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“There are more than Drahk on this continent. There are of shifters and—”

She was amazed to see Eilidh right behind her when she turned. “I know that. But the bear’s area is a territory away. From the map, the wolves border the Drahk to the west.”

The young woman’s marking flared with a marigold tint, leaving the sickening color of sadness behind. “Yes. That’s right.”

“What was he doing here? And why didn’t you all go after them?” Kai set her hand, gripping the quilt against her hip, and pointed an accusing finger at Eilidh with her other hand.

“Your truck was right on the border of the Fae territory. Without clearance from the Mckenna, we cannot cross those lines.”

“This bear did,” Kai declared.

“Yes. However, the bear-shifter wouldn’t break the preternatural agreement unless he headed to the council meeting. The only reason a bear would cross the boundaries.”

“Whatever the hell his reason was, he picked the wrong girl to abduct.” Kai tossed the item in her hand to the back of the couch.

“Most likely, he was drawn to her mark.”

Mark? There was that word again. Kai wanted to ask Eilidh what she was talking about, but she refused to waste more time while Morlie was in the hands of a stranger. “We need to go.”

“Fafner and Irad have gone to notify Edjer, the head of security. He will tell us what to do and fly to Aodh at the meeting.”

“I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do...” Kai headed straight for the door. “Is sit around while some damn bear has my sister.”

“Where are you going?” Eilidh moved in beside her.

Almost at the door, Kai glanced at the young woman.

She wouldn’t blame Eilidh for losing her sister.

Recently, Morlie had been showing headstrong traits and fierce independence.

She could see that Morlie did not consider all her problems when walking around this unfamiliar territory. “To get Morlie.”

A slight touch of Eilidh’s hand on her arm halted Kai's forward momentum. “We really should wait on the orders from Edjer or Mckenna.”

“The hell I will.” It took some effort for Kai to shake the girl's hand off her arm, but she did.

“Do you even know where you’re going?”

“I’ll figure it out.” With one hand on the door, she glanced back at Eilidh. Like her younger sister, Kai was ready to go stomping through the grounds and the surrounding forest in search of Morlie. “Wait. Do you know where the council meets?”

Eilidh appeared as if there was a war going on inside of her. Kai could tell that the girl struggled between obeying her Mckenna and correcting her wrong in losing Morlie. Sense must have won because Eilidh released a heavy sigh and nodded. “Yes.”

“Take me there. I’ll deal with any consequences Aodh wants to administer.”

One of Eilidh’s eyebrows rose high, doubt etched into her features. “Let’s go. It’s some distance away, but I know a few shortcuts.”

“Thanks.” Kai stepped aside as Eilidh gracefully pulled open the door. Kai started but stopped.

“You change your mind?”

“No.” Kai headed back into the suite. “My father always told me never to go into a battle empty-handed.”

“It’s not a battle. Aodh won’t let it get that far. He’ll negotiate Morlie’s release.”

“Or I will.” Before the fireplace, Kai reached up and grabbed one of the handles.

She pulled and was shocked at how easily the sword slid from the wall.

However, it was heavier than she expected, and before she could wrap her other hand around the jewel-encrusted handle, the tip struck the stone floor with a thud. Damn .

“Um...Kai. I don’t think—”

“Lead the way,” she cut the young woman off.

Taking a firm grip this time with both hands, she lifted it toward her.

A humming, warm sensation vibrated through both her palms and settled deep in the marrow of her bones.

Her hands became slick, and she was afraid she'd drop it again if she didn’t hold it tighter.

She had already noticed a significant chip in the stone floor caused by the blade's tip.

A part of her quivered with trepidation by this unknown happening and urged her to let go and leave the strange sword.

But she held fast. She was careful to ensure she placed the flat side of the blade against her shoulder.

It was heavy as fuck, but she refused to leave it.

She prayed for strength, hoping her knees wouldn’t buckle from the heft of the sword. But if she had to drag it alongside her to have it in case she needed to chop off any dangling male appendages to save her sister. She would do it.

~YH~

“Aodh. I hope all is well with your Thunder.” Iskah was the first to acknowledge him when he and Liekki entered the large, hypaethral structure erected in an old riverbed clearing.

The circular pavilion stood northwest of what his Thunder considered the heart of their territory where the Mckenna building sat.

