“He’s got connections,” Kace stated, his tone filled with frustration. “Someone is selling out shifters, basically auctioning them off to the highest bidder.”
“What the fuck?” I whisper-yelled, completely outraged at this revelation.
Kace jerked his head up and down. “That was pretty much my reaction, too.”
“She’s afraid he’ll find her,” Peppa concluded.
“He’s out in six months, and her recovery could take a year if the molting process is slow.”
Peppa climbed off my lap and stood with her feet braced apart, and her fists jammed onto her hips, about to pounce like the magnificent lioness she was. “Don’t worry, Kace. We’ll protect her. When will she be here? Does she need anything? Clothes? I’ll bring her meals from the restaurant. Do you think—”
“Baby,” I growled. “Sit your pretty little ass down and relax. You just had Cy, and you need to rest too. I’m sure the other women will want to pitch in anyway.”
Peppa pouted but plopped back down in my lap and snuggled into my arms. “Cason will be here to protect her,” she stated. “She’ll be safe.”
It always made me puff up with pride yet be humbled when my mate exuded such confidence in me. She was a strong, independent, fierce animal, but she trusted me to care for and protect our family.
* * *
Someone pounding on my door woke me up, and I raised my head to look at the clock on the nightstand. Six in the fucking morning? Peppa sighed and cuddled closer to me, her tits pillowing against my chest and making my morning wood stand up and take notice.
The pounding started again, and I muttered a string of obscenities as I reluctantly released Peppa and climbed out of bed. If whoever it was woke up my exhausted mate or my infant pup, on the first night he’d slept more than four hours at a time, I was going to go feral on their ass.
“Peppa! Cason! Open the fucking door!” I heard a man shouting as I neared the front of the house. I recognized Aero’s voice immediately, and my first thought after killing him was that there must have been some kind of a disaster at Timber Treasures.
I hurried the rest of the way to the entrance and unlocked the door before yanking it open. “Calm the fuck down and stop shouting, Aero,” I snapped. “If you wake up Peppa or Cy, I’m gonna break your beak.”
Aero was pacing back and forth in front of the door, but his eyes were glued to the house next to us. Unease crept into my chest, and I almost hoped he said yes to my next question, “Did something happen at the restaurant?”
Aero continued to pace and stare until I stepped in his path. “The restaurant?” I barked.
“What?” Aero’s brow creased as he looked at me with confusion. His normally blue eyes had turned brown with a golden ring around them, telling me that his falcon was incredibly close to the surface. “The restaurant is fine. I need Peppa to let me into her old house.”
What the fuck? “You’re pounding on my door at the ass crack of dawn to ask Peppa for a tour?” I snapped.
“A what?” He seemed like he was barely registering anything I said. “I just need to go inside there.” He tried to walk around me, but I matched his step, blocking the way.
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared hard at Peppa’s swing chef. “Why?”
He threw his arms in the air and yelled, “I don’t know!” When his eyes met mine again, they still looked wild, but they were also filled with desperation. “Please, Cason. I need to get in that house.”
A suspicion was beginning to form in my mind, but I’d made a promise to my alpha. “I can’t.”
“Why the fuck not?” Aero snarled, getting in my face. “Get the damn key and open the fucking door. It’s deadbolted, and the windows are all shut up tight.”
He’d tried to break in? I was becoming more certain of the lurking theory in my mind. “Aero.” I grabbed his shoulders and looked directly into his face, making sure he was listening. “You need to talk to Kace, man.”
“But—”
“Peppa and I can’t help you. Go to Kace.”
Aero looked around me at the other house again and something seemed to snap inside him. He pivoted and ran down the steps, shifting before his feet landed on the sidewalk. He soared into the air and disappeared, leaving nothing but his shredded clothes behind.
I sighed and went to grab them off my lawn before going back inside. After tossing them in the trash, I returned to my bedroom and crawled back into bed, hauling my mate into my arms.
“What’s going on?” she asked sleepily.
I gave her a quick rundown of what happened, and when I was done, she was staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.