"Dammit," My father cussed and I heard him take a step back.. I instantly turned to look at him, with speed that caused my heartbeat to rapidly pulse in my head. He was walking.. Walking away from me and towards his desk. What was happening.. I had no clue. But my legs went numb for a second. Panic gripped me. I had never,- Christ, I had never seen moving shadows in the darkness.. With no one there to cast them. "What are you doing?" My voice shook with its unintentional loudness as I watched my father take the gun he kept in his locked drawer. "Dad," Once again, I tried getting his attention, but he worked quickly and thoughtfully. I walked towards him, and the minute he turned from his desk I stepped in front of him. I saw rage in his eyes. The kind of rage I hadn't seen in a long time. And not a trace of fear. Yet the only thing I could think about was.. God, what would a gun do to a shadow?! "It is not the first time I'm at war, Lana. We are being attacked." He spoke quickly and soon yelled a command as he passed by me, that even though we were in his office, its loudness made sure to make everyone in the house hear it. My heart wasn't beating. I was not breathing. I turned around so quickly that I felt dizzy and as I rushed to him, taking his arm before he could reach the door, he looked at me.. And damn me if I didn't saw raw panic behind his eyes. "You can't go out there with a gun." He was about to push me away, but I held onto his sleeve and soon felt my wrist being grabbed. "You stay inside, you hear me? I need you inside with your mother, Lana," He spoke, but all I heard was the noise that almost shook the house.. The steps from all around it. The shouts. Our men were gathering. Before I could even register his words, he walked out and I rushed behind him, but his steps were wider and he was already down the stairs while I was on top of them. And so I stopped for a second. I stopped and stared wide eyed as one of my brothers found his way towards my father from the living room, while five man rushed from the back door to the front.. My uncle joined them and glanced up at me the very same second as Jack passed me down the stairs. And my blood had frozen in my veins.. I had no clue what was going on. I had seen our people in action before, but this.. This was something I had never thought I'd witness. They walked quickly and thoughtfully from a simple command that my father had shouted barely a few minutes before.. I clenched my fists to somewhat warm my icy fingers, but it did not help. I could,- I.. God, I could not wrap my head around what was happening. "No," I heard a mutter and it was mine. No, something was not right. We were too many and..- Hell, there were only three shadows. A trio that seemed damn familiar. And as frightening as it was to think about it.. It was all I thought about. The witches. My father had obviously thought it through.. He had gotten our men ready for an attack. And he didn't know, but he was aware of the possibilities. Almost as if they had expected an attack. Almost as if- I found myself walking down right after Jack, managing to grab him by the arm as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He turned around and looked down at me, but I pulled him by his arm even though I felt almost tiny around him and all the men that rushed from the back yard and woods, through our house, beside us and out the front door. "You must stop." I spoke quickly, but not quick enough, nor loud enough compared to the others. "Get Marco and dad back. You can't go out there." But he jerked his arm away from me, and glanced on the side quickly, like he was running out of time to even listen to me. "Stay out of the way, Lana. Do not make me lock you in here." And with that, he turned around and slipped away, blending with another group of ours that were exiting now the front door. I was left speechless. I- Had they planned a defense without me knowing? They- My chest dropped as I exhaled. It still held that heaviness. And yet, they all rushed out. I glanced on my right just to see my mom pushing through a few and looking over them before her eyes found me. But I knew what I would hear from her too. To stay inside. And damn me, but if I stayed inside when there was someone attacking.. Those witches attacking.. I would never forgive myself. So I pushed the guy in front of me and blended with the group. "Lana!" I heard my mother's screech, but I refused to look back.. I was on the porch within a second, watching the group of women line up on the side, creating a group, and I recognized the order. Women stood behind for a while, and if the guys would start getting defeated, it is then that they were supposed to make their way and attack.. Because it was our women that were the secret weapon. A bigger number of them could shift into wolves, including my mother, so it was something that the attackers never saw coming. But it didn't matter. In that moment, nothing mattered.. Because our men stopped.. Every each one of them, stopping under my father's command that stood in the front line, leading the group of dozens. And everyone went silent as the voices of the attackers filled the air.