Page 57 of Deadly Alliances

And Shea was stuck right in the middle of it. What if Tobias said something to incriminate her? He could ruin this whole thing.

No, Tobias was smart. And he was one of the most stubborn shifters I’d ever met. He’d be tactful. I had to believe that. I just hoped he’d survive long enough for us to get him out.

“I need some air.” I pushed myself up and slid out of the tent, leaving Kai and Janette to continue studying the feeds.

I stood to my full height and stretched in the comforting heat of our enchanted little circle, taking one deep breath after another. This wasn’t me. Sitting on the sidelines, waiting for someoneelse to wave the green flag—especially when that someone was my mate and she was deep in the heart of a vampire fortress. I needed to take action.

But sitting and waiting was the best action I could take right now. After the failed attack by the shifter military, the vampires would be even more vigilant and guarded than before, and stepping even one foot outside of our protected camp was a recipe for disaster.

Dammit!

But Shea was okay. The vampires had bought her act, had accepted her into their folds. At least for now. She would be alright.Please let her be alright.

Snap, crunch, scuffle.

I shot my head in the direction of the noise in the woods toward the north, every one of my senses suddenly on high alert. Figures were moving through the trees several yards away. On instinct, I crouched behind the trunk of the tree that stood inside our circle, momentarily forgetting that the magical shield protected me from view.

But would it protect me from all forms of detection? Vampires had an extremely keen sense of smell. What if they sniffed out my breath?

A flash of sunlight winked at me through the leaves of the canopy. It was midday. The vampires wouldn’t be ballsy enough to venture into the woods during the day, would they? The tree branches and leaves offered a great deal of shade, but I highly doubted they’d risk it. Unless they had a reason.

The figures came closer, crunching over the brush and snapping twigs. Definitely not vampires. Their footsteps were far too loud and clumsy for that. Humans, maybe? Did Hadrian send out agroup of mortal scouts to scan the area?

“Peters, I swear if you don’t get your hand off my ass,” a male voice growled.

“Shh! You want every vampire in a hundred-mile radius to hear you?” a female voice hissed.

My curiosity piqued, I pressed closer against the tree, tapping into my gryphon sight to enhance my vision. Like turning the dial on a telescope, my eyes zoomed in on the motley crew, their features defined with clear precision.

There were four of them. A petite asian girl with familiar rainbow-colored hair was under the arm of a tall blonde male, who was limping. His leg was bleeding and probably broken. Under his other arm was a lithe russet-haired man, who definitely looked too svelt to be carrying another man’s weight. And bringing up the rear behind them was a burly man with dark brown hair, clutching his side with his hand.

They were all wearing the same slick black one-piece.

Holy shit, they’re shifter military!

And they were clearly hurt.

With a wary sweep of my eyes, I scanned the area for any other signs of movement, making sure it was safe. When I was sure the area was secure, I abandoned the safety of our magical hiding place, pushing past the invisible barrier and into the frigid winter air.

My steps crunched as I strode across the snow and thistle, making the foursome freeze in alarm, huddling tighter together as I came closer.

“It’s okay,” I called softly out to them. “I can help you.”

“Omigod, Caesar?”

I thought I recognized those pastel rainbow streaks. Sakura Tekashi, one of the most brilliant kitsune students I’d ever taught, was the girl helping to carry the limping man. She gave me a trembling smile of relief and gratitude.

But I didn’t recognize the others. Very few of the soldiers under Dracul’s reign had the opportunity to attend the Dome, either because their parents already had a military background, or they were human recruits converted by weres.

“Who?” the limping man asked.

“That’s Caesar Rex, director of the Dome,” she said as if she was insulted by his ignorance of my identity.

“Formerdirector,” the burly one muttered.

Sakura and I both frowned at him.

“That doesn’t matter,” I said. “What does matter is that you need help, and we can’t stay out in the open like this any longer. Follow me.”

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