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“Why would they have allowed that?” I asked. “Unless shifters are all that different here from the diaspora on Earth, we don’t tend to care too much what non-shifters think of us and are quite protective of our packs.”

Elyndra answered, speaking slowly and choosing her words carefully. “Shifters have typically been treated like second class citizensin Vespera, which is why large groups left to your realm to start new lives. So many of the leaders still here jumped at the empty promises for titles and places in his court. They allowed the king into their communities, to search and divide them, until he had so thoroughly dismantled their social structures, they could no longer function.”

“Yes, we saw the camps,” I said. I looked around at the vampyrs and fae females around us. They stared at our pack in curiosity, and a little trepidation, but nothing resembling hostility. “Before the king began eradicating your kind, were shifters and vampyrs enemies?”

Cavelli raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Enemies? Well, with vampyrs being Starborne and shifters being Verdanshade, we didn’t really interact all that much, and I’m sure there was a touch of elitism on our end. But no, not enemies.”

“Then why did you seem so pissed when we showed up on your doorstep?” Julian asked, a young child hanging off his back.

“Because we are in hiding!” a vampyr a few seats away cried, slapping the table with his hand. His pale cheeks were tinged in red. “Alpha shifters are not allowed outside their military bases nor are they allowed to form packs, which to me means you are either an elite team sent to hunt us down by the king, or the king is huntingyoudown and you’ve led him straight here! As far as I’m concerned, this location is already compromised, and we should leave immediately.”

“Enough, Jorvane” Cavelli said, holding up his hands. “Your dissent is noted and overruled.”

I cleared my throat, feeling bad for the vampyrs unease. With this many children running around, I could understand why some of them would be nervous trusting outsiders not to bring the king to their doorstep, intentionally or not. “The reason I asked is because one hundred years ago, the fae invaded our world, and it was only through a joint effort by the vampyrs and shifters there that we were able to hold them back. However, our history and memory has been rewritten, and we’ve been taught to believe the war was actually between our two kinds. In fact almost all the information about the fae and this realm has been hidden or destroyed. We don’t know why or how that happened.”

The vampyrs looked at each other in confusion. “That is odd,” Elyndra said. “I wonder if Francis would know why?”

My ears perked. “Francis?”

…Francis, well, he finds my suffering too amusing. Only a vampyr would relish such a torment, what with their cold blood. Shifters don’t fare well in this dry,desert heat…

Camden looked at me, his brow furrowed. “Who’s Francis?”

It had to be a coincidence, right? It couldn’t be the same vampyr from the diary I’d discovered.

Cavelli nodded to Elyndra, who left the table in search of this Francis. We took advantage of the break to finish eating, the first non-raw meal we’d had in a while.

The meat was heavily seasoned, the flavors unique and bold to match the wine. I dipped my bread to scoop up the sauce and juice, handing bits to the child still on my lap whenever he grunted and held out his hand for a piece.

My fourth nephew would be due any day now, and I had originally told Ivy I would help watch the other pups while she and Shane were in the hospital, at least before Marlowe came to town and flipped our lives upside down.

I’d sent her a text before we left to let her know I might be unavailable, and while she told me to just focus on getting Marlowe back safe and sound, I still hoped I might make it back in time for the little pup’s birth.

Elyndra finally returned, helping an elderly vampyr shuffle towards the table. Moon, he looked like he might crumble into dust at any moment.

“Francis, these shifters wanted to talk to you about the war you fought in in the other realm.”

Cavelli got up and led the male to his seat, getting him a new glass and pouring a few sips worth of wine inside. Francis gestured for him to continue pouring but Cavelli just laughed. “Not too much for you, young man,” he said with a wink.

Cavelli noticed our confused expressions and explained. “Vampyrs on your realm are mated with humans, whose lifespans are significantly shorter than those of the fae. The magic here has extended his years a bit, but he is actually still young by our standards.”

“Age ain’t nothin’ but a number,” Francis drawled in a Southern accent, taking the wine bottle out of Cavelli’s hands and pouring the rest in his glass. “And I don’t appreciate the condescension, you old fart.”

Cam barked a laugh, drawing Francis’s attention. His eyes narrowed as he took us all in. “Well, well, well, what have we here? A pack of overgrown mutts? I thought you were as outlawed as us.”

“They’re from your realm,” Elyndra said.

“Yeah, I surmised as much considering they’re wanting to talkabout the war. That and I can smell my home world on ‘em.” He took in a deep breath, coughing and wheezing on the exhale. Elyndra patted him on the back but he brushed her off.

“Ask your questions, then, and be quick about it. I’m headin’ back to bed as soon as I’m full as a tick, which don’t take too long these days.”

“What do you remember about the end of the war?” I asked. “How did the portals close?”

He gave me a bemused smiled. “An alpha Chinaman, would you look at that?”

The fae female next to him literally had deer antlers growing out of her head and white polka dots covering her skin, but sure,myethnicity was the weird thing here.

I scratched my cheek, covered in several days’ worth of stubble, and gave Camden a look. He’d probably have a better luck with the old male than I would.