Ryenne turned away from the river, needing to walk some more and think out the plan forming in her head. She could only rely on herself for this. The guys would just try to talk her out of it and they wouldn’t understand.

So, she was on her own.

The most obvious place to find Tess would be her apartment in Brooklyn. It would mean avoiding Mal and Tommy, who were probably still watching her, hoping she would lead them to the Fangs or to whoever had murdered her brother.

Ryenne turned around. She found the pedestrian access for the bridge and crossed into Brooklyn. It was still night, and dark enough that she could have gotten away with saving time by crossing the bridge as a wolf, but then she wouldn’t have her clothes. A naked human would certainly stand out.

When she got close to the apartment, she slowed down and found a dark doorway in which to hide and reach out her senses for Mal or Tommy.

There.

Mal was a few doors down, right across from the O’Brien apartment. Ryenne backtracked on stealthy feet and found her way to the park behind the apartment.

Over the past several weeks of being a shifter, Ryenne had discovered that as sharp as her new senses were, they were even sharper when she was in her wolf form. So, she found a tree with wide, sweeping branches and undressed under it, leaving her clothes in a pile.

Once she stood in the light summer breeze as a wolf, she sent out her senses and searched for sounds or smells that would give away Tess’s presence in her apartment. She heard the deep breathing of multiple people. Filtering out the sounds and smells of the humans, Ryenne focused on the two fox shifters on the third floor. Remembering how she and Lucien had communicated over long distances when the O’Briens tried to kidnap her mom, because of their super sharp hearing, Ryenne tried it now but without speech. As a wolf, she thought Tess’s name. Over and over again. As powerful and concentrated as she could.

Tess, I just want to talk.

Please, come out and talk to me.

Tess, wake up. Come talk to me.

There was a shift in Tess’s breathing, so Ryenne kept at it.

Tess. I just want to talk.

Tess’s breathing changed to normal waking breath sounds and a whisper came into Ryenne’s head. She couldn’t hear the words, but the tone was annoyed.

It had to be Tess.

Ryenne shifted back to human, dressed, and waited for Tess to join her. Ryenne wasn’t yet used to being naked in front of others, and this would be a difficult conversation. Her nudity would give her a disadvantage with Tess.

She didn’t have long to wait.

“Well, well, well. The baby wolf has come. What do you want? Are you here for another beating?”

Ryenne’s anger rose and she had to remind herself why she was here. “I have no one left,” she said, haltingly.

Tess’s face furrowed in confusion.

“I’ve been mad at my father for a long time. I don’t understand his reasons for leaving us and lying about it these past fifteen years. But he’s all I have left. I want the chance to get to know him. Will you take me to him? Please,” she added.

Shock made twin dots of red appear high on Tess’s cheekbones, soon replaced by suspicion. “I sense you’re telling the truth, but it doesn’t mean you don’t want to hurt him or kill him, even.”

“You know him so well you’d want to protect him?” Ryenne asked.

“You could say that.” Tess crossed slim arms in front of her body, which caused the silk of her camisole to shift and made her ample cleavage more obvious. She tilted her head to one side and considered Ryenne. Straightening her body as though she’d come to a decision, she spoke in a quiet voice. “I owe him less loyalty than I used to, but first I want to check out your story.” She looked over her shoulder toward her apartment. “Liam, get down here.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near my mother,” Ryenne said while they waited. “But the people I care about will all be at the hospital. By watching them, you’ll see I’m telling you the truth. I have no one left but my father.” Her voice faltered as her thoughts solidified. “He’s my only family now. And the Fangs, if they’ll have me. I need to be around others like me.”

Liam loped out of a doorway in the back of the apartment building. Like his sister, he had a mean, pinched face, pale skin, and green eyes. But he didn’t share her red hair. That had been their brother Joseph. This was the first time Ryenne had seen Liam since he’d tried to abduct her mother. Her wolf was frantically clawing its way to the surface of Ryenne’s consciousness, but she pushed it back down. Whether she liked it or not, she needed Liam O’Brien right now.

“Go home, baby wolf,” Tess said.

“What? But...” Ryenne’s hands shot out from her sides in a gesture of confusion.

“If you’re telling the truth and I decide to help you, I will come for you,” Tess said. “Otherwise, watch your back.” With that, she grabbed her brother’s arm and they stalked toward their building.

Ryenne didn’t know what to do with herself now, but she might as well go home, shower, and get something to eat. Maybe she’d exercise, too, throw her wolf a bone, so to speak, and make sure she was ready for whatever came next.