Dimitri all but threw Skyler down, his body over hers as the world above them exploded. He covered her head, murmuring soothing words as the ground shook. She felt small and vulnerable beneath him, causing every protective instinct he had to rage. He’d had enough of playing politics. More than enough. He was an ancient Carpathian hunter, and it was time to hunt.

He raised his head. Several of the elite hunters had followed the council members into the ground. Fen had raised a protective shield over their heads and debris from the room, dirt and rocks covered that shield above their heads. In the meeting room, dust swirled in the air, so dense it was impossible to see much else over their heads.

He sensed movement and spun around, coming to his feet, a raging tornado, ready to do battle. The second Lycan who had guarded Arno was in the shelter, although his partner wasn’t. He had climbed to his feet, his hand slipping inside his jacket. He pulled out a gun and in one smooth motion, turned and aimed it at Lyall’s head.

The council member’s eyes went wide with shock. The guard took another step forward, lifting his aim just past Lyall’s head to center on Rolf. Daciana threw herself in front of the council member as the guard squeezed the trigger. Dimitri was on the guard even as he fired, leaping over everyone to tackle him, taking him down hard.

The guard shoved his gun into Dimitri’s stomach and pulled the trigger rapidly, but nothing happened, only the sound of the wolf desperately attempting to fire off a volley of rounds.

Dimitri had jammed the weapon. He let his wolf surge to the surface, Lycan against Lycan. They rolled together, a twister of thrashing bodies, teeth, claws, snarls and growls. Dimitri was enormously strong, and each time the Lycan tried to bring up the gun, Dimitri slammed his wrist over and over into the ground.

The Lycan howled as his bones snapped, then fragmented and then pulverized. Dimitri was relentless, determined not to kill him, but keep him alive for questioning. If he had been sentenced to death by silver, he couldn’t imagine what fate a traitor attempting to assassinate council members might receive.

Makoce and Rolf both bent over Daciana, attempting to stop the flow of blood.

“I wouldn’t advise moving,” Fen warned the other Lycan guards. “I’m certain most of you genuinely are here to protect your council members, but at this point, any one of you who makes a sudden move is going to be dealt with harshly. Just sit down slowly and keep your hands away from your weapons.”

Most obeyed, but Lyall’s elite guards looked as if they might challenge him.

“In case you believe that you’re faster than me, I’ll warn you right now, you aren’t and I’m not in a mood to play games. I’ll put you down hard and fast.”

Lyall glared at his guards. “Don’t be ridiculous. Do you want to get yourselves killed? Sit down and do what he says.”

A little reluctantly, the remaining guards sank to the ground. Fen trusted Andre to watch them. He had the reputation for being fast and as merciless as any Carpathian could get.

“We need to aid those caught in the explosion,” Rolf said, looking at Fen over his shoulder. “And Daciana needs help. This wound is . . . severe.”

Skyler slipped past Andre’s restraining hand, although he paced beside her, keeping his body between her and the rest of the sitting guards. She crouched down beside Rolf. “Let me see.” Very gently she lifted Rolf’s hand. At once blood spurted. “Keep your hand there, press hard. I’ll see what I can do.”

“I will watch over you, little sister,” Andre assured.

Skyler shed her body and became white-hot healing energy. She had to stop the flow of blood or there would be no regeneration for Daciana.

“I don’t want to move too fast until we know exactly what is happening above us,” Fen told the council members. “We’ve got two snipers, both skilled and trained in the military. Zev, Dimitri and I believe they are Sange rau. You and I both know any hunter, elite or ancient, going up against them will not win the battle.”

The Lycan guard fighting with Dimitri attempted to shift to his half man, half wolf form, but Dimitri was too fast, using the speed of the Hän ku pesäk kaikak. He slammed his elbow repeatedly into the Lycan’s face. The wolf’s head fell back, eyes rolling in his head.

“Catch,” Makoce tossed a pair of handcuffs through the air.

Dimitri remembered to coat his hands at the last moment, realizing the cuffs were silver. Uncaring that the traitor’s arm and wrist were broken, he held him down with one knee pressed tightly into the small of his back.

The Lycan snarled and raged, howled in pain and fought to free himself. Dimitri pulled both arms behind him, slamming the handcuffs tightly around the wolf’s wrist. The assassin let out a high-pitched scream.

Fen reached for Zev, afraid they had lost him in the explosion. Are you alive? Come on, man, give me something.

There was a moment of silence. Fen counted his own heartbeats, waiting for Zev to answer. He felt a faint stirring in his mind and relief flooded him.

I’m in a little trouble, Fen, Zev admitted. I’ve got a piece of table through me and I’m not going to lie, it hurts like hell. If I pull it out, I’ll bleed out before you can get to me.

Well, I guess you’d better not be foolish enough to pull it out then, because I’d be royally pissed off if you died. What were you doing? Fen cautiously moved part of the shield above their heads. Debris fell into the hole. Playing hero again? Did you fling your body over the council member while his bodyguards were down here trying to kill us?

Something like that. I can’t tell if Arno’s alive or not. He isn’t moving. I can’t even feel him breathing. But then I can’t exactly get off of him either. I’m probably smothering him. There was a faint note of humor in Zev’s voice in spite of the pain.

“Skyler, I’m going to need your skills as a healer,” Fen announced. “It might be ugly up there, but I have no choice. Zev’s in trouble.”

Skyler came back into her own body, swaying with weakness, answering the urgent call in Fen’s voice. She had managed to repair most of the damage to Daciana’s body. “She needs blood,” she announced.

Andre helped her to stand. You need blood, too, little sister, he said. Allow me to shield you while you take what you need.

Skyler knew she would never be able to help Zev if she wasn’t strong enough. Healing took a tremendous amount of energy, but she’d never fed by herself before, not unless it was from Dimitri, and he’d reacted very strongly to her taking blood from another male.