"Can anyone do this?" I asked.
Rey shook his head. "Only those with magic in their blood. Witches do it best, of course, but if there's nothing blocking the wolves from being found, I should be able to do it."
Carissa screwed up her lips. "I can't do it," she said in a low voice.
Hmm. Bran had said he thought Reynard must've had some trickster blood. Maybe he was on to something.
The necklace fell with magical speed and accuracy on a spot on the map. It looked to be in the middle of some woods, which made sense.
Reynard and Carissa studied the map, then Rey looked at me and said, "Ready?"
I nodded and felt a thrill rush through me. Whatever was ahead, I knew it would be an adventure. I smiled. The paranormal world was definitely going to be anything but boring.
We got in the car, and I drove as fast as I could. Once we managed to get out of the clogged downtown area, Reynard and Carissa took turns reading directions off the map, and soon we were winding down a narrow road that led deep into the woods. After a few minutes, we got out.
Carissa stretched her hands above her head in a fluid movement, then bent forward, arms still outstretched. Her body blurred, and a dark-furred mountain lion stood next to us. She paced forward and Reynard took my hand and pulled me through the woods behind her.
Branches smacked me in the face and clouds of insects whirled around us. The ground was rough, with no trail, and while Rey and Carissa moved smoothly, I kept tripping over roots and getting caught in brambles.
We started up a hillside and I quickly grew winded but pushed myself to keep up with them.
If I was going to hang out with shifters, I was going to have to do less yoga and more cardio. Also, find out how they dodged plants and kept them from being bothered by bugs. Was there magical bug spray? Because if so, I was all over it.
We stopped in a clearing, where two women were tied up and glowering. Whoever had done it had gone the full nine yards- their knees were roped together as well as their elbows. Not quite hog-tied, but definitely not carelessly bound.
Carissa’s human shape blurred into view between one step and the next, a knife ready in her hand. Reynard bent down and steadied them as Carissa cut. One of them was having difficulty moving, while the other tried to cooperate with the ropes being cut.
I pulled the gags out as Rey and Carissa worked, then stood back.
"It's a good thing you found this out so fast," Rey said to Carissa.
"I know," she said, helping the steadier woman to her feet. "We need to find their mates. And find out why she’s having trouble moving."
The standing woman rubbed her face and growled low in her throat. "They blew some powder on us so we couldn't shift," she said in a hoarse voice.
Reynard froze. There was definitely something there, and I made a mental note to ask him about it later. "Who jumped you?"
"Thomas and Carrigan," the second woman said, her words blurry and thick. "They're pissed about the border dispute. And have some weird notion about mating, even though we’re both already mated."
The first woman held out her hand. "If you've got your phone, I'll call Steve."
"Her mate," Carissa whispered helpfully.
While the woman phoned her Steve, Reynard paced back and forth. "The powder that keeps us from shifting is an alchemist's product."
"So are the bad wolves aligning with the alchemists?" I asked.
The woman passed the phone to the still-seated female shifter.
"No," Carissa said sharply. "Never."
"Though it appears Thomas and Carrigan are." Reynard growled and this time it sounded far more animalistic, not just a human playing at a growl. It had a harsh undertone that made the hairs on my nape stand up straight.
Crunching noises announced the men running toward us. Two of the group of five ran to the women who had been captive. My heart swelled to see the love and devotion between them. The men were crying as much as the women, and from what little I'd seen, seeinganyshifter cry was kind of a big deal.
The men helped the women up, and one of the other three turned to Rey.
“Have they been found?” he asked.
