Natalie thanked the cab driver and gave him a generous tip as the man pulled in front of her condo building on Lakeshore Drive. The snow had grown heavier, and Natalie was glad she’d found a cab driver during rush hour. She was not in the mood to take public transportation right now.

Kurt followed her to the front door of her building, not saying anything as they passed the bored doorman and made their way into the elevators. She remained silent as well, all the way up to the twenty-seventh floor, where she unlocked the door to her condo and let Kurt in, shutting the door behind him before turning to shake her head in his direction.

“It’s really you. I never thought I’d see you again.”

He grunted in response, pulling off the boots he’d stolen from one of the dark wizards. The boots looked like they were a size or two too small, and he had a hard time removing them from his giant dragon feet.

“I could say the same to you,” he finally said.

Natalie set her keys down and went to her kitchen, where she pulled the cork out of the bottle of wine she’d opened last night. She grabbed two glasses and filled them, coming back to the living room and handing one to Kurt before gesturing toward the couch.

“Sit. Drink. Warm up and rest. And then tell me what the heck you’re doing getting involved in magical skirmishes in the middle of Chicago.”

Natalie had a million questions she wanted to ask Kurt. She’d held off on all of them until now, though. When she’d first recognized him out on the middle of the lake, she’d been tempted to ask him for his story right then and there. He looked like he’d felt the same about her. But before either of them could start talking, they’d heard the distant whir of a helicopter—likely a news chopper.

“Hold your questions. We should get somewhere sheltered,” Natalie had said. “Let’s go to my apartment to talk. The sooner we get out of this wide open space, the better.”

Kurt had agreed, and Natalie had skillfully steered the boat back to shore under an invisibility shield. She had gone slower than she would have liked, to make sure the shield stayed intact. Then she’d struggled to find a cab. The whole time she’d been biting her tongue, wanting desperately to know what the hell Kurt was doing.

“I joined a clan,” he said now, his words bringing her abruptly back to the present moment.

“You what? I thought you swore you were never doing that again.”

They’d both sworn that, actually. Kurt and Natalie had met near the end of the last war. They’d both been refugees in the shifter-wizard city of Falcon Cross, and had ended up as neighbors. Kurt had been fun, and flirty, and he and Natalie had frequently gone out to dinner together, or even made dinner at home to eat while watching sitcom marathons. Nothing serious had ever happened between them. Once, Natalie had thought Kurt was going to kiss her, but he’d stopped short of actually putting his lips on hers. It had just been a fun friendship with the slightest hint of underlying sexual tension—a welcome distraction in the midst of a depressing war.

When the war ended, they had both gone their separate ways. Neither one of them wanted any part of clan life anymore. Too many clans had proven to be woefully unprepared for war, and many shifters and wizards figured the best way to avoid repeating the pain of losing clan members and dealing with an under-qualified High Council was simply to disappear into the human world. Kurt had been one of the most vocal dragon shifters to speak out against clan life. He’d been invited to join the prestigious Redwood Dragons clan, but he’d declined, disappearing into the human world instead. He went undercover, never to be heard from again.

Or so Natalie had thought, until he showed up on that boat today. She’d disappeared into the human world, too. Unfortunately for her, she’d chosen the city of Chicago as her hiding place. She’d thought the size of the city would make it a good hideout, but these days, Chicago was teeming with dark wizards. Not the best place for blending in as a human, especially when, like Natalie, you couldn’t resist striking back when a dark wizard struck.

“Yeah, I know what I swore,” Kurt said. He took a long swig of his wine and shrugged. “But a lot has changed since I last saw you.”

“Such as?”

“Such as, I got kidnapped by Dark Warriors. You know about the Dark Warriors, I’m assuming?”

Natalie’s eyes widened. “Of course I know about the Dark Warriors. It’s impossible to be a shifter or wizard in Chicago and not know about them. But how in the world did they manage to kidnap you? How did they even find you? Didn’t you head off to some small, indistinct human town?”

Kurt nodded, his expression turning weary. “I did. I don’t know exactly how they tracked me down, but they’ve gotten pretty good at finding shifters and wizards who are hiding out. They’ve been aggressively tracking us, especially dragon shifters. They found me, but I had no idea that anything was even going on in the shifter-wizard world. I wasn’t being watchful enough, and they took me completely by surprise. Kidnapped me, chained me up, and tried to force me to kill a bunch of wizard kids.”

“Wow.”

“Yup. ‘Wow’ is right. Those wizard kids were from a clan known as Torch Lake. When some Torch Lake citizens came to rescue me, I agreed to stay in the city for a short time on a trial basis. I fell in love with the place and decided to stay permanently.”

“I never thought I’d see the day,” Natalie said, shaking her head. “You were so set against clan life.”

