Chapter 1

Lydia plunked down her empty martini glass and raised a finger to the bartender.

"What are you doing?" Cailín asked as she slid onto the stool next to Lydia's, placing her small backpack on the bar.

Lydia narrowed her eyes at the redhead. "Planning world domination. What does it look like I'm doing?"

Cailín ignored her snark. "You sure you need another one?"

"Need? No. Want? Yes." Because of her shifter metabolism, it would take a lot more than five martinis to get drunk, but a girl could try. It had been a week since the showdown in West Virginia with the Bridgewater pack, and Lydia was no closer to having her shit together. Her parents had driven her home after the incident that sent her into a tailspin. Lydia had unintentionally killed a she-wolf who intended to attack Dakota, the new Gargoyle Queen. Nikolas, Lydia's father, had intentionally killed a wolf who put his hands on Lydia as well as attacked Dakota's best friend, Jolee. Nikolas had no trouble sleeping after taking a life. Lydia? She couldn't sleep without reliving the moment her sword pierced the female. Hell, she couldn't unsee it while awake either.

Since she was young, Lydia had trained with her Clanmates in all types of weapons as well as in hand-to-hand combat. They were taught what it meant to defend not only one another but especially their King and Queen. What they hadn't been taught was how that first fatal blow would affect them mentally. Her parents' generation had seen plenty of action, but they either forgot what it felt like to take a life the first time, or they were made of stronger stuff than she was.

Lydia propped an elbow on the bar. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be guarding Connor and Alyssa."

Cailín lowered her voice where only Lydia would hear her. "They're hosting a birthday party for one of Gannon's daughters, so the house will be filled with Goyles."

"That doesn't explain why you're here or how you found me."

"You honestly think your parents don't have eyes on you right now?"

Lydia knew they did, and that was part of her problem. She twisted the magical silver bracelets on her wrist that became whatever weapon was needed with only a thought. Luna and Solara, twin witches, had taken their mother's ability to change her bracelet into a wand and expounded on it. As she studied the metal bands, Lydia wondered… "Check, please," she told the bartender when he placed the fresh martini in front of her.

Cailín grabbed the glass, removed the olive-filled skewer, and downed the martini in one go.

Lydia gasped. "What the hell?" Cailín then shoved the olives in her mouth, chewing noisily and grinning at Lydia.

Lydia removed a credit card from her wallet and placed it on top of the receipt. "Why are we friends?"

Cailín swallowed the green mess. "Because I'm fuckin' awesome."

That she was. The female was a badass, but she was also quirky, getting her personality from her human papa. Lydia signed the receipt, returned her credit card to the wallet, and shoved it in her purse. "Let's go."

"Where to?" Cailín grabbed the small backpack she used as a purse and joined Lydia.

"To see Luna."

"Isn't she in New Orleans?"

Lydia waved bye to her cousin, Robbie, who was the general manager of Colden's Key. "Nope. She got back yesterday." Luna and Solara split their time between Atlanta and New Orleans. Luna was loud and outgoing, inheriting her mother's magical skills. Solara was quiet, and while she was also proficient in spells and potions, she had inherited Lilly's artistic abilities, preferring to hide out painting.

Lydia's phone rang, and she checked the caller ID. Shit. Normally, she wouldn't curse seeing her mom's name, but Sophia had been smothering her ever since they returned from West Virginia. "Hi, Mom."

"Hey, Sweet Girl. Just checking in."

"I'm fine. Cailín and I are headed over to Solaralun."

"Oh, that sounds fun. Mind if I tag along?"

Lydia wanted to say yes, she minded, but she truly didn't. Sophia Stone was the best mother in the world. She'd been overbearing the last few days, but it was because she loved Lydia beyond measure. "Don't mind at all. Do you want us to pick you up?"

"Nah. I'm leaving the doctor's office now. I'll meet you there."

"Sounds good." Lydia disconnected just as they reached Cailín's cherry red hybrid Jeep. When she clicked the locks, Lydia climbed into the passenger seat. They had the tops off even though it was early November. Georgia weather was always a crap shoot, but the days were still mild enough to go topless. In the Jeep, that was. Solaralun, the twin's occult store, was located in Little Five Points, a hip, artistic area not far from Colden's Key. They could probably walk there faster than they could drive considering all the one-way streets in Atlanta.

Cailín expertly shifted gears as she navigated the busy roads. "Why are we going to see Luna?"

"I want to see if she can spell the bracelets so what happened before doesn't happen again."

Cailín cut her eyes to Lydia. "You want weapons that don't kill?"

"That don't kill an innocent."

Cailín growled but didn't comment.

Sophia was waiting outside when they pulled into the parking lot. Lydia climbed down from the Jeep and met her mother's open arms. Seeing as she was seven months pregnant, hugging was awkward, but they made it work.

"How's Gio?" Lydia rubbed her mom's tummy where her little brother was percolating.

"Giving me indigestion. Other than that, he's perfect." Sophia took Lydia's hand and squeezed it. "Not that I don't like visiting Luna, but are you here for a reason other than browsing?"

