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Not, it was possible the girls had quickly touched those tokens earlier tonight when handing them to their opponents. But one of the things that magic users always stressed was how important touch could be. And it took more than just a few seconds of physical contact to leave much of a magical impression. At least that was a potentialrealclue to explain why my instincts had kicked into overdrive. It for damned sure wasn’t enough to justify actively distrusting a man I’d known since I was a pup. But my human side preferred to have a logical reason behind the sudden flood of suspicion.
Although…the times my inner wolf had warned me something seemed off and been wrong weren’t just rare—they were nonexistent. I couldn’t remember experiencingthislevel of unease and then everything turning out A-fucking-OK.
I forced my gaze away from Alexander, not wanting him to catch me staring at him with my wolf clearly lurking so close to the surface. I noticed that the two Pack guardians I could see appeared oddly relaxed, heads leaned back against their seats and eyes closed. Three others were angled so I couldn’t see their faces. Hopefully they were paying more attention than their colleagues.
I pulled out my cell phone to check the time. Nearly a half-hour since we’d split from the rest of our group. Ava had believed she’d gotten us within moments of finding the girls. It shouldnotbe taking this long to close the final distance.
My teeth clenched as I began tapping out a text message to Shea and Connor in our group chat.
Should I be concerned that we appear to be driving in fucking circles and are still no closer to finding the girls?
Not to mention my inner wolf was still itching for that shadows-forsaken fight I’d promised.
Alexander’s eyes suddenly snapped open and he gave me an oddly disappointed look. “I really wish you hadn’t tried to send that message,” he said in a deceptively calm tone that belied the sudden increased speed of his heartbeat.
My inner wolf snarled in triumph at this seeming confirmation that we’d been right to be wary. My human half felt guilty for having second-guessed instinct so much. Both sides prepared for battle.
“Triedto send? How exactly would you even know what message I sent? Your eyes were closed.”
Alexander shook his head admonishingly. “The same way I know your brothers and Ava Sheridan believe they are rushing to save the girls when in actuality, they’re heading right into the trap I’ve set.”
Sitting there pretending to be calm when what Iwantedto do was rip his lying throat out took a fuck-ton of effort. Especially given the sudden realization I’d just had.
Those two guardians who appeared overly relaxed weren’t resting their eyes. Just like the Pack Spellbinders didn’t havetheireyes shut so they could help Alexander magically search for Rory and Sorsha.The reason none of the others were reacting to our words was that every single person except the two of us—and the chauffeur up front—had fallen asleep. Leaving just me (and my wolf) to confront the powerful Beacon across from me who was so strong there were only “a handful” of Radiant casters who could match his strength.
Looked like my inner wolf was about to get that fight after all…
AVA
The moment I summoned Radiant energy and began tracking the girls’ current location, I knew my sister’s suspicions had to be right on the mark. My eyes flashed open, and I glared from Shea’s face to Connor’s and then back again. “That son of a bitch!”
Shea focused his gaze intently upon me. “What did Uncle Alexander do now?”
Anger rode me so hotly I wanted to spit. “Moon Mother only knows what he’s doingnow, but I know what he lied about before we split up. You know those game tokens we were using to focus our search for the girls earlier?”
Shea’s expression grew troubled. “I assume there was something wrong with them as far as tracking goes?”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Oh I’m sure they were working perfectly well to help track whoever touched them earlier tonight—but it wasn’t Rory and Sorsha.” I shook the two drawings pulled from my fridge. “These are leading me in an entirely different direction from where we left the other limo earlier. Given that Iknowthe girls touched them yesterday, that means Alexander likely grabbed those Candy Land tokens from some other game set entirely.”
Connor tilted his head. “Is it possible someone simply moved them from where they were before?”
My lips twisted. “Given the Radiant Order we just received? I highly doubt it.”
Shea absentmindedly tapped his fingers against my thigh, where his hand had been resting since we first climbed into the limo. Something I found oddly soothing. “Regardless of which is true, wouldn’t it make the most sense to track the girls now using these pictures andthenfigure things out from there?”
“Agreed. Except…” My voice became troubled. “What about Finn?”
His brothers exchanged a significant glance over my head, which I saw because I looked quickly from one to the other, obviously using that same triplet communication they seemed to share.
“The girls are far more vulnerable than Finn. Especially since he has two Pack Spellbinders and over a dozen bodyguards watching his back. Besides, it seems more like Alexander was leading us on some sort of wild goose chase rather than doing something sinister. He obviously doesn’t want us to actually find the girls.”
Connor nodded. “Which means we absolutelyshould. As soon as possible.”
My skin seemed to crawl at the thought of leaving Finn to fend for himself, even though I also wanted to get to the girls immediately. Still, his brothers were right. Finn was much more capable of fending for himself than two six-year-old girls.
“You’re right. Okay, let’s end this wild goose chase.”
I shut my eyes again and sent Radiant energy swirling into the night. “North,” I directed a few seconds later.