Kurt gave her another sheepish shrug. “That’s because I didn’t know how awesome clan life could be. Torch Lake is different. And the High Council there actually listens to and cares about its citizens. Once I saw how great the place was, I couldn’t leave.”

Natalie furrowed her brow. “But you did leave. You’re in Chicago right now.”

Kurt chuckled. “Yeah. I guess you’re wondering what the hell I’m doing here.”

“You guessed right. What are you doing here?”

“The Torch Lake High Council is concerned about the rise in magical disturbances across the United States. Since Chicago seems like a hotspot for these disturbances, they sent me here to check things out. I was at a loss as to how to find the Dark Warriors, but it looks like they accidentally found me. At least, a handful of them found me. I’m actually hoping you have some insight on how to find them, since you seemed to be right there and ready to attack when they blew up that car.”

Natalie sighed, and shook her head no. She felt bad disappointing Kurt. His expression looked so hopeful right now. But she didn’t have any inside information on the Dark Warriors. “I was there by coincidence. At least, I think I was.”

“You think you were? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, it’s possible the Dark Warriors were trailing me, I guess. But if they were, they probably would have chosen a less populated spot to blow up a car and flush me out.”

“Flush you out? You’re talking in riddles. What do you mean?”

Natalie came to sit in the armchair directly across from Kurt. “What I mean is, the Dark Warriors are in Chicago hunting down wizards and shifters. They’re causing all of these disturbances to try and flush us out, like a hunter might flush out his prey. They know that a lot of shifters and wizards escaped to Chicago, and they’re trying to find us. We all are careful about blending in with other humans, so we’re really hard to find.”

A look of understanding dawned on Kurt’s face. “But most of you can’t stand seeing blatant evil and not doing anything.”

“Exactly. They know that if they cause chaos, like blowing something up or harming an innocent human, that any good wizards or shifters who happen to be around will step up to help. So they’ve been running around causing all these disturbances to try to trick us into revealing where we are.”

“But why? Just so they can kill you off?”

“No. They’re kidnapping as many wizards and shifters as possible. No one knows where they’re taking them, but the general consensus is that they’re trying to torture anyone they capture into agreeing to fight for the side of evil.”

Kurt groaned. “That makes perfect sense. That’s exactly what they did with me. They tried so hard to convince me to accept dark magic and become a dark dragon.”

“I’m really glad you didn’t give in,” Natalie said. She felt an unexpected lump of emotion rising in her throat. She had only known Kurt for a short snippet of time, but the two of them had been good friends for that time. Even though they’d lost touch after the war, it would have killed her to see him go over to the side of evil.

Kurt suddenly sat up straighter. “Wait, so when they blew up that car today and you chased after it, they saw you. They’ll be looking for you now.”

Natalie shrugged. “I doubt it. My face was all bundled up because of the cold, so any video surveillance they had near the explosion wouldn’t have given them much of a clue as to who I am. And all of the wizards on that boat are dead now.”

Kurt still looked doubtful, but he sat back again. “Where were they going on that boat? Do you think they had a specific destination in mind, or were they just trying to get as far away from the explosion as possible?”

“Hard to say. There are rumors that the Dark Warriors have a headquarters somewhere in the center of Lake Michigan, but no one has offered any hard proof of that. All anyone really knows for sure is that the presence of evil is growing stronger in Chicago, and it’s a problem.”

Kurt frowned. “Yeah. It’s a big problem. The strength of evil is growing everywhere. It’s part of why the Torch Lake High Council is so concerned. They’re worried that we might be on the verge of another war.”

Natalie chewed her lower lip for a moment. “They’re probably right.”

She hated saying the words out loud. It made this all feel so real. But if what she’d seen in Chicago over the last few months was any indication, war was definitely brewing. She’d done her best not to think about it, but that was getting harder and harder to do. Especially when the Dark Warriors kept popping up and causing trouble. No one knew where they were hiding, and with all of the shifters and wizards in Chicago refusing to reveal to anyone that they were more than just human, there was no solid network of good shifters and wizards here. Sure, Natalie heard bits and pieces of news. But there was no certainty, and no way to band together against the darkness. Every wizard and shifter here was an island, fighting on their own.

Kurt leaned back against the couch, looking exhausted. “I should get back to my hotel room and rest. It’s been a long day, and I need to report back to Torch Lake’s High Council about the explosion and the boat. I just wish I had something truly useful to report, like a lead on where the Dark Warriors are hiding. It’s not all that helpful to tell them that there was another explosion. Sadly enough, that’s hardly news.”

Natalie felt unexpectedly sad at the thought of his leaving. She wished there was something she could do to help him, but she’d done her best to stay out of the wizard-shifter world. The whole point of being in Chicago was to stay away from that stuff. There was one possible lead she had for him. It was a long shot, but it was better than nothing. But it would require her admitting to a bear shifter she hardly knew that she was a wizard. So far, Natalie had acted like she didn’t know what anyone was talking about if they approached her about anything relating to the shifter world. But with dark magic rising, perhaps it was time to take a few risks. So she took a deep breath, and told Kurt about the bear shifter before she could change her mind.

