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“And no one messes with my sister.” She swung the sword around and pointed the sharp tip toward the center of the man’s chest. She only left a few feet of clearance between them. “So, get the fuck away from my sister. Now!”

“Well, things have just got interesting,” a man somewhere on her right chuckled.

“She has quite the mouth on her,” a woman's elegant, controlled voice spoke from the same direction.

“I bet she does.” The man’s words came out of a low moan.

What the hell? Kai glanced briefly to her right at the man dressed in a red-and-black suit, sitting causally with his legs crossed on the curved table beside a beautiful, thin woman.

For a moment, her gaze felt stuck by the two.

She inhaled deeply and dragged it back to the man in the circle's center with her sister, Chanin.

Her parents had left Morlie in her care, and she would not lose her.

It pissed Kai off that she let down her guard and allowed Morlie to roam free with others her age instead of keeping her sister at her side.

If she had kept Morlie with her, being the protector she should be instead of just her sister, this situation would not have happened.

She recalled what Aodh told her about the preternatural council, why they met, and how they discussed issues that involved them all, but she didn't know why they brought Morlie there.

Did Aodh know they’d bring Morlie here? If so, why hadn’t he told her? Did Morlie have to get the council's approval because she wasn’t a mate like Kai? Perhaps Aodh could find her someone in his Thunder if Morlie staying was a problem.

No fear showed in Chanin’s form as he began to take a step closer to the end of the sword.

“Back off. I don’t want to hurt you.” The quivering in her hand started in her legs and moved up, causing the sword to wobble.

Damn it. Kai’s eyes started to water and burn, matching the aching fire radiating through her arms.

Then, a hand gripped both of hers around the handle, helping her steady it. She felt Aodh’s heat along her back, shoring her up.

“Kai.”

It was the sound of her name on the heavy, sexy rumble that made her voice catch. Aodh always affected her in a way she couldn’t comprehend. She squeezed the sword handle and worked to get her bearings until she knew whether the massive man behind her played a part in this situation.

“Aodh, I just want my sister, and I’ll go.

” Her gaze was still locked on the were.

She didn’t trust him. Something in her warned that if she gave him a moment, he’d run off with her sister.

The last thing she wanted to deal with was tracking Morlie down again.

Kai doubted it would be as easy as it was this time.

“I know.” The warmth of his breath brushed her ear as he spoke in low tones. “But you need to lower the sword. It is considered an act of war in this place.”

His other hand curled around her hip, and heat danced along her skin from his touch. “I don’t want war, just my sister.”

“If you did, I would stand at your back. Always.” His hand was still around hers, but he wasn’t forcing her to drop the sword. Instead, he kept her stable.

There was something about his words that squeezed her heart. She’d never had anyone supporting her since she lost her parents. Rolling in her bottom lip, she decided to bring down the blade. The stone shook beneath her feet from the heavy impact when the tip struck the hard granite floor.

“Kai.” Her sister’s voice sounded strange, and it wavered. It beckoned her.

She stepped out of the circle of Aodh’s warmth. “Come, Morlie. We need to go.”

She gestured to her sister as she glanced over her shoulder to see if Eilidh was close behind her.

However, she frowned when she didn’t see her.

Kai glanced back toward the tree line to see if she had spotted the young woman there, but she still hadn’t seen her.

Eilidh had led her there and pointed out the pavilion, but Kai only saw red before her as she spotted her sister amid the crowd.

Kai had charged forward, expecting that Eilidh would follow.

Now, Kai saw more leaders standing inside the circle—too close for her comfort.

“You can’t take her.” This comment came from a massive man inside the circle with a second man of similar bulk beside him. They both leaned on the side of the table, but the fierce stare he gave her was proof he wasn’t simply a casual bystander.

None of the alphas wore nametags or had any distinguishing signs to indicate their group, but she found it hard to believe that these men were not the bear shifters. For that reason, she despised them the most for taking her sister.

“Why not?” Still clutching the sword with one hand, she set a fist on her hip and turned to shoot the bear-like man a glare.

“She’s marked.”

Kai whipped around, prepared to raise the sword again, no matter that her wrists throbbed. She eyed a lean, muscular man who strutted around the table and passed her to stand beside the man before Morlie. There was that term again—marked.

