She couldn’t keep her jaw from dropping open. “Really?”

“Yes. You have quite a bit of talent.”

Sofia rubbed her face. It was talent that she did not want.

16

Levi

The relief at seeing Sofia safe had been so all-encompassing that Levi nearly dropped to his knees right there in the middle of the clearing, in front of the entire motorcycle crew.

Levi had even stumbled but righted himself before anyone saw. He didn’t care what they thought. But he didn’t want them to think he was incapable of protecting her. Now that he knew she was unharmed, he would be fine.

Her distress was evident, but apparently, she’d already bonded with one of the females from the crew. He was just grateful it wasn’t one of the males.

His phone buzzed. Normally he would ignore a call during a time like this, but Nora’s name flashed across the screen. “Excuse me,” he said to the group. A call from her during this kind of crisis could not wait.

“Levi. I am on my way,” she said, before he even had a chance to say hello.

“You’re coming here? To Texas?” he clarified.

“Yes. If these are the same wolves that held me captive, then I want to be there. I was planning to try and meet Sofia anyway,while she was visiting Rhett. I think I can help her harness her power.”

He wasn’t sure how Nora would know that without having even spoken to her, but who was he to interfere? If that’s what Nora wanted, then he was all for it. Anything to keep Sofia safe.

He hung up and went back to Sofia. “You’re not going to want to hear this. But you need to come back with me.”

“To Cedar Lake?”

“Yes. That was Nora. She’s on her way.”

“Is that a good idea? What if they try to capture her again?”

“I don’t want to speak for her, but Nora has spent much of her time since then honing her skills. She will teach you as well. Already you were able to escape them in a short amount of time. She thinks with some training, she can help you. It won’t eliminate the threat, but it will minimize it.”

“But you’ll still have to be very aware,” Max said. “None of us are immune. Even a human with the right tools and training can be lethal to a shifter.”

“We have to go,” Levi said. He had to put aside absolute heartbreak. His devastation did not matter. He had to get her out of these woods.

“He’s right, Sofia,” Max said. “It will be a lot easier to defend Kellan’s house than it would be for us to protect you out in the woods. And it’s a perfect place for home base. A lot of us can stay there.”

“You’re coming?”

“Yes, I’m coming, and so is my mate.” A human woman stepped forward. “I’m Jordan. And I’m coming too. We were on our way to visit when we heard about your threat. My family has been hunters for generations, and we can handle some asshole wolves.”

“Hunters?” Liam had no idea what she meant.

“They hunt rogue supernaturals.”

Well, that was disturbing. But she was mated to a dragon shifter, so he assumed they weren’t in any danger from her.

“Everyone reacts like that,” Jordan said. “No one trusts me at first.”

Levi tried to hide his unease. “I appreciate your help.”

“Me too,” said Sofia. “I wish I had gotten to know you all under better circumstances. I came here to visit and now I’m disrupting your lives.”

“It’s not a problem,” Max said. “This is what we do.” He and the rest left to gather their belongings.