Page 93 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse

We were laughing at Lucia slurping spaghetti like inThe Lady and the Trampwhen Jake reached for his vibrating phone. He stared at the screen with a frown and quickly answered.

“What’s going on, Khal?” He listened intently while I did the same.

“Have you seen the news?” Khal asked on the other side.

“No.”

“It’s The Scourge. It’s under attack. An army of hybrids and that witch are there. It’s bad. K-Tech took a big hit. Huge loss. Some employees are dead.”

“Fuck!” Jake jumped to his feet, and I followed suit. “I’ll be right there.”

Eric sighed and pushed his half-finished bowl of food aside. “No rest for the wicked. The Scourge, then?”

Jake started shaking his head, but I put a hand up. “Nope. You’re not going by yourself, and you well know it.”

His teeth clicked as he closed his mouth and swallowed his protest.

“What’s going on now?” Damien asked.

“The witch and her hybrids are at it again,” Eric said.

Lucia’s fork clattered against her bowl. Panic etched her features and none of her usual cockiness showed anymore. It seemed the beasts had truly put the fear of God into her. At least she hadsomesense.

“At The Scourge?” Damien asked. “Really? What does she have against her own kind?”

The Scourge was a commercial district reserved for Skews. At night, it turned into the wild west, and Stales steered clear of it.

Jake ran stiff fingers into his hair. “Knight Industries owns several businesses there, and Khal said one of them got hit pretty badly.”

“Avengers assemble!” Rosalina exclaimed, leaving the table and rushing out of the kitchen ahead of everyone. “Let’s get that bitch!”

I put a hand on Lucia’s shoulder and adamantly said, “You stay here, all right?”

She nodded several times without hesitation and, for once, I knew I didn’t have to worry about her. We marched out of there, our steps quickly getting in sync as we went. I cracked my neck as Red bubbled to the surface, readying herself for a fight.

If we could, for once and for all, put an end to Mekare, and tomorrow, we broke Jake’s pact, my life could go back to normal. More than that, my life would be near bliss.

I would have Jake, Rosalina, my family, and two unlikely friends in a flamboyant mage and a grouchy alpha.

Who could ask for more?