“I thought you were full,” Caz shouted.
“Don’t be silly, Caz. Chocolate ice cream is desert and I haven’t had mine yet.”
She could hear them both laughing as she walked past them. “Ahh, hello, Raven. Come sit and tell me what you have found out so far.”
Raven smiled and sat across from Calum. Of course, Leo was already fixing another plate of food. “Have you ever heard of eagle shifters?”
It was like a light bulb moment with Calum. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it, but why would my uncle not tell us. He has to know if he is in business with him.”
“Probably because Wyatt doesn’t want to be known. But why?” Raven asked, staring up at him. By this time, Caz and Riley had sat with them. Caz set a big bowl of ice cream in front of her.
“Thank you.”
“A long time ago, there were all sorts of shifters and Fae. But the world wasn’t ready for them and a war broke out between shifters, Fae, and human hunters. There were eagle shifters and they were magnificent creatures. When I say large, I mean like dragons. It was hard for them not to be seen in the open.
“The king of the eagles was killed, and they just disappeared. But the Fae made a deal with the human hunters that the Fae would be left alone if they helped to destroy the eagles. The eagles could swoop down and get you before you even knew it. Very keen hunters. Of course, the Fae wanted this world all to themselves, but the humans double crossed them as well. It was then that the Fae left to their own world that no shifter has ever seen.”
“Why would the Fae do that? We are all different and they should have marveled at it,” Leo asked.
“It took a long time, Leo, before shifters and vampires could come together and work with each other. Each shifter race wanted to be dominant, the one to rule the earth. The Fae wanted to control the shifters and make them servants. Someone they could control. But the shifters and vampires wouldn’t be controlled. Finally, after years and years of fighting, the leaders came together and formed an alliance.
“So far it has been working. Nobody wanted to alert the humans again that we existed. That’s why we all go to such lengths to work together and mingle with the humans. We are right under their noses and that’s how we want to keep it. But we just thought the eagles died out. When nobody reported that they had been seen, we figured the humans had killed them all.”
Calum took a drink of his wine. “I should have suspected something, but it never crossed my mind. But it makes sense. Even now, they are cautious and don’t want to let even other shifters know they exist. They have taken great pains to stay hidden, and with Wyatt’s money, they could live anywhere. Especially in places with hardly any population.”
“Then why move to a shifter community where the Death Hunters live?” Caz asked.
Tapping the side of his nose, Calum said, “That’s the million-dollar question that we have to find out.”
“It has to have something to do with all the disappearances and the shifters and vampires that have been taken,” Raven suggested. “Boris has to know something, Calum. This can’t be a coincidence.”
“I believe you are right, Raven, but I think there is more to this. Something we are still missing,” Calum said.
“Maybe they are trying to fit back into our society,” Riley said.
“Maybe.” Calum propped his head up with his hand. “I’m sure we could sit here all night and try to come up with a reason. We need to continue to watch them and solve the mystery of who has been kidnapping shifters and vampires.”
They all turned to stare at Leo who was now pilling more food on his plate. “How on earth do you eat so much? I’m not lying when I say he ate four bowls of stew at Arden and Quinn’s house. Now you are on your third plate.” Raven shook her head and looked away.
“I’m a growing boy and I need to eat to keep my strength up.”
“I guess it takes a lot to hold that fat head up,” Raven said, smiling.
Her brother never even looked up, just paused between bites. “From one fat head to another, yes, it does.”
Riley, Calum, and Caz laughed together.
Raven lay in bed and thought about Caz. They worked well together as long as nobody looked at her. And if she was being honest with herself, she didn’t like when other girls looked at Caz. Which was often. Because Caz Milton was gorgeous.
And he could kiss, and he made her feel good about herself. She had never met anyone so attentive to her needs. Just like the bowl of soup, the ice cream, and always touching her. It all felt good to be loved.
Covering her mouth, she thought, did she love Caz? Could she love him so soon? Raven got out of bed and went in search of the one person who probably would spit in her face. At night, her alphas liked to run together and then sit on the swing.
Creaking the door open to the pack house, she looked toward the alpha’s home, but Jade was the only one there. Taking a deep breath, she walked outside and carefully approached her alpha’s mate. “I thought Lennox would be out here with you.”
“He’s running. I decided to stay here. Do you want me to tell him you’re looking for him?” Jade asked.
“It was you I wanted to talk to if you had a moment.” The look of shock was kinda funny on Jade’s face. It was as if she was trying to figure out if this was a prank or if she was telling the truth. “This isn’t a joke. I just wanted to ask you some questions.”
Closing her mouth, Jade narrowed her eyes at her. “Questions? What kind of questions?”
“I was wondering did you fight how you felt about Lennox when he told you he was your mate. Did he do things for you all the time? Simple stuff like bring you food and ice cream without you asking him to. Did he touch you all the time and stare at you—”
“First, let me stop you there and start at the beginning. Yes, I fought it tooth and nail. I mean it was Lennox Bartley, the Alpha of the Death Hunters. What did he want with me? I was nobody and I sure wasn’t a hunter. I wasn’t much of anything.”
Raven sat beside Jade. “Come on, you run a multi-million-dollar company and you have magic in you that could probably destroy the world or at least this state. You’re a shifter too. Double trouble.”
“Then why do you look at me like I’m weak and not a fit for Lennox?”
Raven bowed her head. “Just being a totally bad person. A bitch, I guess you could say. I’m sorry. I have no excuse. I just didn’t at the time think you were strong enough to be with the alpha. It shouldn’t matter but it does to shifters. If we were human, then it wouldn’t even be an issue. I’m sorry, Jade. I have always looked up to the alpha as a father figure and I wanted someone who would make him happy. Someone who could help him lead. And, yes, you have done that. It’s just me being me.”
Jade nodded and then answered, “Yes, I fought the mating at first. Like you, I thought I wasn’t good enough for him, but then I figured out…well, that I am, and I could be so much more. I just had to believe in myself because Lennox believed in me.
“Yes, he did everything for me. If someone looked at me wrong, he wanted to pop their head off. He brought me food, snacks, and tried to do everything for me. I’m telling you, if I told him I was tired of walking the man would have carried me. He touched me all the time and still does. But, of course, I want to touch him too. The mating frenzy will start for you soon enough and it changes all of us. Just keep getting to know each other and it will get better and then you will wonder how you ever made it without him,” Jade said, smiling. She stared out into the trees.