Through the Ether (Force of Nature Book 5) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,3

make sure of that.”

“It is this or wait for them to make a move, and when they do, I can assure you it will be because they know they will win. Larken is many things, but careless is not one. She will ensure her victory before she embarks upon the battle. She knows the strength of your power now. She will not underestimate you again—especially now that she knows exactly who you are.”

“And in the meantime?” Knox asked, still fuming about Liam.

“In the meantime, we organize our allies and prepare them for either eventuality: that the fey royals will arrive here, ready for war; or that the war will be taken to them, and we will need every supernatural being of power at our sides to win.”

“All of them?” Kat asked. Her eyes darting to me gave her concern away. Merc’s pause did the same.

“I’m afraid so. Even those of dubious moral character.”

“Guess we’ll be paying Mack another visit,” Brunton said with a deadly smile.

“And we’ll get to round Kingston up,” Dean added with an oddly similar expression.

Nobody dared mention my father.

“We will meet back here at daybreak,” Merc said. “Anyone leaving the mansion does so with no fewer than four in each party. We cannot afford to have anyone else taken by the fey, and there is safety in numbers. My enforcers will combine with your wolves to balance things.”

Knox, still angry, nodded. “We’ll get the strongest divided up.”

“Don’t forget me,” Kat said, stepping forward. “I wouldn’t mind paying Mack another visit…”

At that moment, a sleepy-eyed grizzly bear wandered into the room and stopped the second he took in the rigid postures of everyone there. Realization dawned in his warm brown eyes, and he bulldozed his way through the group to stop at my feet and thrust his muzzle into my face.

“What? We weren’t going to do anything without you, I promise!” He eyed me tightly for another second or two before backing down. “If you want to go, I suggest you put your skin suit on right now.”

“And then cover it with some clothing,” Jagger added as he tried to shake the image of a naked man-Grizz from his mind.

“Aw, don’t be jealous, Jags. I’m sure you’ve got a lot to offer a girl, too,” Kat said.

Jagger’s fair skin flushed at her comment, and the tension in the room broke, if only slightly.

“Now is not the time for jokes,” Merc said, cutting off the humor at the knees. “We have work to do.” He walked out of the room to make good on his word and round up his enforcers. Jase and Dean followed behind.

Knox gave me a quick hug before leaving the same way with Jagger, Foust, and Brunton on his heels. The latter gave Kat a pointed look as he passed, and she held his gaze until he finally broke it. A satisfied smile tugged at her lips.

“Let’s go find you some clothes, big guy,” she said, ushering Grizz out of the kitchen, much to his chagrin, leaving me behind. I stood next to the refrigerator, once again wondering what in the hell I was going to do. Only this time, that question had a clear answer.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and messaged my father.

Chapter Two

I found my uncle-turned-father—Drake, now Reinhardt—looming near the edge of the woods, as he so often did. The uncertainty in his eyes from the previous night remained, as did his cuts and bruises. Grizz, who’d followed me outside as though he’d known where I was headed, edged in front of me, his fur rubbing against my bare arm. I instinctively ran my fingers through it, as I always did to ground myself. I needed to be calm if I were to have any chance of hearing my father’s side.

If I wanted to salvage any shred of the relationship between us.

Sensing my hesitation, the bear turned and looked at me, so many questions brewing behind those warm brown eyes. I knew in that moment that he’d rip the warlock to pieces for me if I asked him to—or try to, at least—but he didn’t want that outcome. There was a deeper knowledge of the situation in his stare, and I couldn’t help but be jealous. Why did he know something about it that I didn’t—and how?

The squawk of a raven overhead echoed around us, providing answer enough.

“What did that bird tell you?” I asked Grizz. He snorted and managed a gesture that looked oddly like a shrug. “What? You can’t