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.“But it’s empty now.” He sniffed as did everyone else.“Although I’m thinking they were here until a few minutes ago.” Then something occurred to him and he turned to Jamie.“Call Maarten.I wouldn’t put it past Luther to send someone for him, to use him as a bargaining chip.” His previous reason for not notifying his brother was no longer valid.“I’ll call him,” Nathan chirped, sounding excited.“Go on with the gate-opening bit.”Luuk looked at the gates.Like the fence it was high, but a shifter could scale it.Well, so could a human.Alarms would go off all over the residence, but since he was certain they’d been spotted, what difference did it make?“The gate-opening bit would be scaling them,” Luuk said, winking at Jamie as they both suited action to words.“Ugh.I told Maarten to get to a safe spot with people he trusted.Didn’t explain more, but he probably will figure it out.” Nathan was up beside them in a flash, grinning wickedly.“Gymnastics.Almost makes me like Spider-Man.Minus the outfit, yuck.”Marcus chuckled and the whole of the front fence rattled as he added his considerable mass to the scaling.Luuk felt surprisingly happy when he worried that he should be worried more.But being on his beloved home soil—he landed on his feet and had to fight the instinct to throw his head back and howl—was an incredible experience.Even if Luther was here somewhere.Jamie landed beside him, dropping down the side of the gate.Todd, Adam, Marcus and Nathan stretched out to his and Jamie’s sides.“Too much opportunity for ambushing you,” Marcus said, scowling at the foliage.“You might want to dig all of this up when you move back in.”“No, it’s been this way for a very long time.” Luuk loved the grounds.Jamie hummed and they began walking.“I bet it gives coverage for when you want to run as a wolf, too.”“It does.” Some of Luuk’s joy at being on home turf began to fade as they walked.While they didn’t rush, unwilling to appear afraid, they didn’t exactly stroll either.“I don’t sense anyone out here.”Marcus sent out a swell of power, setting every hair on Luuk’s body on end.“Me either.Reckon they’re holed up inside.”“That would be the smart thing to do.” Todd leaned to the side and sniffed.“I hope they don’t have guns.”“They do, but perhaps we can hope for some honour among his guards, if nothing else.” Luuk wouldn’t keep his fingers crossed, and he tried to manoeuvre in front of Jamie, but Jamie grabbed him by the belt loop and pulled him back.“I don’t think so, buster.”Luuk stopped then and turned to Jamie.He smiled and kissed him, lingering over the soft lips when Jamie parted for him.It wasn’t a goodbye kiss, Luuk told himself.He was feeling more confident each minute.It was a welcome home kiss.He lifted his head and took the hem of Jamie’s shirt in his hands.“Time to shift, I think.”“Yeah.” Jamie wasn’t the only one agreeing, but his was the only voice that Luuk really registered.He pulled Jamie’s shirt up, baring his pale skin to the sun.Luuk touched the spot he’d marked so often, then he dropped Jamie’s shirt and tugged his own off.Around him, he was aware of the others stripping, but he only had eyes for his mate.They unfastened their pants in unison, and shortly thereafter were nude.Luuk took one moment to hold Jamie to him, to kiss him again and feel his body pressed to his from chest to knees.Then he stepped back and squatted, Jamie mirroring his move.He watched as long as he could, but his vision blurred as his facial bones shifted.He tipped his head back as he’d wanted to do, and he howled.It was the last warning Luther would get.Five other howls joined his, and again the wave of power from Marcus set Luuk’s teeth on edge.His wolf knew when it was out-alpha’d, but he also knew who was a friend and who wasn’t.Luuk rubbed his furry cheek against Jamie’s and took off, loping towards the front door.Somehow he knew it’d be opened for him, whether to spew out guards or Luther himself.Sure enough, the door was cracked open by someone and the sounds of fighting, wolves snarling and attacking, slipped from the crack along with the smell of blood and fear.Fear hit Luuk then, not of failure, but of someone else doing what he must do.He bounded up the steps in one leap and nosed the door open.Wolves were fighting one another, with Luther, his coat thick and grey with white tips, backed into a corner by three of his guards.Luuk howled again, then growled and snarled.This was his battle, no one else’s.The other wolves that were fighting one another turned and ran, except for one.Luuk was guessing he’d be the one wanting Luuk back in power.Luther was still being held in place by other wolves, though, and Luuk wasn’t going to have that.He ran and nipped the heel of one, a warning of worse to come.The wolf yelped and gave him a wounded look to which Luuk only snarled.He wanted the guards out of his way, whether they were on his side—now—or not.Marcus knocked the other two aside with a bone-jarring tackle that sent howls of pain ringing through the air [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]