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“Is that a problem?”

“He’s a quirk,” she said, huffing as she stoppedbeside me.

“A quirk?”

“Not your typical alpha. His choices rarely make sense to anyone but himself, and he rarely expresses his ulterior motives.”

“He’s coming to the meeting later, isn’t he?”

“He’s the alpha of Ville Platte Cats. He’ll be there.”

“Then I have no reason to see him this morning.”

And I don’t want to.

“True enough, but if he may complain about respecting his alpha rights to see the proclaimed multimorph and cause a scene,” she said, tucking long curly strands of her graying hair behind her ear. “Ye should collect Jasper and get out.”

“What’s that about me, ye old fox?” When Jasper joined us, he dropped the bag draped over his shoulder to the ground beside his feet and made a show of looking me over. “Are ye well, Emma? Looking a little green around the gills.”

“I’m fine. Just a little overwhelmed, and Marcus Steele is at the gate. I’m not ready to face him.”

Or any of them.

“Then let’s get ye out of here,” Jasper said. “We can start the trek to the meeting place.”

“Won’t that take us out the same gate he’s waiting near?”

“Not if we take the trails out the back.”

“How far of a hike will that be?” My voice sounded whiney, and I didn’t like it, so I cleared my throat. “Will we make it by meeting time?”

“Aye,” Jasper said. “We have ways of traveling.”

Giselda nodded. “That’s the way out.” She thrust thebag at me, hurrying away the moment my fingers closed around the top. “Good wishes, girlie. Ye’ll best them all. I have faith.”

My shoulders drooped, but I said nothing.

“What is it?” Jasper asked after Giselda had disappeared between the trees. “Ye can tell me without the worry of ears.”

No one else stood near us in the clearing. Of course, Giselda could have shifted, but I had the feeling she intended to make Marcus wait as long as she could. She was a wily vixen through and through.

“Today is the day I make my case and try to convince all the alphas, all the clan leaders, who I am.” I took a deep breath and slowly released it. “I’ve lied to my mom, temporarily given up my practice and my life in Willow Creek for this, but it’s all still a lot. Every hour, every minute has led to this moment.”

“Aye, ye’ve come a long way, lass,” he said, dabbing at his cheeks. “Brings a tear to me eye.”

His somber statement caught me off guard, but I could see the amused expression on his face and then punched his shoulder. “Oh, shut up.”

His laughter exploded, echoing over the quiet, subterranean village. “Don’t take yerself too seriously, girl. Ye’re still a person, not some mythical being.”

“No, but I’m supposed to beat a mythical being who has several hundred years of legend surrounding him.”

“Eh, that part’s true enough.” He shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll work out.”

“What if it doesn’t?”

“Ye’ll plunge the clans into civil war and make us easy targets for Acheron to pick off one by one.”

“If you’re trying to give me a pep talk, you’re terrible at it.”