Eadric and I crouched in the brushes, staking out the three-story Gothic-style house that looked like it had walked right off the pages of an Anne Rice novel. Link was beside me, already in wolf form, just waiting for my instructions. We’d arrived in the English Turn neighborhood well over two hours ago, and despite Allcot’s desire to fly inside, ready to tear limb from limb, I’d persuaded him to do a little reconnaissance first. We’d circled the property a number of times, careful to keep our distance, and I’d noted every window and external door, making sure I had a decent lay of the land.

The biggest problem was that the house was huge. If Pandora was in there, we’d have no idea where to start. And judging by the steady stream of shady-looking shifters who’d been keeping guard all day, we’d have plenty of resistance on our hands.

“I think if we wait until after midnight, we’ll have our best shot of extracting her,” I said. “We can take the guards out one by one, or at least try to, then make our way inside.”

Allcot glared at me. “We don’t even know if she’s in there. I’m not waiting that long to find out.”

“She’s in there,” I said. “There’s no doubt.”

“And how do you know that, Kilsen?” he asked in a harsh whisper. “All we’ve seen so far are shifters who look like they haven’t bathed in two months and that piece-of-shit shifter leader Bandu. When I get my hands on him, I’ll—”

“See that shifter standing on the porch?” I pointed and added, “He’s got dark hair and a scratch across his face.”

“Who the fuck cares?” Allcot was rapidly losing patience.

I couldn’t say I blamed him. If I thought Willow was in there, I’d have been hard-pressed to keep from charging in as well. But we were only two people. Sure, a powerful vampire and a powerful witch, but by last count there were at least a dozen guards and who knew how many were inside. We’d seen enough come and go that it was impossible to tell.

“You should,” I said. “He didn’t have that wound when he walked in. Four scratches all lined up perfectly. You know where that type of wound comes from? One pissed-off vampire. I’d say Pandora is itching to hand them their asses just as soon as she gets a chance.”

Eadric squinted, studying the shifter through the bushes. “I’ll be damned.”

“I daresay you already are,” I said with a snicker.

He ignored me. “Fingernail scratches. And that’s not the only wound he has either. Look at his neck.”

My vision wasn’t quite as good as Allcot’s, but I could vaguely make out the red-tinged mark. “Fleur-de-lis. Pandora’s cursed ring?” I guessed and squinted at a couple of other shifters who wore red nail marks. Now that I knew what to look for, they were easy to spot. The fleur-de-lis mark was on almost all of them, as if she’d purposely branded them all.

I grinned at him. “She’d holding her own.”

“Of course she is.” Allcot scoffed. “My Pandora doesn’t take shit from low-life shifters.”

“Or anyone else for that matter,” I said, fueling his pride in the woman he loved.

He glanced at me, his eyes hooded. “You’ve got that right.”

I chuckled. No one would ever accuse Pandora of being weak. “So, now that we know she’s here and obviously holding her own, I think it makes sense to plan our attack for the least resistance. We could even call in backup,” I added. “Your security crew.”

Allcot shook his head. “No. They’re tied up protecting the compound and everyone else who lives there.”

“Right. Of course.” I’d almost forgotten that Willow’s nephew, Beau Junior, and his mom, Carrie, lived in the mansion. If not even Willow and Talisen were safe from this cult of crazies, who was to say the group wouldn’t take Beau and Carrie as well? I considered calling Dax but decided against it. Not with the way we’d left things earlier. And not without knowing just how loyal he was to the pack. I wanted to trust him, but couldn’t shake my lingering doubts. “All right. Just the two of us then. How do you want this to go down? I could go in first, be the distraction if anyone is awake while you search for her. Or we could both go in, guns blazing so to speak.”

He glanced down at my ankle where I kept the tranq gun strapped under my jeans. “Does it work on shifters?”

“Work? Depends on what you mean by work,” I said. “Most probably wouldn’t survive the dose, though when I see Bandu, I think it’s going to be hard to hold me back.”

“You won’t need it. I’ll end him if he shows his face again,” Allcot said with a snarl. “That bastard went way too far.”

“He had help, you know,” I said. “Carter Voelkel has his hands all over this.”

“Voelkel. Don’t worry. I have plans for him.”

On the surface, Allcot’s words were pretty innocuous for a pissed-off vampire, but his eerie, sinister tone was what sent a shudder through me. Dante had called Pandora crazy, but I could only imagine what Allcot would do if anything happened to her. Mass destruction came to mind.

Beside me, Allcot stiffened then his cold hand rested on the back of my neck, squeezing just enough to make me uncomfortable. Link jumped up and let out a low growl, warning Allcot. The vampire ignored him.

“What are you doing?” I demanded in a whisper, recognizing his action as a subtle threat. For what, I didn’t know, but I wasn’t having any of it. We’d formed a tentative partnership, but I wouldn’t hesitate to walk if he overstepped my personal boundaries. “Remove your hand, or we’re going to have a problem.”

“Not until you tell me what your partner is doing here. If he was in on this from the beginning, I don’t think I have to tell you he’s a dead man.”

“What? Dax is here?” I glanced around, my gaze searching each one of the shifters milling around out front. He was nowhere I could see him. “Where?”

“Behind us. His scent is making me nauseated.”

I spun, twisting out of Allcot’s grip, knowing he’d let me go. If he’d been serious about holding me in place, I wouldn’t have been able to move at all, at least not without breaking a sweat and casting a spell or two. It took me a moment of scanning the adjoining property, but then I spotted him. He was standing next to a large oak tree, watching us.

