CHAPTER 386: WHEN THE ROOF FALLS IN...

Lyla

I curled up on the comfortable couch in the sitting room, contemplating for maybe the hundredth time what would be my penalty if I killed Ramsey.

I can’t believe he hasn’t made any effort to try to placate me. He’d gone out a while ago, probably sitting on the terrace like the coward he was.

Nanny finally came into the sitting room carrying a large bowl of freshly popped popcorn, her face creased with concern. "Here you go, dear," she said, settling beside me and offering the bowl. "Are you alright? You’ve been quiet since morning."

I shook my head, grabbing a handful of popcorn and stuffing it into my mouth with more force than necessary. "I’m trying to justify marrying Ramsey," I said around the kernels, "because it’s starting to seem like I made a huge mistake."

Nanny’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "A mistake? Whatever brought this on?"

"He’s clueless, Nanny. Clueless." I gesticulated wildly with my free hand, sending a few pieces of popcorn flying. "Do you know what he did yesterday? Here I am, carrying his baby, feeling like every part of my body was run over by a car, and he had the guts to leave the house because I wouldn’t talk to him?"

Nanny’s lips twitched, but she managed to keep her expression serious. "That does sound... impractical."

"Impractical?" I snorted. "Don’t let me get started on his strange behaviour since he came here. The only thing left was for him to go around with a placard that read ’I am a Lycan.’ He never does anything right. I tell him to buy skimmed milk, but he buys full cream. I don’t want to talk about the coffee shop incident."

"What coffee shop incident?"

"He asked the barista if they had anything ’suitable for an Alpha’s palate’ and then got offended when she laughed!"

"Oh my," Nanny said, her eyes dancing with suppressed laughter.

"He nearly panicked when a pigeon landed in front of our car!" I continued, feeling daring enough to rant. "I mean—was he raised in a cave under a rock? Is this how all men are?" I demanded, throwing my hands up in exasperation. "Because if it is, I should have just stayed single and lived here with you forever. At least you know how doors work!"

"The door incident was hilarious when you told me," Nanny agreed, her whole face lit up with amusement. "Though I have to say, watching the most powerful Lycan in North America struggle with a house key for twenty minutes would have been entertaining."

"He tried to force it open first! Like he expected it just to recognise his Alpha authority and swing wide!" I grabbed another handful of popcorn. "Imagine, living so much in luxury that you don’t remember how a door opens."

Nanny burst into laughter, the sound echoing warmly through the sitting room. "Oh, sweetheart, I can imagine how tedious and stressful it must have been taking care of three babies at once."

"Tell me about it," I sighed, then said in a quiet tone. "Though I’ve never seen him as angry as he was yesterday. He was ready to rip Paul apart. And it worries me."

"Why should it worry you, dear?" Nanny probed silently.

"I know how annoying I can be, what if..."

Nanny smiles. "He would never do that to you, my girl. Ramsey loves you so much that it reflects in everything he does, and Lycans, werewolf men, can tell when another man has eyes for their woman. Paul must have really liked you, too. So, Ramsey was jealous."

"Jealous about what? If I didn’t end up with Nathan, why would I be with someone like Paul or any other man? Ramsey is the only man who has warmed my heart in ways not even Nathan could do. Despite how much I wanted to hate him, I couldn’t bring myself to do so."

"Maybe he’s insecure," Nanny’s lips quirked as she said it.

Nanny and I stared at each other for a few seconds before we burst into laughter. The thought of the Lycan Leader being insecure around a man who would not hold a touch to him was hilarious.

While we were talking, I became aware of a new sound—footsteps on the roof above us. At first, I dismissed it as nothing unusual. Old buildings made all sorts of noises, and small animals were always scurrying around.

"Probably just a cat," Nanny said, noticing the sound as well.

But as the footsteps continued, I frowned. "Cats walk daintily. This sounds heavier." I looked up at the ceiling as the steps moved from one end of the house to the other. "Much heavier."

