‘Keep alpha safe.’
I considered his foresight for only a heartbeat. The reality was that as soon as they shifted into their human form, they’d be at risk. ‘No. I’ll run to the boat and be fine. You need to stay together.’
I waited until all four wolves took off. Then, I ran toward the dock.
‘Rage?’Noble spoke through our bond, and his voice sounded weary.‘I’m… I have some bad news.’
Morebad news?
‘What is it now?’I asked, racing through the wilderness of Mageville. My thoughts jumped ahead to the other task I’d asked Noble to do, and I tacked on an additional question.‘And did you get Kalama detained? I—’
‘That’s just it,’he replied.‘She’s gone.’
Shock punched me in the gut, and I stumbled on my run through the burnt remnants of Dark Row.‘What do you mean, she’s gone?’
I regained my footing and picked up my pace, full-on sprinting in my hurry to get back to the boat and Shifter Island.
‘Is the portal door open?’I asked.‘Can you get into High Mage Island?’
I wrestled with the barrage of thoughts: how was I supposed to go get Nai back, draft the invitations and send those out, not to mention the logistics of where to put everyone…?
No … everything else would wait for Nai. She would always be my top priority.
‘The door is closed, bro. There’s no handle or knob… and I can’t push it open. But it no longer shocks when I touch it.’
Mother effin’ Mage!
Did she somehow find a way around my words? I remembered my oath and snarled. She’d taken off the protection spell but didn’t open the damn door!
‘Send out as many guards as we can spare to look for Kalama,’I snapped.‘I want her—’
‘I’m already on it,’Noble said with a sigh.‘I’m sorry.’
Fuming, I nevertheless shot back the truth.‘It’s not your fault.’
It was mine. And Kalama’s.
I growled as I burst through the trees. Just south of the dock, I shifted into my human form with a bellow of frustration.
Justice ran toward me, slowing his pace as I strode forward, cursing with every step.
My blood boiled, and I met Justice’s worried gaze and snarled. “That witch!”
How could I have trusted her? I went over my oath, wondering how I’d screwed up with my wording. She shouldn’t have been able to leave without removing all the damn wards.
“What’s wrong?” Justice asked, matching my rapid stride, step for step.
I shook my head, grinding my teeth together to keep from vomiting vitriolic wrath onto my brothers. None of this was their fault.
My pulse roared in my ears; every beat of my heart was fuel for my fury. Fur bristled along my skin, and I struggled to hold on to my form. There was nothing my wolf could do right now anyway.
Sucking in one deep breath after another, I said nothing until we were both in the boat and away from shore.
“She’s gone,” I said, glaring at our island.
Justice cocked his head to the side, and his worried expression spoke volumes. “Kalama?”
I nodded, but even then, my thoughts went to Nai. She was gone, too.
