Rise to Embrace [Rise of the Changelings, Book 3] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) by Lynn Hagen

to his surprise, Omar leapt on the soldier, attacking him.
    Two of the soldiers holding them at gunpoint pulled Omar off of Middleton. The man spun around, swung his fist into Omar’s jaw, and then aimed his gun at the changeling.
    “No!” Dorian shouted at the same time the shot rang out.
    Omar shouted, grabbing his leg and rolling to his side.
    “Act like a fucking animal again and I’ll put you down like one,” Middleton threatened. He turned back around and pointed to the spot in front of him. “Get out of the van.”
    Dorian glanced at Miguel and Benito, but neither looked as if they were going to shift from the smell of Omar’s blood. They both stood there with feral looks on their faces, their eyes locked onto the van.
    Trisha grabbed Peanut and moved slowly toward them. Dorian could see terror in her dark-brown eyes. His hands curled into fists as Trisha wrapped her arms around the little girl and moved to where Middleton was pointing.
    “Now I’ll ask you again. Are you human?”
    Dorian could see Trisha visibly shaking as she gripped Peanut tighter. “No,” she whispered. Middleton made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. Dorian knew he was looking at a monster. Age didn’t matter to this man. Innocence wasn’t a factor. All he cared about was catching as many animals as he could.
    “Is the baby human?” he asked.
    Trisha took a step back, stopped, and then glanced at Dorian, her eyes pleading. Dorian’s stomach knotted. He took a step forward, but was yanked back. “Don’t move,” the man holding the gun to his head said evenly.
    “Is the baby human?” Middleton shouted in Trisha’s face.
    “Yes,” Trisha lied.
    Middleton pointed to one of the soldiers. “Secure the infant. Get her away from these animals.”
    “No!” Trisha shouted as Peanut was ripped from her arms. Miguel lunged at the man holding Peanut just as Freedman swung around and pressed his gun into Middleton’s temple. Miguel ran into the woods with Peanut clutched tightly in his arms. Benito took off, and one of the soldiers shot at him.
    Benito went down.
    Dorian’s blood ran cold as he stared at Benito’s prone body. No! Red-hot rage filled him as he threw his elbow into the man behind him and took off. He was tackled and dragged back to the group. Dorian struggled, fighting to get free, but the man had a tight hold on him.
    “Let them go or I blow Middleton’s head off,” Freedman commanded.
    “Then fucking kill him,” the man holding Dorian said. “This is bigger than one man. If you kill Middleton, he’ll be replaced. But I’m not losing Enrique’s mate.” The man said mate like it was a disease on his tongue.
    Dorian glanced down at Omar to see him passed out. His leg was bleeding profusely. If the guy didn’t get medical help soon, he was going to bleed out. At least, that was what it looked like. Dorian was no expert on gunshot wounds.
    “Kill me,” Middleton taunted, “if you have the balls.”
    Freedman glanced at Dorian, and then Trisha. Lastly he glanced down toward Omar. “I won’t let you kill kids.” He snarled the words.
    “Then stop me.”
    Dorian staggered backward when Freedman did just that. Middleton fell sideways and then lay lifeless on the ground. Freedman spun around quickly and grabbed another soldier while everyone was still in shock. Freedman pressed the gun into the man’s skull. “We can do this all night, ladies.”
    The man holding Dorian looked conflicted. His fingers tightened in Dorian’s shirt as he stared at Freedman. “You do realize what you have done, don’t you?”
    Freedman nodded. “I’m enemy number two on the most wanted list.”
    The man slowly shook his head. “No,” he said slowly, evenly. “You are enemy number one now.”
    Dorian was confused until Freedman smirked at the man. “On your most wanted list.”
    The man nodded as he pulled the gun from Dorian’s head, relaxed his grip until Dorian hit the ground, and then began to back