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Ivan inclined his head. "We believe it's a revenant—specifically, one created from Rafael."

The name sent a ripple of tension through our group. Rafael had been one of Alessandro's enforcers, a particularly vicious silver-skin who followed Alessandro without question.

"How?" I demanded. "I thought all made silver-skins were killed when their sire died."

Axel's cold eyes shifted to me. "Creator, not sire. But no. Apparently with the confusion surrounding Alessandro's death, he fled to our southern border, where he encountered one of our hunting parties. They executed him according to coven law." His lip curled slightly. "But it seems the execution was...incomplete."

"Meaning?" Kaylan asked.

"Meaning," Dimitri said with a sigh, "that the fools removed his head and buried it separately, as tradition dictates, but not realizing he was created from a coven leader, they failed to burn the parts."

"And now he's back," Phoenix concluded, "and targeting bears specifically."

Ivan nodded. "Rafael was always...unstable. But as a revenant, he'll be driven by pure vengeance. He blames the bears for Alessandro's downfall, for his own disgrace."

I felt a cold weight settle in my stomach. "My father angered Alessandro. If Rafael knows that..."

"He'll come for you," Dimitri confirmed, his expression impassive. "And anyone connected to you."

My thoughts immediately went to Danny, safe inside the packhouse—at least for now. The wrongness we'd sensed at his family home suddenly took on new significance.

"Why come to us with this information?" Phoenix asked, ever the pragmatic alpha. "What do you want?"

The silver-skins exchanged glances. "The revenant threatens us all," Dimitri said. "Human deaths attract attention. Police investigations, paranoia, increased security—all make feeding more difficult for our kind."

"Not forgetting," Axel added with a sneer, "that humans tend to blame 'animal attacks' on wolves first."

"So, you want to help us track and destroy it," Phoenix surmised.

"Yes." Dimitri's pale eyes gleamed in the fading daylight. "We have expertise in dealing with our own kind—even the corrupted ones."

I studied them, weighing their words. Silver-skins were notorious for their lies and manipulation, but just as Phoenix was about to say something else, each silver-skin stood and bowed as Rhys appeared.

"Sire," Dimitri said, his tone now laced with formal respect. "We are honored."

Rhys's expression remained neutral, though I caught a flash of irritation in his eyes. "I'm not a prince anymore, Dimitri. Just Rhys."

"No, on your father's death, you became so much more," Axel said, deliberately altering the meaning.

"Blood is blood," Ivan murmured, earning a sharp look from Rhys.

"Why have you come?" Rhys asked, his voice carrying an authority I'd never heard from him before. This boy had just turned fifteen years old, but he acted more mature than a lot of adults I knew. He stood slightly apart from Phoenix, but there was no question they presented a united front.

Dimitri repeated briefly what they'd told us about the revenant. Rhys's face darkened with each word.

"You're certain it's Rafael?" he asked when Dimitri finished.

"The pattern matches his...proclivities," Axel confirmed. "And we have no other brethren, alive or dead, missing from the coven."

"What if it's one from another coven?" Isla asked.

"Impossible," Dimitri said. "They would be unable to pass through without us knowing."

That didn't make much sense to me, but Rhys wasn't challenging it and he should know.

Phoenix addressed the silver-skins. "We appreciate the information. What exactly are you proposing?"

Dimitri spread his hands. "An alliance. Temporary, of course. We help you destroy the revenant, you allow us limited hunting rights in the neutral territories between our domains."