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Port of Port Angeles

Cargo ship Nova Principia

G eneral Eric Singleton flipped through the report in front of him. Dozens of satellite images from Olympic National Park covering the past three months were spread out across his desk. The written reports held little useful information. The images were far more interesting.

He leaned forward and picked up two of the black and white images. The first was a line of individuals moving up the mountain along the ridge in a single line. There were at least twenty-five individuals that he could make out, possibly more.

These were the humans that Hyder Furman had told him about. He placed the satellite image down and studied the second photo. At first, he had disregarded it. The image had been taken outside of the zone and several days before the one he had just looked at.

Sitting back, he reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out a round optical lens.

He placed it over the satellite image, moving it slowly over each section as he studied the grainy details.

He paused over the image of someone lying on the riverbank.

There were four other distinctive figures standing over the person.

Even without the outline of their weapons, he would recognize their stance as military.

That wasn’t what had sparked his curiosity.

No, what had drawn his attention to this specific image was the shadow being cast behind them and the fact that he was seeing a reflection of the sky instead of the ground.

Frustration burned through him at not having a better image. He leaned back in his chair and stared out of the porthole. Tapping his fingers on his desk, he contemplated his next move. His eyes flickered to the prone figure. Gathering the photos, he pushed back and stood.

Minutes later, he had descended into the bowels of the converted cargo ship. A water buffalo shifter and an ape shifter rose and stood at attention as he approached. He motioned with his hand for them to open the thick, steel door.

The ape shifter twirled the lock and pulled it open. Eric stepped through the opening and paused. The room smelled of piss and blood. The shifter on the bunk rolled over and blinked up at him with bloodshot eyes.

“Finally come to finish me off?” Hyder mumbled through cracked lips.

Eric studied Hyder as the shifter rolled into a sitting position with a pain-filled groan. It was obvious the man had mouthed off to his two guards. Thankfully, all they had done was beat the shit out of him. It would have been unfortunate for them if they had killed Hyder without his permission.

“Tell me more about the cougar shifter that disappeared,” he ordered.

Hyder frowned. “Lucien? Don’t know much about him except that he’s a mean son-of-a-bitch. Bishop brought him in.”

“That’s a shame. I guess you aren’t needed anymore,” he replied.

“Wait! Wait! I know he’s ex-military. He was following the Bearclaw woman and the two men that work with her… Redfoot, Peterson Redfoot, and Van Timberwolf. Isabella has something on Timberwolf’s younger brother. I assigned one man you sent to take out Lorne Timberwolf,” Hyder rapidly blurted.

Eric studied Hyder’s desperate expression. The hyena was telling him the truth. He didn’t inform Hyder that the man who went after Lorne Timberwolf was dead.

“What is Bishop’s last name and where can I find him?” he demanded.

Hyder lifted a trembling hand to his bruised cheek. “Foxworthy. His name is Bishop Foxworthy. I don’t have an address for him, just a number.”

Eric memorized the phone number when Hyder rattled it off.

“What does Isabella have on Timberwolf?” he asked.

Hyder shrugged. “I don’t know. It must be pretty bad if he was willing to double-cross his own brother. Timberwolf gave us info on the security around the Bearclaws and a few details on where they are moving the humans.”

“What does Isabella want with humans?”

Hyder shrugged again. “She probably wants to breed them. She wanted a young male and female. Who the hell knows with that woman? She’s a crazy bitch. I know her brother wanted one, but for a different reason.”

“What reason?”

“Something about a legend and humans is all I know. You’d have to ask Theodore Badger or Isabella. I would imagine she would know what her brother wants with them,” Hyder replied.

“I guess I will,” he responded, turning back toward the door.

“Eric.”

He paused in the doorway and looked back at Hyder. Hyder was staring back at him with a desperate, pleading expression. Distaste filled him at the sight of the filthy, pathetic-looking shifter.

“Please. I can make this up to you. I’ll pay you back for all the equipment. I’ll come back and work for the company for as long as you want,” Hyder said.

