Page 70 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse
“That, I am.”
Red seemed to tremble with a mixture of awe sprinkled with jealousy, which surprised me. Did she want to lead a pack?
“It can’t be easy,” I said both for Yura and Red’s benefit.
“It is not, but sometimes, it’s very rewarding.”
I sensed wisdom in her but also the sense that whatever rewards she enjoyed didn’t come without pain.
“You should know,” she continued. “You’re a pack leader, Toni.”
“What? No.” I shook my head, chuckling ruefully.
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”
I blinked, considering. I didn’t know if I was a leader or not, but she was right about one thing. Wewerea pack. Rosalina, Eric, Damien, me, and maybe... Jake? Could someone belong to two packs? I had no idea.
A genuine smile stretched my lips. Yura returned it and nodded, pleased she’d made me realize something important.
I was about to thank her when Travis spoke.
“Do we start?” he said behind us.
We took our seats around the table, and after a beam of moonlight shone through the hole in the wall and illuminated the eyes of the wolf inlaid on the table, the Keeper spoke.
Yura began. “I want to let you know that the Supreme Pack Rule has been kept abreast of the latest developments, and we are following your situation with great interest. It seems to us that things are spiraling out of control, and we would like to ascertain if our assistance is needed in the matter.”
Everyone seemed to tense at that last bit. Even Red bristled. St. Louis wasourterritory. I liked Yura, but we didn’t need anyone’s help. We could take care of our own problems.Dammit!
Yura inclined her head, wearing an amused smile. I imagined she knew well what everyone thought about receiving help from the Supreme Pack Rule.
“Just like you allow their help withyourproblems,” Travis shot back.
Yura’s smile disappeared. She and her people practically lived in a different world, constantly fighting religious zealots that believed Skews were an abomination. It was a wonder things like that went on in the world, but the Maliseet—the first nation folk Yura belonged to—were still fighting for their rights. The border between Maine and Canada was a vast wilderness dotted with small cities occupied by Stales who wanted to live away from Skews and wished to eradicate them from their own territory. It was a constant war, one in which the government didn’t get involved, claiming they respected everyone’s rights and taking a side would be in violation of religious freedom.Such bullshit!
“Our situation is entirely different,” Yura said, her powerful gaze drilling into Travis’s.
He shrugged and pretended nonchalance, but I sensed his respect for her authority.
After a loaded pause, Yura made a sweeping gesture over the table. “You may begin.”
Like last time, Travis took the reins. “I understand we have a possible location for the witch responsible for our latest problems, is that correct?” He directed the question toward Jake.
“That is correct,” he answered, sitting straighter, his silver gaze going around the table.
“How did you come about this information?”
“Through very careful detective work,” Jake offered. “Toni can explain.”
I started by relating Rosalina’s kidnapping and ended with how we’d come up with a location.
Travis huffed. “And are we certain this is the correct place?”
“Yes, we are,” Jake said, surprising me. “I had someone do some reconnaissance earlier today. They didn’t get too close, but they noticed suspicious activity, and workers that looked like little more than automatons.”
“The hybrids,” I said.
Jake nodded. It seemed he had been busy before coming here. A burst of adrenaline coursed through my body as I realized we had the correct location. Was Mekare there? It seemed unlikely, but maybe we would get lucky. Maybe that was her base of operations. And if that was the case, and we played our cards right, we might be able to end things soon.
