Page 55 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

Jake held his hand up, and Seth quieted. Jake stared at Keppler. “But why?”

“I need your help.”

Jamie let out a derisive snort. “Okay, that’s a new one.”

Jake glanced at him. “It seems my sons have inherited my sarcasm.”

“I’m being serious.” Keppler pulled out a chair and sat, gesturing for Jake to do the same.

“How canwehelpyou?” Seth asked.

Jake studied Keppler. “Youdohave a mate, don’t you?”

He gave another nod. “Except there’s a problem. She’s one of you—an inmate.”

Seth widened his eyes. “Wow. That’s a tricky one. Good luck with that. And yeah, my heart bleeds for you. Now let us out of here.”

“Wait.” Jake turned to Keppler. “Okay, you have my attention. How do you expect us to help you?”

“This is a trap,” Jamie protested. “Don’t fall for it.”

Jake’s senses were telling him otherwise, and he trusted them.

He gave Keppler a pointed glance. “Well?”

“I… I want to contact the Fridans. I want to tell them how to find this camp so they can liberate it, the same way they did in Bozeman and Texas.”

Seth’s eyes were huge. “You expect us to simplygiveyou this information? Jamie’s right. This is a trap. Why should we?”

Keppler’s eyes were as wide as his. “Because if you don’t, Jana is going to die.”

“That’s her name?” Jake kept his voice low. Keppler seemed to be under a lot of strain. When he nodded, Jake tilted his head. “How is she going to die?”

“That part doesn’t matter. You need to trust me that it’s a probability. And I can’t do a thing to change it, because it’s out of my jurisdiction. The only way I can save her is for the Fridans to take this camp and set everyone free.”

Jake frowned. “But you’re a Geran.”

“Yes, but an enlightened one. Just because I’m a descendant of Ansger, that—”

“Wait.” Seth’s jaw dropped. “Really?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I should follow blindly if I don’t like the road I found myself on. Can you believe that?”

“Ican,” Jamie piped up. “I found myself on that same road, so I took a detour.”

Keppler regarded him with interest. “And?”

“What I’ve learned since then brought me new understanding about what’s really going on. Unfortunately, it also brought me to this place, because you caught me trying to help the Fridans.”

Keppler’s eyes held genuine anguish. “Then will you helpme? We have to move fast. I don’t know how long we have before—”

“I get it,” Jake interjected. “But there’s one flaw to your plan. I don’t know how to contact the Fridans.”

Keppler’s face fell. “Oh. I see. Then the situation is hopeless.”

“I might be able to help you,” Seth blurted. “I could get a message to Aric. He’s my mate.”

Keppler gaped at him. “You can do that?” Seth nodded, and Keppler’s eyes shone. “Thank you.”

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