Page 128 of Moon Claimed

“Will you go in today?” Pascal asked.

“No,” I murmured. “It’s not the day to test theories.”

The head team wanted to see if Sascha would be drawn to my presence on the grid. With Pascal’s vantage point, humouring their test was a big fucking no. I’d cater to their whims in Timber.

I ground my teeth as three more flags were raised.

Fuck.

“What’s the tally?”

“Forty to twenty.”

“Dammit.” I chewed my lip. Should I risk sending the drones up early? I could follow up by ordering the stewards on a group sweep, but that was a huge risk. If the Luthers took cover and not enough went down, we’d just come head-to-head with a werewolf army stronger than us in every way.

A crack rent the air, echoing through the clay quarry.

“What was that?” I strained to hear.

Crack.

Crack.

It wasn’t thepopof a tranquiliser gun or the sound of a shifting Luther. It was almost like a car backfiring.

Like—

My heart skipped a beat.

Crack.

Crack.

“Those are gunshots,” I blurted. That’s the sound Herc’s gun made when he shot Sascha.

Pascal’s exclamation was lost as I looked to the south to where the sound continued in a steady staccato.

“That’s Rhona’s position.” I swore.

I grabbed my walkie. “This is Big Red. South team. Stand down. Stand down immediately. Over.”

Crack.

Crack.

Crack.

They were shootingLuthers with real bullets. I covered my mouth and clicked a different button on the walkie that put me through to all stewards. “South team. This is Big Red. This is your final warning to stand down. Our tribe doesnotcondone the use of real bullets in the grid against anybeing.Stand downor face the consequences. Over.”

Five seconds was long enough to tell me they wouldn’t stop.

I gripped the balustrade. “I have to do something.”

“You don’t have the gear to protect you against real bullets.”

“This isn’t what we stand for. She’s putting everything at risk. Rhona has gone too far.”

Pascal returned to her tablet, tallying the blue flags. Luthers in the south territory were falling like flies.