The General studied Hyder’s face before he turned away. Hyder continued pleading before his voice was cut off by the closing of the heavy steel door. Eric studied the photos in his hand before he looked at the two guards.

“Ensure that nobody discovers his body,” he ordered before he headed back to his office.

First stage transfer camp: Olympic National Park

Two weeks later

“Hey, Peterson, Van…” Tracy let them know Ty had called. “The permanent compound is finally ready enough that we can begin moving everyone out there by the end of the week,” Tracy explained.

Peterson let out a long, deep sigh of relief.

Each passing day of the past two weeks had been filled with nothing but torment.

Because only a select few shifters were authorized to enter the compound, he and Van had been assigned to help with the twenty-four-hour security duty.

That hadn’t been the worst part of this assignment, though.

The torture stemmed from the constant sight of Jayden, a reminder of their unattainable connection. He and his wolf were literally going crazy. Whenever he tried to approach her, his attempts would be thwarted by interruptions or she would vanish before he could reach her.

“Security along the route is being tightened thanks to all the recent publicity. We don’t want to take any chances after what happened up on the mountain. I can’t believe the SBSI hasn’t traced how those guys fell off the grid,” Van said.

“I can’t believe that the bodies haven’t been found yet. It isn’t easy to make eight bodies just vanish,” Peterson added.

“More if you count the ones from the two empty helicopters that were found. The oil and gas company said they were stolen from a remote survey site in Canada. According to what Ty has found out, a couple of employees from the company confirmed the account. Auntie is pissed and threatening to boil the director of the SBSI in oil if he doesn’t come up with answers soon.

All she keeps getting is that the situation is still under investigation and as soon as there is more information, it will be passed along.

Until then, Nightsky is keeping things locked down because he doesn’t want anything leaking out.

I can’t blame him for that, even if I can for a few other things.

There’s something off about that guy. He gives me the creeps.

By the way, thank you for the updated security plans.

I’ve gone over them and shared them with Mitchell and the elders.

We’ll take everyone out in two groups. The old and young will go first,” Tracy responded.

“The news crews are going nuts. Ever since it was revealed that humans weren’t extinct, every shifter around the world wants to see one,” he replied.

Tracy gave him a strained smile. “I know. Have you heard from your brother yet, Van?”

Van shook his head. “No. I don’t know what the hell he’s gotten himself into this time. I just hope he is alright. He’s gone off the grid before, but never after someone trashed his place and our offices.”

“I can’t believe there weren’t any prints. Whoever did it has to have connections with the shifters that were on the mountain,” she said.

Van pursed his lips and averted his eyes.

Peterson rested his hand on Van’s shoulder.

They both knew that Lorne had betrayed them.

What they didn’t know was to whom and why.

That was an answer that they were still trying to figure out.

There had been nothing on any of the computers, files, or papers that they could find.

“We’ll find him,” he murmured.

Van gave him a curt nod. “Have you made the changes we talked about to your place yet?”

Tracy nodded. “Yeah. Auntie ordered additional security. The place is a fortress. Hell, they almost shot an owl the other night that flew over the fence.”

“Was it a shifter?” Peterson asked with a frown.

Tracy rolled her eyes. “I’ve never heard of a shifter owl.”

“True.”

Tracy’s mate approached, and he turned to greet Mitchell with a warm smile.

Mitchell’s furrowed brow and down-turned lips mirrored his deep concern.

Peterson felt a deep sympathy for the human.

Shifters hadn’t exactly been on their best behavior, and he knew Mitchell was worried about the move.

They would be traveling a good distance to a new area, where the humans had never set foot before.

The near attack on the humans left them all feeling tense and on high alert.

Considering what happened to Ella, he couldn’t fault the humans for their wariness.

Thankfully, Ty and Tracy had their aunt’s unwavering support to rely on.

Determined to weed out those responsible for the recent attacks on Tracy and Mitchell, Michaela convinced congress to loosen their tight purse strings.