Donovan skidded to a stop and let out a deafening growl. Power rolled through the pack until everyone but me was whimpering on the ground.
He came beside me and licked the gash on my hind leg, before nuzzling against me. I let out a little yip to tell him I was okay.
Honestly, my brothers had done much worse over the years. The only downside to being scratched was that the cut was supernatural and would heal slowly. Like human slow.
But I wasn’t going to let that bother me. The pack was still cowering from the aftereffects of Donovan’s power display. They could stay there for a bit for all I cared. The curse had kept me bound as a human for so long that now I relished changing whenever I could. My sharpened perceptions. The wind through my fur. I’d never take the feeling of the ground underneath my paws for granted. I gave Donovan another yip and took off again, knowing he’d be right behind me.
Eventually, the patrol groups broke off from the main group. After talking to Lucas, I wasn’t convinced we’d stand a chance against the fey beast. I hoped the Cazadores didn’t find their quarry, and that Bhrunyz was locked away in his lair, far away from the village and us.
My muscles grew hot and loose as we moved off the pack lands and deeper into the forest. Slowly, smaller groups started breaking off until only Donovan and I were left. He nipp
ed at my hind leg, and I yipped. I spun to find him sitting on his haunches, tongue lolling out of his mouth.
When he took off running again, I followed not caring where we were going. I was just enjoying the scent of the Irish countryside. A few animal scents caught my attention and the urge to hunt kicked in, but Donovan ignored the trails. He was on a mission to somewhere and I wasn’t about to abandon him.
All of a sudden, I slammed into something.
I growled, rolling back until I got my feet under me. It took me a second to shake off the hard fall before I realized I’d run into Donovan. He’d shifted back and was standing in front of a fey.
A tall, dark-skinned man handed Donovan a robe. His hair was long and fell down his back in one thick braid. He wore a three-piece black suit that was expertly tailored. If I couldn’t smell the sage, narcissus, and something else floral that I couldn’t place, I would’ve known he was fey from the way he glittered in the night.
I wasn’t sure if I should shift. It felt like I probably should, but I’d rather give up chocolate for life than stand naked in the freezing cold.
Shift if you want. Qusay’ll have a robe for you. Donovan said through the bond.
That decided it. At least as a human, I could speak up if I wanted to.
I shifted and sure enough, out of thin air, Qusay had another robe in his hand. It was white, thin and silky, and looked too thin to provide any kind of warmth in the cold, but anything was better than nothing. I quickly put it on and was pleasantly surprised. If I had shoes, I would’ve been perfect. I tightened my belt. If I didn’t get to keep this robe, maybe Cosette could get me one?
“Qusay of the Lunar court, meet my mate, Meredith.”
He lifted his chin a bit. “Meredith Molloney. It’s good to meet you. I’ve heard the princess is quite fond of you.”
That was good to hear. “I’m pretty fond of her myself.”
“I thought you’d still be at the meeting,” Donovan said.
“I’m back to court for a moment. There was an investigation that demanded my attention.”
Investigation? About how Bhrunyz got free? That would have to be why he came back. Especially since Donovan had threatened war with the fey over Bhrunyz’s attacks.
“And?” Donovan asked.
“It wasn’t us.” Donovan started to speak, but Qusay lifted a hand, cutting him off before he could say anything. “I swear on my honor that the Lunar court was not responsible for releasing Bhrunyz.”
Donovan crossed his arms. “Then who did?”
“You might have heard there was a robbery in Dublin? Some ancient Celtic items were taken a few days ago.”
“I did.” I remembered the massive amount of cop cars swarming Dublin, preparing to go door to door until they found what they were looking for. It had seemed odd then, and it was still odd now. But maybe the fey had something to do with the cops being so obsessed about finding the robbers and missing artifacts.
“Some of the items taken were ours.”
What were the fey doing leaving magical items lying around? “You just let your objects sit in museums for humans to look at?”
“It might be hard for you to understand, but since we can create objects of power, we don’t necessarily value them the way a Were or a witch would.” Qusay spread his hands. “What are we supposed to do with the ones we don’t need anymore?”
I shrugged. “Put them in storage?” Like a normal person.