Page 99 of Fated to the Lone Shifter
He trusted his instincts, not the agent’s instruction manual. And those instincts were razor-sharp. Leighton could walk into a room, scan a case file, and find the one piece everyone else missed. That’s why I respected him. That’s why I trusted him. And I’d like to think that’s what he saw in me. That extra something that made me special. He just didn’t know it stemmed from my being a witch.
Our relationship was never soft. He wasn’t warm or overly protective. That wasn’t his way. But he treated me like a partner, even when the Bureau didn’t. We were both outsiders—agents who noticed the cracks in the story and weren’t afraid to dig deeper. He followed patterns the others ignored: wildfires that behaved too strangely, victims who looked… mauled, not murdered. Even without knowing about the supernatural, hesensedit and sought it out. He didn’t have magic, but he had a mind that didn’t require easy answers.
And that made him dangerous. Especially to the monsters hiding in plain sight. Many of whom worked for the Bureau.
He was the one that taught me to distrust everyone, even our handlers and administrators. “Even me,” he had said.
The last time we spoke, his voice was tight. Paranoid. Focused. He’d found something. Or someone. And I think he knew he wouldn’t get a second chance to say more. I remember him saying, “Lyra, if anything happens to me, trust your instincts. You are ready.”
That scared me. He didn’t ruffle easily.
When he went dark, I felt it in my gut. Not an accident. Not random. Leighton was too damn careful for that. I read the report, of course—said all the right things to Ember and the department heads. But I already knew: he didn’t just disappear. He was taken out. Erased.
And my gut led me to who did it.
Bode.
I try to imagine what Leighton must’ve felt when he realized he had his man, and he wasn’t a man at all. Something wasn’t right. The way the shadows followed too precisely. The way the forest grew quiet—not calm, but tense. Like it was holding its breath. He wouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. He’d stay rational. Methodical. But deep down, I know he would’ve felt it in his bones—that primal kind of fear you can’t explain.
Because Leighton was a hunter. A trained investigator. And I think, for the first time in his life, he realizedhewas being hunted.
By something ancient and angry, fast and cruel—and smart enough to silence him before the truth could spread.
The thought guts me.
Because Leighton didn’t just die. Heknew. He figured it out. The Bureau ignored him, the system dismissed the signs, but he saw the truth for what it was. He knew something darker was stalking the edges of our world, and in the end, no badge or gun or logic could save him. No lone shifter, let alone a lone human, has the skills to fight that kind of darkness alone.
And now he’s gone.
The last thread allowing me to flourish in a human institution. The only person who believed in the impossible without needing proof. Without needingmeto explain.
And the worst part? His killer is now after me.
Fate has determined that I’m next. And so is Noah.
And the bonfire will be existential.
As I near the firehouse, I know it’s time I get my head back in the game. Tonight there is no room for error.
I am grateful for the bag Tori prepared for me in the woods as backup. Tools of survival. Weapons for when words and spells aren’t enough. Insurance against betrayal and subterfuge.
I stop at the last stoplight heading out of town. The moon is halfway up the sky in the East, midway to its midnight apex. I can feel it in my bones—the crackling of magic rising like static across my skin. The wolves will shift soon, whether they want to or not, and the pull of this celestial body will be even stronger on them.
We’ve got only a little time left. Just enough time for them to go wherever they go before their full moon hunt and inferno..
Their power will be at its peak. And if we’re not ready, the entire town is going to burn.
At the firehouse, I run smack into Captain Greene on the way in from the parking lot. He’s got everyone on high alert. All firefighters are bunking down in the house for the night. I cringe, considering Marcus and his transition.
The Captain addresses me. “Agent. Are the authorities ready?” “As ready as they’ll ever be,” I respond. He shakes a scoldingfinger at me. “I knew you were up to something. I’m just glad it wasn’t arson. It would have been a shame to lock a pretty young thing like you up.”
I smile despite my desperation. “Captain. I’m sorry for your loss. Agent Leighton.” He shakes his head from side to side, no stranger to the reality of life and death. “He was my mentor at the Bureau and a stellar agent,” I share.
Greene echoes. “And a stellar ranger.” We both take a beat in honor of a great man.
“I was wondering,” I continue, “what case was he working on when he was here? Did he happen to tell you?”
There’s a brief pause as he decides whether to confide in me. “Ah, what’s the harm now?” he says. “Al had re-opened the house fire case of Noah’s parents. Apparently, he had found some connection between recent arsons in nearby states and that one. I never had details, but I knew he was getting close.”
