Page 30 of Shift of Morals (Shifter Lords #2)

Chapter

Twenty

CAELAN

E vie’s text disturbed me. Though the furor over the rogue shifters had died down some, reports were still coming in every few days. This was one of the reasons the Council had stuck me with Gianna—the fear that I couldn’t control my own territory, and Evie’s disruption to the power structure.

If only they knew how much power she actually possessed. They’d lose their shit.

As it was, I expected one of those bastards to approach her soon for either marriage or binding.

A grin tugged at my mouth. I’d love to see the bastard who tried to force Evie to do anything.

Reports and maps were spread out all over my war table. I’d been examining them for weeks, and they all had one thing in common.

Or, one shifter, I should say.

Everyone who’d come into contact with Halvar, or the impostor who’d been posing as Halvar, had gone loup not long afterward. The Keep’s head mage, a slight man named Kieran, had taken one look at the vial Evie had sent over and immediately paled.

“What is that?” he snapped.

Few dared to speak to me like that, but instead of reacting, I asked a question. “What’s wrong with it?”

The mage, realizing his error, took an involuntary step back. “My apologies, Lord Caelan. I—I’ve never seen anything like that.” He held out his hand. “May I?”

I handed it over. “Take care, Kieran.”

He hurried away, the vial clutched tightly in his hand.

An hour later, he returned, pale and sweaty, and with the name of one of my shifters who’d gone missing several weeks ago. Lucas Veldt, a powerful and loyal Lieutenant, blessed in both looks and intelligence. He’d married a woman named Rebecca…

My hands stilled against the map. I hadn’t seen Rebecca in weeks either. Closing my eyes, I stopped the rumble of magic coming to the surface of my skin. It’d do me no good to overreact. Answers first. Solutions second.

But there was one thing worse than the rogues and my impending wedding. The mage hadn’t only come back with the shifter’s signature. He’d been curious about the resonance of whatever that spell was in the vial and had done a deeper analysis.

My rogue lieutenant’s essence was mixed up with Chimera essence.

We had no Chimeras in this country. They’d all been wiped out. As they should have been. They were deadly and vicious, and a natural enemy to most other shifters, my kind included.

The question was, how had Evie come into possession of something like this?

And what was I going to do about the potential fallout of a Chimera in my territory? I’d asked Kieran to double check his results, but he already had. All I could do was swear him to secrecy until I got to the bottom of things.

My fists clenched, rage swimming to the surface. Leaving the maps scattered on the table, I sailed from the office, punching a hole in the wall outside the door, plaster and sheetrock crumbling to the floor beneath me. The damage didn’t make me feel any better.

I needed to run. Or scream. Or something. Anything to get this excess energy out.

Gianna and I rounded the corner at the same time. She was dressed casually today, as casual as someone like her ever looked.

Perfectly pressed and tailored chinos, flats, and a crisp white blouse, accented with a pink pearl necklace, Gianna looked the part of a Shifter Lord’s fiancée. Her blonde hair was down today, not a single lock out of place.

“There you are!” Her delicate nostrils flared. “Why haven’t you started the process for the bonding ceremony? I inquired, and that witch hasn’t received a request yet. And the flowers haven’t been booked either!”

“Evie’s doing the flowers,” I growled, in no mood to deal with her. “I’ll send the letter out tomorrow.”

“And your offering to the gods?”

Bonding ceremonies were more traditional than I liked, but even I avoided affronting the gods.

They required a process. The flowers, the dagger, the words of the ritual, written by a powerful witch with Rowan's help, blessed water, and the presence of a god, brought by offerings and a humble request.

“I’ve already made it.”

Gianna snorted. “Stop lying, Caelan. The altar is bare!”

The altar in the Keep chapel was rarely used unless there was a wedding, and since there were few shifter females, the chapel stayed dark most of the time, holidays notwithstanding.

“I made my offering elsewhere.”

Gianna’s eyes narrowed. “Where?”

My patience snapped. “Maybe the gods have decided not to come. Maybe they see right through your power games and your politics and these ridiculous performances and have decided not to bless our union.”

Gianna sucked in a horrified breath. “Caelan.”

“The gods don’t care about us, and you’re a fool for thinking this blessing is anything more than pomp and circumstance.”

Her red lips curved into a cruel smile. “Donovan is going to have a field day when I tell him about this.”

