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GREY
I paced the office, running a hand through my hair repeatedly.
“Did anyone find the fucking shifters yet?” I asked with a growl.
I glanced between the men posted in the office. Dan shook his head.
“They signed out half an hour ago saying they were going on a job.” He stared down at his phone.
“Both of them? And no one thought it was suspicious? All jobs have been suspended because of Layla’s death.” I shook my head and continued to pace.
Zeke stepped into the room with a grim expression.
“Asher is awake,” he said.
“That’s good news. Why do you look like an angry toddler?” I asked.
“It’s not good news. They told him things while they were beating the life out of him.” Zeke folded his arms over his chest, glaring at something over my head.
Fenrick shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “What could they have told him that I didn’t hear?”
“You’re not going to like it, Grey.” Zeke sighed.
“I don’t like much of anything these days. Let’s go see Ash,” I said.
Turning to Dan, I added, “Check the shifters’ rooms for the book and report back to me.”
“You got it, boss.” He nodded and left the office.
We left and made it to the elevator. I stabbed at the button and waited for its arrival.
“What did Ash say exactly?” I asked Zeke.
“I’ll let you hear it from him. He was adamant that I not tell you first.” The elevator doors opened, and Zeke walked inside.
I followed him in wondering what could have been so dire they he wouldn’t let Zeke tell me.
Fenrick squeezed in just before the doors closed.
“I helped get him out of there. I think I should come too.” Fenrick shrugged as he leaned against the far wall.
I pushed the button for the infirmary. “That’s fine by me. I think he’ll appreciate the company after being out for days.”
The elevator doors opened, and Asher’s loud laughter filled the entire floor.
“I guess we can say he’s feeling better.” I shook my head as I strolled to the door to his room.
One of the female healers was in there doing a scan, which was why he was in such a good mood.
“Ash, stop flirting with my staff.” I chuckled.
“When the only thing to look at is your ugly mug, I have to flirt with every pretty girl I can.” Asher winked.
The healer blushed a deep scarlet as she scurried from the room.
“Now you’re embarrassing my staff.” I rolled my eyes.
I made my way to the side of the bed and sat in the chair next to him.
Ash’s face fell and his gaze darkened as some unnamed memory hit him. “Aurelia. The Council has her.”
“I know. Fenrick told us when he dragged your heavy ass through the portal,” I said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
It wasn’t just for Ash, but me too. Whatever he had to say, it was nothing good.
Asher turned to the Fae standing in the doorway and nodded to him. “Thanks for getting me out of there.”
I raised both brows. Asher wasn’t one to thank people for anything, but I guessed it had to do with the trauma he’d suffered at the hands of the elders.
“What did they do to you?” I asked, leaning forward on my elbows.
“This isn’t about what they did to me.” Asher sighed. “They have someone else locked up with the princess, Grey.”
“Who?” I asked.
Why would I care who they locked up with Aurelia? I frowned in confusion.
“King Nickolas is alive,” Asher said warily.
He ran a hand over his tired face.
“What do you mean? That’s impossible. He was killed as a traitor to the light Fae crown.” I stood and rubbed the back of my neck.
He’d vehemently opposed the removal of the shifters and witches and the Fae had killed him for being disloyal, hadn’t they?
“He wasn’t. The elders knew of the prophecy long before the information was leaked. They knew the shadow Fae would lose their magic but still forced acceptance.” He stared at the wall.
“I don’t understand how one thing connects to the other, Ash.”
Fenrick stepped forward and cursed. “A new king can’t come into power until the death of the old king. If he’s still alive, the prophecy can’t fully come to pass.” Fenrick balled his hand into a fist, his expression murderous.
“You’re telling me that my father has been stuck in a cell for centuries?” I asked with wide eyes.
“They kept him alive so you would never become king,” Asher said sadly.
“And I’m stuck here with no way to get him or my mate out of chains?” I jumped to my feet with a roar and punched the wall so hard my hand crumpled it like paper.
Zeke stepped forward as if to stop me, and I shot him a glare. He raised his hands up in surrender. “I think we should all just calm down. We don’t know anything for sure just what they taunted Ash with.”
“I need the fucking book. I need it now more than fucking ever!” I yelled.
Fenrick clapped a hand on my shoulder. “There may be a silver lining. Yes, you have been exiled, but the king has not. If you got his power somehow, you might not need the book.”
“Yeah, if he dies. But the Fae are keeping him alive in a cell so he can’t die,” I said.
“That’s a shitty thing to say, Fenrick.” Asher shook his head.
They just got through saying he had to die for me to get his power and I didn’t really want it.
