Page 16 of Shadow's End

“Plenty of mines. There’s a self-guided two-kilometer walking track situated there, but we generally encourage tourists to keep out of the deeper forests surrounding the reef because of the mine shaft dangers. I take it he’s not located anywhere easy to get to?”

“Are they ever?” I responded. “It still might be worth driving around the area first to see if I can pick up a signal from the ring Maelle gave me. It could save us some time.”

Could waste it, too, but given my tendency to find mine shafts the hard way, I’d really prefer not to be walking around an area full of them.

“We can certainly do that.”

I smiled. “There’s no need for you to accompany us. I’ll call if we find something. Besides, you surely have more important things to do than drive around the reservation with the three of us.”

“Thereisnothing more important than sorting out this whole vampire mess right now, because you and I need to marry, and the sooner the better.”

I laughed again. “I’m not going to run away on you, Aiden. And it’s not like a marriage certificate will stop that if I do decide to run.”

“I know. I just…”

Want to make you mine. Officially.He didn’t say that, but it nevertheless seemed to sing down the line between us.

“I was, and always will be, yours,” I said softly. “Nothing will ever change that.”

“Wish I could echo the first part of that statement, but it took me too damnably long to realize you’d stolen my heart.”

“I forgive you,” I said lightly. “You are a werewolf, after all, and sometimes the alpha trait gets in the way of common sense.”

He laughed. “Says the witch who constantly ignores common sense.”

I smiled, but it quickly faded. “Aiden, has there been an uptick in missing person reports of late?”

“Not that I’m aware of. Why?”

“Because I saw what looked to be the vamps’ feeding ground, and there were a lot of bodies in there.”

“Ah, fuck,” he muttered. “I’ll contact the alphas and get them to check the isolated farms near their compounds. If too many people had gone missing from towns, we would have received reports by now. Where are you now?”

“Outside Maelle’s.”

“Then head back to the café and I’ll meet you all there. My truck can cope with the rougher tracks up near the Eureka Reef better than either yours or Monty’s.”

“Monty’s can barely cope with a dirt road.”

Aiden laughed. “Don’t let him hear you say that. He’s inordinately fond of that rust bucket of his.”

So fond he’d given her a name—Beast. Which, in many ways, was appropriate, because it certainly was a beast of a thing to drive—in a bad way, not good.

“I’ll see you soon, then.”

I hung up and glanced at Monty. “Aiden’s going to meet us at the café.”

“Ashworth asked if we could pick him up on the way through,” Monty said. “Eli’s going to contact a cousin in Canberra and see what he knows about the dark path.”

My eyebrows rose. “Did his cousin work for the HIC?”

“Quite some years ago, apparently, but he still has access to their resources and can do a search for us. Whether it’ll result in a means of tracing or even blocking these entry points is anyone’s guess.”

“Maelle can obviously see them,” Belle commented. “It would be handy if she started coming to the party with some information.”

“I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen,” Monty muttered. “Shall we go?”

I nodded, and jumped into the SUV, doing a U-turn, and led the way back to the café. I parked around the back, then, after dropping the ring into the center console, out of immediate sight, I grabbed my pack and walked up the steps, avoiding the stained patch of concrete—all that was left of the vampire who’d been incinerated there not long ago. Not by me, but by the sun.

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