Nanny’s expression grew more serious, her hand instinctively moving toward the protective charms she always wore. "You’re right. That’s definitely not a cat."

The footsteps multiplied, becoming a whole pattern of movement across the roof. Heavy, deliberate steps that felt like multiple people walking on the roof above us.

"Nanny," I said quietly, my hand moving protectively to my stomach, "I think we should—"

The roof exploded inward.

Chunks of wood, plaster, and debris rained down on us as a gaping hole opened above the sitting room. I threw my arms over my head, coughing and choking on the dust cloud that filled the air. Nanny’s protective instincts kicked in immediately—she threw herself over me, shielding my body and the babies from the falling wreckage.

When the dust began to settle, I looked up to see figures dropping through the hole. They looked human at first glance, but as they straightened up, I could see the differences. Their fingernails had elongated into razor-sharp claws that glinted in the firelight. Their canine teeth extended well past their lips, giving them the appearance of predators wearing human masks.

"Vampires," Nanny breathed, but there was something wrong with that assessment. These creatures moved differently and smelled differently. They carried the scent of decay and something else—something that made senses recoil in disgust.

The lead creature turned its attention to me, and when it smiled, I saw rows of teeth that didn’t belong in any human mouth.

"The Moonsinger," it said, its voice carrying harmonics that hurt to hear. "Finally."

Nanny was on her feet in an instant, placing herself between me and the creatures.

"Lyla, go," she said quietly, her voice carrying absolute authority. "Get to Ramsey. Now."

"I’m not leaving you—"

"GO!" Nanny’s shout was accompanied by a blast of protective magic that sent two of the creatures staggering backwards.

The lead creature laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "The old Sigma thinks she can protect you. How quaint."

Nanny’s response was to unleash a bolt of silver fire that caught the speaker directly in the chest. He screamed and clutched at the burning wound, but it healed almost instantly.

"Stubborn," the creature said, straightening his scorched shirt. "We’ll have to do this the hard way."

They attacked all at once.

Nanny shifted into her wolf, moving like someone a quarter of her age. She caught the first attacker with a binding spell that wrapped around his limbs like silver chains, then spun to blast another with bout of energy that sent him crashing through the far wall.

But there were too many of them, and they were fast—faster than anything I’d ever seen.

One of the creatures broke past her defences, lunging directly at me with claws extended. I threw myself sideways, rolling behind the couch as those razor-sharp nails raked the air where my head had been.

Nanny’s wolf’s cry filled the room as she unleashed more power than I’d ever seen from her. The creature that had attacked me was lifted off his feet and slammed against the ceiling with enough force to crack the plaster.

As she stood in front of me, snarling at the men.

More creatures were dropping through the hole in the roof. How many were there?

I scrambled toward the door, my hands protectively covering my belly, but another creature cut off my escape route. This one was female; her elongated claws were twisted as she stared at me.

"Going somewhere, little Moonsinger?" she purred. "Forgotten about us so soon?

Behind me, I could hear Nanny’s wolf still fighting. The sound of furniture being destroyed filled the room, and the screams of the creatures. But I couldn’t turn to help her without exposing myself and the babies to immediate danger.

I straightened, squinting my eyes at her as I tried to see if I could remember where I had seen her. "Forgotten about you? Who are you?"

She laughed, throwing her head backwards as she watched me with glee. "You remember when you were still a baby. A wee, little thing, you came with our master to the warehouse. Did you think moving towns and running away would change anything?"

I froze, as memories of I and Xander walking into that abandoned warehouse filled my mind. I recall the number of people I saw there; they were all humans, and Xander had mentioned something about humans wanting our power or something like that.

My thoughts were jumbled, so I couldn’t sort through my memory archive, especially now.

The female creature took a step closer, her claws extending further. "Don’t worry. We’ll make this quick."

That’s when I realised these things weren’t here to kidnap me.

They were here to kill me.