Claws shredded through my knuckles. I backed Gianna against the wall. Her heart sped up, pulse flickering rapidly against her throat. But this wasn’t sexual, this was the fear prey felt when faced with a greater predator. I lifted a clawed finger, stroking it down her throat.

“Tell Donovan whatever pretty lies you like, Gianna, but know accidents happen all the time. And someone with your…delicate physique won’t be as prone to survive as my other shifters.”

I inhaled her scent, the deep, musky perfume that always tickled my nose, and the touch of rot at her core. Gianna might be a predator, but she’d never be dangerous to me. I ate creatures like her for a living. “Roast swan is my favorite,” I whispered.

She swallowed hard, fear flaring in her eyes.

The smell of acrid terror washed around us.

I smiled and stepped away. “Begone and know if the gods refuse this binding, you will be out of my Keep immediately and banned from my territory.” I straightened my shirt and allowed my claws to recede.

“If there’s any shopping you need done while you’re here, I suggest you get it done immediately. ”

Gianna straightened, her lips pressed tight together. “You dare threaten me?” she hissed, but her bravado was gone, the scent of her fear lingering in the air.

I smiled, allowing a touch of power into my eyes. “I hear Donovan is at the popular cafe on Main Street. Don’t be late, little bird.”

Her eyes widened a fraction. I’d known the other Lord was on my territory the moment he’d stepped onto the land. Loyal people and clever spies are only one of the many tricks keeping me in power.

Gianna spun and hurried away, her spine rigid. I waited until she was out of sight before sending Simone a coded message.

Lucas has gone loup. Bring him back, dead or alive.

Simone’s thumbs up response made me grin. The Omega was always up for a little bit of hunting.

I was about to head to the kitchens when I diverted back to the hidden library to check for any other messages, but there was nothing there. However, just as I was about to leave, the smell of oak and ash rose in the air, announcing a presence I couldn’t see.

When the voice came, it was old, ancient. “What will you give, Lord?”

I was no longer afraid of the outcome. “Anything but her.”

Wind ruffled my hair, the scent not of this world.

And what about you , the voice whispered in my mind.

“I will pay whatever you demand.”

We’ll see …

The wind stopped, the presence gone in an instant, leaving me disturbed but unshaken. I would pay the price, whatever the god demanded. My territory wouldn’t survive someone as cruel as Gianna as its Lady. I might survive her, but I played a dangerous game.

I pulled out my phone again and texted Rowan.

Up for a bit of hunting?

In response, I got a picture of the Lord surrounded by a ton of plants and a pretty red-haired woman.

I laughed. Fair enough. See you soon.

Be careful. An inane warning from someone as powerful as Rowan but laced with meaning. Not many things could damage a Shifter Lord, but strange things stirred in Joy Springs.

Once I locked up the library, I passed by Seymour who lunged to get a hold of my sleeve. “Not today, Seymour. I have things to do. I’ll be back later to feed you some of those worms your mistress sent.”

The flytrap growled and shook my sleeve. I extricated him gently and set him back on the desk, but Seymour was having none of it. He lunged again, catching my belt loop this time.

I again extricated him, but this time I held him at eye level. “Want to go hunting?”

Seymour quivered with anticipation.

I studied him for a moment. “Fuck it,” I muttered. “You’ll have to stay in the bag I wear. Cool?”

Seymour quivered again. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Once I was out of the Keep, I shifted, the bag I wore around my neck holding Seymour and a change of clothes if I needed it.

The change immediately centered me. It had been too long since I’d changed forms, my inner beast stretching in my mind.

I spent a few minutes sniffing around the property, checking the wards and potential weak points before padding down the driveway.

A few other shifters spotted me and waved, used to seeing me out and about. I ignored them and put my nose to the ground again, searching for the scent of rogue magic.

Nothing came to me until I hit close to the area around Evie’s house. Odd.

I put my nose down and followed the strange scent wherever it led me. There were pockets of stronger scent laid around the area, places where the creature or person stayed for a while, waiting or watching.

The scent tugged on a thread of memory, but I couldn’t unravel it yet.

Its scent was odd, the smell of burning heather and cold winds, tinged with rot at its core.

Whoever or whatever this was had performed much evil during their lives.

No one was born inherently evil. I believed that down to my core.

Actions tainted one’s body and mind, and eventually their magic.