I was afraid – not for myself, but for the kids. I would die if anything happened to anyone of them, especially Magnar and Rose.

About three in the morning, I woke to Magnar calling my name. “The barn is on fire.”

Not bothering to change out of my jammies, I simply pulled on my shoes and ran outside. Magnar and a couple of the other boys had already led the animals safely out and were trying to soothe them. However, nothing could be done to save the barn. We could only watch it burn.

I called the police, and they took down my information, but there was nothing they could really do. No one had seen who had set the fire.

The fire inspector determined that the blaze had been deliberately set. They found that gasoline had been poured on my hay and lit. The boys and horses almost died.

This act lit a brand new fire inside of me. I don’t care who this guy was, I would find a way to take him down if I died trying.

My friend, Elise, who was married to a wolf shifter, visited me the next day. She often came, as she knew that I wasn’t able to leave the farm often and didn’t get too much adult company.

She surveyed the damage, and let out a low whistle.

“May I make a suggestion?” she asked.

I just looked at her. She was going to make her suggestion whether I gave her permission to or not.

“You are a tough, strong woman. However, I’m not sure this is a war you can win all by yourself. I suspect that you might need some help.”

“Who can help me?” I asked, laughing mirthlessly.

“Jared is a member of a team of men who rescued me after I was taken by the Iranians. He and his friends, all former Army rangers and other special forces, run a security company. They are also all shifters, so they would understand the children. They will help you. Your type of case is just what they specialize in. They want to fight for the underdog and make a difference.”

“Like the A-Team, huh?” I asked, referring to a popular 1980s show.

“Something like that. Only, they won’t ask people to pay if the people have no money. Since I help you with your books and know what your finances are like and why, and I happen to be married to one of the team members, I’m pretty sure they will help you and won’t charge you anything.”

She handed me a card with the name of the company.Global Shifter Security Services.

I took it without saying anything.

“Think about it,” she said. She hugged me and left.

I looked over the devastation and the scared faces of some of the kids, then looked at the card.

Sighing heavily, I picked up the phone.

2

Damian

This fishing trip had been a long time coming. Since we’ve opened our security company, we have been kept busy non-stop. It seems like we are always getting called out for one reason or the other. I wasn’t complaining. I loved staying busy. After I got out of the service, I found myself meandering through life aimlessly, until Gage came up with the idea of using our skills to make the world a better place.

However, I did enjoy taking a little bit of a break once in a while. Fishing was one of my favorites. After all, what cat didn’t enjoy fish for dinner?

I looked over my boat and truck. I had my tent, my poles, food, bait, and blankets. I was good to go.

I had just started to drive out of my driveway when my cell phone rang. As soon as the ring tone came up, that I had assigned to Gage, I knew my fishing trip had been canceled. Just like that.

“You’re about to ruin my vacation, aren’t you?” I said, as a way of greeting Gage.

He chuckled. “I guess I am. Unless, of course, you want us to proceed on a mission without you,” he said.

“Ha, you’d be missing me so much that you would mess the entire operation up,” I retorted.

“Can you be here in an hour?” he asked.