Duncan blinked at her and pressed a hand against his chest. “I’m guilty of a lot of things, but this time I plead innocence.”
Bonnie stepped in front of Mira’s pointing finger and scowled at her. “You might be smart enough to start with what you’re accusing him of.”
Mira stabbed a finger at the bandage on her forehead. “This! His pet attacked me a few minutes ago out on the lake!”
Duncan scrunched up his face. “I don’t own a pet.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Mira snapped as her teeth lengthened just slightly. “The shadow said it was yours!”
He snorted. “Then I need to get a pet that doesn’t tattle on me.”
The Baron and Baroness Frost stepped out of their room and into the hall. The baron raised an eyebrow at the gathering. “What seems to be the problem?”
Mira spun around and pointed at the bandage. “Something attacked me on orders from one of Greylock’s boys!”
Everly stepped up to her and reached up her hands. “Let me see-”
Mira leaned out of her reach and slapped her hands away. “Like hell I will! Everyone knows you favor the Grey clan above everyone else!”
Chris frowned at the short woman. “That’s not the best way to convince another clan that you’re telling the truth.”
Mira sneered at him. “Don’t think you can get away with this! Brix and Hurst will see to it that justice is done!” She turned away from us and stomped down the hall.
Greylock beckoned to the Frost pair. “Alden, Everly, please come in here.”
The couple stepped into the room and shut the door behind themselves. Greylock set the hot cloth on my wound, and Everly let out a gasp at the sight of me laying on the bed. “Ethan, what has happened to her?”
Greylock didn’t lift his eyes from my arm as he pursed his lips. “Magic intended for me, Everly, but the misfortune has fallen on my youngest member.”
Everly clasped her hands in front of herself and turned her head to one side to stare at him out of the corners of her eyes. “Do you know who did this?”
He shook his head. “No. The suspects are numerous, and who pulls the strings I do not know. I ask the two of you to give us some reprieve.”
The baron blinked his eyes. “Reprieve for what?”
Greylock nodded at the door. “Mira is no doubt gathering the others as we speak. She means to have me removed from the council, and with Brix’s exit there will be only three members who will guide the policy of this region.”
Everly walked up to Greylock and set a hand on his shoulder. She offered him a smile and a few soft words. “We will give you whatever time you need, Ethan.”
He returned her smile before he looked out the window. His face fell slightly. “A few hours will suffice to find the missing elemental.”
Bonnie wrinkled her nose. “Freor? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Perhaps nothing, perhaps everything,” Greylock replied. “It’s the only piece of the puzzle that we know has dropped on the floor, and we must look for it.”
Bonnie stabbed a finger at the window and the darkness beyond. “We can’t go out there without that shadow getting us, remember?”
Chris shook his head. “Not us. Alex. The shadow completely ignored Kedie and the two of us, even when you were attacking it. All it wanted was to grab Alex.”
Greylock nodded. “That’s why I believe any of you may venture safely into the forest.”
Duncan swept his eyes over the room. “So, the Frosts get to deal with the council, and we get to deal with the forest.” He settled his gaze on Greylock and me. “But what are you two going to do?”
Greylock pursed his lips as he studied my face. “I will remain here with Alex and see what can be done about the mark.”
I looked at my arm. The mark was nearly gone. That made sense, as I felt an unfamiliar weakness inside me. It surprised me that I’d grown so accustomed to my werewolf abilities already that I’d notice them leaving me.
Baroness Frost strode over to a nearby imperial high-backed chair and plopped herself down. Those brilliant blue eyes sparkled with a strange light, and I couldn’t help but remember what Bonnie had told Chris and me about the Second Sight of their clan. Could she hear all of our thoughts screaming over one another? “Then I will remain with you. Alden is quite used to doing the talking for both of us and will put the others off for as long as you need.”
Chris shook his head. “But what’s all this for? Why go to all the trouble to make a shadow creature, blackmail Brix, and possibly kidnap a pixie?”