Cailín strolled up to Sophia and got her own mom hug. The redhead's mother had been several hundred years old when Cailín was born. It was a sad story, but Cailín's brother, Jasper, and his mate, Trevor, had been on their honeymoon when they visited Aibhlinn O'Hearn. Aibhlinn was ready to cross over having lost her mate. She convinced Jasper to take Cailín and raise her. Jasper and Trevor, with the help of all the female mates, had done a fine job with Cailín.

"She's being a doofus," Cailín muttered to Sophia.

"Am not." Lydia left them to conspire against her and strode into Solaralun. The bell over the door tinkled as she entered the store.

Luna looked up from where she was wrapping something in moon and star tissue paper for a customer. She frowned at Lydia before returning her attention to the patron. Once the customer was gone, Luna rounded the counter, her long flowing skirt swishing around her ankles. She placed her hands on Lydia's shoulders. "I'm sensing trouble."

"No, but I do have a favor to ask." Lydia jingled her bracelets, and Luna nodded. "Come into the back." Luna pushed aside the curtain that hid her workroom from the store. Once everyone was inside, she gave both Sophia and Cailín cheek kisses before directing Sophia to a comfy chair.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"I wouldn't say no to a soda if you have one." Sophia plopped down and let out a sigh.

"Mom—"

"Nope. Your father isn't the one carrying this kid. If I want a freakin' soda, I'm gonna have one." Nikolas was a stickler for the pregnancy rules, one of which was limiting caffeine. Sophia was a bear without her coffee in the morning.

Luna handed over the can, then turned to Lydia. "Okay, spill."

Lydia pointed at her wrist. "Can you spell the bracelets where the weapons don't kill an innocent?"

Sophia let out a long belch from enjoying her carbonated beverage. "That wolf wasn't innocent." Sophia knew what it was like to take a life, but it had been in self-defense. She never talked about it when speaking of her time in Egypt, preferring to focus on the fact that she had helped rescue her parents.

"You and everyone else have reminded me of that fact forty-eleven times." As had her Goyle, until Lydia told it to fuck off. It had been silent ever since. It was odd sharing a brain and body with a beast, but it was even stranger when that part of yourself lay dormant because it was pouting.

"Take them off," Luna instructed. Lydia handed over the jewelry, and Luna spread them out on her work bench. She closed her eyes and waved her hands over the silver, speaking an incantation Lydia couldn't understand. "So mote it be," Luna finished and gestured for Lydia to take them.

Lydia returned the bracelets to her arms and spoke the words needed to change her magical bracelets into swords. When she gripped the hilts, Lydia swung the blades in an arc. "Are you sure this will work?"

Luna tapped her long nails on the work bench. "If you're sure. It's all about intention."

Sophia muttered under her breath, but Lydia ignored her as she whispered, converting the swords back to silver bangles, and took the stool on the opposite side of the bench.

"I'm with Sophia on this." Cailín stood off to the side of Luna's workshop, popping her own bracelets into daggers. "Tinsley had every intention of killing Dakota."

Lydia huffed, but she didn't disagree with her friend. "Still."

Luna reached over the table and grabbed Lydia's hand. "You did nothing wrong." A sense of peace washed over Lydia, but it only lasted while Luna touched her.

That sentiment had been spoken to Lydia at least a hundred times since returning from West Virginia. In her heart, she knew she hadn't been in the wrong. When Anthony called out a warning to Dakota, Lydia turned, swords out. Tinsley, in her wolf form, had been mid-air, and impaled herself on one of Lydia's weapons. Hell, Lydia's own father had ripped out the heart of a different wolf, and she didn't fault him for it, but that hadn't been her dad's first kill. Her phone rang, bringing Lydia back to the present. She dug it out of her purse and smiled seeing who was calling.

"It's Carleigh." She pressed the icon to answer and put it on speaker even though everyone in the room had shifter hearing. "Hey, C."

"Hey, yourself. Where are you?"

"At Luna's with Mom and Cailín. What's up?"

Carleigh was more like a sister than a cousin. Where Lydia had assumed the role of Clan archivist from her dad, Carleigh had taken over her own father's job of all things computer from Julian. Along with Harlow, another cousin who was a Gargoyle-Gryphon hybrid, and Nikita, a dire wolf shifter, they owned H3, a cyber security company. While they took outside jobs to pay the bills, the Trio, as they were known throughout the Clan, spent a lot of time scouring the web for other shifters as well as those who posed a threat to their secret.

"We came across an obscure message board. At first glance, it didn't make sense. They use code words, but it appears the posters are looking for shifters."

Cailín stopped spinning her knives. "Looking for as in wanting to take us out? Could it be Agent Stallings?" The agent, Neil Stallings of the Global Intelligence Agency, was a loose cannon and had been ever since the body of a wolf shifter, as well as any evidence pointing to her being something other than human, disappeared from the morgue. Stallings had been contacted by medical examiner Dr. Donald Givens when the shifter's body ended up on his slab, and he couldn't identify the anomalies in her physiology. Stallings passed the puzzle along to the lab Alyssa's father owned. Connor, Alyssa, Nikita, and Anthony helped the wolf pack retrieve their packmate's body while removing all evidence from Dr. Givens's office.

