AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Steele ran his hand through his hair. “We need more time to unite the clans, but we don’t have it. Killian is going to push for war while we are disorganized. His attacks on our home territories prove that.”
“The reapers have attacked you here?” Raine asked.
Steele nodded. “While not as overt as the attack on the wolf caves, the bears have had similar incursions. The reapers are testing our defenses. They want your cartographer. Maddock has moved Darren to the sanctuary. It’s the only place they can’t enter.”
Raine’s eyes narrowed on Steele. “Killian is your brother. I know how hard it is to accept when a clan member turns reaper. I can’t imagine what it’s like with a member of your family.”
Colton growled at Raine. “He has told you the truth. You would know if he lied.”
Steele held up his hand. “Raine has every right to question me. As a future alpha, it is his obligation to protect his clan. Killian is no longer the brother I knew and loved. Reid died with his mate. I want him dead more than anyone. While I protected my human family, I could not protect my shadow son.”
Dannika leaned forward. “You took a mate?”
Steele scratched his chest as if he could remove the pain of losing his child. “A hundred years after my human wife passed, my cougar urged me to take a mate. I entered the human world, and I met Renee.”
“What happened?” Dannika asked.
“Killian came looking for me. My son was only six months old and hadn’t weaned from the breast. I never had to leave my mate, because Killian fed on her, then my son. I still have nightmares about his tiny, bloody body.”
Dannika placed her hand over her mouth, but her eyes welled with tears. “That’s horrible. I’m so sorry.”
Raine scratched his head. “We are losing too many. Killian continues to gain power. I’d like to know how he’s doing it.”
“As would I,” Steele said.
Raine glanced at Colton. “Why weren’t you at the trials Maddock forced on Dannika?”
Colton put his hand on Steele’s shoulder. “I disagreed with my clan leader a few years ago. I disobeyed a direct order and received a temporary banishment. The penalty was justified.”
Dannika frowned. “What is a temporary banishment?”
Colton’s face remained like stone. “I had to leave the clan for a designated time. It’s difficult for both the shadow warrior and our animal.”
Dannika’s jaw dropped. “You kicked him out of the clan?”
Steele leaned back in his chair. “It was necessary.”
“How long was he on his own?”
“Two years,” Steele said.
Dannika’s eyes turned black. “How could you do that to your son? Wait, because Colton isn’t your son, is he?” She glanced at the cougar. “What happened?”
CHAPTER15
Raine turned to Dannika. “Like me, Colton transitioned.”
Colton patted Steele’s shoulder before he walked around his chair and faced Dannika. “Like you and Raine, a reaper bit me. They attacked my family when I was fourteen. My father was at work, but my mother and baby sister died. Steele saved me. Gave me his blood. He took me in as his adoptive son and later, when my alpha emerged, he began training me to be his successor.” He glanced at Steele. “I’m sorry I doubted you. I should’ve known better. You always put the welfare of this clan first.”
Steele waved his hand dismissively. “I should’ve told you about my descendants. I planned to before you took over the clan.” He glanced at Raine. “I never considered that the Panthers’ re-emergence was the first sign of a change in our evolutionary cycle. Honestly, I never considered that as a possibility, even when Dannika emerged. If I had, I would have told you.”
Raine nodded. “We have to be honest moving forward. Any reaper movements, changes in shadow behavior, or abilities need to be discussed. There is more going on, and Dannika is only part of it.”
“I agree. I will talk to Ryder and smooth things over with the bear clan. Perhaps we can come up with something that will appease Maddock and keep the clans aligned.”
Dannika turned to Colton. “Raine said that reapers rarely feed on the young. Were you large for your age?”
“No. It’s rare for reapers to bother with young teens or children. They provide little nourishment. They also avoid attacking women during the childbearing years as they operate with the humans as cattle mentality.
