Page 60 of Shifter Situations

He resisted slightly, shaking his head. “We’re in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, Barbie. We’re naked. Are you sure you want to walk that way?”

“We’re in North Fork, Briggs. We’re the biggest predators out here.”

I tilted my head, closing my eyes to focus on whatever confrontation was happening. I didn’t need to see them to know that I’d heard the male voice before. It was one of the shifters that had questioned us about Novak.

I slid into Briggs’ mind, “Can you hear what they’re saying?”

“Yeah. I recognize both of the voices. The female is Katie.”

No sooner than his confession entered my mind, the woman snarled. “What do you mean by lost him?”

The man whimpered as he said, “We got him to the warehouse, and when we were carrying him inside, he woke up and attacked us.”

“So he’s still loose or you’ve caught him?” She sighed, speaking slowly. “Please tell me that you know where he is now?”

“We’re looking, but we’ve lost his trail. He hasn’t been located yet.”

“This is a fucking joke,” she growled. “That’s the second time that he’s escaped before he’s been brought in. Find him. And if you can’t catch him, then kill him.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

We heard retreating footsteps before she continued. “And for Devil’s sake, remember that he’s a fucking bear. He needs at least three times the dosage of a wolf.”

We faced each other, listening to car doors close and engines start up. I kept a careful eye on the road as we processed what we’d heard.

I had to fight with myself to move away from them, muttering, “We should follow them.”

“No, Barbie. We should go to Charlie and get the guys. We can hunt her down. It won’t be difficult to find out where she lives.”

I sighed, knowing he was right. I couldn’t do everything on my own, and I wasn’t willing to risk Briggs’ safety.

Mine was questionable; his was not.

He snorted. “It’s not just a matter of safety for either of us. It’s something that regular members of the pack are supposed to consult the Alpha about, if we can, and in this situation… We can. Not everyone is the Supreme Alpha’s daughter.”

“I didn’t pick my parents, and I know the rules,” I sassed.

“I choose to ignore them. I’d rather ask for forgiveness than permission in some scenarios. But I get it. We need to let Dad know. This is something that he’ll want to know about as soon as possible.”

“Is Sloane King going to follow a rule? That’s what it sounded like you said, but maybe my ears suddenly stopped working.”

“No. I’m just really worried that you’re going to be swept away and locked up in an ivory tower. You have that whole damsel in distress look going for you.”

He snorted, opening his mouth to reply to my smartass comment, and I grabbed his hand, pulling us through the Void. The chill washed over us as I pushed, bringing us into the cabin.

As soon as we stepped into the living room, Briggs remarked, “I am not some princess that needs saving.”

“That would be me.” Vaughn chuckled from behind us. “Prince looking for his dark knight. Dark knightess? Is that a thing?”

Novak tilted his head, squinting his eyes at me. “What the fuck happened to you?”

Glancing down, I studied the yellowish spots on my skin from the healing bruises. I shrugged, snapping my fingers as I called clothes to my hand for Briggs and myself.

“I got in a fight with a tree.”

Stone snorted. “You have bruises from your cheek to your knees.”

“It was a big tree.”