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Another set of eyes peered at me from behind a tree,nose up. More eyes flashed in the darkness. I recognized none of them except…

Flynn!

“Flynn, I know you’re there. We need to talk,” I boomed.

Without a sound, the gray fox slunk back into the shadows.

A moment later, Flynn stepped out of the shadows in his human form. This was what bothered me most about the fox shifters. The sneaking, the furtive movements… They never dealt with anything head-on.

“Hello, Logan,” Flynn said. “I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

“Then Jasper didn’t warn you about who he’s snuck into his den.”

His den, his bed… He’d made her laugh. Images battered my thoughts, and jealousy burned through me.

“She’s here,” I growled. “We both know it.”

“Oh, my brother warned me about you and mentioned how you’d thrown him out. As for the other, don’t assume.”

“She’s here,” I repeated, taking a step toward Flynn, “and I demand to see her.”

The fox alpha didn’t budge and didn’t bat an eye.

Charging another alpha in their home territory would upset the balance between us all. Allies would be chosen, and lines would be drawn. Even for Emma’s sake, I couldn’t risk that. Not now. Not with Acheron growing bolder in his attacks.

“You’re not in a position to demand anything,Logan,” he said. “You’re not in charge here, and I have no reason to allow you into our province.”

Déjà vu slammed into me. Emma’s words replayed in my head.Try again. Ask nicely.My hands formed fists at my side, and I bit back every foul word I wanted to roar.

“Flynn, we have a common enemy. Acheron is rising in the shadows, and we’re all losing shifters left and right. You were there. He’s becoming bolder, and she’s the key.” My throat worked to form my appeal. “I formally request permission to enter your lands, and…” What could I offer in exchange? “And I willingly offer the information we have.”

His eyes glinted with interest. “Information?”

“The histories Dr. Wise has compiled, as well as the lists of missing shifters, and everything we’ve learned abouther.”

“Everything? Leaving nothing out?”

“By the blood of our ancestors, I swear it,” I said, using the strongest pledge our kind could extend. My offer made me feel more exposed than I’d felt in decades, but if I was going to see Emma, I had to put all our cards on the table.

Flynn marched forward and stuck out his hand. “Then we have a deal. May the ancestors take blood for blood if you break your agreement.”

“May the ancestors make it so.” My hand squeezed his, and the magic linked between us, sealing the treaty between our clans.

Then we both shifted, and Flynn led me toward the foxes’ den.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

emma

Monday Midnight

Jasper escorted me from my vehicle up a slight incline. He had parked next to five others, and we were taking a footpath which led into the forest. After about one hundred paces, we entered a large clearing. At least twenty mounds dotted the clearing. His eyes twinkled in the intermittent moonlight, beneath lingering clouds slipping through the sky.

“Each one is a home,” he said. “We have dens like natural foxes. Our pack is called Red Tail.” He spoke with the pride of a man who loved who he was and what he’d come from.

“Do the dens flood when it rains?” How they kept their dens from flooding in Louisiana, I had no idea. Cemeteries in New Port Orleans had crypts and mausoleums so dead bodies didn’t float to surface level, and it had soon become a part of the culture.

“This is the highest location in our territory, so most dens were constructed here. Beyond that, it’s magic.” He winked. “We have those among us who understand the earth, and the ground listens to them. It’s a fox thing.”