Tyler had sensed Camden’s approach. He couldn’t have said how, though. He didn’t scent her. He didn’t hear her.

Yet, something had told him she was approaching. He’d slipped out and hidden in the crevices of another tunnel, and waited.

His senses had not let him down. He studied her stealthy approach, how her eyes glittered in the darkness, how her fur was thick and gleaming. Muscular and lithe, she was a lethal weapon wrapped in a sexy package.

A sexy package that wanted to take the girls away.

His bear snarled a warning at Tyler. Really? The bear was taking her side? Tyler wondered what the bear knew that he didn’t.

He studied the feline; that’s when he picked it up. A sadness, a dejection in her walk. She was definitely affected.

Was it because of the council and all this?

He pushed for a sync, and she accepted quickly.

And then damn, if his temper didn’t overcome him again.

“What are you doing here?” He hadn’t been able to stop himself. “Are you here to take the twins away from me?”

His bear growled at frustration with Tyler’s having blurted that out.

Camden’s panther flinched at his growl.

Damn. He felt bad. He hadn’t meant to scare her.

“Tyler.” Her panther turned to face him, her expression earnest, her posture nonthreatening. “I’m here to help.”

“Follow me.” He wasn’t going to stay here and talk to her and possibly get caught by the others, maybe upset the twins.

He led her down the tunnel to a fork, then down another path.

Tyler’s bear stopped and turned to face her panther. His breath caught at how stunning a creature she was. They should probably speak in their human forms. “Let’s shift,” he told her in their sync.

He didn’t wait for her reply, deciding that her panther might not fully trust him to shifter when she did, he took the initiative and seized control from his bear, pushing his human form for a shift.

His bones began their transformation, becoming human-sized, reforming to their original state. His fur receded, sinews and muscles shrank.

Seconds later, he was in his jeans and flannel shirt, shaking the dirt off and trying to rearrange clothing that had become a wrinkled mess.

He looked like he’d been in a wrestling match and lost.

He smacked his palms against his thighs, dust rising in the process.

The sound of Camden’s shift brought his head up.

First came the crunching and tearing, and seconds later, she was in her human form, an agonizing expression on her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Damn. It never stops being so fucking painful.” She yanked at her clothing, trying to rearrange it.

Tyler knew the hellacious pain of shifting, but still, her reaction was comical. He fought back a smile of amusement, forced himself to remember she was the enemy.

He studied her as if he were a man in the midst of a drought and she was the sweetest source of fresh water. He didn’t know how he was going to proceed with this situation, and it hurt like hell, because a part of him couldn’t bear to lose her. But the same part of him couldn’t bear the notion of losing the twin girls he’d become extremely fond of.

Camden stopped rearranging her top and looked at him, her eyes, a deep dark blue, were pinned to his.

Ah, he knew those eyes. Avala was back. But why? Didn’t matter why, as far as he was concerned, she was butting in.

He leaned against the tunnel’s cool, rock wall. “Mind if I speak with Camden?”

“I don’t mind, but I’d like a word first, if I may.”

He inclined his head into a faint nod.

Avala’s face was somber. He couldn’t bear to think of her as Camden because Camden was the woman he’d fallen in love with—yeah, yeah, he’d admitted it, even to himself. He was in love with Camden Brazos.

But then again, he knew love didn’t conquer everything, now did it? He knew that very well.

He turned his attention back to Avala’s face. Funny how even her features seemed a bit different when Avala was at the forefront. He wondered if it was so, or if he was just thinking it. Maybe thinking so made it a reality for him.

His bear snarled at Tyler to quit the speculating and pay attention.

Avala was still watching him, saying nothing.

“Proceed, please.”

She nodded, folded her arms over her chest. “I am a witness to this. A witness that no one thought to call.”

“What?” He was confused.

“At the council meeting. If anyone had called on me, as an objective observer, I could’ve testified to what Camden did—what she said.”

Tyler frowned. Why the hell did no one think of this to begin with?

Well, that answer was easy to figure out. Who’d have thought of calling a spirit to testify?

“So, if called, you could affirm what Camden did or said?”

“I can. But right now, I’d rather tell you.”

“Why?” To Tyler, it was more important the council know; that the council reversed their decision.

Avala heaved a sigh that raised and lowered her shoulders, then she leaned against the wall next to him.

“I haven’t always been fair to Camden.”

Tyler cocked his head and studied her face, looking for her elemental’s expression. “How so?”

Avala shook her head, then shrugged. “I don’t want to go into a confessional now. Anyway, that’s not my style. Can I simply say a few things and you not make me bare my soul?”

Man, he sure could relate to Avala. He knew exactly how she felt. “Yeah, no soul-baring needed.”

A slight smile played on her lips; a smile that looked nothing like Camden.

“She never did anything to jeopardize your position or your custody of the twins. Never. Not once. She was musing out loud, just curious about why two little girls were placed with two bachelors.” Another shrug. “Innocent inquisitiveness, that’s all. And she doesn’t care what the council thinks of her, she’s more worried about you.”

“Me?”

“Don’t play stupid with me, shifter.” Avala raised a haughty brow. “It’s clear to see you feel the same for her.”

Tyler didn’t say a word. He knew there was a good chance Camden could overhear their conversation. He wasn’t ready to reveal his feelings for her, not with the dilemma they were in. And he sure as hell didn’t want some third party revealing them. “Go on,” he told Avala. “What else?”

“I don’t know how long my stay with her will be, so I wanted—”

“Whoa.” He raised a hand, palm out. “What’s that supposed to mean? I know you all travel from body to body when someone dies. Is she—” He thought of how Avala had pushed Cleopatra to kill herself. Did she plan something similar for Camden? “Do you plan to hurt her?”

She gasped. “No. Never. But I think she’d be better off without me in her life.”

Stunned, Tyler took a moment to think. “So, you’re thinking about jumping to another body? Without even giving her a chance to have a say? That’s it?” A slow anger was beginning to burn in him.

Instantly, the indigo blue in her eyes vanished, to be replaced by her natural dark irises with the flash of amber that her panther lent to the depths.

“Thank you,” Camden whispered.

Her voice. She was back. He breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t mind Avala, but not at the expense of not having Camden around.

“You’re welcome.” He knew she’d just received stunning news, and wondered how she felt about it. “Do you need time alone, to think? To sort things out?”

“I think I need time to talk to Avala.” Camden’s shoulders slumped. “If she’ll talk to me, that is.” She gave Tyler the once over. “I think my conversation with Avala can wait. I need to make things right with you.”

“Avala did that.”

“I heard her, but it didn’t make things right for you. I’ve got to get the council to reverse their position. I wish that circumstances were such that they could understand why Griz chose you and Sean.” A wry smile touched her lips, then faded away. “I guess, I wish that you could trust me enough to tell me.”

“That’s simple.” Griz’s rumbling voice came from the entrance to the tunnel Tyler and Camden were in.