“There is one thing I know that might be helpful for you. One person, I should say.”

Kurt sat up straighter again, suddenly alert. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. A few weeks ago, a bear shifter approached me about an underground network of shifters and wizards. They’ve been trying to recruit people to help fight the Dark Warriors in the city. I told him he was crazy and acted like I didn’t know anything about shifters or magic. That’s been my response any time anyone has suspected me of being a wizard. I play dumb.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “You know that if someone is approaching you about a secret group, they are probably very sure that you’re a wizard. I doubt that playing dumb fooled them.”

Natalie shrugged. She knew what he said was true, but she still felt that staying uninvolved was the best course of action. At least, she’d felt that way until today. After fighting the wizards out on that boat, she had realized that it was only a matter of time until all of them were forced to get involved. With darkness rising, if you stood on the sidelines too long you might as well be supporting evil. To do nothing was to help the dark wizards. Still, Natalie felt a bit frustrated by Kurt’s flippant comment.

“I don’t think anyone was one hundred percent sure I’m a wizard. But if I join the underground network, they’ll be sure. It’s a big step for me. Maybe you’ve been in your new clan too long and you’ve forgotten what it feels like to just want to hide out and be normal. But it’s something I still struggle with every day.”

Kurt’s expression softened. “I’m sorry, Nat. I haven’t forgotten. I know it’s a big step. I’m just hoping you understand how serious the problem with the Dark Warriors is becoming. We are all going to have to step up and fight soon enough, if things keep going the way they are.”

Natalie nodded, trying to regain her composure. She felt flustered, and her heart had done an unexpected flip-flop in her chest when he called her “Nat.” He’d almost never used her full name back when they were in Falcon Cross, although he’d been using it tonight. Hearing her old nickname again somehow made her feel closer to Kurt, despite the years and the distance that had grown between them.

“I know you’re right,” she said. “Which is why, if you want, I’ll introduce you to this underground network.”

“I’d like that very much,” Kurt said, his expression still tender.

Natalie swallowed hard and nodded. “Ok, let me go check the flyer he gave me. It has information on the meeting times and locations. He gave me the password, too, but said it’s not written down anywhere for fear the Dark Warriors would learn it. I hope I remember it. Something about mel, or mel ollam? It was a weird word. Obviously not English.”

Kurt laughed. “That sounds like something a bear shifter would come up with. It’s Latin for honey. Honey pot, I think.”

Natalie smiled. “I didn’t know that. I’m surprised you do.”

Kurt shrugged. “During college I had a roommate who was studying Latin, so I actually picked up quite a few things. It’s been useful in learning all the different spells the wizards use. There are so many of them that it’s hard to keep up.”

Natalie was digging through a pile of papers in her junk drawer now, looking for the underground network’s flyer. “I guess it doesn’t seem like a lot of spells to me, since I’ve been learning them since I was old enough to talk. Got it! Here’s the flyer.”

She scanned the information, which was relatively vague. The bear shifter had told her the name of the bar, which she remembered because she’d looked it up online after she’d met him. It was a little dive bar in the Uptown neighborhood, probably chosen because the bartenders weren’t the type to ask questions. Who knew, maybe the bartenders were part of the network. The bar name wasn’t actually printed on the flyer, certainly for the same reason the password wasn’t. No one wanted the Dark Warriors to come across the flyer and figure out where the underground network was meeting. The only information on the flyer was that the meetings of “concerned citizens” took place at the designated location, every Wednesday night at eight o’clock.

Natalie looked up at Kurt, her eyes widening. “Wait, isn’t today Wednesday?”

“Yes. Why?”

She waved the flyer around frantically. “This flyer says the network meets Wednesday at eight o’clock. We could go tonight.”

She glanced at the clock above her stove, which read 7:55. “We’ll be a little late, but not by much. What do you say?”

Kurt was already jumping to his feet. “Let’s do it,” he said. The sooner I get in touch with these people, the better.”

Natalie felt her heart starting to race. She wasn’t sure she was ready to reveal herself to the network. She’d thought she’d have a few more days to process everything. But Kurt wanted to go tonight, and she couldn’t blame him for that. She was worried that if he went without her, they wouldn’t let him in. So she had no choice. She was about to join the resistance.

Although she’d spent the last several years trying to avoid getting involved in any sort of resistance, she found herself excited at the prospect of what lay ahead.

And, if she was honest with herself, part of that excitement came from the fact that Kurt was part of that resistance. As she watched him now, pulling his too-small borrowed wizard shoes back on, she felt a strange pang of desire.

She hadn’t even realized how much she’d missed him until he walked back into her life.