One paw in front of the other, still in her panther form, Camden skulked through the shadows of the tunnels, following the scent of Tyler, and Griz, and the twins.

She couldn’t hear them, she made sure she stayed back far enough not to be heard.

If either of them had senses that were better than the average shifter’s senses, they might catch her scent, or perhaps hear her heartbeat, if the tunnels were quiet enough.

Skulking—that’s the word she’d use to describe what she was doing. Following them in the dark, staying far behind, feeling like a criminal, acting like a guilty person.

Her panther curled up her lip in disdain at her own position. More than ever, she wished that Circe were here. She could sure use her older sister’s counsel.

In her head, Avala scoffed. Isn’t it about time you stopped relying on your sister and started to do things on your own?

Her panther frowned, but remained silent.

Thankfully.

Camden didn’t want to see her elemental try to wrestle control from her and cast bolts made of ice crashing in the tunnels.

That would surely alert Tyler and Griz to her presence.

Camden thought on Avala’s words. Was she too reliant on Circe? Camden knew she was more alpha than Eden was, but she’d never stopped to think of how much she had relied on Circe’s guidance in the past.

Is that why you haven’t opened up about your past to me? About what you did to Cleopatra? Or anyone else? Was there anyone else? She grilled Avala.

Avala’s laugh was derisive. You judge me? Would you have done any different for Eden?

Camden didn’t need any time to think of that one. No. I’d have done the same. She was sure she would have, too. But I wasn’t brought up to kill. I was trained to help others.

She heard a tiny crack and realized that Avala had released an ice dart that landed in the soft dirt—thankfully—instead of the hard rock surface of the tunnel.

Definitely not the time to pick a fight with Avala. She guarded her thoughts from her elemental.

Avala wasn’t interested in pushing the discussion aside, it seemed. For your information, I was not raised to kill. I was trained to be the advisor to our chieftain. I was educated. I spoke many languages. I did not plan to be taken prisoner by the barbarian tribe that held us captive.

Camden didn’t respond. She had no clue what Avala was talking about, but she wasn’t about to stop her. She wanted to know as much as she could about the woman who shared her body with her.

But Avala remained silent.

Tell me more, Camden requested, please.

Silence.

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.

She heaved a heavy breath from her panther’s chest, thanking the feline for not interfering or becoming overprotective.

Go find the little ones, Avala said. Make this right.

Camden frowned, in her mind, in her human body, ensconced in her panther’s form. Had Avala somehow, despite the heated discussion just become an ally? Had she just become a mentor?

She continued her padding through the tunnels, slowing when she heard the sound of giggles and splashing.

She peeked around a corner, curious about the sound and the light that seemed to be coming from around the bend of the tunnel.

Her eyes beheld a sight that amazed her. The most beautiful lagoon she’d ever seen was spotlighted by sunshine. At the water’s edge, three were watching the shoreline where the twins and a toddler just coming out of babyhood played. The three were Griz, a man—clearly a shifter, and a woman—clearly human.

Where was Tyler?

She didn’t have a chance to dwell on that thought long before she noticed and was awed by the occurrence before her.

She couldn’t help but notice the baby was surrounded by tiny sparks of electricity that glowed and then vanished. It reminded her of the same types of sparks that Circe used to make when—

She bit back a gasp that would have sounded like a huff coming from her panther.

—that boy had an elemental in him. A powerful one by the looks of it.

The hackles on her panther’s back stood on end. Camden snapped her head to the left.

And damned near had a heart attack.

A huge grizzly stood right next to her, his massive jaws inches away from her neck.

Before the snarl that was building up in her chest could come out, she felt the push against her brain for a sync.

At the same second, she recognized the bear. Tyler.

She accepted the sync and allowed the communication link to open. Syncing was the way shifters could communicate in their animal form. It was a means of talking, silently, in their minds. But in order to talk, one had to accept the push to link.

The way Camden did.

“What are you doing here?” Tyler’s voice sounded the same in their sync as it did in his human form. “Are you here to take the twins away from me?” His growl was soft but menacing.

Soft enough that the others by the lagoon wouldn’t have heard it, but menacing enough to scare the shit out of Camden.