about the news reports,” Monty said.

“Sure not something the children should see.” Kowalski seemed about to say something more but changed his mind.

Monty smiled. “I’ll check on them after I talk to Simon.”

“Not sure what all they’re doing, but the girls are working with Meg at the Liaison’s Office this morning, and Theral is at the medical office.”

“Then check on them too.”

The lights weren’t on in Howling Good Reads, but the front door was open. That door wasn’t usually open anymore, so Monty went in cautiously, his hand brushing against his police issue revolver.

“Simon?”

A sound. Something moving on the other side of the main display table.

Careful, careful. He could draw his weapon against a human intruder but not against a Wolf. Not today.

Then Simon stood up, grabbing the table for balance.

“Simon.”

“You did this.” The voice sounded rough, not quite human. “You did this.”

“I saw the picture. Simon, I am so sorry about Joe.” What was he dealing with here? Shock? Rage? Overwhelming grief?

“How much human will the terra indigene keep? Well, you showed them the answer, didn’t you? You showed them this as an example of what it means to be human.”

Monty didn’t have time to brace for the attack before Simon grabbed him and slammed him against the bookshelves.

“We tried to work with...” Simon snarled. “We... tried. But you did this!”

More than grief. More than rage and shock.

“What are you afraid of?” Monty asked. “Us? Humans?”

Simon released him and stepped back, shaking his head. “Fear you? You’re going to be as good as extinct soon. Why should we fear you?”