Page 90 of Shifter Situations

“Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet, Dad. One sour apple ruins the whole basket.”

Grim smiled at Sloane. “Any more metaphors?”

“Not off the top of my head, but you get what I’m saying.”

Charlie nodded. “I do. I’ll see what I can come up with.”

“What about Cooper?” Briggs questioned. “Send him to oversee until we can find someone that can take over.”

“I’m worried about Cooper. I don’t think he’s in the right mental state to shadow, much less lead, a pack.”

Sloane dropped her head in her hands. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No. But I do need something from you guys. Albert May told me this morning that he hasn’t been able to reach Katie May since yesterday. He’s concerned that she’s been abducted too.”

Charlie raised a brow at Lo. “I know you killed her, but I need to know what you found at the warehouse. I want to hand him proof of what she was doing.

“And I have dozens of reports sitting on my desk that weren’t a part of the people you guys recovered. There’s got to be more people somewhere.”

He tugged at his blonde hair, and Sloane peeked at him through her fingers, grimacing at his stressed state.

“We didn’t find any evidence, but the guys warded the warehouse so we could go back and sort through everything.”

Jack blew out a harsh breath, puffing his cheeks out as his shoulders drooped. “We looked in the surrounding buildings, Dad. There were no more people.”

“I still have so many reports, though…”

“Could they be shifters that had already gone mad and been killed?” Blaire inquired.

Sloane nodded, agreeing with her. “Email me a list. Franklin keeps up with all the hits that I've taken, so we can cross-reference and see if I've killed any of them.”

Charlie turned wide eyes to his daughter. “How many rogue shifters have you killed in the last two months?”

She frowned, closing her eyes as she whispered, “Are you so sure that you want to hear that number?”

He released a defeated sigh. “No, Pretty Lady. I do not.”

“How about you send them all to Franklin, and I’ll ask him to send back the ones that we don’t have records of? Until about two weeks ago, I’ve been the only one taking care of the rogues, so if I haven’t seen them then we know we need to start looking for more.”

18

Sloane

Saturday, June 6th

Afternoon

I pillowed my head on my elbow, lazily dragging my fingers through the blades of grass. I would never be too old to not stop for a moment and watch the clouds roll by, forming images in the sky. It was one of the only activities that truly relaxed my mind.

My blood sang, warming my skin as Stone approached. He never failed to ignite me. His mental presence was dancing flames, calm and seductive until they drew you too close.

There was no way to escape his fire.

I wanted to burn, feel the scorching heat sear my soul.

He stretched out on his right side, propping his head on his palm as his chest pressed against my left arm.

“I got a weird text just a minute ago.”