Wild Cat

But he realized Peigi’s choices weren’t great. She’d had to struggle to remain alive with Miguel, and now that she was free of him, she was told she had to put on a Collar and live in captivity the rest of her life.

The other Shifter women seemed resigned, used to doing what they were told. Peigi had a little more spirit. She wanted to act, and she’d decided this would be her act.

“I’ll stop you,” Reid said, staring her down. “By not doing it. The spell only works at the spring equinox anyway.”

“Around the equinox, you told me,” Peigi said. “It’s only a few days past. If you don’t try it, you’ll be stuck here.”

Cassidy broke in. “Not necessarily. Maybe we can find a way to send Reid back without the blood spell. That can’t be the only one that will work.”

Reid shook his head. “I’ve searched for nearly fifty years, Cassidy. I’ve never found another. The hoch alfar have locked me out.”

“I’ve been talking to a Fae,” Eric said. “Or at least Marlo flew Jace out after breakfast to talk to him, and Jace is keeping me informed.”

Diego looked at him in surprise, but Cassidy didn’t seem startled. Eric liked to play things close to his chest.

Reid’s reaction was electric. “A hoch alfar? You’ve betrayed me to a hoch alfar?” He went for where his gun would be if he were wearing it.

“Stand down,” Diego said sternly to him. “Eric, what are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about a Fae warrior called Fionn Cillian. I met him a few weeks ago, when he came through a ley line in Austin. He visits there sometimes. I sent Jace to talk to him.” Eric looked at Reid. “Have you heard of him?”

“There are many clans of hoch alfar. Dokk alfar pay them no mind. Why is he visiting Shifters?”

Eric didn’t answer the question. “Jace tells me that Cillian says that ley lines don’t always work for dokk alfar because it’s high Fae magic, which is completely different from dokk alfar magic. Like the difference between electricity and water. Both have force, but in very different ways, and it’s tricky to put them together.”

“Can’t this Fae open a door for Stuart?” Cassidy asked. “If he’s a friend?”

“I wouldn’t say he was a friend. Cillian’s kind of a pain in the ass, and he doesn’t have much good to say about the dokk alfar. But he did say that a strong enough spell on our side near a gate weak enough might work.”

Cassidy leaned forward, interested. “Did you ask him about the teleportation? Why it works here but won’t get him back?”

“Jace did, but Cillian didn’t know,” Eric said. “He said that sometimes weaker Fae have latent talent but for various reasons those talents might not manifest inside Faerie. Magic is thinner in the human world, he says, so it’s easier for weak Fae to be stronger here. Or something like that.”

“Weak Fae?” Reid said with derision.

“His words, not mine,” Eric said.

Reid’s face was pinched. “Small help he is.”

“What was so special about that rock cave?” Diego asked him. “You kept going back there.”

“It’s on a ley line, and I think there’s a gate there.”

“Then we should start there,” Diego said, getting up. “Maybe we’ll find something that you missed.”

* * *

Cassidy and Diego rode alone up to the mountain roads that would take them to Reid’s rock cave. Cassidy was unusually silent—no laughter, no teasing. Was she that worried about Reid?

The red lights of Xavier’s pickup glided solidly in front of Diego’s car. Eric’s car, containing Peigi and Reid with Eric, rode in front of his. Xavier’s front seat was taken up with the bulk of Shane.

“Eric needs to be careful,” Diego said. “If he gets caught having Marlo fly your family around everywhere, life will get bad for all of you.”

“Eric knows what he’s doing.”

Cassidy sounded distracted, almost uninterested.

“What’s up, mi ja? Something worrying you?”

Cassidy turned from the window and looked at him. “Diego Escobar, I reject your mate-claim.”

Diego’s hands jerked on the steering wheel, then he quickly righted the car. “What?”

“I reject the mate-claim. I’ll make it public when we’re finished here tonight.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I thought you said you didn’t want to reject it.”

“I didn’t. But that was me being selfish.” Cassidy folded her arms, closing herself off. “I want you so much, Diego. I love the way you talk and how you move, and the way you don’t back down from any Shifter, not even Eric. I love the way you protect your mom and your brother. I want you with every piece of my heart.” She stopped, eyes soft. “But you’re not Shifter. It’s not fair to you.”

His chest felt tight. “Does it matter that I don’t give a damn?”

“No. The female’s decision is final.”

“Well, too bad. I’m not ready to accept that decision as final.”

Cassidy gave him an exasperated look. “Diego, humans who pair with Shifters are rejected by human society. I’ve seen it happen; I’ve lived a long time, and it’s always the same. The humans have to live with the Shifters, and they become neither one thing nor the other. Not accepted by humans and not truly accepted by Shifters.”