The stone building, with its thick columns, and lacking sides or a roof, had been built on the boundary line of the Drahks and Lupine, spreading out equally across both territories.

The neutral ground place existed for the North American Preternaturals to conduct business around laws, treaties, and appraisals.

The only thing in the structure was a sizeable ring-style table and eleven chairs. However, the circular stone table was in halves and separated, leaving a pathway to the hollow center where a lone chair sat.

“Yes, Iskah, my Thunder thrives.” Aodh stepped up to his seat and acknowledged the Fae Queen occupying the chair to his left in the middle seat on their side of the table.

He glanced to her left and greeted Armaros, the Vampire Sire.

Before taking his seat, Aodh looked to the other side.

In recognition, he met the gaze of Chanin, alpha of the Lupine Pack, and Dov, head boar of the Ursine sleuth.

As customary of all the seconds present, Liekki lounged in a seat not directly behind Aodh but to the right of his shoulder, allowing his brother to be in his peripheral. Aodh heard Liekki offering greetings to all the seconds except for Dov’s beta, who, oddly enough, wasn’t present.

“Excellent.” Iskah’s flowery lilt returned everyone’s attention to her.

“We will wait before addressing the issue of the international preternatural council, which by now, I am sure we all were radioed, at some point, concerning the situation. Since it is the custom of this council to have all members present for international issues, we will await Turi’s arrival. ”

Aodh briefly wondered why the other bear shifter had not accompanied his leader.

Before the Great Catastrophe, seeing a lone, male bear would not have been odd, mainly since their Ursine side chose to live solitarily.

However, safety, food, and reproduction reasons created a corporate sleuth in their territory.

Dov had told Aodh that when they first moved into their territory, there was a three-day battle to establish the head boar’s dominance, which Dov won.

The situation humans caused had affected them all, none more than the ulfreki , bear-shifters who lost more than three-fourths of their females and had to resort to sharing females.

Aodh glanced over at the Lupine Alpha.

“Are we all in agreement?” Iskah asked.

“Agreed,” Aodh confirmed.

“Yes,” Armaros replied in his ghostly tenor.

Before the catastrophe, the council met at midnight to accommodate the Vampires, but the haze that lingered in the sky blocked out the sun’s harshest rays and allowed the master’s second to come out.

Since Armaros was from a Dhampir line of human hybrids, he’d previously spent long hours in the daylight without his dead flesh burning to ash.

The image always brought a smile to Aodh’s mind. He could not help but be excited about all things fire-related.

“Fine with me,” Chanin confirmed. “I’m more concerned with the empty chair.”

“Yes. We will discuss that after reports.” Iskah passed a hand over her thick, long blue-turquoise hair, an exotic complement to the honey-cream tone of her skin.

The woman had an effervescent beauty and angelic smile that drew both males and females to her.

Her quiet, diplomatic strength among raging shifters made her the perfect leader in their group to adjudicate the council meetings.

Even being the lone female at the table, no one fucked with a woman who could call a tree to extend its branches to choke a person or draw the water from deep beneath the Earth’s surface to rise so high it could drown someone.

Iskah’s abilities were extraordinary, but a Fae’s firepower was superseded by a Drahk’s.

Dov’s voice boomed as he offered his agreement to push international situations to the end of their meeting, then added, “Turi should be here soon.” The male with mammoth-sized shoulders wider than a Drahk’s and whose height was only seven inches shorter than most adult dragon-shifters gazed over at Aodh.

Aodh figured before he and Liekki arrived. Dov had already explained why the Ursine’s second ran late. Aodh didn’t respond other than lifting a brow towards the bear-shifter.

“Before we provide reports. Are there any issues any leaders need to bring before the council?” Iskah waved an elegant hand, palm up over the table, prompting anyone to speak.

“I have something.” Aodh turned his gaze toward the Lupines.

The group shifted in their seats to stare at Aodh, yielding the floor to him.

“Chanin.” Aodh leaned forward in his chair, resting his forearms on the table.

“We need to discuss a matter of some rogue wolves entering my territory and stealing more than a couple of livestock.”

“Is that allowed?” Armaros pushed forward in his seat, his eyes going red.

Marceline licked her fangs behind him.

Aodh slowly turned to the dhampir leader and gave him a stern look, allowing red flames to dance in his eyes, making his threat to them clear.

Liekki shifted behind Aodh.

Marceline gasped.