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well," Roman pointed out.
    "Yeah." Bandit whirled and gestured to Gianni. "Keep talking. We need to know everything there is to know about your pack and what the fuck is going on there."
    Gianni nodded. "It seems to be the practice to sell or get rid of anyone who argues with the alpha or the beta. The other thing I've noticed lately is some pack members have disappeared without a trace, though there are whispers of them being taken by non-preters. They never come back."
    Allen grunted. "It's the practice of Grime and his men to capture preternaturals and torture them before killing them. They are searching for a way to get rid of us once and for all. Some friends of ours discovered a book holding spells that could be used to achieve those goals, but, unfortunately, someone stole it from them before they could hide it."
    "Shit. Does Grime have it?"
    "We're not sure who took it, except it was a preternatural. Just one none of us have ever dealt with. Rover, Bandit's brother, says he's never smelled one like it before. Grime might have it, but not know how to use it. Or the person who took it hasn't given it to him yet. Either way, we're in limbo while we try to plan our next move."
    Bandit stopped moving after Allen finished explaining. He shook his head.
    "We can't worry about that at the moment. We haven't heard anything from Grime lately, and now you're planning to head back to your pack, the very pack where we figure Grime was injured. I'm afraid it might not be as simple as just taking over the pack, Gianni. We might be fighting non-preters and lycan alike. Shit, four against I don't know how many are very sucky odds, guys."
    "That's true." Gianni glanced between them. "Isn't there anybody we can call for back-up?"
    "My pack can't help. We're not that big and we're caught up in trying to find the stupid book." Bandit shoved a hand through his hair. "I'll call my mother. She might have contacts out in this area who can help us."
    A knock on the door startled them, and they stared at it for a moment. Another knock got them moving. Bandit gestured for Allen and Roman to move into the corner of the room, while Gianni went to answer the door.
    "Who is it?" he said in a low voice.
    "Max sent me."
    Even though Allen was supposed to be in charge of their little coup, it was Bandit who Gianni looked at for permission to open the door. Allen didn't mind abdicating leadership to Bandit. He wasn't really meant to be a leader, and Allen knew it. Bandit wasn't an alpha, but he did have the personality to keep people in line, which Allen didn't.
    Bandit nodded, after making sure he stood between Allen and whoever was on the other side of the door. Gianni opened it and their jaws dropped. Standing in the doorway was the biggest creature they'd ever seen. He stood at least six-seven and he had to duck to get into the room. He turned sideways to fit through the door, and Gianni took a step back.
    "Holy fuck! What the hell are you?" Bandit looked the man up and down.
    Allen knew the stranger in front of them wasn't human. He breathed deeply and the faint scent of sulfur hit his nose. He snarled, baring his teeth at the creature.
    "He's a demon," he blurted out.
    Bandit stiffened, but didn't back down. Allen rested his hand between Bandit's shoulder blades, letting him know he was there, watching his back. Roman's growl mingled with Gianni's and they all tensed for an attack.
    The demon held up his enormous hands in a harmless gesture. "I'm not here to hurt you. Max really did send me. He thought you could use some help. He said you were going up against some bad dudes without any backup."
    His grin revealed pointed eyeteeth and a forked tongue. Shuddering, Allen took a step closer to Bandit, who reached around and patted Allen's hip.
    "What's your name?"
    Narrowed red eyes studied Bandit, making Allen think the demon wouldn't answer Bandit. Everyone in the preternatural world knew a demon's name held power beyond measure, and knowing the