"We don't think it's Stallings, but we also don't know for sure. It could be him, or it might be shifters looking for others of their kind. We were able to track where the IP addresses of the two posters originated. One is in Canada, and the other is in Alaska."

Cailín returned the daggers to her wrists. "I'll Janken you for Alaska." She turned toward Lydia and placed her right fist on her left palm.

"You'll what me?"

Cailín rolled her eyes. "Rock, paper, scissors."

"Why didn't you just say that? And what language is John Kin?"

"Japanese, and it's quicker."

Lydia mirrored Cailín's stance. "It's not quicker if you have to explain it. Wait. Why are we Roshamboing anyway? I'm going to Alaska, and you have a job to do."

Cailín pulled her hands back. "Row sham what now?"

Sophia burst out laughing, the empty soda can tipping off her belly onto the floor. Luna waved a hand in the air, sending the can into the nearby garbage bin. Lydia's hands were still ready to play, but she and Cailín stared at the witch.

"What?" Luna tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder. "You have no problem with me creating weapons out of bracelets, but I move an empty can and you're amazed?"

Carleigh laughed through the speaker. "Not to get in the way of rock, paper, scissors, but it's probably best if Cailín goes with you. Gannon has already agreed to watch over Connor and Alyssa. The two of you should stick together. But Cailín, are you sure you can get away from Trevor?"

Cailín was the first pureblood female child their Clan had seen in hundreds of years. Being six months old when Jasper and Trevor brought her to the US, she'd taken to calling them Dad and Papa respectively when she was old enough to talk. "I can handle my papa." Lydia's mom snorted, and Cailín narrowed her eyes at Sophia, but then she sighed. "I'll tell Dad and let him handle Papa."

Sophia clasped her hands over her belly. "That's more like it." Lydia stared at her mom. Why wasn't she protesting Lydia traveling across the country?

Lydia had never been to Alaska or Canada, but if there was ever a time to go, now was probably it. Getting away from her family might help clear her head. Maybe her mom realized that. "Send the addresses to our phones, and we'll come up with a game plan," Lydia told her cousin who was patiently waiting on the other end of the call.

"You got it. I don't have to tell you to be careful. Harlow, Nikita, and I will track your movements digitally, but if you get into trouble, call Rain since he's in Cali."

"Will do." Lydia disconnected. "Looks like I'm going to Alaska."

Cailín clapped her hands together. "No, we're going and sticking together. What's the weather like there?" She pulled out her phone and tapped at the screen. "Shit. I mean, crap." She cut her eyes at Sophia who rolled hers. Her angelic-looking mother cursed like a sailor. "I need to go shopping for winter gear. It's colder than a witch's tit out there."

"Excuse me?" Luna waved her hand at Cailín, sending a cold breeze her way.

"Stop that! It's just an expression."

"And a stupid one. My tits are toasty warm, thank you very much."

Cailín laughed. "I'll take your word for it."

Sophia held out her hand. "Help me up." When Lydia pulled her mom to her feet, Sophia said, "Let's hit the mall."

"I don't think we'll find what we need in Atlanta. We'll have to get heavy parkas and snow pants."

Sophia grinned. "You're right, but the mall has those pretzel bites. Cailín, you wanna come with us?"

Cailín sighed. "As much as I would love to indulge in that salty goodness, I probably need to have a chat with Dad."

"And your papa."

"And my papa." Cailín hooked an arm around Lydia's neck. "If you don't hear from me by nightfall, send out a search party."

Lydia snaked her arm around her best friend's waist and squeezed. "Maybe I should come with you instead of going to the mall. Trevor's less likely to lose his shit if I'm there."

"Why don't we all go?" Sophia offered. "If he knows I'm onboard with this plan, that might go a long way in easing his mind."

"Why are you okay with this?" Lydia asked.

"Because this is your job, Sweet Girl. Sebastian has already tasked you with finding more shifters. It just so happens you must travel to do so. Besides, I know your dad and I are driving you up the wall, so it'll be good for you to get away for a while. Just make sure you get the job done before your little brother decides to stop tormenting my bladder."

"That gives me two months. I think we can handle that." Lydia stepped away from Cailín and hugged Luna. "Thank you."

"No problem. And enjoy Alaska," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

As they gathered their things, the bell over the door tinkled. "Lulu? Where are you? I need—" A cute, nerdy guy froze when he saw everyone.

"Lulu?" Cailín snickered.

"No."

"But it's—"

"Nope." Luna pushed on Cailín's shoulder to get her moving.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Cailín asked over her shoulder.

"Negative. You have a papa to deal with, and I have witchy things to do."

Lydia waved at the guy as she walked by, and the cutie blushed. As curious as she was to find out what was going on, Lydia had more important things to worry about. Like Alaska.