Page 29

The slam of Kira’s door echoes throughout the house, and I know I have to walk out of the door, or I’ll go after her. Fall to me knees, beg for her forgiveness. Anything so she’ll never look at me the way she just did.

As I step out onto the porch, I nod to the two shifters assigned to protect my house, letting them know I’m leaving. Their eyes glint from the trees, sure and steady. Two of our top fighters.

Surely, they heard the slam of her door, too.

I shift and launch into the trees, running through the scrubby underbrush and loving the feeling of the dry dirt underfoot. My thoughts aren’t ordered, and I need to get them that way. I can hear Gramps’ voice in my head: To be a good leader, you need to prioritize, order, take action.

Gramps trained me for years to take over the pack. During that time, he talked about the importance of finding a good luna, how my mate would be just as important to my leadership as my own discretion.

He always, somehow, made it seem like I would have a choice in the matter.

But more than that, he never spoke of how one would go about balancing mate and pack. Surely, he must have struggled to balance his duties to the pack with his own wife? Except my grandma wasn’t his mate—just the luna he chose. And for him, there had never been a question between who he would choose.

The pack always, always came first.

Now, information from Aidan swimming in my head, I can’t shake the different directions pulling at me. One that says to go to Kira, to give her whatever she wants so she’ll stay with me, so her anger will dissipate.

But the other, stronger side, insists that it’s more important to keep her safe. If something happened to her, I wouldn’t be able to go on. She might be angry at me for the time being, but I can’t sacrifice her safety.

And yet another side says that I shouldn’t be thinking about Kira first and foremost. That if my first thought isn’t what’s best for the pack, I’m already failing.

My mind turns back to Aidan in that bunker, and how, once I’d agreed to give him what he wanted, he shared the information he had with me. The lights flickered slightly as he spoke, his tone low and even, relaying the details as though reading from a report.

After she left, Jerrod somehow had an epiphany that Kira was actually a psychic, that her gift was real, despite not believing it before. And he’s decided he’s going to do what it takes to get her back into the Grayhides, no matter what it takes.

As Aidan told me about Jerrod’s strange affinity for Kira, my hackles rose, bile churning below my throat. There’s not a doubt in my mind that bruise on her face was from him—that his interest in her is not purely due to her gift.

I break through the trees and into the gorge, the dirt shifting from loose and powdery to solid rock, the colors deepening and reddening. This is where Gramps used to take me to run with him, to improve my stamina. It’s the painting I had commissioned that hangs in my bedroom. To remind me of all the work I’ve done to get where I am now.

If I had things my way, I’d propose to her tonight, plan our wedding tomorrow. Throw a party for the whole fucking pack and show everyone how I cherish her. Introduce her as the new Luna.

Right now, with the information from Aidan, I don’t feel secure enough to let her out like that. Parade her in front of everyone, only to give Jerrod even more chance to get to her? A fool’s decision.

But what is the right decision? How can I do what’s best for the pack, Kira, and even me?

The walls of the canyon race by on either side of me, and when I look up, I see the deep black sky with pinpricks of stars. More than anything, I wish Gramps was here, so I could keep asking him everything I don’t know.

***

When I wake up the next morning, Kira’s door is still firmly shut to me.

My body aches from her absence, and my sleep last night was total shit. I tossed and turned, came out and sat in the hallway, staring at the door, listening to the sound of her heartbeat through the door.

Since marking, her, she’s officially been accepted back into the pack again. That means she’s mine in more ways than one. My mate, but also one of my packmembers. And my first priority is protecting her, even if that means dealing with her disdain. As long as she’s safe, we can work through everything else later.

By the time I get to the pack hall, there’s a commotion. The place is usually pretty tame, with a few committee meetings taking place, members of the council managing their own separate affairs, but today it’s abuzz with shifters coming and going, more of our fighters called into action.

“He’s been taken care of,” Emin says, appearing beside me, and I’ve been so lost in my head it actually makes me jump. If he notices, he doesn’t comment on it, which I’m thankful for.

Of course, Emin is talking about Aidan, who, at this moment, is in one of the various cells in the basement of this building. It’s separate from the town jail, which is meant more for drunkards and overnight stays.

Turning, I face Emin, who stops and raises his eyebrows at me.

“What’s your read on him?”

Normally, I don’t question my own judgment. But this is about Kira. Aidan gave me information about my mate, told me about the dangers that might come for her, and I know that might make me more favorable toward him.

Emin studies me for a moment, and without me having to say it, I feel that he understands this situation. He knows how I feel for his sister, and how I’ll eventually make it clear that I’ve claimed her.

It’s obvious to those closest around me. My scent is already changing.

Emin understands that I rely on him in moments like this. To be my right-hand-man. To offer me his clear judgment.

