Chapter 1 - Mark

“Does the word ‘retired’ mean nothing to the Wolves Council?” Klyte drawled without any real malice. “Because it definitely feels like they either don’t understand the meaning or just don’t care.”

“Probably the latter,” I responded, lounging back in the seat. “But we’re not going to get out of it, so we might as well stop complaining.”

Everyone knew it was true. The Silver Wolves, the black-ops team we were all a part of, were supposed to be retired. But when the Council summoned you, you couldn’t exactly say no.

Klyte flashed a grin. “But complaining’s the fun part,” he said.

He fell silent at the identical withering glares from Malcolm and Jameson.

“What’s the mission?” Luke asked, dragging things back onto the subject.

“You remember the Gold Wolves?” Jameson asked.

Rand scratched his neck. “Yeah, vaguely. That’s Declan’s crew, right?” At a nod from Malcolm, he added, “I didn’t know them super well, but they had a pretty solid reputation. Good spec-ops team. Nothing on us, of course.”

“Well, they got compromised on their mission,” Jameson said. “They missed their last check-in. The Council wants us to look into it.”

“Dead?” Oliver asked.

“No idea. That’s what we’re supposed to find out while we complete their mission.”

“What was their mission?” I asked.

Malcolm and Jameson exchanged glances. That look alone would have been enough to send shivers up my spine.

“There’s a witch’s coven that’s been making trouble,” Jameson finally explained. “The head witch has been a thorn in the Council’s side for a while. In the last year or so, it’s gotten particularly bad.”

“Gotta love witches,” Rand grumbled. “Still, can’t be too bad. We’ve got some that still like us, right? We’ll just buy a few talismans off of one of them, go in, find our guys, and stop the witch. Simple.”

“Not quite,” Jameson said. “The head witch is pretty nasty. She’s killed more than her share of shifters. The Council doesn’t want us to go after her head-on just yet. They want us to cripple her current plan and get Declan’s crew out if they’re still alive.”

I stayed silent, contemplating the words as an unpleasant certainty crept over me. I didn’t know of many witches who frightened the Council enough for them to order us to get in and out without at least trying to neutralize them. I may have been retired for a while, but I still kept tabs on their most-wanted list. I ran through the witches in my head, trying to figure out which one might have the Council this spooked.

Only one name lingered in my mind, and my blood turned to ice.

“Wait.” I held up a hand, frowning as I leaned forward. “Are you telling me we’re supposed to break into Inara’s coven’s den?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Jameson said.

A silence fell over the group as we all processed the words.

Klyte finally spoke. “Has the Council lost their mind? Because it sure as hell sounds like they have.”

Honestly, I had to agree with him. Inara was one of the Council’s most wanted, a witch with a known hatred of shifters—even more so than typical witches. She had made moves against the Council before. She’d eluded capture on a dozen occasions and caused the deaths of several highly trained shifter operatives in the process.

“If they’re going after her, it means she’s stirring up trouble again,” I said.

Jameson nodded in confirmation. “That’s what the Council is worried about. According to them, Inara kidnapped another witch recently. The Gold Wolves were supposed to get the captive out.”

“They want us to rescue a witch?” Tannen asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s… unorthodox. I’m assuming there’s a reason this witch is so important?”

Jameson shrugged. “Presumably. The Council didn’t give me that information. They want us to go in, finish the mission, and rescue the Gold Wolves and this witch in the process. Assuming they’re still alive.”

“Great.” Alek sighed, rubbing his temple. “We’re breaking into a witch’s den to rescue a witch and a bunch of special-ops shifters who managed to get captured despite being highly skilled operatives, meaning Inara managed to get the jump on them despite it.”

“Pretty much.”

“Fantastic!” Klyte clapped Alek on the back, beaming. “What could possibly go wrong?”