Page 3 of Tempest

Cash:Has their location changed?

Fern:No. For some reason they haven’t moved at all.

Cash frowned and tucked his phone away. That seemed… odd. There was no way whoever it was hadn’t felt it when they’d gone through the warding, so why hadn’t they left if they weren’t going to keep moving toward town?

He didn’t have to use the map on his phone to lead him to the spot, knowing their territory like the back of his hand. Several times a week, he ran the whole perimeter, and each night, he went through a section of woods that surrounded them on three sides. Whatever sections he didn’t take, the betas split up and covered.

He used to only check the perimeter the couple of times a month to make sure nothing had disturbed the warding, calling Fern or Jorge to come and fix it if need be. But since last year,they’d tightened their security in reaction to the upheaval in the parahuman world.

His whole life, all parahumans in the country were ruled by the shifter Council, a group of retired alphas who made laws and heard disputes between packs. Once, when he was a cub, a Council member had visited his Pops for help with some persistent medical issue, but otherwise, they hadn’t seen or heard much from the Council as far as he knew.

But then the largest pack in the country asked for his alpha’s help, and a Council woman, strange witch, powerful Enforcer, a distractingly beautiful lioness, a human woman, and a child had landed in their territory. Cash hadn’t spent much time with any of them except Ericka, the lioness who stayed longer than the Enforcer and Council woman. She’d laughed in his face when he’d suggested they get dinner while she was there, and he’d liked her even more for it.

The strange visit by the group had only been the beginning of changes though. Not long after everyone had finally left, they’d gotten word that Rick Kincaid and his pack had taken down the Council and those aligned with them. It had shocked the entire parahuman community and caused massive confusion and chaos for months.

Many had said Kincaid had led the coup for selfish reasons, wanting even more power than he already had and to control shifters throughout the country. Cash’s own pack hadn’t been sure what to believe, but Liam had calmed them, reminding them of the rumors they’d been hearing for over a year about unprovoked attacks against anyone who dared to stand up against the Council, reports of hideous beasts made from magic and evil, and the truths that had been shared with him when Rick’s Enforcer had been in Silver Oak.

While tension had eased throughout the pack, Cash and the other Enforcers and betas were staying alert. The electedgovernmental body Kincaid was building from the ground up was taking far longer than anticipated, leaving the parahuman world without proper leadership.

And where there was a power void, there were unsavory people willing to fill it.

They’d been hearing new rumors the last few months. Shifters going missing. Roving groups of terrorizing small, unprotected packs. Alphas being overthrown and replaced by brutal outsiders.

It had been enough to have them stepping up their own security as a precaution. They were a small pack, but they weren’t weak or unprotected. Still, Liam wasn’t about to risk anyone’s safety, and Cash couldn’t agree with him more. Protecting the pack was his number one priority, and he took the job seriously.

He didn’t know what this shifter who’d crossed into their territory was doing, but he’d find them and send them on their way. Since they weren’t moving, the only thing he could figure was that maybe they were injured or were resting and thought that being on the edge of their territory would be a safe spot to stop.

Either way, the shifter couldn’t stay.

Trudging through the thick foliage of the woods kept the sun directly off his shoulders and neck, but the heat and humidity were ratcheting up as summer neared. It was going to be a hot summer, but he didn’t mind. He loved to lie in the sun as his panther, his black fur soaking in the warmth.

He also didn’t mind going for a swim in the lake with the pack cubs. As far as he was concerned, making sure the water was safe for them was part of his job too.

At least… that’s what he said whenever Liam teased him about it.

A light scent of avian shifter drifted toward him, and he paused just as a large twig broke beneath one of his black boots, the sharp snap ringing in the air around him. He ignored it since he hadn’t been bothering to hide his approach. This was his territory; he wasn’t skulking through the woods to find one little bird.

The scent was faint, but his nose pinpointed the direction, and he followed it, noting absently it was a nice scent. Almost floral in its sweetness, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what kind of flower. He followed it around trees and fallen branches, mulling over the different notes as he went. There was something… strange just beneath the floral fragrance.

He tracked the scent to the very edge of the territory, exactly where Fern had said they’d be. The scent of magic was thick here, burning his nose and almost covering the bird’s. Focusing, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, ignoring the magic and concentrating on the stranger.

They were hiding in the trees, way up above him.

He opened his eyes and peered up. Whoever they were… they smelled fucking delicious, riling his panther into alertness. It didn’t matter though. An alluring scent wouldn’t save them. It was his job to expel whoever it was, and he would do it.

He took his duty very seriously.

“You might as well come down,” he called. “I know you’re up there.”

He stared up into a big bushy maple, just able to make out the shape of a dark-colored bird perched near the top.

“You can either take off now or come down and tell me what it is you’re doing in our territory and then leave. Either way, you can’t stay.”

The bird cocked his head at him, wings twitching. Cash sighed, about to start removing his clothes to scale the tree,when the bird swooped down to land on the ground in front of him.

He was a golden eagle. Large, with dark brown feathers that lightened toward the ends and a couple of spots of white near the base of his tail feathers. Under Cash’s scrutiny, he ruffled his feathers and clicked his beak irritably.

Cash ignored the noise, narrowing his eyes and inhaling deeper. Now that the bird was right in front of him, he could tell what was off in his scent. It was… hot, like a burning fire. He also smelled strongly of fear and pain, even as he stared Cash down in his most primal form.

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