Fen turned to the blonde female dashing through the front door. She was no longer a threat. Once Odin was destroyed the female could be hunted at his leisure.

“Jeff!” Jamie raced forward. “Oh my God. What did they do to you?”

Fen couldn’t turn back now. He had to stop Odin, had to kill him. Had to hand him his Ragnarrok before he could hurt Fen’s mate, his pack, any more than he already had. It was up to Fen to stop him.

Prophecy demanded it. Just as prophecy demanded his death afterward. Fen would face that when the time came, knowing he’d protected those he loved with his life.

Ah. There. He could scent the foul stench of Grimm and knew where the other man had hidden himself. Fen snarled and broke through the door.

He fell back with a whimper. Inside that room…inside that room was carnage. An entire family, from the gram to the smallest child, had been torn apart in a frenzy of blood and gore. Innocent, blank eyes stared up at him covered in the film and stench of death.

Behind him he heard Jamie’s heaving breaths as she emptied her stomach beside her bound brother.

Fen backed away from the room. Grimm wasn’t here. He was long gone.

This was part of the vision Skye had told them about.

This was a trap.

Fen quickly changed to his human form. “We need to get out of here now.”

Jamie puked some more.

He squatted by Jeff. Gods above, the damage that had been done to his mate was worse than he thought. Great flaps of skin had been flayed from his sides and his legs. Blood poured from the wounds. Jeff panted, the whites of his eyes showing. Fen had to get Jeff out of there before his mate suffered any further. He had to find out why Jeff’s wounds weren’t healing. He eyed Gleipnir. “Elskede.

How do I free you?”

Jeff, his entire body trembling violently, brought his bloody paws together and stared at Fen. His beautiful eyes were full of pain…and trust.

“Chinese finger trap.” Jamie heaved some more. “I need to call Travis.”

Fen remembered what Jeff had shown him two months ago in the helicopter.

Fen grabbed hold of Gleipnir and, instead of pulling, pushed gently. The rope fell away from his mate’s paws. Jeff was free. “Change, elskede. We need to get out of here.”

Jeff whimpered. A strange sound started to fill the air, one Fen had never heard before. It was loud, the sound rising and falling like the screech of an angry dragon.

Jamie staggered to her feet, still looking the worse for wear. “Fuck. The cops are coming. Jeff, get un-furry, you stupid bastard.”

Fen could see Jeff struggling to find his human self, but the pain was overriding everything else. “We carry him.” Fen pulled Jeff onto his shoulders and winced at his mate’s canine scream. The moan that was torn from his mate’s throat brought tears to his eyes. “Can you get us to your car unseen?”

Jamie nodded. “I think so. Travis is on his way, so if we have to we leave my car behind and get in his.”

“Easy, kjaere.” Fen raced out of the house, his mate draped across his shoulders. “We’ll have you home soon.” With luck his father and Kir would be there and could help him figure out why Jeff wasn’t healing. Had he been wrong?

Was his mate still mortal?

Jeff tried to bite back his cries. Already he could hear the police moving around inside the house. He knew they’d find where Grimm and Rina had attempted to fillet him. From what little he’d seen they’d also find that poor family Grimm had slaughtered.

How had Grimm disappeared like that? Fen had him in his jaws, ripping into him and tearing him apart. One second he was bleeding from bites, the next he’d disappeared and not even Fen could find him.

Wasn’t Fen supposed to kill Odin? Or did some other piece of prophecy need to be fulfilled first?

“Jamie!”

Jeff opened eyes he didn’t even remember closing to find his sister in her lover’s embrace. Travis looked tormented, just as he had when Jamie had been in that hospital bed months ago. He closed his eyes again and waited.

“Shit. Is that Jeff?”

He felt Fen move, knew the wolf was climbing into Travis’s car. Fen placed him on the back seat, careful of his wounds, the werewolf’s hands never leaving him. He was surrounded by the scent of loved ones.

It didn’t dull the pain, but it made it more bearable.

“Why isn’t he healing?” The concern in Fen’s voice was sobering. Jeff struggled to turn human, but the pain overrode everything else. He was stuck in this form, at least for now.

The car moved, taking them away from the death and carnage. How they’d avoided the police Jeff had no idea, but he was pretty sure he’d left a trail of blood right to the street. He figured his twin had used her woo-woo powers to hide them from detection.

Travis was driving like an insane man. “I don’t know.”

The car turned and Jeff moaned again. He was shuddering from the pain, freezing cold. It was possible he was going into shock from blood loss.

“And I can’t take him to a veterinarian. He looks nothing like a real wolf.”

Travis idled at a red light, his fingers drumming impatiently on the steering wheel.

“Not to mention my grandfather could get to him there.” He heard Jamie’s worried sigh. “Are the wards back up?”

“Jordan’s working on it. We’re also trying to figure out a way to get word to Logan and Kir about what just happened. I don’t think they realized Grimm would make his move the second the wards snapped.” Travis muttered something vile. “He had to have been waiting right outside the building to get to us that quickly. They’d only been down for a few minutes when he showed up.”

“He may already be at Yggdrasil. My father is used to moving swiftly. This is the first time he’s had so many people to protect.”

“And his main priorities are Kir and Jordan.” Travis pulled to a stop. Since no one began climbing out of the vehicle Jeff assumed they were at another red light, but he just couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes and make sure.

Fen stroked Jeff’s head and Jeff tried to relax. Whatever was going on, his mate would help him.

“Jeff?”

Jeff barely managed to open his eyes. Something about his sister’s voice was off.

“Grimm killed Dad.”

Jeff shivered. He knew. He closed his eyes and carefully wiggled until his nose rested on Fen’s thigh. It was all he could force himself to do, but he needed the comfort. The scent of his mate surrounded him but couldn’t drive away the reality that his big, strong father was dead. The man who’d tossed him in the air, who’d baked him the worst cookies he’d ever tasted, the father who’d cried when Jeff broke his arm, was dead.

“What are we going to tell Mom?”

Jeff whined. Jeanne Grimm, despite her anger, had adored her husband. She was going to lose it when she found out he’d been murdered.

If he knew his mother, she was going to go after Oliver Grimm with a sawed-off if they didn’t figure out a way to stop her.

“We’re almost there.” The now familiar bump as they drove into their building’s parking area jarred him, made him whimper. “We’ll take Fen and Jeff up to their condo, then go and fetch Jeanne. Sweetheart? Your dad’s in Logan’s place. Jordan’s called Toni to let her know what’s going on. She might be there when we get back.”

Good. The homicide detective would help them with…with…

God, he couldn’t even think about it. His father was dead, killed by his grandfather. It was beyond fucked up.

“How will we get Jeff up the elevator without anyone noticing?”

Travis pulled into his assigned spot with a sigh. “Magic.” Jeff opened his eyes to see Travis glowing with a strange light. He wavered before Jeff’s eyes and…disappeared. Jeff was lifted from Fen’s arms and couldn’t hold back his cry of pain and loss. “You two go on ahead. Pretend nothing’s wrong. I’ll need you to punch the elevator buttons for me.”