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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

emma

Three Weeks Later

The Morning of the Hunter’s Moon Conclave

F ated mates weren’t common.

But I had one. I was 99.99% convinced of it.

Yet I hadn’t seen him for three weeks, and it felt like an eternity since September had turned into October.

Every cell in my body practically vibrated with desire for him, to unite with him, to add another layer of bonding between us.

Fuck if I understood any of it, but he was there, sitting in my brain and distracting me from the purpose of shifter boot camp.

The shoulder strap on my new, heavy bag cut into my shoulder, so I adjusted it.

After I’d gotten up this morning, I’d chosen my clothes carefully, but they wouldn’t matter once I shifted into my first demonstration animal since they’d shred and fall off my body, and maybe it was dumb, but I kind of loved the idea of shifting out of my clothes as carelessly as the rest of them did.

Nevertheless, I’d carefully chosen the dark hiking boots, sleeveless tank top, and black cargo pants to make my first introduction as the multimorph as badass as possible.

I waited near the entrance of the council den as sunlight glinted through the clouds on the horizon.

More storms were building to the south, coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, and I suspected it was the remnants of a late-season hurricane.

I hadn’t watched the news or checked on the weather since I’d been tucked into the Red Tail clan.

For the last few weeks, daily physical training wore out my body, and studying anything and everything about the multimorph wore out my brain.

Even so, Logan sat in the corner of my mind, waiting for his turn in my life.

The attention his presence demanded had grown throughout these passing weeks, and though I scoffed at the idea of not being able to control ourselves when it came to sex, his continual occupancy in my head had nearly convinced me otherwise.

Giselda ambled toward me, leaning on the cane she didn’t really need and carrying a patchwork bag in her gnarled hand. “We have a problem,” she called. “Marcus Steele is at the gate demanding to be let in, and I don’t think we can send him away this time.”

“Is that a problem?”

“He’s a quirk,” she said, huffing as she stopped beside 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 the bag 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.”

“Ye know I’m better at the make love not war bit.” He grinned as though the results of tonight’s meeting didn’t matter at all, but his words had echoed every anxiety I had been fighting for the past few weeks.

My stomach churned. “I don’t know what to do to convince them.”

He draped his arm around my shoulders. “This evening will be like everything else. Ye’ll learn as ye go, and ye’ll know as ye go. It’s worked well for ye so far.”

“So far, so good,” I murmured, thinking again about Logan, “but that’s not all that’s weighing on my mind.”

“Well, ye’ll figure that shite out, too,” Jasper said, hefting his own bag to his shoulder. “I have faith in ye.”

He had been the shifter who had been responsible for my training since I had landed in his clan, and he had an inexplicable certainty about me as the multimorph.

His confidence should have been inspiring, but as we made our way out of the rear of the Red Tail clearing and into what was supposed to be my destiny, I only wished I believed him.