Page 50 of Artemis' Bow
Grant opens his mouth to say something snarky, I’m sure, but I cut him off. “Enough. We don’t have time for all the bullshit. We are working on saving the moon goddess. Is that all?”
“Yeah.” Grant clenches his jaw. “We will be on our way.”
“Hold on,” Greyson says and bows his head when I glare at him. “I promise I have something constructive to say.”
“Fine, but if you delay us, Raven is going to kick your ass.” I shrug.
“Yup,” Raven agrees.
“What did you mean that you’re having trouble shifting?” Greyson asks.
“It started when the moon didn’t rise. The pups can’t shift at all, and I can’t force their shifts either. There were several in shifted form when it happened, and they are stuck in wolf form. But as time has gone on, some of the weaker wolves have reported they can’t shift either. It’s becoming more difficult for the dominant wolves now.”
“What happens if a shifter can’t shift?” I ask, dread pooling in my gut.
“They become more animal than man and go feral. It’s a death sentence.”
13
“Adeath sentence?” I gasp. “Some of them are just children, right?”
Grant’s nod is solemn. “If they are like this more than a month, I fear we will have to put them down to keep the pack safe and not alert the humans that there are really paranormal creatures in the world.”
“Okay, no pressure. Right. Just the lives of a bunch of puppies on the line as well as the world. It shouldn’t take another three weeks. If we don’t succeed, the world will end before you have to put anyone down,” I say.
It’s not a great consolation but at least he won’t have to kill kids to protect everyone. I don’t intend to fail or take that long to deal with this.
“Hang in there another ten days max. I don’t think I can keep my sanity much longer than that with the constant sun.” Greyson pats Grant on the shoulder.
“I don’t anticipate being able to hang on that long either. We need to move.” I scan the parking lot of the strip club.
“I really do appreciate you stepping up every time there’s a catastrophic event.” Grant bows his head.
“You don’t even know the half of it,” I grumble.
“Well, if you ever need us, you just call me with that weird shell thingy.” Grant laughs.
“War is coming, so you might not want to offer help in that regard,” I say.
“You’re protecting us all. The least we can do is stand at your back when the time comes.” Grant reaches out, clasping my forearm with his in a warrior’s handshake.
“I appreciate that. Wolf shifters of several different packs have become friends of Halfling Academy.” I bow my head in deference to the alpha.
“Noah is still passed out. You might want to get him out of here before he wakes up and runs his damn mouth again,” Greyson grumbles.
Grant snaps his fingers and two of his enforcers lift Noah off the ground. He groans as they walk away. Taking a cleansing breath, I turn to the strip club with a growl. I do not like this place and all the tacky mirrors and bullshit.
“Maybe they’re closed because it’s the middle of the day?” Raven suggests hopefully.
“It looks like daytime all the time. I doubt it has to be dark for them to be open.” My hands are loose at my sides, ready for anything to jump out and try to eat me the way the demons attacked the humans before, but nothing happens.
“Let’s just get it over with so we can get to Phoenix before it’s too late and we are all exhausted,” Jayden says.
He wraps an arm around my waist as we walk into the rebuilt building that just a few months ago had been little more than rubble. The stages in the room are empty. Thank the gods for that. I relax marginally as we walk cautiously through the empty space.
“Finally,” a gruff voice calls from the back. “I had to close down the entire club for the day until you lot got here.”
“So sorry to inconvenience you but this isn’t my first choice of destination either, so I think we’re even,” I snarl at him.