“I think he’s telling the truth,” Emin says, finally. “You could have killed him in that bunker, and he didn’t show any regret. He knew full well that trying to come into our territory came with a high price—and a high likelihood that he would end up paying it. I think if he had any ulterior motives, he wouldn’t have been so … resigned.”

I nod. “That’s the read I was getting, too.”

“So, what?” Emin asks, as we fall into step beside one another, heading toward the meeting room. “You going to make him stay in that jail?”

“Might talk to Claire about some sort of truth serum, a spell we can use to check his intentions. Maybe Beth could get a read on him. Don’t want to make him stay down there, but I’m not letting him out in my pack without more information, confirmation that he’s not going to hurt our people.”

Emin nods just as we turn the corner and walk into the meeting room. Kellen is there, his head bowed, likely still ashamed from the night I kicked him out of my home.

Good.

Emin takes a seat beside his father, but leaves a space between them. The rest of the room is filled with the council, plus additional heads for the heightened state of security we’re in.

“Hello, everyone,” I say, making my way to the front of the room. With this new threat coming from the Grayhides, it’s more important that we figure out our issue with the Amanzite. They all know something is going on, but the only people with specifics are Emin and me, along with the two shifters who actually captured Aidan and heard what he relayed.

“We don’t have time to waste, so let’s just jump right into what we have on the Amanzite problem. Leta? What do you have about the Llewellyn pack?”

“Not much,” she sighs, and when I glance at her, I see how this is affecting her. It’s been affecting all of us, and the bags under her eyes show how hard she’s been working at this. Clearing her throat, she shuffles her folders and says, “As you know, it’s difficult to get information about them. We have intel that they’re looking for powdered pranxath—a rare red powder often used in potion-making—but it’s made from a certain strain of palm leaves. Not something we can easily get our hands on. Besides that, my contact in that pack has gone quiet.”

I wasn’t expecting much from that avenue, but it’s still disappointing.

“Thank you, Leta, you’ve done the best you could. What else do we have? Claire?”

Claire looks worse than Leta, thin and shaking, her voice reedy as she pushes her hair back from her face.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she says, eyes on the table. “We’re working as hard as we can on synthesizing the gem with magic, but it’s just taking a long time…”

“Understandable,” I say, clearing my throat and trying not to look as panicked as I feel. Our options are quickly dwindling, to the point where Kellen’s original suggestion—of going back to the night market—is even out.

With them looking for Kira, it’s far too dangerous for me to leave our territory. And there’s no way I’m sending any of my people onto enemy land.

“Pull all the casters from every other endeavor,” I say, and all heads snap up to me. There are a lot of things our casters work on, outside of imbuing Amanzite, like clearing the fields of pests, making repairs, and healing. Pulling them from everything else is going to cause a problem.

But unless I can come up with something else, this is our last shot. I squeeze the back of an empty chair, clear my throat, and say, “Pull the other students out, too. Same parameters—pay the same, but everyone comes out full time. Get as many people on this as you can.”

“Yes, sir,” Claire says, her wide eyes hinting at her panic. I wouldn’t suggest this unless it was necessary, and it seems like she knows that.

I hope everyone knows it.

This time, as they all filter out of the meeting room, there’s less spirit. Less belief that we’re going to be able to pull this off. With Jerrod threatening our borders, trying to come after Kira, and a fast-dwindling supply of Amanzite, it doesn’t seem like there’s much to be hopeful for.

“Dorian,” Emin says, and I look up at him, realizing the room is empty besides the two of us. Frowning, I grab my phone from the table and tuck it into my pocket.

“What?”

“I had a thought,” he says, and when he meets my eyes, I see a spark of hope there. “There’s another way we might be able to get our hands on Amanzite.”

“What’s that?”

“Figure out who took it initially,” his voice is low. I haven’t even had time to focus on the details of the Amanzite going missing initially with out stressed we are to find more.

“How are we going to do that?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him. If it was easy, it would be done already.

“We have a brand-new, powerful psychic,” Emin says, smile broadening. “In fact, she saved a kid’s life the other day.”

It’s so obvious I hang my head—why hadn’t I thought of that? Maybe, if Kira and Beth worked together, they might be able to find more information and lead us to the thief. On the off chance they still have the Amanzite, we might be able to get it back.

But it will also be important to make sure they can’t steal from us again, keep our supply secure.

“Only one problem,” I laugh, rubbing a hand over my eyes.

“What’s that?”

“Your sister is completely pissed at me,” I say into my hand. “Since I’m making her stay home. But I can’t tell her the full truth of what’s going on—I don’t want to freak her out.”

Emin laughs, claps a hand on my shoulder. I’ve always felt closer than friends with him, but right now, I truly feel like his brother.

“Well, you’d better crawl out of the dog house and beg her forgiveness, because we could really use her help right about now.”