POV: Viktor Beaumont
The explosion shattered every window in my house.
I dove behind my desk as glass rained down, my old bones protesting the quick movement. At seventy-three, I was too old for this kind of energy. But when you're holding the first multi-species council in three hundred years, explosions come with the territory.
"Viktor!" My helper, Helena, rushed into my study. "The wards are failing! Something's trying to break through!"
I struggled to my feet, cussing my arthritic joints. "Which direction?"
"All of them!"
Through the broken windows, I could see dark shapes moving in the forest surrounding my land. Too many shapes. Whatever was attacking us had brought an army.
"Get to the safe room," I told Helena. "Send the emergency signal to all council members."
"What about you?"
"Someone has to buy us time."
I hadn't shifted into my wolf form in over a decade, but desperate times called for desperate means. The change was agony -
