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Ava swung around and stepped closer to me, ignoring the growl of warning I gave. Finn was usually the one to lose control of his wolf during times of stress. But that didn’t mean Ineverlost my cool. And I was afraid I might accidentally hurt her.
Our dauntless little Beacon apparently had no such fear.
She reached out to grab each of my hands and squeezed. “Calm down, Shea. Anger isn’t what’s going to save Finn and our girls. Weneedthat brilliant strategic mind of yours. So snap your ass out of this right now!”
I wanted to snarl and rampage around the room, but her touch helped soothe me enough that her words broke through the haze. Ava was right. Finn, Rory, and Sorsha needed me. Not to mention the guardians and Spellbinders we’d sent with Alexander. Besides. I was one who always cautioned against jumping to conclusions. Kayleigh and Maddox had onlysuspectedthat Alexander was the mastermind plotting against them—and presumably, Kayleigh’s grandmother in Boston. That didn’t mean he actuallywas.
But I had every intention of getting my brother and niecesawayfrom him until we knew for sure.
I took several slow, calming breaths and shoved my inner wolf beneath the surface. He snapped and snarled inside my mind but finally complied once I promised him plenty of enemies to chew on later.
Finally I regained enough control to order, “Gather everyone and get back to the vehicles. We’ll work out a plan on the way to wherever they’ve tracked the girls.”
Assuming that wasn’t just one big subterfuge.
Connor nodded in my direction but addressed Ava, “You gave Alexander those game tokens. Do you by any chance have something the girls have recently touched in case we need to track them again?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” Ava’s lips curved smugly and she released my hands to step into the kitchen. She removed two colorful hand-drawn pictures that had been stuck to the fridge with rainbow and unicorn magnets. Something I had a hard time picturing their mother displaying in the Manor but perfectly suited Ava’s vibrant personality. “They gave these to me yesterday.”
She folded them and started to shove them in her pocket, only to look down at the little black dress that definitely showed just how rough her night had been. “These clothes aren’t very practical for whatever we’re about to face. Give me two minutes.”
Connor opened his mouth to question that estimate, but I held up a hand. I’d learned my lesson earlier that evening. “We’ll have half the guardians clear the way to the garage while you change.”
She nodded and ran upstairs to her bedroom. When she returned just over two minutes later, clothed in more practical blue jeans, an emerald green top, a black leather jacket, and matching low-heeled boots, the remaining guardians escorted us back to our limo. I couldn’t help shaking my head when a second surge of deja vu struck. Hopefullythislimo ride would prove more productive than the earlier one.
Moments later, we were back on the trail of the girls. Ava had pointed out that it made more sense to simply track them rather than warning Alexander we were on the way. That made it more likely we could either catch him in the act of something nefarious or—if it turned out our suspicions were unfounded—provide some much-needed backup.
Connor’s lips quirked as we watched Ava do her magical thing. “Her grandmother’s not going to be too happy that we’re back out on the hunt she tried to warn Ava away from already.”
“I can hear you just fine,” Ava murmured, although she kept her eyes closed. “And screw my grandmother.”
She couldn’t see the melodramatic face Connor made. “No fucking thank you. She’s definitely not my type.”
My lips twitched as I fought the urge to laugh. “I should certainly hope not. She’s damned near 100.”
Although she looked much less than half that age, thanks to the benefits all Shifters and Spellbinders gained from either being magical in nature or working so much magic themselves. Or both those things, for Radiant casters like Muriel and Ava.
Connor shot me a judgmental expression. “That sounds awfully ageist of you, brother. There’s nothing wrong with natural expressions of love and lust among consenting adults.”
Ava let out an exasperated sound. “Much as I generally enjoy your irreverent sense of humor, Connor, can you kindly shut up? I need to concentrate. Also, that’s mygrandmotheryou’re discussing.”
Connor and I shared grins but fell obediently silent, each of us pressing a little closer to Ava as if to grant her more strength. I couldn’t help noticing that she’d stopped trying to wiggle away any time one of us scooted nearer. Something that satisfied some primal need deep inside.Mate!My inner wolf pointed out what it thought perfectly obvious.Our mate!
By no means yet a sure thing, but I definitely felt far more hopeful than the day before.
But sorting that out could wait. For now, we needed to focus on what was most important. Rescuing our girls from whoever was holding them hostage. And if that turned out to be our aunt’s husband? Well. Pack law made it quite clear how we could deal with Alexander’s betrayal in that case. And after all, Ihadpromised my wolf there would be enemies to gnaw on later…
* * *
Finn
The second the limo door closed behind me, our chauffeur sped away. Alexander’s solemn gaze met mine. “It may take me a moment to lock upon the girls.”
I nodded. “Understood. We’ll keep an eye out for trouble while you search.”
He tightened his grip around the colorful game tokens I remembered well from countless sessions entertaining my nieces. I’d never been a huge fan of board games, even when a kid myself, but those two scamps only needed to bat their eyelashes at my brothers and me to get whatever they wanted.
Kind of how I now ached to indulge their aunt.
