Page 124 of Crossed Fates

The two alphas squared off, eliciting a small whimper from Savannah that immediately had the males toning it down several notches. She released another soft sound as my brother laid a palm on her shoulder. Alaric moved forward, his mental vibes telling me he was going into protective mode, only he paused midstep, his eyes widening.

Savannah’s connection to our pack flickered again, her mental state seeming to blink in and out of focus. Alaric’s gaze lifted to me, a question in his eyes.

But Nathan responded before I could say anything. “Well, that’s interesting.” He took a step forward to stand by my brother, their gazes on the girl. “I can sense her in my web.” His silver eyes lifted to Alaric. “Do you feel her trying to leave?”

“I don’t know enough about the hive mind to explain it, but she’s…”

“Blinking in and out,” I finished for him. “Fading and reappearing.”

Nathan nodded slowly. “Like she’s shifting packs.”

“Why?” Alaric asked. “Because of the toxin?”

“Maybe,” Nathan said, his attention back on the girl. “Or maybe it’s something else entirely.”

A mating bond,I thought, glancing between him and my brother.Maybe?

Alaric ran a hand over his face, his thoughts confirming he’d heard me but didn’t know what to say.

“How about you let us clean up here,” Nathan offered, his demeanor a little less aggressive now. “We can work with Jude to take down the other cells, give you and your pack a bit of a recovery break. And we’ll… touch base on Savannah’s state.”

I felt Alaric’s wolf bristle in agitation, not wanting to bend to the other alpha.

He has the resources to take care of her and mend her back to health,I quickly pointed out.And he’s not going to hurt her.

I could also sense her agreeing to this path in the web, her psyche searching for a new beginning, a way to start over. And something about my brother and Nathan had her gravitating toward them.

Maybe it was all in my head.

Maybe I read the strands wrong.

But I felt the rightness of the decision in my gut.

Jude entered before Alaric could reply, his features carved into lines of annoyance. “I can’t figure out how that shock wave gadget worked.”

Nathan snorted. “Toy too big for you to handle?”

Jude just looked at him. “Play any chess lately?”

My former alpha’s amusement died. “I seem to be missing an entire set. With the exception of a single piece.”

“Oh?” Jude arched a brow. “Shame, that.” He glanced at me, then held out an amulet. “This is from your brother, by the way. I had intended to give it to you after the meeting, but you were out on patrol. Which was why I’d stayed. And then shit hit the fan.” He shrugged. “Anyway.” He dangled the necklace for me to take, the ruby on it matching my ring.

I took it from him and studied the amulet. “This is what Sapphire was talking about.”

“Yeah, she made it with a few tweaks,” Nathan said. “One of them is an activation key that’ll tell us if you’re in trouble, which is what Jude decided to test.”

“Technically, Makayla was in trouble,” Jude pointed out.

“I totally had it handled,” I lied, earning me a snort from someone behind me.

Marc.

He stepped into the shrinking space and eyed the others. “The crazy witch just disappeared. Something about Dimitri’s waning patience.”

That earned a real grin from Nathan. “He finally going to take back his kingdom?”

“Fuck if I know,” Marc muttered. As aMonarchie du Sang, a fancy term for the French royal vampires of my realm, he tended to stay out of the Russian Vampire Dynasty drama. He rolled his neck. “All right, we have a lot of cleanup to do. Jude’s men have already moved the other humans out and handed them over to mortal law enforcement. Hardt and Hawk are with the other wolf down the hall, and—”