“What does that mean?” She looked from the man to Aodh, not trusting this group of strangers to be truthful.

“Your government put a mark on her, a treaty signed upon her.” Aodh touched her shoulder as if he were imploring her to understand the situation.

Kai refused to understand anything about any of this. She shook her head in denial. “When did they do this? Are we all marked?”

“You told me you took Morlie to the medical clinic for help. It would have been done there.”

‘...she had been marked for transport.’ Kai recalled the medical attendant’s words.

She realized now that she had misunderstood the attendant.

Had the woman been trying to help Morlie, or was this how it always worked?

The medical personnel scared people and encouraged them to go outside the wall, only to be captured by the shifters.

‘Pray you meet the wolves first.’ Kai stared over at the Lupine leader. Now, they’d met the wolves.

“Those who are marked come before the council and are appraised. No exceptions.” It wasn’t Aodh who continued, but a willowy woman moved closer in the inner circle yet kept her distance.

The woman’s features were so strikingly serene and breathtakingly beautiful that Kai wondered if she were a Vampire or Fae.

“Well, by the looks of it,” Kai waved her hand toward her sister, who was still sitting in the center chair, looking confused. But there was something else in Morlie’s gaze Kai didn’t have time to decipher. “I’d say you all have already assessed her. So, now what?”

“We discover which alpha senses traits of his people on her, and they claim her and take her—”

“No one is taking my sister from here but me,” Kai declared, turning her head from left to right, meeting each of their gazes and holding a lid on the anxious storm rolling in her stomach.

“She’s mine.” Chanin now stood next to Kai’s sister, shielding Morlie from...her.

Me? That doesn’t make any sense .

Morlie gasped.

Aodh’s rumble filled the open space.

Kai shook her head. “No. She is my family.” My only family.

“Kai.” Morlie’s voice trembled, but Kai couldn’t look at her. If she saw tears or fear in her sister's gaze, it would wreck her, and she would cause the war Aodh was trying to prevent.

“She’s still not well.” Kai tossed out.

“I will heal her fully,” the werewolf alpha declared.

She wanted to scream at the obstinate man. He didn’t even know Morlie. Why was he so determined to have her?

The ethereal woman began, “By the treaty agreement made by your human government—”

Kai shot a look at the brown-skinned woman in the flowing, green dress.

The woman stared back at Kai. At that exact moment, the wind picked up and blew hard. It wrestled the ends of Kai’s skirt high up her thighs and pressed against her, forcing Kai back a step. She wasn’t sure if the gust was a coincidence.

Refusing to cower, Kai shoved her hair out of her face before stating, “My government no longer has any authority over me or Morlie. I do.” She jabbed a finger into her chest. “I am her guardian.”

“Your sister is an adult. So, in this situation—”

She felt she was losing this battle, and getting these leaders to see reason was more complicated and challenging.

Kai had to do something because the alternative was to leave her sister there.

That was something she refused to do. “She’s a minor.

A child. Not an adult yet. Morlie is only seventeen. ”

For the first time since Kai barged into the meeting, silence descended. Long moments passed as all ten sets of eyes stared at Morlie. They seemed to take her in, assess her, and search for some truth other than what Kai stated.

What if Morlie knew the truth?

Kai’s heart pounded. She had never told such a bold lie before but felt she had no choice.

The only thing she could do now was to double down on it.

“Humans have laws that govern what can happen to minors. My government made a mistake. It is unlawful for them to hand over a minor under the age of eighteen to be...be mated to someone.”

“She smells sweet, but not in the way children do.”

Startled, Kai had no clue how the elegant woman who had sat the entire time beside the pale man in the red-and-black suit had moved from sitting on the table to standing next to Morlie.

The thin, elegant woman smelled along Morlie’s neck a second time.

The wolf leader pivoted toward the woman and held his large hands wide as he displayed long claw-like nails. “Marceline, don’t make me end you.”

“No harm meant, pup.” Marceline held her palms up toward the Lupine male. “Just making an observation. For your benefit, of course.”

The Lupine alpha snapped. “Armaros, keep your second in her place.”

The red-suited man, still seated on the table, waved the woman back. “Marceline.”

“When will your sister be of age? Soon?” The ethereal beauty tipped her head to the side and held Kai’s gaze.