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“Non-lethal takedown if possible,” Jason rumbled, lifting the handgun he held and sighting down the barrel.

The team yipped, acknowledging they’d heard his order. The command made me happy as well, and I added my own little bark. I saw the corner of Jason’s mouth quirk up and the roll of his eyes, but his gaze never faltered from the door and the now slightly waving curtain.

I accessed my interior cameras on my phone and split-screened the views to the balcony and front door. As the balcony door opened, the dark curtain was pushed out, continuing to give Jules cover. He slid forward, his bare feet inaudible, left hand outstretched, his right hand gripping his knife. The moment the soldier cleared the door, Jules snatched the gun, shoving the muzzle toward the floor while simultaneously using the knife hilt to bludgeon the guy. The soldier collapsed, and Jules jumped back as the door was shoved open. He hid in the curtains as three more men poured inside, leaping over their fallen comrade, their heads—and guns—swiveling.

The last man knelt, placing his fingers on the neck of the soldier on the floor. “Alive,” I heard him whisper through my earbud.

The soldier beside him murmured, “Thank God. If they’re not shooting, we might just make it out of this alive‌. Fucking suicide mission.”

Shocked, I took a step out of the bathroom doorway and hauled Jason backward to me. Slotting my mouth beside his ear, I whispered, “They think they’re toast.”

Jason nodded and clicked his tongue three times. Auggie, Vance, and Jules gave one click back. With my eyes fixed on the screen, I caught the curtains moving and saw Jules’ hand slowly emerge with the flash grenade. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it into the room.

“Flash!” I warned and covered my eyes, listening as the device detonated and the three soldiers cried out. Shots were fired into the front door, blowing apart the lock mechanism, one of the few weak points, but its destruction automatically triggered the two deadbolts to engage.

I sniggered under my breath, as there was much banging and swearing coming through the front door from the men in the foyer. Meanwhile, Vance darted from his spot in the kitchen to help Jules knock out and tie up the three soldiers. Darting from the safety of the bathroom, I grabbed a handful of flex-cuffs, threw them over the railing, and then rushed back to my spot under Jason’s disapproving gaze. There was plenty of moaning and groaning as Jules got the four soldiers trussed up.

“You’re not going to kill us?” a soldier—the one who’d commented about this being a suicide mission—asked.

Jason leaned over the rail and cleared his throat. “I’d rather not have blood all over my home.”

My heart sang hearing him call my loft home, but we still had four more soldiers to deal with. “Is he mic’d with the others?” I mumbled, knowing my Alphas would hear me.

“Vance,” Jason queried, “check.”

Via my phone app, I watched Vance rip the earpieces off the soldiers. He flipped two of them up to Jason, who tucked one into his ear and brought the other over to me. I hooked it on the shell of my left ear and listened to the guys in the foyer bitch and moan about how to break the door down.

“Do you have any other surprises for our guests out there?” Jason asked with a conspiratorial wink.

I grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”

With my phone, I brought up the app I’d made labeled “Foyer.” First, I toggled on the backup camera hidden behind the fire sprinkler mounted in the center of the foyer ceiling, giving us a view of the four soldiers milling about. Then I hit another button that accessed said fire sprinkler.

Jason snickered as I held out the phone for him to press. There was a quiet bing and the sound of liquid rushing through a pipe. All four men looked up just in time to get a face full of water. There was plenty of cursing and shouting after that, loud enough that we could hear it through the door.

Taking notice of one man trying to recall the elevator, I locked it down. Soon, they were thoroughly drenched and decided their defeat was inevitable. They tucked their guns away and held up their hands in surrender.

Jason tapped his earpiece. “This is Lieutenant Jason Mearston. Who’s your team leader in charge of this piss-poor attempt at… whatever the hell you were doing?”

“I am,” the soldier in the center of the group answered, or should I say spluttered, as water streamed down his face. Jason peeked at my phone screen, then motioned with his fingers for me to zoom in on the man. Neither of us recognized him.

“I don’t like this,” Vance mumbled. Jason harrumphed, and the feeling was mutual among us.

“What’s the plan, Alpha?” Jules asked, moving to stand along the far wall of the apartment, in one of the few places I could see him from where I stood without having to use my interior cameras and phone app. “Poor little drowned rats. Should we let them in?”

“Vance?” Jason called down to his second in command, stepping quietly to the head of the staircase.

Vance came around the kitchen island, gun held loosely but ready in his hand. He stopped at the landing of the stairs and peered up at Jason. “There are only four of them.”

Jason huffed and started down to meet him. “I knew you were going to say that. Go stand next to Jules. I want you two to have a clear line of sight on these guys when I open the door.”

“Alpha,” I whined, moving to the top of the stairs, the plea slipping out without my say-so. I slapped a hand over my mouth, cheeks heating with embarrassment.

Jason paused on the last step, spun around, and double-timed it back to me, engulfing me in his arms. “We’ll be fine, River.” He rubbed my back as he held me tight to his chest. With my nose in his throat, I breathed in his scent, which somehow calmed me.

It felt surreal, the way I could always watch over them in the field and know they’d be fine. But here, in my house, without my satellite imagery and access to my computers, I felt bereft of security. Which was all kinds of stupid. I could see the soldiers with my hidden camera; I provided my team with intelligence and firepower. They’d be fine. If only I believed it as much as Jason did. And Vance. And Jules and Auggie.

Slowly, I lowered my arms from around Jason, and he stepped back but continued to hold my hands. He lifted them to his mouth and kissed my knuckles, peering at me with his glowing golden eyes. We didn’t shift anymore—most of our kind couldn’t—but an Alpha’s speed and strength, an Omega’s heat and nurture, and for both, flashes of our wolf-like nature were still common.