“I told you to stop calling me that,” she griped but tilted her head back as far as she could. “What?”
There was a smirk on Roan’s face that had Lyric narrowing her eyes on him, but in his eyes there was a burning fire that was unmistakable: desire.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
Cassia stood at the threshold of the ritual chamber, her eyes fixed on the circle Mei and Neru were drawing in the dust. She felt the weight of the moment—the culmination of years of planning, of centuries of grief. She touched the locket at her throat, the one Tevon had given her long ago, and let herself hope.
For a moment, she allowed herself to dream of a mate’s touch, of laughter in the dark, of a future where she was not alone.
But the dream faded, replaced by the cold certainty of what she must do.
Chapter Twelve
“Ishould probably stop staring like a creeper. But then again, I’m an incubus demon . . . which is pretty much the definition of a creeper.” ~ Raphael
Raphael watched as Nico paced the narrow kitchen, thumb flying over his phone. The patchwork linoleum floor of the back room living area of the laundry mat creaked under each anxious step. Verion leaned back against the chipped counter, arms crossed and brow furrowed in that way that meant he was about to say something unwelcome.
“The longer you wait to contact Fur, the worse it’ll get. Trust me,” Verion said. “Sebastian might be out of the game, but his king won’t like finding out you’ve had his subject’s mate in hiding.”
Raphael, sitting at the edge of the battered table, ran a hand through his hair. “We can’t risk Morgan being snatched up or used as a pawn, but we can’t keep this quiet forever. If we go to Reese, maybe we can keep it from turning into a bloodbath.”
Nico didn’t answer at first. His mind was a whirlwind: the photos of Wolfgang’s treachery locked on his phone, the threefemales—Morgan, Miryam, and Akira—each with their own recent revelations, and now, the texts from Lyric growing more urgent by the hour. He hadn’t listened to her voicemail yet. He hadn’t called Taras, Callon, or even Gage, with the details they’d uncovered.
None of it felt right. But duty was duty, and shaman law was clear: a discovered mate must be delivered to her kingdom and her fated bond, no matter how tangled the politics. Anything else risked open war. And Morgan . . . well, she deserved more than being a secret, a liability, her life on perpetual pause.
He forced himself to slow down and scrolled through his contacts for Reese—the Kingdom of Fur’s shaman, a man Nico respected for both his sense of order and his dry, Montana humor. He tapped the number and waited. The phone rang twice before a gritty voice answered.
“Yup,” came the familiar greeting.
“Reese,” Nico said, his voice heavy with the weight of everything on his shoulders.
“What’s wrong, Nico? You sound like someone’s died and then the body was dragged through the streets and you were the one forced to do the dragging.”
“That is oddly specific, and how the hell does anyone ‘sound’ like that?” Nico asked.
“Ignore me,” Reese sighed. “I’ve been watching way too many period documentaries lately. I think it’s causing me PTSD.”
“Fantastic, then what I’m about to tell you should get that off your mind.” Nico glanced at Raphael, who gave him an encouraging nod. “Listen, I have a situation. We found an animus that happens to belong to one of your males. Her name is Morgan. She was taken—” he paused and then shook his head, “That’s a long story. But, she’s safe. I have to bring her to Montana to meet Sebastian.”
There was a long stretch of silence on the other end of the line, then a quiet whistle. “Sebastian? You’re sure? Do I want to knowhowlong you’ve had his mate?”
Nico kept his voice neutral. “Confirmed. Verion did her tattoo, and he said it’s the same one he gave Sebastian. We haven’t known long, a few days.”
He coughed. “Afewdays? Seriously, Nico? To a male as old as Sebastian who’s been looking for his mate, a few days is going to sound like a few years. Why didn’t you call the minute you knew?”
“It’s complicated,” Nico said, attempting to keep his temper under control. “There are things going on that required me to make sure she was safe before I could just get up and bring her to Montana. Not to mention council crap.”
“Council crap,” Reese huffed. “I’m assuming you're going to fill me in on this council crap?”
“I’ll be calling a meeting ASAP, once I connect a few more puzzle pieces.” Nico still needed to talk to Lyric and see what information she had for him.
“Alright, I’ll make arrangements,” Reese said, his voice brisk now. “When are you flying in?”
“Plan to leave within the hour. I’ll text you the details. I want this as low profile as possible. These girls have been through hell.” Nico’s voice had dropped lower as he considered the danger Akira had been in—was still in.
“There’s more than one?” Reese asked, his voice raising.
“The other two aren’t Kingdom of Fur,” he clarified. “Raphael and I are taking care of them.”
