*Kael*The sense of relief was overwhelming. Getting back to Niburgh safely thanks to Ferio, finding the hideout on the first try without a snag, and reuniting with the family and the rest of my pack, all alive and unharmed… It was all a humbling sensation.And a gratifying one, knowing I'd helped Gemma and Raisa survive and get to safety and into the care of motherly females.After Jaci ushered them right onto the track of nursing them back to full health, Jerah put me on mine. Refusing to unsling his arm from around my shoulders, he guided me to one of the rooms on the second floor of the abandoned amphitheater. When Niburgh was at its pinnacle, it was a hub of all sorts of shifters from all sorts of places. It boasted food, wares, unique entertainment, and plenty of lodging, including small two-room apartments that now served the purpose of hiding Moonwake fugitives. It was another place that Hazel and Sun overlooked because they didn't think we would risk staying. They

*Gemma*Well, if I didn't feel like shit before… I learned my lesson: don't assume.I blinked out of my brief wallowing when Jerah laughed. "You look like you just got kicked between the legs. Kael said you blew him off because you saw him hug Di. Are you Easterners easily prone to jealousy?"I felt my face heat in embarrassment, but I couldn't back down on my strive to be confident. "Not that I'm aware of. I just—"Jerah leaned forward and braced his forearms on his thighs. He was the biggest male I'd ever seen, built tall and wide at the shoulders, muscled, but it was still a different kind of big than Connor was. He wasn't pure muscle, and he seemed more inclined to hug than to bully. I could see him being a loving father that I could trust. Up close, his skin was textured from all the years in the desert sun, and while his pulled-back hair was white, his stubble of a beard was brown. The distrust in his dark eyes—they reminded me of the ocean at midnight, a romantic d

*Gemma*I spit the "candy" onto the ground and blurted, "Beetle?! You consider bugs candy?!"Diana threw her head back and howled with laughter, then tossed one into her mouth and sucked on it loudly. "Yes. Yes we do. What else would we consider candy?"I came up short of an answer, so I just wiped my mouth with the edge of the veil and shook my head. "No offense.""None given, none taken. Now, how do you feel about breaking the rules?" she asked with an edge of insistency. I narrowed my eyes at her. "Why do I feel like you dragged me out here for a certain reason that wasn't just for 'fun'?"Diana glanced away guiltily, eating another candy beetle. "No reason at all, inconspicuous young foreigner."I didn't know whether to be mad, intrigued, even more suspicious, or a little bit enticed. It was quickly apparent that Diana didn't have innocent city-exploring on her mind. But what would she need me specifically for? "We just met," I began, trying to sort out what to

*Gemma*I woke up feeling like I was back aboard the ship that had taken me to this damn continent, swaying and rocking, but this time I was lying down on something soft and cushiony, staring up at a dark adobe ceiling with thick, swirling lines carved into it. I assumed it formed some sort of image, but my eyes did not even like glancing at it. I groaned and closed them, rubbing my temples where a headache pounded, making my head heavy and stuffed. It showed no sign of fading, so I tried to focus on the rest of me, which wasn't much better. I felt like I was back in Epsilon training getting battered from unblocked punches like a stuffed dummy and limping back home with my skin blooming with bruises.All I wanted to do was either throw up or pass back out, but a soft snore made my spine stiffen. Even though it hurt, I opened my eyes and glanced to my left. Sunlight was streaming in from an open window and made a pattern of light on the floor mostly covered by a woven rug. On

*Gemma*I wasn't sure exactly what kind of trouble Rian was in based on Diana's withholding of information, but it seemed like it could wait long enough for an emotional reunion.Jerah stepped aside, clearly stunned, for Rian to come inside. He looked around in fond appraisal. "Never thought I would miss this place," he huffed with a grin that easily marked him as Kael's brother. Their resemblance was as undeniable as Jerah and Jaci's—dark gray eyes, choppy white hair, and handsome facial proportions. "Looks the same as it did months ago." He glanced between the three shifters, gaze skipping over me. "Well? Don't I get a hello?"Diana's sob was strangled as it burst from her throat. She threw herself at him so hard and fast that Rian stumbled back, holding his arms around her in a fierce embrace when her limbs locked around his shoulders and waist. Faces buried in shoulders, chest trembling with sobs, steps stumbling toward a couch whose edge Rian's calf ran into, falling back