11
LYNX
“Where are we with the handover?”I ask, knowing full well that’s not why they called this meeting, but we’ll get to that later.
Mal taps his fingers on the table. “Tyler’s ready to go. Just waiting to arrange a time and place.”
“Make it soon. I don’t need them here if we have a surprise visit from any hunters.” They like to do spot checks to make sure we’re sticking to the rules. I don’t want to have to explain how we’ve suddenly acquired two new shifters.
Jet straightens. “We’re keeping Nico.”
It’s not a question.
It’s also not his decision to make.
But I’ve already discussed this with Corey. “We are. For now.”
There are a few raised eyebrows around the table.
“Before you all get pissy, I’m following Corey’s advice.” I glance at Jet. I know he’s been spending time with Nico, but I’m reluctant to put him on the spot and ask him. He’s not exactly the sharing type. Especially with an audience. “Corey thinks Nico was human when they took him for the fight ring.”
“Fuck.” Mal slumps in his seat. “So they’re snatching humans now? And what? Changing them just so they can fight?”
“Maybe. I don’t know until we talk to him.”
Growls rumble around the table. I don’t blame them.
“Have they run out of shifters to kidnap?” Callum hisses, hands curling into fists. “Man, I wish we knew who these fuckers are.”
A chorus of agreements follow.
We’re working on it, have been ever since we heard that shifter fight rings existed, but information is scarce if you’re not involved. Big money changes hands at these events, and those in charge go to great lengths,any lengths, to protect them.
“We could try the hunters again,” Mal offers. “Maybe if we let them see Nico—” Jet snarls at him from across the table and Mal immediately raises his hands. “It was just a thought. They weren’t interested before, but if we have proof that humans are being used...” He shrugs. “That’s all I’m saying.”
“He has a point,” I add, ignoring the glare Jet sends my way. “But if we do that, there’s a risk of someone finding out how he came to be here. Since we don’t know who runs the fight rings, we don’t know who they’re connected to.”
Mal huffs. “Hunters are all about the fucking rules. No way they’re involved.”
“I’m not saying they are, but it just takes one of them saying something to someone they know...” I glance around the table, noting the frustration and anger pouring off every single one of us. “We don’t get enough people out as it is,” I say softly. “Telling the hunters about Nico is a risk I’m not sure we can afford to take.”
Silence.
“We can’t trust them,” Jet says after a beat. His eyes meet mine, forest-green and so full of emotion I’m stunned.
Rarely does he let anything show, but hunters will always be a raw wound for him. “We don’t,” I assure him. “But they’ve come a long way from how it used to be.”
“Have they?” His lip curls back, revealing teeth that sharpen as we all watch. He sits forward, one hand rubbing over the centre of his chest, and I wonder if he even realises he’s doing it. We all know what’s under there, he doesn’t hide the scars when he shifts, but in all the years I’ve known him, he’s only spoken once about how he got them. And no one here would ever bring it up again.
It’s a deep wound that will never fully heal, but thingshavechanged.
“You know they have,” I remind him, soft but firm. “The hunter groups aren’t like they used to be. There are rules for them as well as us.”
“And who enforces that?” His eyes flash, claws sliding out to join his fangs, and I’m suddenly regretting not having this meeting outside. “Who punishes them when they step out of line?”
I don’t have time to get into all this again. Not now. Not when we still have other shit to sort out. “We won’t tell the hunters about Nico, but we might need to explain his presence, if and when they pay us a visit.”
“Can’t we tell them a version of the truth?” Callum says. “He’s injured, right? Corey said something about his leg being permanently damaged.” I nod for him to carry on. “Shifters get thrown out of packs for less. We can say he was an outcast and we took him in.”
