“No one is going anywhere yet.” Even with the mutters and mumbles and, in a few cases, loud curses, Burke’s voice boomed, making it easy to locate the man.

Gresh had his pack to help him guard the back door, but Burke was facing down these humans alone. He pictured Burke with fur and decided he would have made an acceptable Grizzly.

Reaching the front door—and Burke—Nathan looked out the glass at the fog. The Elders were out there, thinning the herd. He could feel them. If he could convince Burke to open the door just an inch, he could sniff the outside air and get a sense of how close they were to this police den. Since he didn’t think Burke would open the door, he’d do his job another way.

“Arroo!” Nathan howled. “Arroo!” He continued howling to the other terra indigene.

“Burke!” a human shouted. It sounded like that Wallace man. “Make that... creature... stop that racket.”

“I think he’s trying to save the lives of everyone here by warning off the other predators,” Burke replied. “Do you really want me to tell him to stop?”

Nathan, and Burke, waited for an answer. Met with silence, Nathan resumed his “I am here” howl.

<Wolf.> A voice, deep and powerful—and too nearby. <Are you trapped in this human place, Wolf?>

<No. This police pack works with the Courtyard and with the Wolves. Some of this pack is helping Simon, so I’m here to help the ones who are protecting mates and puppies.>

Something came close to the glass door. Something on two legs that towered over Burke, who was a large human. Couldn’t really see the shape—it seemed clothed in the fog—but the claws that suddenly raked the glass, scoring it, were clear enough.

Humans gasped. Some fell in an effort to move away from the door. The police in uniform stared at him, at Burke, at the glass—and finally, maybe, understood.

“Captain?” one officer said. “When...?”

Burke looked at Nathan, who thought for a moment. The Elders were moving away from this den, but they weren’t far enough away yet that they wouldn’t return if prey suddenly began pouring out the doors.

He took up guard position in front of the door and returned Burke’s look.

“Not yet,” Burke said. “But soon. Patrol officers, work with dispatch and start prioritizing the calls so we can move as soon as we get the all clear.”

Burke holstered his weapon and studied Nathan. “I need to make some calls. Will you be all right here?”

“Arroo,” Nathan replied softly. He didn’t think any humans would bother him while he was between them and the terra indigene who were hunting on the streets.

•••