“From what I know of the prophecy, true royal mates would break the curse on the shadow Fae. I have shadow magic I never had before.” Fenrick crossed his arms.
Asher blinked and frowned. “You have the shadows? They were taunting me, saying they were going to use my presence there to force her to cooperate.”
“Cooperate while they tortured the magic out of her,” I growled.
My wolf was close to the surface. He hated this talk of torture when it came to his mate. He wanted desperately to end any threat to Aurelia, but we were helpless to save her.
All was quiet until the elevator dinged and thudding feet moved toward us from the hall. Dan peeked his head in, breathing heavily.
“We have a location on the shifters, but we need to hurry,” Dan said between gasping breaths.
“How did you get a location?” I spun around and stomped to him.
“One of them left a scribbled note in their quarters.” Dan shook his head.
“If I hadn’t planned to kill them both, they would be fired for such carelessness.” I thundered out of the room after Dan.
“They didn’t leave the book behind, so they must have it on them. I’m hoping they aren’t meeting to hand it off.” Dan pushed the button for the elevator.
“If there is a note about where to meet, then I’m sure that’s exactly what they are doing.” I stepped into the elevator and turned.
Zeke and Fenrick followed close behind.
“Where are we going?” Zeke asked.
“Witchside, in the city. It’s actually not far from where Aurelia lived with her foster mother.” Dan leaned back against the wall.
“Why so public?” Zeke asked, shaking his head.
“To stop anyone from starting a fight and taking the book. That plan will not succeed,” I said.
Fenrick turned to Dan. “Did the note say who they were meeting?”
The doors opened to the parking garage, and I strode over to my SUV. Four huge men wouldn’t fit in one of my cars.
I grabbed the keys and hopped into the driver’s seat barely waiting for the others to get in before turning over the ignition.
“Put the address into the GPS and let’s get the hell out of here.” I turned and pulled out of the parking spot.
The tires squealed as I drove faster than necessary to the main road.
The drive to the city was silent, and I was okay with that. I was lost in my own head. We were this close to getting the book, but something didn’t sit right about the note and the shifters taking the book back to Malcolm.
Did he even know the book was missing yet? If it wasn’t Malcolm, then who were the shifters working with?
I pulled into the parking garage at my penthouse and decided we would walk from there. The address was close by, so it would be easier to sneak up on the exchange.
It was nearly impossible to find parking in downtown Dallas anyway. I turned the ignition off and stared down the men who came with me.
“Dan, you and Fenrick go around the back and me and Zeke will go around the front. There should be no escape for them that way,” I said and hopped out of the car.
The streets were bustling with activity as we strolled to the small coffee shop that was mentioned in the note.
They had an outdoor patio, and every seat was full but the shifters weren’t there.
“I don’t see them,” Zeke mumbled.
There was an alley down the side of the building, and I nodded my head toward it. Zeke caught my meaning, and we moved toward the mouth of the alley.
My shifter senses went wild. The scent of rotting food and garbage nearly made me sneeze, but the low voices were what had my attention.
The fact that they were in an alley in broad daylight where anyone could see them made me cringe. They were stupid and careless. I was glad they were as good as dead for selling us out.
“You promise we can go home for this?” one of the shifters whispered.
“I’ve already said that, mutt. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
I stiffened at the voice. I knew that voice but hadn’t heard it in centuries. I turned to Zeke. His eyebrows were raised practically to his hairline.
He recognized the Council puppet’s voice just like I did.
I stepped into the alley and cleared my throat.
“I see the Council fucks sent their best errand boy into my city.” I held up a hand when the shifters moved to run. “You aren’t getting out of here. Submit to me and I’ll make your death painless.”
The shifters gulped and glanced between each other before dropping to their knees.
“This is a private affair, shifter king. No one asked you,” Erik said and stepped toward me.
“You shouldn’t have come into my city and tried to turn my shifters against me.” I shook my head as if admonishing a child.
“This doesn’t concern you.” He stepped forward.
“Doesn’t it, though?” I asked with a smirk. “Your masters have my mate and sent you to get the only thing that could help me get her back.”
The shifters tensed on the ground still on their knees as a searing pain exploded in my chest. My wolf howled in rage and agony.
I dropped to my knees with a savage roar. My wolf wanted to rip from my skin. The shifters in front of me howled a long mourning sound.
Fuck.
My father had been locked up for centuries so how did he die? Anguish tore through me even as the power fueled me. It was too much power too quickly.
I screamed and locked eyes on the Council spy. They killed my father, and I would do anything, give anything, to make them pay.