Page 116 of Shifters Unifying
“He had to go on a… mission, Mom. I can’t tell you anything more.” A figure passed by the window, blocking the light from the window that had done little to warm the chill in my bones. Logan could be strolling into a trap with some of our best people in tow, and I’d been made to rest.
Fat chance.Not with people I loved out there.
“Have you eaten?”
“Yeah.” I hadn’t, but the thought of food turned my stomach.
Dr. Wise knocked on the open door, carrying her attaché case. She pushed her glasses up her nose. “Am I interrupting?”
“No, not at all. Please, come in,” I said.
“I’m headed into Willow Creek to meet with Sheila, and I thought I might take Sophia for lunch at Vixen’s. I missed our last support group meeting.”
“Is it lunch time already?” I groaned. How long had I been seated in Logan’s chair, worrying for him? I should probably try to force some protein down my throat.
“It will be by the time we make it to Willow Creek and run a few errands,” Dr. Wise offered.
“Could Emma come along?” Mom ventured. “She could use some food, and I know how much she enjoys Phillies.”
But I shook my head. “No, I need to stay here, keep an eye on things.”
Mom pressed her lips into a tight line, and I could tell she was deciding which of us would be willing to give her the information she wanted. Finally, she said, “I think I’d like that.”
“Is Logan around?” Dr. Wise asked. “I need to check in with him.”
“No, he went on a mission,” Mom answered for me.
Another shadow, roughly the same size and shape of the first, crossed in front of the window again, and I put a finger to my lips to shush the other two women. I eased toward the glass. Who would be sneaking around the exterior of the house?
Salali stood on the other side of the study window, her head pressed against the manor well. My jaw slacked, and my stomach twisted as a suspicion formed. Why was she eavesdropping on our conversation?Fuck.
I should have warded the study against sound. Hell, maybe I should have warded the whole damn compound. Why hadn’t I thought of that before?
“Stay here,” I commanded and dashed out of the office.
When I reached the front porch, I stopped to listen. Footsteps hurried away, toward the back of the property. Shifting into a rat, I leapt off the porch and scurried after the retreating Salali. What was she up to?
Each time she stopped, I did, too, hiding behind buildings, trash, and fallen branches, my nose and tail twitching, my pulse pounding in my ears. She walked along the tree line at the rear of the manicured portion of the property near where Theo had been cremated, as though searching the ground for something she’d lost, and then she spun and strolled nonchalantly into the forest.
Once the flora had thickened enough to disguise her movement, she changed to her squirrel form and increased herspeed, and I raced after her, hoping my rat paws would move quickly enough to keep up. Anything bigger than a rat, and I might garner her attention, change her plans.
And Ihadto know why she was sneaking around and what she was doing.
We continued until we reached the far side of Six-Mile territory, adjacent to No Man’s Land. By then, the sun was nearly straight overheard, and Salali hopped up onto a large, rotting tree stump and shook her bushy tail as she studied the skies.
I tucked myself into a shallow depression in the dirt, probably dug out by a hungry animal, searching under the edge of a large rock. Salali had to be meeting someone out here, someone she didn’t want anyone else to see her meeting.
A shadow slipped over the ground, and I looked up as a raven settled on a low-hanging branch and cawed three times. After Salali chittered back, three distinct times, the bird hopped down to the stump beside her and shifted into its human form—a young woman with a shaved head and rune tattoos skin over most of her body.
The stranger jumped off the stump and whirled to face the leader of East Nuttal. “Update?” she demanded, peering around the forest in the jerky way birds did. “Any news?”
Salali grinned, and her eyes sparkled with delight. “The wolf took the bait, and he’s already gone… just as Acheron promised. Six-Mile is ripe for my taking. East Nuttal will become the top clan.”
The stranger glared. “You must wait until Acheron collects more shifters and sends additional warriors to support you in your overthrow attempt.”
Salali’s gaze narrowed. “Well, tell our master that I’m growing impatient. Fawning over the multimorph is getting old.”
I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep from gasping.Fawning over…
