Page 50 of Crimson Shifter

“Now,” he continued. “I'll need to go wrangle more information out of this hunter. Care to join me?”

I shook my head. “I've had enough of him to last me a lifetime,” I said, my heart cracking as the words left my mouth.

“Fair enough,” he said. “Go be with Mother. You'll be safe there. I'll fetch you when I’m done.”

I nodded, and it took every ounce of strength I possessed to wait until I heard his footsteps disappear down to the basement before I raced with vampire speed to the edge of the island, to the spot I knew was just outside the protective wards of this place, and I wended. I only had enough strength to make it to the border of the Florida Keys, my power not nearly as great as those of my mate.

I grabbed the burner phone that I’d taken from Talon, redialing the last number that he had called.

“Talon?” Zachariah answered immediately.

“No,” I said, the panic leaching out now that I was no longer holding it back. “I need you to get to me now.” I took a picture of my surroundings, sending it to Zachariah. It only took a few moments before the ancient vampire wended before me, his eyes darting around the area looking for Talon.

“They've taken him,” were the only words I was able to get out before Zachariah grabbed me hard enough to hurt before wending us back to the king's residence.

He let go of me so quickly that I fell to my knees, tears already streaming down my face. Every instinct in my body was roaring at me to get back to my mate.

The story spilled out of my mouth, quickly and harshly, my words coated in a sense of urgency that none of the surrounding hunters seemed to believe.

“No way Talon allowed himself to be captured,” Ajax said to Zachariah.

“Benedict,” I said, nodding to the assassin who’d just walked into the study where Zachariah had wended us.

All the other hunters were present, complete with Benedict and Hawk. Jocelyn and Grace hurried into the room, their eyes wide at the sight of me on my knees before all of these powerful vampires.

“Babe, what the fuck?” Jocelyn asked, elbowing Benedict as I stared up at him in hope.

Her mate rolled up his sleeves and shook his head. “She's not lying.”

“Unless she's found a way to manipulate your power,” Zachariah countered.

I finally found the strength to stand, my rage palpable. “The longer we stand here arguing, the closer my brother is to killing Talon. We need togo.”

“I believe her,” Grace, Ajax's mate, said, nodding toward me. “She's done nothing but help us,” she said, referring to the home filled with foster kids with potential supernatural blood that I'd helped save with her.

“I agree,” Jocelyn said.

“Me too,” Avi, the king’s sister and Hawke’s mate, said, popping up out of nowhere. Hawk rolled his eyes, no doubt already knowing his mate had been standing there invisible the whole time.

“Be that as it may,” Zachariah said. “We find it highly unlikely that Talon would have been taken by surprise?—”

“He was trying not to blow his cover,” I cut off the ancient warrior. “This was the first time we'd seen Edward. It was our first shot at getting real information and Talon didn't realize that Shadow always growls at Edward. She's hated him from day one, and Edward knew so quickly that Talon didn't get a chanceto react. He had no chance,” I said, my voice cracking as tears rolled down my cheeks. “My brother is likely doing unspeakable things to him right now. And he has guards everywhere. Most of them are on my mother because she knows all the information that Edward does, but I have no doubt there's probably a half dozen in the dungeon with him and Talon. I cannot save him on my own.”

“Save him?” Dagon asked, shaking his head. “Since when have you cared about anybody but yourself?”

“That's not fair,” Grace dared to challenge him, and Ajax stepped a little in front of his mate, as if he was going to have to stand between her and his brother.

Dagon made no move toward her though. His eyes were only for me, and they were livid. “I think it's more likely that you walked him into this trap.”

Gods, I hated them in that moment.

Hated the fact that they couldn't see past my father and his agenda.

And even while I could understand it, I’d done nothing but prove myself since the Zorin name had been sullied.

“Alek,” I said as I watched the king and Lachlan enter the room finally. “Please, I need you to believe me.”

Alek looked more inclined to be understandable. “Cassandra has done nothing but make amends and work for us since the day her father was outed as the traitor he was.”

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