She nodded, letting him lead the way from the van. Letting their guard down now would be a mistake. The Others gathered were ready for a fight.
“Everyone accounted for?” Finn asked, his gaze sweeping the windows of the building. “No reinforcements for their team in there?”
“Hollis’s assistant is inside. No one else,” Ellen said. “This was a retrieval mission.” She kept a hold of Hollis, pulling from his strength. Regardless of the tension in the air or the rigid posture of those facing off in the dimly lit lot, his wolf knew no fear. If it came to a fight, his wolf would win.
“He always sends this many for a retrieval mission?” Anders asked.
“I get the feeling he was expecting trouble.” Dante nodded at the Others still wavering.
“Maybe not that sort of trouble.” Mal was still looking at what had once been Cyrus. “I have to say, even though I didn’t have shit to do this”—he nudged Cyrus’s foot with his own and looked at Hollis—“You did good.”
Hollis snorted, still too preoccupied by the possible threat they were facing. Ellen stroked the thick fur between his shoulders, taking heart from his protective stance. Hollis had found his wolf and his wolf was intimidating as hell.
“Are we fighting or what?” Anders asked, rolling his head. “Gentry’s got his big gun loaded and is chomping at the bit to use it.” He glanced over his shoulder at the Humvee that had followed the black Suburban.
Sure enough, she could see Gentry peeking through the roof, a massive gun resting on the roll bar. Exhaustion rolled over her, not just physical but emotional. “There’s no need for that. Too many have died for him. You are no match for this pack. Surely you all see how futile that would be now?”
“They are our enemy,” an Other spoke up, his anger simmering beneath the surface.
“According to him,” Ellen continued. “Cyrus was the one who tormented them. If he’d left them alone, they would never have sought him out. But power was all that mattered to him. He feared losing it, because he was afraid of them. He should have been.”
“We are expendable,” one of the female Others said.
The announcement was so matter-of-fact that all any of Finn’s pack could do was stare. Ellen, however, was familiar with Cyrus’s philosophy. She’d pitied those who’d so willingly believed it.
“Is that what he told you?” Finn asked.
The woman nodded. “We have one purpose.”
The man next to her nudged her, hard.
“He’s dead.” Mal pointed at the body. “You’re not going to get beaten or skinned, tortured or locked up for talking. That’s not how we do things.”
The man frowned.
“What’s the one purpose?” Finn asked.
“Your pack,” the woman said. “To capture and kill you.” She glanced at Ellen. “And bring her back. She’s the witch?”
Ellen saw the way the pack looked at her. She glared back at them. There was nothing to fear here.
“She can be a little mean sometimes but that doesn’t make her a witch,” Anders attempt to tease fell short.
“He says I am a witch because I refused to believe what he said,” she said. “Telling you I’m a witch made you hate me instead of pity me.”
Her words counted for nothing. A murmur rippled through the pack, ratcheting up the oppressive weight of the air.
“He wanted you to kill us. Now he’s dead. What’s the point?” Finn spoke calmly. “You don’t want to die tonight.”
“Why the hell did the son of a bitch hate us so much?” Anders asked. “What the hell did we ever do to him?”
“We existed.” Mal growled. “You want that fucking collar off?” he asked her, kneeling to dig in Cyrus’s pockets until he found the key.
The moment the collar fell to the ground, her strength returned—as well as a throb in her face. Cyrus’s work. He’d barely dragged her from the room before slapping her hard enough to leave her ears ringing. It was a taste of what was to come—he’d said. An empty threat. Cyrus was gone. Forever.
She leaned heavily against Hollis, trying to accept he was gone. Even if his pack tried to fight Finn, they’d lose. Cyrus had never been one to share power, he’d have made sure there was no one in the pack to challenge him. Now, there would be no one to lead the pack he’d left behind.
“He wanted justice,” the man spoke. “We’ve all lost people to you.”