Page 75 of Voyage of Fury and Fate

“How do you know?” Fran asks.

“Alex senses her. He says the boy is a shield and is hiding their energy from her.”

“That’s useful,” Luna adds.

“She must have followed them here,” Thorne says as he and Michael join our group. Michael’s eyes match his wife’s as they stand emotionless beside us.

“I’ll protect them,” Fran says, nodding toward the parents and Edon. “Go, find that bitch.”

“Split up,” Thorne orders. “She can’t be far.”

Amelia and Topher move toward the city, whileMicah and Luna stay inside the zoo grounds. Thorne and I head back toward the water. “What are we looking for?” Thorne asks.

“I don’t know. A boat maybe?” We comb the edge of the river, searching for an unmanned boat that would’ve brought Patrice to shore. Other than the ferry that brings people up and down the river, there are no boats docked anywhere nearby.

“You don’t think she’d swim?”

“I doubt it. She doesn’t seem like the kind that would want to get her hair wet.” I stop moving, standing still. “Why don’t I feel her?”

Thorne copies my movement. “Aye, I don’t feel her either. In fact, I don’t feel anyone.”

“What?” I send my energy out, searching for the familiar energies of the lycan and Fran, finding nothing. “What the hell?”

I catch a glimpse of dark hair moving through the zoo faster than human speed. I don’t feel the vampire, but there’s no denying that it’s Patrice. Grabbing Thorne’s arm, I pull him behind an ancient oak tree, hiding us from view. The woman moves closer, and my suspicion is correct. It’s Patrice. Shit.

“That’s her. She’ll sense us,”Thorne says.

We watch as she continues moving, walking past our hiding spot.“She didn’t feel us,”I state the obvious.

“How is that possible?” he asks once she’s moved on.

“Brayden. Alex said he’s a shield.”

Thorne laughs. “Yeah, I heard, but there’s no way he would be able to shield the entire zoo, is there?”

We move from our hiding spot, following behind the insane vampire. “Apparently there is. We can’t let her out of sight. We have to follow her.”

“Remember, we’ll lose Brayden’s shield the further we move from him.”Thorne’s reminder rings through my mind.

We follow Patrice through the zoo, back to the river and a small dock slightly upriver. “There’s her boat.” I nod toward a small vessel docked along the pier.

“Elsie,”Alex says through my mind.“You’re getting too close. She’s going to sense you.”

“We can’t let her escape. It’s the only way to find your sisters.”

“No,”he answers.“She’ll kill both of you.”

“We don’t have a choice.”

“Yes, we do.” I turn, finding the two boys standing behind us. “Keep him safe. She won’t kill me.” Before I have time to react, Alex is gone, following Patrice.

“Hello, Mother,” he says, stopping behind her.

“Alex! No!”Without words, Patrice grabs him and has him inside the boat seconds later.

“Stay back, Elsie!”he warns.“You have to keep Brayden safe. I’ll be okay. I’ll let you know where we go. We have no choice,”he repeats my words from earlier.

“Alex,”I lose the battle to keep my sadness from sounding through my voice.

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