Greylock bowed his head a little and pursed his lips. “Perhaps power over the council, perhaps a vendetta against me, perhaps something we haven’t learned about that lies out in the forest with Freor. Whatever it is, it won’t be discovered by this circling discussion.”
“You heard the man, children,” Duncan spoke up as he herded Bonnie toward the door. “Time to do a little sleuthing.”
Bonnie looked over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose at him. “How much have you had to drink?”
He grinned. “Enough to be your knight in shining bottle, my dear.” The pair disappeared into the hall.
The baron pecked a kiss on his mate’s cheek. “If you will excuse me, I will see what is transpiring with Mira.”
She grasped one of his hands and gave it a squeeze. “Good luck.” He nodded and followed the others outside.
Chris remained standing near the bed. Greylock turned slightly and looked up at him. “The forest is large, and Bonnie and Duncan will need as much help as they can get to find Freor.”
Chris shook his head. “I’m not leaving her.”
“Let the poor mate stay, Ethan,” the baroness scolded him as she stood. “I desire to speak with you alone, anyway, and Alex needs someone to protect her while we talk.”
Greylock pursed his lips but stood and followed Everly out of the room. Chris took Greylock’s place by my side and set a hand on mine.
My attention, however, was only for the door. The moment the latch clicked I whipped my head to Chris. “Are you ready to have some fun?”
He blinked at me. “What sort of fun?”
I sat up and nodded at the dark windows. “We’re going to play tag with a phantom.”
Chris shook his head. “I don’t follow-”
“That’s because we’ll be the leaders,” I insisted as I took hold of his hand and swung my legs over the side of the bed. “Maybe we can even lead it back here as proof that it’s after Greylock and me.”
I tried to stand, but Chris tugged me back onto the bed with a bounce. He grasped my other hand and twisted us sideways, so we faced each other. “Alex, I love you, but you have to make sense.”
I grinned. “What we’re going to do is use me as bait to get the shadow out of the forest. Even if we don’t lure it here, it still means the others have a safe chance at finding Freor.”
Chris pursed his lips. “I don’t like the idea of using you as bait.”
I tapped the side of my nose and gave him a wink. “We’re not just using me.”
As he stared blankly at me again, I slipped out of his hold and hopped to my feet. Greylock’s room, though large, was still much like mine in the placement of the important bits, namely the hamper with his dirty clothes. The basket stood near the dresser. I hurried over and rummaged through it, forsaking the more stinky socks for a white blouse shirt. I tossed that onto the top of the dresser beside an interesting statue of some gargoyle creature and began to remove my shirt.
That got Chris’ attention. I watched through the small mirror atop the dresser as he shot to his feet. His eyes took on a soft yellow glow and his hands twitched at his sides.
“Down, boy,” I teased as I tossed my shirt at him and slipped into Greylock’s buttoned one. “Now is not the time for that kind of play.”
He dropped my shirt on the bed and walked over to me. His arms wrapped around my waist as that hot look in his eyes only brightened. He swallowed the growing growl in his throat as he watched me button up the shirt. “Mind telling me what you’re doing?”
“I’m making myself the ultimate bait,” I told him as I finished dressing and patted the front of the shirt. “If the phantom works on scent, and I didn’t see any eyes or nose in that ugly face, then having Greylock’s scent and mine together should guarantee to bring it out.”
I was almost disappointed when the hungry look in his eyes faded. He set his hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes. “Alex, you know I love you, right?”
Some of my ambition faded as I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then why do you do this to me?”
I tapped the tip of his nose with a finger. “Because I want you to be proud of me.”
He drew me close against him and those beautiful eyes softened as they studied me. “I already am.” He swooped down and captured my lips in a long, passionate kiss.
By the time we broke apart my lungs were screaming, and my heart was awash in the depths of a quick tango. I set the palms of my hands against his muscular chest and grinned up at him. “You really know how to make a girl swoon, you know that?”
“Swoon enough to set aside this crazy idea?”
I shook my head. “Not on your life.”
His good humor dropped off faster than a rock over a cliff. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”