Page 69 of Fated to the Lone Shifter
With a sharp turn, they lead me deeper into the barn.
My mind panics. I hear the sounds of someone being questioned...loudly. Am I next?
I try to calm my nerves. After all, I am trained for this, and they are supposed to be on my team. I study the crime boards posted along the barn walls as I follow. All of the photos I havesent them, plus photos I didn’t. I see several images of Agent Leighton…his articles of clothing…his favorite watch…anything else they could use to identify him.
We step into a stall where a one-way mirror has been set up. This is not your average barn. The mirror reveals the suspect they are interrogating in the next stall. It’s her. Tori.
My relief is instant and sharp. She’s alive. The wolves don't have her.
But my relief is temporary. She is surrounded by scientific equipment, her body outlined in a faint glow—her protection spell, faint and flickering like moonlight on water. A detail I can see only because of the bond we share, and the training that taught me to look past what the eye alone reveals. Her face is drawn, but defiant. Yet, I know she won’t be able to hold that shield forever. How long will she be able to keep her secrets? My secrets? Noah's secrets?
Ember watches my face. I know they’re gauging my reaction. I bite back my distress, opting for fury.
“Why the hell is my cousin here?” I demand. “She’s a medic. She’s not the arsonist. Let her go.”
“We’re nearly finished,” Ember replies calmly.
“You had no right,” I press. “You can’t just kidnap civilians for no reason.”
Ember raises a brow. “We had reason. Bursts of energy. Flames igniting without a source. Magical healing.”
“Did she confess to any of that?”
They smile as if I am kidding. No one ever confesses to that kind of stuff.
“We would have picked up Noah as well, but he wasn’t in his room early this morning. Do you know why?”
I stiffen. A slight pause. “Because he was with me," I lie. "You asked me to seduce him, didn't you?”
Ember smiles, slow and wolfish. “Very good. What did you learn?”
“What didyoulearn?” I question, countering. "Your team was in his room, not me."
“Well, I trust you’ll get us what we need moving forward. Start with his DNA.”
I nod. “Of course,” I agree nonchalantly. Inside, I’m screaming. Noah’s DNA. Tori’s DNA…did they take that too? Our house of cards is beginning to crumble.
I try to throw Ember off their scent. "What did you find out about Bode and the film crew? I like them as suspects. There's something not right about him. And the timing of their arrival and the arsons adds up." Ember hands me a map, color-coded and damning.
"Bode and his people were never near the arson sites at the times of the fires. They were always out of town. Perfect alibis."
ConvenientI whisper to myself.
"Noah, Tori and Marcus are always nearby—always close," Ember adds.
Too close. If I had been here for the first fire, I know my name would be on that map.
I stare at it, willing it to reveal the truth. Wondering where Noah was early this morning when he wasn’t in his bed…or mine.
Ember taps my shoulder. “There, I told you we were almost done.”
I look up and see them pulling a black bag over Tori’s head—the darkness I’d sensed earlier.
“What is she supposed to tell the firehouse?” I challenge.
Ember’s voice is light and mocking as they walk me out. “I’ll leave that to you. Make sure she understands the consequences if she tells anyone what really happened.”
I take the offered head cover and slide into the car with my cousin.
