Page 55 of Shifting the Flame

He picked up her note again, the paper already worn from his repeated handling.

I care about you more than I can explain. Maybe that's why I'm doing this.

"That's not how this works," he said to the empty room, crushing the paper in his fist. "You don't protect me by leaving me."

The silence mocked him. From the windows, he could see his groundskeeper performing his daily tasks of caring for Asher'sproperty. Life continuing on as Asher's world had stopped turning.

His phone buzzed with another council group text about the hearing. Another reminder of the absurd accusation against his mate. His mate, who couldn't harm a fly unless it threatened someone she cared about.

Asher felt something shift inside him. The emptiness of the last twelve hours was weighing heavy on his heart and his body. At that moment, Asher realized with crystal clarity that life without Danica was unbearable—not just because of the loneliness, but because he was incomplete without her.

Fifteen minutes later, Asher stared at his phone as his thumbs hovered over the keyboard, mentally composing and discarding draft after draft. The formal email header "To: Danica Ulrich" mocked him with its cold professionalism. How the hell could he fit everything he needed to say to her into an email message?

He needed to tell her that he was coming for her. That he wouldn't let her sacrifice herself or her happiness for others. That they were stronger together than apart.

He typed furiously, then deleted whole paragraphs again and again. His dragon screamed at him now to hunt down his mate and to bring her back by his side—safe and protected.

"Fuck this," he muttered, rubbing his bearded jaw. "She deserves better than some half-assed email."

His town's expectations of him weighed heavily on his mind. If he left now to find Danica, the council would see it as dereliction of duty. The town needed leadership through Garron's death. Through the brewing conflict with the Delta pack.

But what good was a leader with half his soul missing? He was clearly weakened without his fated mate and probably not capable of leading alone anymore. He needed Danica by his side.

Asher started typing again, this time with absolute clarity:

Danica, I'm coming for you. This town can stand without me for a few days, but I can't stand another minute without you. You didn't do this. And I'm going to prove it.

His finger hovered over the send button when three sharp knocks snapped his attention to the door. Caleb appeared, slipping inside without waiting for permission. His blue eyes, sharp as glacial ice, immediately assessed Asher's disheveled state.

"You look like shit," Caleb remarked, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"Thanks for the update." Asher didn't bother hiding the phone. Caleb knew him too well. "Tell me you have something."

A grim smile tugged at Caleb's mouth. "Better than something." He pulled out his phone, his expression darkening. "I've been watching Joni since last night as you requested. Caught her meeting with some friends of ours."

Asher straightened, every muscle going taut. "The Delta wolves?"

"Bingo." Caleb passed over his phone. "Security camera outside the Bayou Inn. About thirty miles south of town."

Asher took the device, his pulse quickening. The grainy footage showed Joni—unmistakable with her flame-red hair—surrounded by four men whose postures screamed predator. Even in the low-quality video, Asher recognized the wolf shifters' eyes from the attack on Danica.

The sound was patchy, but clear enough:

"—planted the poison perfectly. She'll either never come back, or she'll be convicted," Joni's voice said, smug and self-satisfied. "Either way, she's gone for good."

One of the men leaned forward. "As long as she's alive, Asher won't fully commit to a new mate."

"I've handled that," Joni replied. "By tomorrow night?—"

The audio cut out momentarily, then returned as one of the men nodded. "—Delta pack will be grateful. An Alpha with a human mate weakens all shifters. Sets a dangerous precedent."

The video ended, and Asher realized he'd cracked the screen protector of Caleb's phone with his grip.

"Sorry," he muttered, handing it back.

"Don't worry about it." Caleb's eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. "What are we going to do?"

A slow, predatory smile spread across Asher's face, his dragon rising closer to the surface. Heat flooded his veins, the urge to shift and tear through the sky nearly overwhelming now. For the first time since Danica left, he felt alive again—purpose burning through the fog of grief.

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