Page 158 of Shifter Situations

I held my breath as the line began to ring.

Murphy tugged us into a boutique, scanning the corners for cameras as he smarted, “If my name is still Fred, I’ll leave ya here.”

“Shut it,” I hissed as the call connected.

“Palmer?”

“Hel—” Briggs started before registering the panic in my voice. “Millie? Is everything okay?”

“No.” I fought to not scream at him.

My twin snatched the phone from me. “What the fuck is Palmer doing? Some butch assassin-looking guy found Mills and me. He wanted to know where Palmer is.”

“He, uhm. He asked Sloane to burn some sort of tracker off his skin,” Briggs replied. “He can hear you.”

“Ma’s on a work trip in Russia, Palmer, so either we’re coming to you or you’re coming to us. This is about the angel, isn’t it?” I murmured into the speaker.

Murphy ushered me through the store and down a narrow hall to the back door of the building.

“Tell her we’ll be there before nightfall,” a woman whispered in the background. “We need to wait until you've heard a little more before we travel.”

“Who is that?” Murph asked, and I shrugged. How the fuck was I supposed to know?

“Your brother’s mate,” Briggs admitted. I could hear the smile on his face as he also confessed, “Our mate, but stop asking questions, Murphy. We can explain later.”

“Millie,” Palmer said, coughing before he continued. “Ya need to get to the guild. We’ll be comin’ through the Void.”

I heard a sigh before the woman said, “Tell them that Sloane King is coming and you have a meeting with her.”

“That’s it?” Murphy asked in annoyance. “Ye want us to just sit and wait for some woman to maybe show up?”

“No, arsehole,” Palmer bit out, his voice sounding stronger.

Her light laughter echoed around us so clearly that I wondered if it was from my phone’s speaker or in my head. Murphy’s eyes widened as he scratched at his jaw.

He’d heard it too.

The call ended abruptly, and I stared at my screen in a state of shock. That couldn’t be it. What if that male followed us to the guild?

I felt a tap in my mind, and Murphy jumped, knocking a stack of boxes over. We rushed out the back door of the boutique as a raspy voice filled our thoughts. I could almost make out the features of her face as she spoke.

“I want you to wait for me in my mother’s office, Murphy. Sneak past the reception area; go straight to the door with Amelia King’s name on it. There’s a book in there that I think you’ll find interesting, Miller. It’s out of place, though. Could you put it back where it goes for me?”

Her presence disappeared with a flash of pink light, and I wasted no more time. If Palmer trusted her, then that was enough for me. He had never led us astray.

I hooked my arm around Murphy’s elbow. As he opened the door, I pulled us into the Void. We stepped out inside the front waiting area, and the elder mage at the desk didn’t look up as she handed us a clipboard.

“We have a meeting with Sloane King. She said to let you know that she’s on her way.”

“Of course, she did. Please fill out the forms, and I’ll direct you to the department you need to talk to.”

My twin opened his mouth to dispute her, but I interrupted him. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“What are we doing, Millie?”

“Getting inside. Give me a minute.”

I used the clipboard to cover my hand, focusing on the screws in the desk chair. I twirled my index finger counterclockwise, straining my ears to hear the hardware hit the ground.