Arietta clenched her hands tight in front of her. Her nails pressed deep into her palms. As she looked on, her gut churned until she felt she might actually throw up.

On the very edges of her consciousness, the whispers grew.

You're here, she told herself. You're safe. You're not with Reison. You're not in that room.

The whispers built and built until they roared in her ears. Her entire body shook. It's a side effect, the science side of her brain told her. Just as Talia had told her. It's not actually happening, but your body has not yet figured out how to deal with the serum and what they injected you with.

"Arietta?"

Arietta squeezed her eyes shut. Took a deep breath. Focus on something else. She instructed herself. Instead of giving the whispers attention, she made herself note the soft fabric of the couch beneath her. She focused on the pain of her nails digging into her palms. And on the drone of voices in Gavriel's office.

"Arietta." A warm hand wrapped around the back of her neck and pulled her forward. Gavriel. His arm wrapped around her waist. She settled her forehead on his shoulder.

"Breathe," her mate urged.

She did. Taking slow but deep breaths. Somehow, like it always did, Gavriel's presence helped quiet the noise. He was a calming influence on her brain and her body. As if she knew, intrinsically, that this man would never hurt her. He would take on the world for her.

Just as he was about to do again.

"Sorry," she whispered on an exhale.

"You do not have to apologize." He told her. Just like he did every single time she had an attack.

Oh, but she loved this man.

Arietta curled her fingers into the back of his shirt and took a breath. After a moment, the whispers disappeared. She felt herself settle back into her body.

She pressed a kiss under Gavriel's ear as she pulled back.

"Gross." Finn commented from across the room.

Arietta tried to let it roll off her—the idea that all of Gavriel's lieutenants had once again watched her lose it.

She made herself sit straight. Made herself lift her chin.

"Atta girl," Lianna grinned.

Gavriel sat on the couch next to her, holding one of her hands between both of his. He'd gently uncurled her fingers, saving her palms from more damage.

The group went right back to their discussion, as if nothing had interrupted them.

"I'll go," Ronan said. He rested against the wall, one of his feet planted on the stone behind him, his arms crossed. A leopard at ease.

But Arietta could feel the magic that swelled in the room. None of them were truly at ease. They couldn't be with the topic they discussed.

"You can't go," Finn said. He absentmindedly flipped a small pocket knife he'd pulled from his pocket. "There's someone here who will miss you while you're gone."

"Are you talking about yourself?" Lianna asked Finn. "I know you love Ronan, but it won't be for long. It's only a recon mission." Lianna shook her head. "I'll go."

"What if I wanted to go?" Finn asked Lianna.

"No one said you couldn't." She fired back.

"Great, then I'm going."

Lianna rolled her eyes.

"It makes sense for a hawk to go," Cael said carefully from the corner. "We're able to get in and out easily."

"You just came back from a week-long tracking mission to find Arietta," Gavriel told him. "You still need to rest."

"We all need to rest," Cael said.

Arietta frowned. She'd never seen Cael argue with Gavriel before.

Gavriel's thumb traced back and forth on the side of her hand. "Ronan and I will go," He said, no room for argument in his tone. "We will go in, get what information we can, and get back."

Lianna's lips thinned. Today, her long box braids were carefully arranged in a half ponytail, with the bottom hanging beautifully over her shoulders. There was a fierceness in her eyes as she stepped forward. "Gavriel, is it really a good idea to have you in the wielder territory? What if you get caught?"

His thumb never stopped tracing Arietta's skin, even as he said, "We will be there only for a day at most. And with the next in-person Coalition meeting soon, it is not uncommon for Daedre or I to stop into the territory to meet for preparatory discussions."

"What happens if you don't find this doctor guy?" Finn asked. "No offense to Daedre, but if he's not at the location provided, you won't be able to spend time tracking him down. Not without causing suspicion if you're noticed."

"We will go in under the radar, get what we can, and then return." Gavriel said. "It is only for information collection. Nothing more. We need to see what we are working with."

"Why you, Gavriel?" Lianna said. "Send one of us instead."

"I have to do this," Gavriel said in answer, looking at Arietta.

"I should come with," Arietta said. She should. But with the side effects of the serum and her own trauma, she would be more of a hindrance to her mate than help. "I think we all know it's better that I stay here for now."

Gavriel squeezed her hand in comfort. Her mate knew everything about her—including the guilt she felt, even when it wasn't voiced.

"It is settled. Ronan and I will go, get what we can, and then return."

Arietta's nerves churned now for an entirely different reason. Her mate was going back out there, risking himself, in order to help her. They all were.

"Be safe out there," she said.

Gavriel pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

***

Sophie picked at the skin on the side of her thumb, the tablet Cael had given her on her lap. She scrolled through another article, the words only making the brick in her stomach heavier and heavier.

She had nothing. Not a lead. Not an idea. Not even a last known location for her sister. Nothing that pointed to where her sister could have gone.

