Page 122 of Shifters Unifying

I swallowed the bile which threatened to escape from my stomach.Beheading.Maybe I hadn’t known what I’d thought they’d choose, but it was more violent than anything else I’d ever witnessed. And they hadn’t demanded I do it.

My knees wobbled as I stood. “It is decided.” A collective gasp moved through the crowd, and I raised my hands to quiet them. “We will reconvene in Six-Mile.”

The squirrel warriors moved to the front while the somber assembly filed out of the Gathering Place.

I slipped out, avoiding the crush of people, but Marcus appeared at my side.

His unfocused eyes stared at a distant point on the horizon. “May I escort you, multimorph?”

“Sure.”

“Dr. Wise will be sorry she missed this.”

“Is that really all you can say?” I snapped.

He stopped and turned toward me. “I could say you did well, that the strength you exhibited rivaled all the best alphas…” His voice trailed away. “But I don’t think you want praise for sentencing a spy to death.”

“You got that right.” I frowned at him. “Tell me. What do we do with the body? We don’t exist without a footprint in the human world. How do we explain the disappearance of shifters or any of the people who Acheron consumed? How do we explain a beheading to the police?”

“Many agencies know about us, so we make a phone call, and they shuffle the cases into the unsolved stack or sometimes the cold case files.”

“Convenient.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “So, I can’t even use that to intervene.”

“I’m afraid not, multimorph. Not this time.” He leaned close and lowered his voice. “Did you figure out why Logan needed you?”

My shoulders drooped. “No, but I know he’s not dead.” I tested the bond. “And I think he’s on his way back.”

“Well, let him know, if he hurries, he might make it back for the beheading.”

“Fuck you,” I growled and marched away.

Two hours later, a small pack of shifters had formed on the other side of the gym. Torbin, Flynn, and Marcus were all in attendance.Logan, where are you?

How the hell had this happened? What would he say when I told him? Would he congratulate me or condemn me?

Salali had not earned the Death Rite. Instead, her actions brought her to her knees and her neck to a chopping block. Her arms had been bound behind her, and her ankles were tied so tightly that her feet were turning purple.

Her warriors circled her, and Reuben held an ancient, ceremonial Katana he’d retrieved from the relic horde.

I squeezed my eyes closed, unwilling to witness it. Even without seeing it, it would haunt me for the rest of my days.

Carefully, he drew the weapon from its sheath and lifted it high over his head. With a grunt, he swung as hard as he could. The blade sang through the air.

Chunch.

I bit back a cry and turned away. It was finished. How many more would die before we beat Acheron? Weariness weighed on me.

“Multimorph, would you like to make any comment?” Torbin rumbled.

I turned toward the group. “Remember this in the days to come. I demand loyalty, and I demand obedience,” I said. “Acheron is coming. Our survival depends on unifying the clans.”

Then I fled.

epilogue

LOGAN

Six-Mile Territory