Page 96 of Shifters Unifying
I beamed at them, nodding. “Thank you for your help. You can sit now.”
They dropped to their bottoms on the granite row of seating.
It had grown so quiet that I could hear my heartbeat pulsing in my ears. I could even hear Logan’s stomach growling to my right, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten in hours either.
“Our time is running short, and I need each of you, every one of you. The only way we beat Acheron is together.”
A dozen shifters crossed their arms, but the rest nodded or smiled in my direction. Progress might be slow, but I was beginning to draw others to my cause. The rest would come later, I was certain of it.
At the rear of the gathering place, a bear burst into the conclave, tossing her head, snuffing, and flinging saliva all over her snout. She roared and lumbered to her hind legs, theslash of red unmistakable over her chest, pouring down her fur in rivulets. She transformed into a wild-haired brunette, her wound grew smaller, but crimson still streaked across her dark chest.
“There’s been an attack!” Her shout brought the assembled shifters to their feet. “On the far side of Bear Trees.”
A hundred wild sounds filled the gathering place, and a blast of magic rushed in as every alpha and shifter in attendance prepared for battle.
I cupped my hands around my mouth, inhaled, and yelled. “Who is it?”
“It’s Acheron,” she roared. “And he’s taken hostages.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
logan
The Gathering Place
Between Bear Trees & Red Tail Territories
He’s taken hostages. Dammit.
“An attack, an attack,” repeated through the shifters.
Emma gasped and released every ounce of energy she held. The four young shifters sagged as the flood of energy winked out, and rain drenched them once more. Lightning flashed, followed by the rumble of thunder. She darted to their sides, her mouth moving with words I couldn’t make out over the racket.
We’re not ready for the final battle!
Fuck this storm.Maybe it would help protect us from a massacre of our people.
A rush of shifter magic burst through the conclave. In front of us, each member, regardless of clan, jumped from the stone benches to their feet. In moments, the whole amphitheater stood, shouting and pushing toward the exit with a fury that hadbeen building for months. Torbin, Marcus, Salali, and all the rest joined in the cacophony.
All except the young shifters Emma had brought into Six-Mile before she’d taken time to visit Salali’s clan in East Nuttal. The four practically cowered in place. Emma had taken them under wing and put them through their paces, but now they cowered in place in their spot in the front row.
Torbin morphed to his bear form, roared, and lunged for the center aisle, tossing his head and knocking shifters aside as he barreled toward the exit. A flood of shifters charged after him.
Instead of following, Marcus bolted down the stairs toward us, his hair slicked to his head. He halted in front of Emma. “How can I assist, multimorph?”
White-hot fury poured through me, and I gritted my teeth, preparing to throw myself at him for another round of beating. “Don’t you know anything, asshole? Now is not the time for ingratiating yourself with the multimorph.”
Emma rounded on me, and her gaze narrowed. “Not now, Logan,” she snapped.He’s our ally.Then she turned back to Marcus. “First, we take care of the threat in Bear Trees and then you’re going to escort me to Wolf Moon Cave to hunt for something we need to find.”
Marcus paled, and his eyebrows hit his hairline. “I beg your pardon, multimorph. I was not aware of any travel plans. Care to elaborate?”
But Emma shook her head, already drawing on another flood of change energy. She waved to the still huddled four. “Shift and stay behind us. Izzie, you hop on Blaze’s back, so we don’t lose you in the underbrush.”
“Fuck,” Izzie muttered.
“I’m my bestie bunny’s faithful steed.” Blaze grinned and flipped her blue braid over her shoulder. “I’msohere for it.”
Without comment, Emma morphed into her bear form, flashes of color showing through her dark fur. Marcus turned into his large black panther form, and I turned to my wolf form. The three of us galloped up the steps and out of the gathering place with two young wolves and a bunny riding a horse following close behind. Jasper and Olivia joined us as we passed through the perimeter warding, and our paws thundered through the forest, covered only by the growing storm as we chased the wake of the shifters who had gone ahead.