Our eyes met and he bowed his head slightly in what appeared to be a silent apology. A weight, which I hadn’t even realized was there, lifted off my heart, and I sent him a slight smile as I raised my hand and gestured for him to join us.

Dax glanced behind him and made a gesture of his own. I stiffened. What the hell was this? Some sort of ambush? But when I saw Leo pop out from behind the tree and the pair of them started to make their way toward us, I blew out a breath and forced myself to relax.

Allcot was silent as he watched the two shifters approach, but his body was alive with destructive energy. I knew that if Dax or Leo said one wrong word, we were going to have a problem.

“Just hear them out,” I whispered to him. “We don’t know why they’re here yet.”

“Earlier in the day your boy toy seemed pretty loyal to that trash Bandu.”

“Maybe he’s had a change of heart,” I said, praying that was true.

Dax stopped a few feet in front of us and whispered something to Leo. The young shifter took a step back, flanking Dax on his left. Link trotted over to him, sat down, and leaned into his leg.

“At least someone still trusts me,” Dax said with a smile, patting Link’s head.

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?” I asked him, crossing my arms over my chest.

“No. But I do owe you an apology.” Dax held my gaze. There was sincerity there and a hint of regret. “It turns out Bandu isn’t exactly who I thought he was.”

“No fucking kidding,” Allcot said, his eyes blazing. “He’s in there right now. Or did you already know that? Did he summon you? How did you find us?” Allcot turned his attention to me. “Did you tell him we’d be here?”

“No,” I said, startled by his accusation. We’d been together all day. Surely he would’ve noticed if I’d contacted Dax. But the vampire wasn’t his usual rational self, and that was completely understandable considering the circumstances.

I turned to Dax. “Exactly how did you find us?”

Dax jerked his head toward the round circular driveway. “See that Jeep over there?”

“Yeah.” It had pulled in about ten minutes ago, but the shifter who’d been driving had been cloaked in a hoody. He’d been unidentifiable.

“It belongs to Dali, who just happens to be Bandu’s nephew. I learned that today, by the way,” Dax explained. “We followed him here after learning that Bandu was going to be out of pocket for the next few days.” He glanced over his shoulder at the younger shifter. When he turned back around, he addressed Allcot. “This is Leo. He can confirm everything that happened at the gala was a setup.”

Allcot swept his steely gaze over the kid. And when he spoke, his words were filled with venom. “You knew about this?”

“God no,” Leo said, holding his hands up. “Nothing like that. I did not sign up for this bullshit. All I wanted to do was keep people safe. This…” He waved a hand at the house. “I don’t know what that is, but abducting people, especially good people like Willow and Talisen, is unforgivable.”

“Do you think Willow and Talisen are in there?” I asked, hope and skepticism warring for dominance in my mind. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“We don’t know,” Dax said. “But we’re pretty damn sure the abductions were coordinated. Here’s what we do know: Dali asked Leo to start shit with the vampires then he disappeared. Carter Voelkel turned himself into bait for you, and then he made damned sure you were able to find him even when he had the chance to escape. We learned today that Bella Jaxon is an eyewitness to Pandora’s kidnapping.”

Allcot nodded, confirming he’d already been aware of Bella’s knowledge.

“From her description, Leo here was able to identify that wolf.” Dax nodded again to the Jeep. “It’s Dali, Bandu’s nephew. Dali doesn’t do anything without the go-ahead from Bandu.”

“Yeah, he had me cause a distraction with those vamps at the gala, then he disappeared,” Leo said, still vibrating with anger over the realization he’d been used. “If Dax hadn’t been there to step in, I’d have gotten my ass kicked from here to Mississippi.”

Allcot bared his fangs and took a step toward Leo.

The kid put his hands up again. “I didn’t know what the distraction was for. I swear. Dax thinks Pandora’s abduction was just a distraction to keep us from finding those two fae.”

It was my theory as well. I met Dax’s gaze and nodded. We were once again on the same page. “And if that’s the case…” I trailed off, not sure I should voice my suspicions.

“It means the Crimson Valley pack is perfectly fine with the blood ritual that is supposed to happen on Asier,” Dax said. “They are either part of the cult, or they are willing to sacrifice Willow and Tal in exchange for Pandora and the chance to wound Allcot.”

Everyone was silent as we all stared at the Cryrique leader. Allcot’s eyes blazed and he said, “If anything happens to Pandora, they’ll all wish they’d never set foot in my city.”

It wasn’t a threat. It was just the truth. Allcot turned back to stare at the house again, and I cleared my throat before addressing Leo.

“So you realized Dali is in the inner circle and you followed him here,” I said. “How did you find us?”

Dax’s eyes gleamed. “Reconnaissance. And the fact that you chose the best place to watch the house without being seen. There’s a reason we make a good team, Phoebs.”

I chuckled and held my hand out to him. He took it and squeezed, then pulled me against his wide chest for a quick hug.

“We’re going to find them. I promise,” he whispered in my ear. “And bring Bandu and his thugs down in the process.”

“Allcot has dibs on Carter,” I said.

“He’s welcome to him.” Dax pulled back and smiled down at me. “Are we good?”

“Good.” I nodded.

“Are you two done yet?” Allcot asked. “As touching as this little reunion is, Pandora is waiting.”

I stepped back, my face burning with embarrassment. Of course Allcot was right and the fact that Dax and I had been anything except professional in front of him was unacceptable, not to mention humiliating.

Dax, on the other hand, seemed to not give a shit what Allcot thought and said, “We have a plan.” He glanced at Leo. “Are you ready?”

The younger shifter nodded. “Yep. Let’s do this.”