Free All Hell Breaks Loose by Sharon Hannaford

side of the car as he could fit his one-hundred-and-fifty-pound body.  Not even Gabi’s influence could reassure him completely.  It was a relief all around when they pulled up to her security gates.  She left Derek and the unhappy Roman in the car for a moment while she went through the short incantation to cancel the ward around the house, then she slid her seat forward and made room for the large dog to squirm out of the car.  She left Derek with orders to wait for her before entering the house, knowing it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to meet Razor without her to act as referee.
    Gabi sincerely hoped to avoid meeting Razor herself while she had Roman in tow.  If she could slip the dog into the big runs at the rear of the house before Razor spotted him, at least the dog would have the protection of the steel cage wire, which even Razor couldn’t get through.  But of course, the day didn’t suddenly turn into sunshine and roses.  The unusually large cat hopped out the open front window to greet her before she’d gone five steps with the dog.  All of them froze.  Then Gabi reached out a put a warning hand on Roman’s head.  Luckily he was quick and intelligent, and he immediately recognised the greater predator.  Razor might be smaller than him, but something alerted him to the fact that this cat was not to be trifled with.  Gabi was intensely glad that Trish hadn’t owned a Fox Terrier; they were notoriously stupid when they were outgunned.  Razor puffed himself up to his maximum size and narrowed an angry gaze on the big dog.  With a mental push from Gabi, Roman lowered his eyes and assumed a submissive posture as Gabi moved herself between the two animals.  She crouched, lowering herself to Razor’s height so she could grab his attention.  It took her several minutes of intense concentration to get the great cat to finally condescend to allow them past without a fight.  He turned his back on her in blatant disgust, stalked stiff-legged up the stairs to the front door, and meowed imperiously for Rose to let him inside.
     
    The meeting between Razor and Derek didn’t go as badly as she expected.  Razor was already so annoyed with her about the canine visitor that another Werewolf didn’t seem to make much difference to him.  He narrowed his gaze warningly on Derek as he sized the man up from the other side of the room.  He didn’t bother to even move from his sunny spot in the lounge, and he ignored Gabi’s attempts to pacify him and set to grooming with a vengeance.  Gabi left him with a sigh and went to introduce Derek to Rose and to show him the spare room where he would be staying.
    They’d barely sat down to a cup of much-needed coffee when Irene arrived.  Irene’s naturally calm, unflappable demeanour had a tendency to rub off on everyone around her, and Derek relaxed immediately in her company.  She performed a quick ritual using a couple of Derek’s hairs, declared Derek safe from the protective wards, and then joined them for lunch.  Derek quietly ate his way through three helpings of Rose’s excellent lasagne and salad while Irene regaled them with stories of her grandchildren, a few of whom were just coming into their powers and giving their parents a terrible time trying to keep all the mysterious goings-on in their house secret, while holding sleepovers and birthday parties.
    Once Irene left, Gabi called to check on Trish’s condition.  She relayed the news to Derek that Trish was stable and then sent him to get some rest.  He was adamant that he couldn’t sleep, but gave in to Gabi’s nagging and went to lie on the bed.  When she checked on him a half hour later, he was dead to the world.  After checking on and feeding Roman, she retreated to her office to catch up on some emails and sort out long-neglected filing that her accountant had been begging for.
     
    It was late afternoon when Derek came into the office, carrying two cups of coffee.  She smiled at