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I looked at him pointedly, and he squirmed a little in his seat. He looked even slightly ashamed after I’d put it so bluntly, but I wanted him to know exactly where I stood and how wrong it was.
My talk earlier with Ridge had been precisely that—talk. It didn’t mean I supported what was being done to shifters, but I was a big supporter of choice.
“The Greenthornes are a snobby couple in this town trying to gain power and stage some kind of coup against Ridge,” I explained. “They might incite anger against a hunter being kept in the jail here, especially because of Ridge’s family history, which I suspect you already know about.”
Shrugging, he said, “I know one of William’s ancestors worked with Blackwoods to get to other shifters, which was part of why Ridge was targeted. They figured history would repeat itself.”
Glad he was finally willing to talk a little, and relieved Ridge hadn’t been in the room to hear that wonderful snippet, I figured I could start asking some questions.
“If Ridge was the target, why did you take three other shifters? Why not take more since you staged a surprise invasion when everyone was caught unaware? Everyone’s on alert now. It’d be more difficult to repeat.”
Kyle leaned back and thrummed his fingers against the table, something he always did when he had to think something over.
“Giselle gives the hunters very specific instructions about the demographics of the shifters who need to be taken. Her spell for curing a shifter is very complex and requires a lot of power, so she only wants as many as she can handle and within her capability, age ranges, genders, et cetera, that she’s prepared for. She can’t and won’t do the spell if she’s brought the wrong numbers or shifters out of those parameters because it messes with her and the spell.”
Sensing there was more to what he was saying, I stayed quiet and watched him debate what to say next. His fingers were now drumming wildly on the table, and knowing my brother, I patiently waited for him to come to a conclusion. We were similar in that if we felt pushed, we shut down and refused to give anything away. We had to go through things in our own time and way. So I gave that space to my brother, as he had always done with me. We were so in sync that being separated hadn’t changed us enough not to have that shared trait come back instantly.
“Aw, fuck it, I’ve already told you too much. It’s enough to be banned from returning to the faction.” He leaned forward and crossed his arms on the table. “Fuck, I don’t even want to go back there, anyway. Not now that I found you.”
My heart leaped at that. Kyle wanted to stay with me, even though I was still a shifter. He wanted to be with me. I struggled to keep my emotions in check because now wasn’t the time. Not when he was opening up about hunters and what they had planned.
“For some time now, William has had Giselle working on a way to cure shifters in larger numbers instead of one by one,” he said. “It requires a lot of power, and she’s had to build up to it. Honestly, I haven’t been a part of most of the research and have only seen Giselle a couple of times. William doesn’t let hunters into every part of his plans. We’re assigned to specific tasks, and only those tasks. Probably because of situations like this.” He chuckled humorlessly.
Swallowing down my dread, I listened intently to my brother as I tried to tamp down my fear of what could come our way. I reminded myself that I couldn’t control everything. There was nothing I could do about it now except listen to Kyle and relay everything to Ridge and Clawson.
“I don’t know where the cured shifters go or what happens to them later, but I do know that whatever mass magical cure she was working on will be ready soon. There’s a very real chance they decided to scout Blackwood Creek through Mrs. Marrow to determine if this should be the first place to use a spell of that magnitude. They want to hit as many shifters as possible on their first trial run. They don’t care if they kill many in the process. Only that they have a good amount of test subjects.”
Kyle never let his gaze waver from my face, but I could tell by how he looked at me that I’d gone several shades paler than usual. My stomach churned with unease. Every shifter in town was in immense danger, and I had a driving need to protect them.
Margo’s smiling face popped into my head. Diana’s warm, solid motherly hugs. Audrey’s haughty attitude. Clawson’s serious look and devotion to protecting all the citizens.
Lastly, Ridge. Everything about Ridge flooded into my mind—his soft caresses, his rich laugh, his sensuous kisses, his fierce protection of me, his devotion to this town and his people, his good heart. Everything that made him the Ridge I had grown to sincerely care for made me terrified of it being taken away.
The idea of losing any of them sent my emotions into a tornado that couldn’t be controlled.
As soon as I had a moment alone with Ridge, I’d tell him everything Kyle said, but I had to make sure no one would overhear us. This was too sensitive of a subject and would cause mass chaos.
“Thank you for telling me, Kyle.”
Watching me closely, he nodded as he gave me a moment to absorb everything he’d said.
Taking the moment to appreciate my brother’s presence in the same room as me, I studied him closely. Emotion choked my voice when I said, “I’m glad you’re not going back there. Now we just need to focus on keeping you and everyone else here alive.”
Chapter51
Tori
As if on cue, Ridge and Sheriff Clawson walked back into the room. Clawson didn’t look too happy as he glared at Kyle.
“If Kyle is to be loose in the town, I want someone who’ll be up close and tight and watch him like a hawk. Someone willful who won’t hesitate to take him out if it seems like he’s trying something.” The sheriff stood by the door with his feet planted and his arms crossed, trying to be intimidating. It was working.
He was actually being more lenient than I’d expected. Having Ridge as the alpha had probably changed things. If I’d been the one to request it, the outcome probably would have been very different.
A glance at my brother showed me the sheriff’s words hadn’t affected him. In fact, he looked amused. Then it hit me. I knew the perfect person to keep an eye on my brother and appease the sheriff, and I couldn’t stop chuckling.
“I know the perfect person.”
The three men looked at me as I tried to get my mirth under control. Only Ridge looked amused while the other two frowned at me. I guess to them, I wasn’t as cute as Ridge thought I was.
