heâd slowly baked in the sun until Misty made him drink water a Fae had given her.
Graham knew the âhikerâ Misty had stumbled upon had been Fae. Reid agreed. The cave sheâd described, which had mysteriously disappeared, screamed of Fae. They must have been on a ley line out there in the desert, one of the lines of magic that crisscrossed the world. Stone circles were found on them as well as other mystical placesâFae loved ley lines.
Graham remembered how the gang leader had smirked and said he only needed one Shifter. One Shifter for what? To give to the Fae lurking nearby? For
what
?
No wonder the human had been stupid enough to give Graham directions to his location instead of setting up a dead drop. The human had planned to give him to the Fae. Why, Graham had no idea.
Didnât matter though, did it? Graham had drunk the effing water. It had cured his gunshot wound almost instantly, but Fae cures came with a price. Whatever else the water had done to him, he wasnât sure yet.
Heâd planned to talk it over with Misty when they got to Shiftertown, where heâd explain everything to her. Diego, the traitor, had taken her home instead. Fucking humans.
I need her.
Graham banished the voice inside his head. He didnât need Misty. He needed to take a Lupine mate, and soon. Dougal wasnât a natural leader, and his wolves were getting restless because Graham had no other heir. He had to establish his dynasty, have strong cubs of his own whoâd protect Dougal as family.
Plus, he needed to keep the wolves heâd brought to this Shiftertown under his control. The human government, trying to consolidate and save money, had closed the Shiftertown in Elko last year and shunted all Grahamâs Shifters here, expecting Graham and Eric, two powerful alphas, to decide who would lead. The humans had created a powder keg begging to explode. Some of Grahamâs Shifters were near to feral, having lived close to the wild for so long.
The few Lupines participating in the experiment to take off Collars were getting too big for their britches, like the female this morning. Collars didnât make or unmake dominance. The idiots needed to learn that. Collars just shocked you. Graham had decided to keep his Collar to prove no one would be able to best him despite the torture device around his neck.
No,
he thought, as the pickup turned onto the streets of Shiftertown,
I donât need a human woman in my life to screw me up right now
.
Iâm done,
Misty had said.
Why did those words echo over and over inside his head?
Diego pulled the truck into the driveway of Ericâs house. Eric Warden sat on a bench on his low-roofed porch, his bare feet up on the thick wooden railing. He didnât bother to rise when the truck pulled up, only turned his head to watch them stop and get out.
Eric was like that, acting all laid-back and too lazy to do anything. The truth was, he was the dominant Felineâthe dominant Shifterâof Shiftertown, and he could switch from laid-back kitty cat to killing machine in a heartbeat.
His mate, Iona, came out of the house with a little more animation. Iona was a sassy sweetheart, even more so now that she was pregnant and about to drop her first cub. Her wildcat was mostly pantherâwhich, everyone had explained to Graham, was a rare, black form of leopard. Explained why she and Eric, a snow leopard, got along so well. The pair of them could be scary as hell when they wanted to be, but mostly they sat around looking pleased with themselves.
Felines.
Iona started to ask, âWhat exactly happened?â as Graham lifted his bike out of the back of Diegoâs truck, but Graham cut over her words.
âWe need to contain those humans, Warden. They hurt Misty, and Iâm not letting them get away with that.â
Another human came out of the houseâPaul, Mistyâs younger brother. He had dark brown eyes, like Mistyâs,
Graham knew the âhikerâ Misty had stumbled upon had been Fae. Reid agreed. The cave sheâd described, which had mysteriously disappeared, screamed of Fae. They must have been on a ley line out there in the desert, one of the lines of magic that crisscrossed the world. Stone circles were found on them as well as other mystical placesâFae loved ley lines.
Graham remembered how the gang leader had smirked and said he only needed one Shifter. One Shifter for what? To give to the Fae lurking nearby? For
what
?
No wonder the human had been stupid enough to give Graham directions to his location instead of setting up a dead drop. The human had planned to give him to the Fae. Why, Graham had no idea.
Didnât matter though, did it? Graham had drunk the effing water. It had cured his gunshot wound almost instantly, but Fae cures came with a price. Whatever else the water had done to him, he wasnât sure yet.
Heâd planned to talk it over with Misty when they got to Shiftertown, where heâd explain everything to her. Diego, the traitor, had taken her home instead. Fucking humans.
I need her.
Graham banished the voice inside his head. He didnât need Misty. He needed to take a Lupine mate, and soon. Dougal wasnât a natural leader, and his wolves were getting restless because Graham had no other heir. He had to establish his dynasty, have strong cubs of his own whoâd protect Dougal as family.
Plus, he needed to keep the wolves heâd brought to this Shiftertown under his control. The human government, trying to consolidate and save money, had closed the Shiftertown in Elko last year and shunted all Grahamâs Shifters here, expecting Graham and Eric, two powerful alphas, to decide who would lead. The humans had created a powder keg begging to explode. Some of Grahamâs Shifters were near to feral, having lived close to the wild for so long.
The few Lupines participating in the experiment to take off Collars were getting too big for their britches, like the female this morning. Collars didnât make or unmake dominance. The idiots needed to learn that. Collars just shocked you. Graham had decided to keep his Collar to prove no one would be able to best him despite the torture device around his neck.
No,
he thought, as the pickup turned onto the streets of Shiftertown,
I donât need a human woman in my life to screw me up right now
.
Iâm done,
Misty had said.
Why did those words echo over and over inside his head?
Diego pulled the truck into the driveway of Ericâs house. Eric Warden sat on a bench on his low-roofed porch, his bare feet up on the thick wooden railing. He didnât bother to rise when the truck pulled up, only turned his head to watch them stop and get out.
Eric was like that, acting all laid-back and too lazy to do anything. The truth was, he was the dominant Felineâthe dominant Shifterâof Shiftertown, and he could switch from laid-back kitty cat to killing machine in a heartbeat.
His mate, Iona, came out of the house with a little more animation. Iona was a sassy sweetheart, even more so now that she was pregnant and about to drop her first cub. Her wildcat was mostly pantherâwhich, everyone had explained to Graham, was a rare, black form of leopard. Explained why she and Eric, a snow leopard, got along so well. The pair of them could be scary as hell when they wanted to be, but mostly they sat around looking pleased with themselves.
Felines.
Iona started to ask, âWhat exactly happened?â as Graham lifted his bike out of the back of Diegoâs truck, but Graham cut over her words.
âWe need to contain those humans, Warden. They hurt Misty, and Iâm not letting them get away with that.â
Another human came out of the houseâPaul, Mistyâs younger brother. He had dark brown eyes, like Mistyâs,
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