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How guarded?Nolan asked.What kind of soldiers? How are they armed?

Are you safe?Archer interrupted.Have you been hurt?

Alaroth grabbed my shoulders and turned me towards him, shaking me slightly. “Are you communicating with your pack?”

I opened my eyes, about to lie, but he saw the evidence written in my teary smile.

Julian, are you here too?

Of course I’m here, Lowe. We’re coming to get you, just hang tight!

He snarled, getting up to sit on my stomach. I winced from the full weight of him. He placed both his hands around my head, his eyes drilling into mine as he spoke through me. Oh my god, could he hurt them through the bond?

I will find you, and I will kill you. Marlowe isMINE!

40

NOLAN

Marlowe isMINE!

A deep, commanding voice spoke through her connection, nearly splitting our eardrums with its intensity.

“Fuck!” screamed Cam, clutching his head. “Who the hell was that and how the hell did hedothat?”

We all winced slightly from Cam’s tone, and Archer shook his head to clear it. “That was the king, I would imagine.”

I gritted my teeth in anger, barely keeping my wolf inside. That motherfucker had to have been right next to Marlowe to notice we were talking to her. Had he touched her? Was he touching her now?

You need to hide. He’s sending guards to find you now!

Kian was trying to give us his full attention, but his eyes were wide open as he took in the world around us. He picked a glowing leaf off a nearby tree, rubbing it between his fingers. “It’s so strange and yet so familiar…”

“We have to move,” Cam ordered. “The king knows we’re here.”

Kian snapped back to Cam, returning from his stupor. “So soon? How?”

“He detected our communication with Marlowe. They must be near each other,” Archer explained, unable to hide the bitterness from his tone.

The vamp rose through the canopy of the trees and called down to us. “Okay, I see a castle to the… wait, I don’t even know the directions here, and the sun’s already set. And… there’s two moons? I don’t even… to the left of me, then.”

He floated back down, wiping glittering pollen off his shirt. “So, we head in the opposite direction?” he asked.

A dragonfly flitted in front of me, and I tried to swat it away, but it made a tinkling sound and continued to fly around my head.

“What the hell?”

It finally stopped, fluttering in place inches from my nose. “Shifters and vampyr! Not safe, not safe. I help, find haven!”

A tiny naked female, her hair short with iridescent insect wings flapping furiously behind her back, waved both her hands to get my attention.

“Uh, guys…” I said. “I think I met a fairy.”

Kian and the pack turned towards me, their eyes fixated on the glowing orb of frenetic energy buzzing by my face. “No fairy! Pixie!”

“Pixie, yes, sorry for the confusion,” Archer replied softly. “Did you say you know of a haven?”

She flitted to him next, giggling like a bell. “Shifter haven, yes! Hide there from nasty King.”