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“It’s said this power can make whoever has it immortal.”

“Now that would be worth killing for,” Damien agreed.

As a man walked towards the part of the tent where Jayden stood, she retreated back into the shadows. Her eyes darted around the campsite, looking for the woman known as Red. The sound of a twig snapping beneath a foot made her whirl around. If she hadn't ducked, the woman’s powerful blow would have landed with a sickening crunch, shattering her cheekbone, instead of just grazing her skin and sending Jayden tumbling to the ground.

She rolled, the motion a blur, and came up with her knife in her hand, her eyes narrowed on the woman who had struck her. Red’s lips curled into a sneer, and a harsh, mocking laugh escaped her. Jayden stumbled out into the open circle of the campsite. The noise drew the attention of the two men inside the tent. She kept her eyes on the advancing woman even as the tent flap opened and the two men appeared.

“Well, well, well. Speak of the devil and she will appear. It would appear it was a waste of good men to send them looking for you. All we needed was to use your mates as bait.”

Jayden recognized his voice as the one belonging to Eric. She kept moving backward, getting closer to Van and Peterson. Van’s low, angry mutterings mixed with Peterson’s enraged growls. She paused near Peterson. Her anger flared as she saw the straps digging into his fur, restricting his movement.

Kneeling down, she ran her fingers softly through his fur, her touch moving from his head to his side, and finally reaching the strap holding his paws together. In a swift motion, she cut the restraint with a flick of her wrist. She reached up and traced the edge of the collar with her fingers.

“I wouldn’t do that if you want him to keep it attached,” Eric said.

Her eyes were drawn to the object he extracted from his pocket and held aloft. There was a button on the object, which was surrounded by flashing red lights. She rose to her feet, a defiant expression on her face, and moved to Van. Her eyes stayed on the three shifters, and she kept her movements slow as she squatted down and cut the strap around his ankles. With a gentle but firm hand, she clasped his arm and pulled him to his feet.

He wobbled for a moment before he grew steady. She reached for the straps binding his wrists, poised to cut them free, when Eric let out a low, disapproving sound and shook his head. She froze when his finger caressed the button on the device.

“You have a choice to make, my dear. I really only need one of your men alive. You see, wolf shifters can be rather… defiant. Especially if they are in a pack. But, being the kind man that I am, I’ll let you chose which one lives,” Eric said.

“That offer won’t work for me. You see, I’ve always been selfish and greedy. Why choose when I can have it all?” she retorted.

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way in the real world. Make your choice or I’ll make it for you,” Eric said.

“You need me. Do you honestly think that I’m stupid enough not to realize that you’ll kill them both the moment you get what you want? No, the fact is, the only one you can’t risk is me,” she replied.

Eric gave a dismissive wave, taking in the campsite and the two shifters flanking him, their eyes narrowed in anticipation. She pursed her lips, her gaze hardening as she saw the smug smile playing on his lips. She hadn’t lied when she said she had always been on the selfish and greedy side.

“You’re right. I don’t need either of them,” he said.

She lifted the sharp blade to her throat at the same time as he lifted the device in his hand. She pressed the tip into her flesh over the artery. She had killed enough wildlife in her life to know how fast a creature could die once the main artery was severed.

“Kill them and I’ll be dead before I hit the ground,” she said.

“She’s lying,” Red retorted.

“Am I? I thought shifters could smell a lie. I swear, if you harm either one of them, I’ll slice my own throat before either hits the ground,” she vowed, staring Eric straight in the eyes.

Eric’s eyes narrowed on her face, his gaze piercing and intense. His thumb moved away from the button and turned the device, holding it up between his fingers. A shadowy movement flitted through the corner of her eye, making her turn to see what it was. The widening of her eyes must have warned him that they were no longer alone. A large, snow-white owl, with its feathery wings spread wide, swooped out of the darkness. The blow was so powerful that it ripped through Eric’s arm, sending a spray of blood onto the woman beside him.

Eric’s face contorted in shock as he watched the device, clutched in his hand, slide across the hard-packed dirt. It rolled towards her, landing palm-up at her feet with a clatter. Eric clutched his wounded arm with his one good hand, his face contorted in pain as he stumbled backward. Gunfire erupted, the sharp cracks splitting the stillness of the air as Red’s bullets flew wildly. Jayden felt a sharp pain in her ribs as Van’s body slammed into hers, his weight throwing her off balance and away from the barrage of bullets cutting through the trees.

“Cut the straps,” he urged in her ear.

Jayden fumbled to slide the blade between the strap holding his arms behind his back. As soon as he was free, he snatched the device from the stiffening fingers, his grip tight and urgent. The collar around Peterson’s throat suddenly clicked, falling to the ground with a metallic clang.

The collar finally off, Peterson charged with the fury of a wounded beast, his crimson fur a blazing inferno as he collided with the woman, sending her tumbling backward. The weapon slipped from her grasp as she stumbled back several steps, her form shifting and crackling with magical energy until she was a monstrous, crimson boar. Jayden quickly looked towards the other shifter. He was engaged in a desperate struggle against the barred owl, whose strikes were precise and lethal.

“Stay down,” Van ordered.

She could only manage a quick nod before he transformed into his black wolf and joined the battle. She scooted back against the tree, her eyes wide with horrified fascination as she witnessed shifters battling each other. Out of the corner of her eye, a flash of white disappeared into the tent. The flap closed before Jayden could see anything more than a glimpse of dark hair and stylish clothing. The strange observation that she didn’t know that shifters could shift with their clothes teased the back of her mind before Red’s scream pulled her attention back to the battle in front of her.

The barred owl hooted softly as it flew into the tree above her, the sound of its wings barely audible over the thudding of Van and Peterson’s finishing blows on the two mercenary shifters. She pushed off the ground when Peterson turned and limped over to her. Red’s tusks had left him with multiple deep wounds on his shoulder and side. She hugged him tightly, burying her face in his soft fur.

“I love you. I was so afraid they would hurt you. I love you,” she murmured.

Feeling a warm tongue on her arm, she drew back and glanced upwards. Her eyes met Van’s, and she felt a connection in his warm, dark brown eyes, a spark that ignited a thousand feelings within her. Pushing up under her arm, he rested his chin against Peterson’s neck. Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead against his.