Page 27

A rectangular shape rested on the ground, and I darted over to a cell phone in the middle of shredded clothing in the graveled parking area.

The screen had been badly shattered, and I couldn’t read anything on it.

It buzzed in my hand, still receiving notifications.

Blood marred the white gravel in several spots.

None of the blood was Emma’s, but the clothing was.

She’d been afraid enough to shift again.

Bear… Fox… Mountain lion. It would have eaten every bit of energy she’d built back.

My wolf whined, begging to be let out.

Olivia appeared at the gate. “Jasper has her.”

“How do you know he wasn’t working with Marcus and whoever else attacked her?”

She put her hands on her hips. “Because Jasper isn’t that way. He probably took her back to his lair.”

His lair…

“She should have been brought to mine,” I growled, handing Emma’s phone to her. “Get that fixed.”

“Get in the truck,” she said, taking the phone. “It’s faster than running yourself into the ground trying to get there.”

“Fine. Emma had better be okay.” And Rachel too.

“Just don’t cause a civil war. We can’t afford to fight the foxes while we’ve got Acheron stirring shit up. Too much at stake,” she cautioned and climbed into the passenger seat.

“Yeah,” I said, making no such promises. “When we get there, you go check on the others. We can’t afford to lose any more of our pack.”

“Will do.”

I slid into the driver’s seat and raced toward the fox clan.

We made it in thirty-five minutes and eased to a halt at the edge of the fox clan’s territory.

Then I leaped from the car, frantic with worry, shifting to my wolf form before my feet hit the ground.

Olivia let me go, and the truck pulled away as I bounded over the border .

Like Six-Mile, Red Tail Pack had a fence around most of their area, except here where the driveway led to the interior of their lands.

Emma was in their domain, and I had to respect the laws governing clan interactions.

Jasper had bedmates in Six-Mile, and he had permission to come and go…

At least until I’d tossed him on his ass.

I had no such permissions in Red Tail.

And it was unlikely, as a rival clan’s alpha, I would ever be granted permission.

I sat back on my haunches to wait for their guards to scent me. In short order, a gray fox trotted up to the fence line. He considered me for a long time, studied the forest behind me, and finally shifted into his human form, complete with gray hair sticking out in all directions.

“Hello,” he said, stroking his beardless chin. “How can I help you?”

I summoned my own shift, relishing the burst of air, filled with power and magic. “I’m here to see Emma Carter. I know she’s here.”

“You know no such thing.”

“Sure, I do. Her scent crosses here, and Jasper’s with her.”

“That’s what you suspect,” he said, crossing his arms.

“No, that’s what my nose tells me,” I snapped. “Same as yours tells you that I’m alone out here, though I’m sure you can tell Olivia came and went.”

“Oh, maybe, and maybe I’ll head back to our den and leave you here to rot.”

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 about her .”

“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.