They straightened, glancing at each other.
“Well, we’re going to need patrols,” Hunter said hesitantly. “I mean, right?”
Lee added, “We’re going to need to stop this thing if it crosses back over. We can’t let it take anyone else.”
I nodded. “But the town perimeter only and stay together. No solo runs. Nothing that even looks like heroics.”
Hunter exchanged another look with his brother. “Works for us.”
“Daniel?” I asked, turning to him. “I’m guessing you don’t know a way to put a group of us into a liminal state between life and death?”
He winced. “Not without killing you. I could probably slow the spread of a poison or something,” he added doubtfully. “But I wouldn’t actually be able to heal it. Spells like that might exist, but I don’t know them. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I told him. “Do you mind going with Lee and Hunter? You can magically set a perimeter and they can patrol it. At the very least, we’ll have a warning if it crosses into town. It probably won’t, but we don’t know that.”
Daniel nodded. The twins looked less than pleased.
“I’ll join them,” Lacey announced, her gaze flicking to Daniel, then meeting mine as if daring me to contradict her. “Someone has to keep an eye on the wonder twins.”
“Good,” I said firmly. “More backup is better.”
I turned to Emma next. “Would you be willing to coordinate? I need someone calling to check in with Daniel and making sure everyone is safe. This thing can lure its victims, and if anything feels off, I want to know.”
“I can do that,” she said, eyeing me with confusion.
“What willyoube doing?” Lindsey asked. There was a small, approving smile on her lips.
“I’ll be searching the woods,” I said. “In case the journals are wrong and this thingdoesn’tfeed in the Otherworld. At the veryleast, I’ll look for traces of magic or, barring that, Sally’s scent. I can at least figure out where she crossed over and possibly where this thing enters our world most often.”
Lindsey nodded. “I’ll come with you.”
Oliver cleared his throat. “As will I.”
Surprise flashed through me when I met his gaze. He hadn’t gotten along well with Jeremy and he hadn’t minded pushing back—an aspect of his personality I hadn’t seen since I’d taken over. He hardly spoke up in meetings and he rarely volunteered for anything.
“I like Sally, too,” Oliver said firmly. “We all do. If you really want our input, this is mine. I’m going to help you find her.”
I nodded at him. The approval and trust I saw reflected in his eyes made me want to be worthy of it—of having the loyalty of my pack.
With everyone’s roles settled, I exhaled, tension bleeding from my shoulders in a slow release. The plan wasn’t perfect, but it was something.
Harris squeezed my hand gently. When I finally glanced over at him, his expression stopped me short. There was a quiet and unmistakable respect in his eyes.
“We need to wait for nightfall. Get some rest where you can,” I finished, turning back to the pack. “We all know our roles. We move carefully and we don’t lose anyone else.”
As the pack began to disperse, talking quietly among themselves, I stayed where I was for a moment longer, letting the feeling sink in. For the first time since becoming alpha, I didn’t feel like I was facing all of this alone. I had others ready to back me up.
I had a pack to rely upon.
* * *
The forest gave us nothing. That night, we searched until the sky bruised purple and then bled into gold, the moon fading from view as the sun crept over the horizon.
Sally’s scent vanished deep in the woods, ending at the large clearing in the forest where Harris and I had been attacked. There was a glimmer of magic there as well, but it was already too faded to make out clearly. There was nothing else.
Sally really was gone and there was nothing any of us could do to reach her. The Algea was feeding on her suffering, her despair.
I sent the pack home at sunrise, when we were forced to shift back into human form.
