“I want those other shifters so I won’t have to worry about carrying you lot through another battle. Believe me, there will be other battles. By this time next year, I expect to be in a state controlled by the bear shifters. I will personally gut whoever hinders that goal.”
“And your curse?”
“I have a potential workaround until I find the one who cursed me,” Trevor said. “When I do, I will mount their head on the wall or recruit them. I haven’t decided yet. I’d love to make that decision soon except for your worthless hides can’t be bothered to bring me anything useful.”
With one swift motion, he knocked everything off the nearest table onto the floor. Some mustard got on his shoe, but he pretended not to notice.
“Hey!” The owner of the mustard jumped up from his seat. He towered over Trevor.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Trevor warned.
“I was going to eat that.” He lunged at Trevor, who grabbed the man’s arm, twisted it behind his back, and forced him to bend over the table face down.
“I think all of you need a lesson in obedience,” Trevor snarled.
He retrieved a steak knife and forced the man to place his hand flat on the tabletop. Without hesitation, he plunged the knife through the man’s hand, straight into the wood. The man howled in pain as Trevor stepped away.
“Find the information I want, or someone will lose a hand next time.”
He stormed out of the diner only to realize he had nowhere to go.
He didn’t want to go back to his room at the inn. Beryl wouldn’t serve him another drink at the bar. The only place he could go was the park. Perhaps Lucien would show up tonight.
He reached the park just as the last streaks of color leeched out of the sky, coating everything in murky twilight.
“There you are.” Lucien appeared beside him.
“Holy shit!” Trevor leaped to the side. “You can’t do that to me. What if I had a knife?”
“I’d move before you could stab me.”
“Go ask the guy I just stabbed,” Trevor said. “He probably thought he could move before I stabbed him, too.”
Lucien looked at him, horrified.
“Why did you just stab a man?”
“Because he pissed me off, and I have a persona to keep up. I’m supposed to be a ruthless leader of an evil army, remember?”
“Has that army grown?”
“Unfortunately, not.”
“Pity.”
“How’s Holly?”
“Not well, I’m afraid.” Lucien sighed.
Fear halted Trevor’s steps. “Is she—”
“She’s not injured. Well, not anymore.”
“What happened?” Trevor demanded. “I knew I shouldn’t have let her leave. She was safe here.”
“One of the firstborns, Keller, is showing signs of a dark transition. He nearly killed Holly in a frenzied attack.”
Trevor furrowed his brow. “Bring him to me,” he snarled.
“He vanished. I’ve spent the last few days tracking him with the others. Your sister has been at the house guarding Holly.”
“I bet they both love that.” Trevor rolled his eyes.
“Indeed.” Lucien looked at Trevor with a long-suffering gaze.
“Where did Keller go?” Trevor asked.
“We lost his scent one hundred miles north of the house. Wherever he went, he went far.”
“Why would he go north?” Trevor asked more to himself than to Lucien. “What’s up there?”
“Perhaps he joined up with the second shifter army,” Lucien suggested.
“That would explain why my shifters haven’t found a damn thing. A hundred miles isn’t a small feat. The second shifter army would’ve had to start traveling before I ordered the attack at the silver mines.”
“Which means someone else was watching.”
“But who?” Trevor groaned. “Who could have that sort of power yet stay hidden?”
Something brushed against his memory. He stopped.
“What is it?” Lucien asked.
“I need to check something,” he said, already walking back toward the main road. “Tell my sister she doesn’t need to worry and tell Holly I miss her. Come back tomorrow night.”
Lucien said something, but Trevor was no longer listening.
He had an idea. If he was lucky, it just might turn into a plan.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE—KELLER
The chattering of his teeth woke him. Cold wasn’t a sensation he was familiar with.
His body ached. He felt weak and used, like a deflated balloon.
When he opened his eyes, all he saw was blue. At first, he thought he might be in a meadow somewhere, under a crisp winter sky, but it wasn’t the right shade of blue.
It wasn’t the sky. It was ice. He was in a cavern carved completely out of ice. Beneath him was a blanket to keep his bare body off the chilling floor. No, it wasn’t a blanket. It was a skin—bear skin. Keller scrambled to his feet and moved as far away from the rug as he could.
“Ah. You’re awake.” A woman stood in a carved ice archway clad in all white. Her raven hair was pulled away from her face. Her blue eyes watched him carefully.
Keller knew her. This was the woman who found him in the mountains.
“Celeste?” he said.
“Oh, good!” She clapped her hands together. “You remember. After going so long without food or sleep, I worried you damaged your brain. Did you even stop for water?”
Keller blinked, confused.
“How long have I gone without food?” he asked.
“Four days, I think.” Celeste put a hand over her chest. “That’s partially my fault. I had a hand in…motivating you to come out here, and I overdid it. I’m sorry. I haven’t done anything like this before.”
“You brought me here?”
“Indeed.” She approached him, her heels clicking on the icy
