The only worry Griffin and Roman had on their way to Aster City was arriving too late to the meeting.

Their parents needed them there as backup just in case Elijah somehow managed to slither his way out of the accusations. Or worse, try something stupid.

Hence, imagine their surprise when the chopper began its descent toward the center of Elijah’s large compound.

Or at least, tried to.

Halfway down, something yanked the helicopter violently to the side.

The entire aircraft lurched so hard Roman had to grab onto the side rail while Griffin’s shoulder slammed against the interior wall. The pilot cursed loudly, wrestling with the controls as the blades overhead let out a strained metallic whine.

"What the hell—?!"

Then they saw them.

About seven women stepped out from the corners below, their white dresses whipping in the wind as they raised their hands and began to chant in eerie, synchronized unison.

The air became charged. Griffin and Roman shared a look.

Witches.

They didn’t have time to wonder what the hell witches were doing in Elijah’s compound— especially witches who very clearly wanted them dead. Because the wind was beginning to gather now.

It curled around the helicopter, dragging at it, twisting, and trying to rip it out of the sky. The cyclone forming beneath them was unnatural, no doubt the result of the witches’ spellwork. Overhead, the blades were already beginning to jerk and strain at awkward angles.

The chopper gave another violent shake and this time it dipped dangerously low.

The pilot’s face had gone pale.

"You have to get out!" he shouted over the deafening noise, panic cracking through his voice. "Now!"

Griffin and Roman didn’t hesitate. It wasn’t that far of a drop. At least not one they couldn’t survive. So they jumped together for once.

The second Griffin hit the air, his body began to change. His bones stretched while his muscles thickened, skin expanding with brutal, terrifying speed.

By the time he landed, it was no longer Griffin Hale crashing into the earth, but a seven-foot hulking version of him. The transition had been so seamless, it had happened in the blink of an eye.

And the moment his huge feet hit the ground, he released a ferocious roar that ripped through the compound and shook the morale of every witch present.

Surely, they must have heard about his beast and what he was capable of doing. Unfortunately, it seems knowing and seeing were two completely different things.

The witches asked for it.

Roman landed a second later. He touched the ground on all fours with a smooth precision that was elegant.

In Roman’s place was a stunning green cheetah, sleek and lean but no less dangerous, his glowing eyes locked onto the witches with predatory focus.

When Griffin roared, Roman answered with one of his own, his body lowering, hind legs coiling beneath him, ready to spring.

Then Griffin shot high into the air with terrifying force and came crashing down directly in the middle of the witches.

One of them barely had time to scream before Griffin grabbed her by the waist like she weighed nothing. He tore her apart the way children would destroy a toy they didn’t like anymore. Blood sprayed and the other women froze in horror. They could see their life flash before their lives.

In any other situation, Griffin might have respected women, but not the kind who tried to kill him. Or his loved ones.

Roman, even in his feline form, visibly recoiled at his wildness. So dirty.

There was nothing left in the eyes of the remaining witches but terror. They began hurling spell after spell at the two beasts, with shaking hands, as magical blasts shot wildly through the air. Unfortunately, panic made them sloppy.

The moment Roman moved, it was over.

Cheetah Roman was fast as hell. Too fast for the human eye to properly follow. One second he was there and the next, a witch was screaming as claws ripped into her throat.

Then another. And another.

He darted through them in green blurs, mauling them down in quick, brutal succession before their spells could even land.

By the time the dust began to settle, the ground was already stained with blood, bodies lay torn apart across the compound. Between Griffin’s savage rampage and Roman’s lethal speed, every last witch had been reduced to meat and regret.

There was a sudden rustle from behind and Roman’s cheetah ears twitched instantly.

Someone was still here and had started running.

Roman shot off in that direction without warning, paws pounding against the earth as he followed the sound. Up ahead, a young girl was sprinting through the path, her heart hammering so loudly Roman could hear it over everything else.

He lunged at her, body slamming into hers and they both hit the ground hard. Roman pinned her easily, claws accidentally digging into her arm just enough to draw blood.

The scent hit him instantly and he froze.

He knew that scent. Recognized it, actually.

It smelled like Violet, but not exactly like her. But close enough to make something cold crawl down his spine.

His eyes narrowed on the girl’s face. It dawned on him. This was Violet’s sister. Angus’s daughter.

No way. It couldn’t be. Angus was here?

That split second of hesitation cost him.

The girl hissed something under her breath and suddenly a violent force blasted into Roman’s side, hurling him clean off her body and straight into a nearby car.

By the time he recovered, shaking off the daze, she was gone. Roman snarled low in his throat, sudden fear flooding his system.

If Angus was here, then everything had gone wrong.

Griffin was by his side a second later, naked as the day he was born and covered in blood. But there was no time to think about that. The two of them rushed inside.

Roman didn’t shift back. This form made it easier to hunt, kill, and right now his senses were too useful to give up. He could smell blood. Fear. Magic. Wolves. And somewhere ahead, a lot of wolves were gathered in one room. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

That had to be where their parents were.

So they followed it.

The moment they burst into the meeting hall, it was utter confusion. The tension was so thick it felt alive. But even through all the chaos, the second their parents spotted them, relief fell over them.

"Goddess above," Irene didn’t even think.

She threw herself at Griffin without a care for the fact that he was stark naked and drenched in blood. Her arms wrapped around him tightly as she laughed in pure relief.

Roman heard it next.

"Son."

His ears twitched and he turned his head.

Leon.

His father had crouched down, arms already open.

Roman moved before he could stop himself, crossing the space between them and pressing into Leon’s embrace. Leon wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close despite being in beast form.

Roman nuzzled into him shamelessly, relishing the familiar scent and the grounding comfort of his father’s touch.

"It’s nice to have you back, boy," Leon said, patting him firmly.

When they finally broke apart, Roman’s eyes landed on the real source of the commotion.

Nancy King.

She was unconscious on the floor while Caspian crouched beside her, trying to revive her.

"Shit," Griffin muttered.

Roman heard the fear in his voice immediately.

"Violet is going to lose her shit if anything happens to Nancy."

And speak of Violet.

Roman remembered the stone. He reached for his pocket instinctively, only to remember he was in beast form.

But then, it also occurred to him that they had left it in a sachet in the chopper. The same chopper that had exploded.

Oh, great.

How were they going to communicate with Violet now? Without the stone, they were practically stranded. Sure, Violet could still reach out to them somehow, but it wouldn’t be easy.

To think they had barely arrived and somehow, they had already managed to mess things up.

"She’s breathing!" Caspian said, relief and urgency colliding in his voice. "But she needs to be taken to a hospital. The spell hit her too hard. If we don’t get her help soon, she could lose the baby."

Griffin opened his mouth. "We have.... "

Then he recalled. The chopper was gone — and quite possibly the pilot.

His mouth snapped shut.

Ezra didn’t wait around. He scooped Nancy into his arms with terrifying care, and strode out of the room with Caspian following closely behind.

No sooner had they left than someone stirred from the side.

It was only then that Griffin and Roman properly took in their Alpha King, who had apparently been unconscious through the entire disaster.

Just like that, all the wolves in the room went tense. Every eye slowly turned toward Elijah, watching, and waiting for him to wake up.

Elijah groaned and stumbled up to his feet, one hand going instinctively to the back of his head where a painful lump had already begun to rise. He winced.

Lifting up his gaze, that was when he noticed his subjects were staring at him strangely now.

"What happened?" he rasped, voice rough from pain.

Irene folded her arms and said, coldly,

"Alpha King Elijah, we need to talk."