Chapter 40

The pack was settled down; the party was a huge success. Luna Adira was resting and hanging out with Marnie. Adira told her all the details of the things that went on while at the castle. Marnie was making sure that she took it easy from now on.
Marnie had taken up as Adira's lady guard, but also, apparently, the King sent three personal guards for her and him. Duncan liked that Adira had extra security, but he hated it.
He decided since it was still a little early to sleep, he and Marco would go patrolling together along the borders. Of course, his three shadows also had to tag along; one good thing about them is that they stayed out of the way.
Duncan had a great run with Apollo; it was what they needed the most. A good run in their territory. They were heading to the western border when both of their wolves stopped in the alert. They could sense that they were not alone and were being watched.
Duncan and Marco shifted back, grabbing shorts from a nearby stash. They stopped and pretended just to talk and catch up with each other, moving closer and closer to the source of the energy they were feeling.
Duncan mind linked his three shadows to come from different directions to the tree they were standing by.
A very loud snarl could be heard; it was a big werecat. Duncan and Marco looked at each other; Marco started walking around the tree, taunting the cat. "Here, Kitty, Kitty." It was working. The cat didn't like bullying. They never did.
Just as they thought that they would catch themselves a cat, it leaped with an angry growl onto another tree, then another, till it was gone. They didn't bother to give chase since it was no longer in their territory.
The werecat did expose itself long enough for them to get a good look at it; it was a leopard shifter.
Everyone marked the smell of its scent to share with other guards and warriors. They also armed themselves as well. Cat shifters tend to like playing dirty. It's best just to get them at a distance and kill them. Otherwise, you have to change into Lycan form.
Either way, werecats are pains in the ass. Duncan didn't like that this one was so close. Usually, they get a drifter now and then. They will stay the night and then move on.
A few of them were excellent guys and relayed information on rogues. Some were loners passing through. Once in a while, you get a real asshole and have to put him down.
Duncan’s mind linked all his warriors, telling them what they found and that there would be extra training for those who hadn't dealt with werecats before.
He would have to give Jack a call and tell him that they had a stray cat problem.
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Val sat in his office listening to his spies; they were not happy to be sent into bear territory. No one is ever happy to go into bear territory, not even other bears.
They had been gathering human specimens; they were easy pickings. Humans with unique abilities were coveted by their buyers. He wanted the real prize, though.
Sir, are you sure you want to do this? These two packs will be a lot of trouble, if not deadly. We couldn't even get far into the werebear clan's territory before a fricken grizzly came out of the bushes to investigate.
The werewolf clan was in some ways worse; his spy there couldn't get inside the territory at all and was almost captured. Werewolves have one advantage over werecats. Werecats can mask their presence and their smell. Werewolves have one annoying ability, though, they can sense their energy.
Bears can smell them even when they mask their scent. The only way in would be a gap in their security; that isn't going to happen there; that clan is much too large. They would have to wait and see when they left the safety of their territory to see if they could ambush them.
As for the werewolves, he would have to come up with a huge distraction to deal with them. Dang, he hated this kind of shit. Dealing with weak or corrupted packs was easy pickings; dealing with these two, however, was going to be a challenge.
He might have to call in some backup on this one. He would rather not because it was less of a payday for him. However, if he was dead, he couldn’t enjoy the money anyway.
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Lily couldn't stop that damn nightmare; it would repeatedly play every time she shut her eyes. It was getting frustrating. It was like her mind was trying to find something but couldn't, so it repeatedly played the same memory until it did.
Her therapist was trying to help her figure it all out; they even tried hypnosis; again, it was the memory of that moment and those damn golden eyes. She was starting to feel that she was close to figuring it out; it was staying just out of reach.
Even if it’s painful, she vowed to discover the whole memory.
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Jack and Duncan met at the little coffee shop in town; they discussed the things happening and tried to figure out this next puzzle.
They picked up a local paper and found a possible link; several human girls and young boys had gone missing. Cops can't find any suspects or even a hint of a clue. The town went into lockdown. No one went out after dark; they never went anywhere alone during the day.
It slowed things down; no new cases had been reported. That just means that they are lying low, waiting for their guards to drop so that they can continue again.
Jack decided it would be a good idea to give the town some added protection; since they both now have extra warriors, they were going to assign some of them to the city itself.
They figured that it had to be a small group of cats; werecats are the worst for getting along, especially males. They only form groups if there is a family connection.
Stray females they will take in; males, though, are killed on sight. Any lone females that have young tend to stay away in fear that their cubs will be destroyed.
Sometimes though it is rare, a group of stray males will group. It makes it easier to take over other family groups. When they attack, they kill all the males and male cubs. They are keeping the females.
Depending on the type of werecats, the females can be more deadly than the males, especially if they have young to protect. Jack had heard stories of one female weretiger that killed a whole group of wereleopards that tried to take her daughter.
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Marnie was sitting in her room, looking at designs on her computer. She was put in charge of designing the pup’s nursery. She enjoyed herself; she loved Adira like the sister she'd always wanted.
Still, though she was getting lonely, it seemed like forever waiting for her mate to show up. In truth, she'd pretty much given up after a couple of years passed by. At first, she hoped that it would be Marco, but it wasn't. Still, she hoped.
She had been practicing her magical skills with the Mages. She can create fire and throw it. Her other magic skills, though, are lacking. Still, it was something she could depend on and her fighting skills; she was a formidable fighter, and in that aspect, she was a badass.
She'd been feeling restless lately, not even going for runs with her wolf. Myan had tried to help, but her wolf was restless too. Perhaps she should arrange for her and Adira to go shopping in town. Nothing elaborate, just a little outing.
Yes, that is just the thing she needed; Adira needs it too. She is getting bigger, and soon, she won't be going out too far to do anything. Maybe more baby clothes or perhaps some comfortable maternity clothes.
She jumped up from her room and skipped down the hall to her brother’s office. It was time to see if her brother would allow Adira out of his sight for a couple of hours; not like we would be alone anyway, not with all the guards as their shadows.
Duncan was just finishing up some reports when his sister came barging in. He smiled to himself; what is she up to now.
"Duncan, I want permission to take Adira on a shopping trip, just into town. Not the city or big malls. Just some small shops and maybe have lunch. Soon she isn't going to be going too far; she still needs some maternity clothes and some small things for the pup."
"Sooooo, can we go?" She was giving him those puppy dog eyes she had used ever since they were kids. However, Duncan wasn't sure if it was such a good idea. Things were calm right now, and the borders had been silent. Still, he wasn't sure.
"Alright, you can go, but you will not only take her guards, but you will also take three of our warriors along and a driver." "
“You will keep your cell phones in hand; if anything goes wrong, I want you both gone; let the guards and warriors handle it."
"Also, Marco and I will be meeting with Jack; he is bringing a friend of his to help us with a new issue. You will be on your best behavior."
"Understood?"
She stood up and hugged him, then saluted him before bouncing out the door.