Tria. Clari immediately recognized the name, but no one else seemed to.

“The woman who saved you when you were ten?”

She’d only heard the story a few days ago, yet it felt like a century had passed since. Last Monday, she’d been human. Now, it was Saturday, and she was a feline shifter mated to the Beta of a small, yet powerful Pride in danger.

Headtrip.

Niamh nodded.

“Yes. First time she appeared, there was a black and red mist - and she burst out from it, out of nowhere. I asked her about it, later, and she said it was how her power manifested itself. It was pretty cool, so I said I wanted to do the same thing, but she just laughed and said no one could. That its her symbol. God knows I tried - but when I make mist, it’s either gray, or the red is lighter, or darker. Basically, I can’t copy her mark. Trust me, that was hers.”

Niamh beamed when no one questioned her word.

“Doesn’t she work for the Paranormal Investigation Agency?” Daunte asked, and the rest of the Pride stiffened.

Clari felt compelled to take his hand and squeeze it, as some of his anxiety bled through to her. She could feel it in her bones, although she knew it didn’t come from her; she didn’t know enough to be suitably worried.

Her confusion must have hit him, because, he turned to her and explained, “The PIA is run by humans. If they hear about this, it means our secret is out. Our kind might want to kill you and Zack, but the PIA would probably make you test subjects.”

“Right. Well, for the record, that was one of the instances where I would have felt better not knowing why you were freaking out.”

He bumped her shoulder, and smiled. “No one is going to touch either of you. We just have to figure out how to survive. We always do.”

Being bonded to him meant she could tell he wasn’t feeling nearly as confident as he liked to appear, but she also saw that he had hope.

“Look, I know the PIA sucks, but we’re not talking about them, we’re talking about Tria. If she spoke for them, I’d be in a cell right now. Or dead.”

Niamh got her phone out of her back pocket and held it up.

“So we can just assume she’s the enemy, and let her come against us without knowing what she’s been sent for, or we can give her a call now and see if she’s shielding us to help us. Remember, Hsu isn’t the only Seer in the country.”

Ace and Rye exchanged a glance, then Rye turned to Daunte, who nodded. Strangely - to her, in any case - they then looked at her. She tried not to feel too self-conscious as she also bobbed her head.

“So, let me get this straight, you want to take the advice of a thirteen-year-old and call someone who could potentially lead you all to your doom?” Rain asked, her tone perfectly even.

“That’s about right?”

She rolled her eyes and started furiously typing on her phone. “Better get Vivicia and Faith here, too. Wouldn’t want to miss that party.”

* * *

Niamh was practically skipping, and it was hard to ignore her unwavering faith in her friend, or her enthusiasm for that matter. Plus, the fact that his mate clung to him, giving him all the support he didn’t know he needed, helped through the worst situation they’d faced yet.

The Shifter Council wouldn’t want to kill them all - although they would, if they had to - but they’d try their damndest to get to Clari and Zack. The PIA was the opposite; and by far the worst of the two. They’d want to destroy the Wyvern Pride, and the only member they’d care about saving would be his mate and his nephew, so they could be dissected and studied by their mad scientists.

Truth was, they didn’t have a choice. Not really. If there was a chance - even a slim one - that the PIA may not end up being their enemy this time, they needed to take it.

“Wait,” Daunte thought out loud, “What about avoiding the issue altogether? Can’t we just prevent everyone from knowing what’s happened? It’s not like we socialize with other Prides every other week. Maybe we can just…”

“It’s too late,” Rye replied, his ton curt.

Too late? They’d already been discovered? It made no sense. None. Clari had only just shifted a week ago.

Unless…

The very thought was poison to his mind, but he had to formulate it. Unless someone inside the pride had betrayed them. The temporary newcomers couldn’t have - there was no way they’d connected the dots; they’d barely spent any time with them.

Daunte turned to his pridemates. Every adult was there, except Christine, Ola, Coveney and Tracy. Coveney was on patrol with the newcomers who’d applied as fighters, Tracy was upstairs with the kids, Christine, out on assignment. But Ola?

They never thought too hard about one of them being out for a few days. It was normal; they had a life, and their respective jobs sometimes demanded their presence elsewhere.

However, normally, he knew what the other members of the Pride were up to. Ola…

He wasn’t Alpha, but as Beta he still had the authority to search through the Pride link. When he needed to. Closing his eyes, he concentrated as hard as he could, trying to find every member. He could feel them all - even Christine, faintly, despite the fact that she was out of town.

Everyone except Ola.

“She betrayed us.”

He couldn’t believe it, yet there was no other possibility.

“She did what she believed was just,” Ace replied coldly. “And so did I.”

She wouldn’t say more in front of the kids, but taking in the glint in her eyes, he knew exactly what she meant. His sister had hunted her down the second she’d suspected the betrayal, and her body had been dumped in a ditch somewhere.

Good. Saved him the bother of doing it himself. He’d never hurt a girl, but he would have made an exception for her. Ola was kind and passionate, sweet and fair. But she’d put his family and his Pride at risk. There was no forgiving that. Not in their world.

“If she went to the Shifter Council, they may never stop hunting us. They might have relented, if they’d had nothing but rumors and suspicion; but a testimony from a member of the Pride? They won’t let this go.”