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A gorgeous woman with long bleach-blonde hair and warm brown skin was behind Zoe. She wore tight jeans and a slim flannel shirt that made her look like an actual goddess. I’d never seen her around town. She had the same kind of ageless beauty but ancient eyes that Zoe had, and I instantly placed her as a witch. I was going to have to see if Jasmine had the same trait. I’d never stopped to think about it before.
The other person was a young male who was actively avoiding making eye contact. He was small and skinny for a shifter, and had a mop of brown hair that covered his eyes while he was looking down. It was difficult to tell, but I was guessing he was pretty young.
“You didn’t start without us, did you?” Zoe asked.
“Nope, just talking about the weather,” Luke said.
The other witch looked like she was holding back laughter as she took a seat on the antique looking rocking chair near the couch. I was sitting on a navy-blue wingback chair, leaving Luke on the couch. Zoe and the young male joined him, the three of them only fitting because Zoe took up so little space.
Now that I was in a room with all these strange people, nervousness twisted in my gut. Zoe hadn’t given much of an indication about what this was, but if it helped Jasmine, I’d play ball.
“So, I think we all know Morgan by now,” Zoe said.
“We knowofher,” the other witch corrected.
“True,” Zoe conceded. “Morgan, this is Scarlett, and this is Clayton.”
“The people in this room are the only ones I trust with this information,” Luke said.
“Is this your council?” Every shifter pack had a council to help advise the alpha. They took over if the alpha was away or incapacitated until the new alpha was ready. I’d never seen a council consisting of females or anyone under the age of fifty.
Zoe laughed. “Oh, hell no. They don’t let witches on shifter councils. Remember, I’m not pack.”
Clayton shifted uncomfortably in his space on the couch next to Zoe. He looked like a frightened bird, completely out of place in a pack of predators.
“The council is there for pack matters. This is something else,” Luke said.
“Alright, so off the record,” I said.
“She’s cute,” Scarlett said to nobody in particular. “I can see why you like her.”
I tried to ignore the comment. Even from my distance, I got the sense that she was powerful. There was a similar feel to her that I recognized from my time with Zoe. Until now, I hadn’t thought about it much. It made me realize how out of touch I’d been with magic before.
“So here’s the thing,” Zoe said. “We suspect that a powerful creature is trying to break down all our wards permanently and disrupt things here enough that the transition of power wouldn’t be possible. They want the resources we have and they need us to not be able to fight back.”
“Resources?”
“I told you she didn’t know,” Scarlett said.
“We’re sitting on the largest gold and silver deposits in North America,” Luke said. “We haven’t mined anything in decades, but it seems the word is out.”
“So that’s why you hid yourselves away?” My brow furrowed. “To keep the money for yourselves?” It didn’t seem worth it to cut yourself off so much.
“It’s more complicated. If they want to get to the rest, it’ll involve digging up most of our lands. We’d have to relocate,” Luke said.
“Okay.” I still wasn’t sure that was worth all the isolation, but I could understand protecting your home. “How do I play into this?”
“We think your dad is involved, but he was sent in as a decoy, a way to get me out, through you,” Luke said.
I nodded; this was something we’d already guessed.
“We are going to need to find out who is calling the shots. Whoever has the resources and abilities to control your dad and possibly others. We have to see how big this is before we can attack. If we take out your dad, but there’s six other packs involved, we don’t stand a chance. We need information,” he explained.
“I thought you didn’t want me around my dad,” I said. “Isn’t that the whole reason I’m stuck here? Besides, it’s not like he’d tell me anything anyway.”
“You know about the alpha transfer, right?” Luke asked.
“Alpha is passed down to the first-born son,” I said. “Or I guess they choose a successor if they’re unfortunate enough to have a daughter.”
