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“You wanted to see me?” I tucked my hands behind my back so she wouldn’t notice the slight tremors in them.
Her expression remained unreadable as she dipped her chin in a nod. And then her gaze flicked to the other person in the room I’d been too distracted to see.
A wolf.
“Tatum, this is Barric Hartwell.” Coltrane motioned her hand to the large, muscular man that barely fit in the wooden chair across from her. “Head alpha of Georgia.”
How the hell had I missed this guy? His presence and the power throbbing off him nearly choked the room. He wasn’t just an alpha but the leader ofallshifters in Georgia, no matter the type.
“She’s my most promising new raven.”
My attention returned to the captain as a proud smile crawled over her mouth. A knot fisted beneath my heart, and this time it didn’t stem from panic. “Thank you. I hope I can live up to that.”
“You will.” Coltrane nodded. “I’m sure of it.”
Some of my fear eased. She wouldn’t be commending me if she planned to reprimand me about last night.
“That is some high praise coming from you, Captain Coltrane.” The man’s rough, baritone voice bounced against the cream walls framed in burnished crown molding. The shifter stood, reaching well over six feet tall, and held his hand out for me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tatum.”
I stepped farther into the room and grabbed his hand, his callused one nearly swallowing mine. The navy t-shirt he wore strained against his muscles. “Nice to meet you.” Copper highlights flashed in his brown hair as he dipped his head and gave my hand a squeeze before releasing it.
Faint scars lined his arms and a few slashed at his throat. One sliced his eyebrow and grazed his nose as if another shifter had tried to claw his eye out. They hadn’t been successful because the tawny orbs still glittered in their sockets. A thick beard covering his jaw probably hid more scars.
You didn’t get to be head alpha without fighting for it.
Barric Hartwell barely looked older than forty, but age was never easy to gauge with nightworlders, even shifters. None of them aged normally.
How old was the demon shifter who hunted me down last night? Could Hartwell be here because of that?
I shook the worrisome thoughts off as the alpha and Coltrane exchanged a few more words. Ravens worked closely with some nightworlders, but you wouldn’t catch Lord Ruin in her office. If she had any business with demons, she’d arrange a meeting far from our headquarters.
“Thanks for looking into the disappearances,” he told Coltrane, extending his hand to shake hers. “With the influx of sub-demons coming into the city, I could use the help.”
She took his hand and gave a curt nod. “We’ve noticed the flood of Underworld scourge. Missing shifters definitely heighten our concern.”
Shifters were missing? Wasn’t that something usually handled by their alphas and Barric Hartwell?
“Let me know if you uncover any pertinent information, Captain Coltrane.” The head alpha gave me a warm smile on his way out the door, closing it behind him.
Coltrane motioned for me to sit. “I don’t enjoy meeting with nightworlders, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil in our line of work,” she admitted.
“The feeling’s mutual.” I folded into the other chair across from her desk.
The atmosphere in the room thickened as she laced her fingers together on her desk, her expression grim. “I have a special assignment for you.”
“Okay.” I glanced at the door. “Are we waiting on Hawk?” The thought of having to work with him after last night made my stomach queasy.
“Hawk’s not involved in this.” She wrapped her fingers around her coffee mug but didn’t take a sip as her heavy stare remained on me. “This is a secret mission, and it’s a job only for you. I don’t trust anyone else.”
Tingles rolled down my arms and over my scalp. She trusted me, and only me, for this? No one had ever held me to such high standards before, and it terrified the shit out of me. What if I disappointed her?
Coltrane stood and ran her finger over a row of books on the shelf behind her, finally plucking out a large, burgundy leather one. She dropped it on the desk and flipped through the thick pages until coming to one with a vibrant drawing. “This is the Infernal Sol.”
As I leaned across her desk to get a better look, she twisted the book and slid it to my side.
A blood-red stone shaped like a sun rested in a large gold medallion dangling from a necklace. “What is it?” The letters and symbols running across the page weren’t any language I could decipher.
“The Infernal Sol is a dangerous amulet with powerful magical properties.” Coltrane traced the sharp rays with her pinky finger. “I doubt we know half of what it can do.”
