“The fuck you will.” Dalton’s voice was unlike anything I’d ever heard but I recognized it immediately. Raspy. Raw. The harbinger of death. His eyes were dark and dull; gold striations oozed out from his pupils. The Brothers were primed for action. Their eyes were focused. Their chins tucked down to their chests. They looked to Dalton, waiting for their orders. “Put the alpha down,” he said, smiling sadistically, as he sicced his dogs on me. “Don’t kill the omega. We’ll keep him and breed him.”

A kaleidoscope of colors fizzed through the bond. Jules was afraid. Really afraid. I could feel it. I’d been afraid too. I’d been afraid since morning. I’d been afraid coming around the bend, and I’d been afraid when I shifted. I was afraid right up to the point Dalton said he’d keep Jules for breeding. At the sound of those words, my fear was replaced by something quite different. Our bond changed. From my side it glowed red. Dark red. It turns out, red is for more than passion and love.

Red is also for rage.

The world brightened, and my eyes flashed as I forced fury through our bond until the entire link between Jules and me shone crimson. I didn’t need to look at Jules to tell he felt it too. The Brothers lumbered toward us. Their eyes were black. Devoid of emotion or any sign that they recognized me as a member of their pack. As they made their way up the hill to where Jules and I stood, Keith bent down and picked up a discarded metal pipe.

“Dalton, no!” cried my father. “Five against one is not a fair fight. That’s not the Cleary pack way. Don’t do it.” I was surprised to hear him say it. I was more surprised by the force in his voice. I remember thinking that if that was the last thing I ever heard my father say, I was happy those were the words he chose to say. “There’s no honor in this.” That time my father’s voice was a growl.

The Brothers paid him no heed, but when they got to where he stood, Keith swung the pipe hard, hitting my father on the back of the head. He stumbled and sank down to the ground.

“Stay down,” my mother hissed at him.

Perhaps I’d have been more surprised at my mother’s action, or inaction, as it were, but The Brothers were almost upon us, and I didn’t have the time I needed to deal with the full weight of the disappointment I felt.