Katarina's bank account was left untouched. Her email had a few notes from her old bosses, wondering where she was. One of her colleagues, a woman named Jessica, emailed her to check in, but other than that, it was like her sister simply vanished. Further down, Sophie found a few notices of Katarina's termination both at the diner and the salon she worked for.

Sophie thought the tablet would help. She thought that no matter what, she'd be able to find something that would give her a hint.

Not only did she have nothing, but Sophie quickly learned that her sister was just another statistic. Another woman missing—one that the police refused to look for.

She'd tried the police back in Veron City. Had called them through the internet line, using the tablet as her connection. The moment she mentioned Reison's name, the line disconnected.

She couldn't do this from afar. Not any more. If she wanted to find her sister, she would need to go back home. To start at the beginning. The idea of leaving the safety of the Southern Shifter Territory made her stomach sink.

Guilt immediately washed over her. Of course, she was sad to leave the comfortable spot she'd landed in. Meanwhile, her sister was out there, Elphyr knows where, being held hostage.

Gritting her teeth, Sophie steeled her spin. She would leave. She had to leave. For Katarina.

Decision made, Sophie stood up from her bed. Or rather, Cael's guest bed that he'd given her to sleep in while she was here. She didn't know where Cael slept—she'd never even seen him go up to his room. Did Cael sleep at all? She had a feeling if he did, it was either on the small futon in the combination kitchen and living room, or he slept as a hawk somewhere. Sophie had never asked. Not that Cael would even answer.

Even after a month of being here with the shifters, she didn't have any belongings. The clothes she had were borrowed from a woman named Violet that she'd never met—Cael had had to thank the woman for Sophie. The toiletries she had were given to her also by Cael, but they weren't something she'd take back with her.

No, the only thing she would take back with her were the clothes currently on her back... and the memories she'd made while in this territory.

She'd been so scared when she got here. Thinking the shifters would kill her. That they were exactly the menacing, cruel beasts that the stories said they were. But then she met Cael. Watched him back at the farmhouse where Reison held both her and Arietta hostage—he'd done whatever it took to get them out safely. She'd seen Gavriel's gentleness with Arietta. Saw Talia's strong but caring interaction with her patients.

These shifters weren't beasts. Not the kind to be feared. Not unless they were protecting one of their own.

Sophie had served her purpose here. Had done what she could to get Arietta to safety. Now it was time to find her sister. Before something terrible happened.

She wasn't packing anything, but she wasn't just leaving either. If they found her out wandering the territory, the shifters would have questions for her. Despite the way they loved Arietta, they were still distrusting of Sophie. Rightfully so, after how they'd met her.

She would need to let Cael know she was leaving, and perhaps have him escort her back to the border.

Mind made up, Sophie went down to the kitchen and found the cleaning supplies. The least she could do was clean up before she left.

It was night outside, and she had a sponge in her hand, scrubbing the edge of the small kitchen sink, when the door to the aerie opened.

That she heard it at all was indicative of Cael's consideration for her. The man could move silently. The only time he made noise was when he wanted her to hear him.

"Sophie." Cael's voice was a low timbre that shot warm tingles down her spine. Why the hawk shifter had such an effect on her was beyond her. She admired him, yes. But he was still a shifter, and she was still a human. They were not meant to be.

If only her heart would get the memo.

"You're cleaning." A statement, but for Cael, it was also a question.

"I—yes, well..." She rinsed the sponge in the water she'd left in the sink. You can do this, Soph, she coached herself.

Steeling both her nerves and her spine, Sophie turned to face him. Unlike others, Cael would not need her to ease into the conversation. He preferred to handle things up front. She'd seen the way the hawk shifter interacted with the other shifters. Even the other day with Soren—Cael did not beat around the bush. He ran right through it.

So she did as well.

"I need to leave."

Cael's expression went entirely blank. "Why."

Sophie blinked. Why? Not when?

"I'm confused," she told him. "I thought you would want me out of here as soon as possible."

"Why." He repeated. Again, a statement.

Sophie's next inhale was shaky. "I have an urgent matter at home that I need to attend to."

"Tell me what it is."

His words make her throat burn. Pressure built behind her eyes. Saying the words out loud...Cael would know just how badly she had failed her only family.

He would know that she wasn't a hero, but instead the worst kind of villain. One who had not protected her sister.

She wished she'd had some alcohol before this. Something to help her muddle through.

The low lights in the aerie cast a warm glow on Cael's face. Sophie took in his strong, stubbled jaw. The gentle fall of his light blond hair. The deep grayish blue of his eyes as he saw every single piece of her. Even, it felt like, her very soul.

"My sister." Sophie's words were more of a croak. "She's missing, and I have to find her."

Short, sweet, and to-the-point. Exactly what Cael would want from her.

Instead of answering, he kept his blank mask. Only now his gaze swept over her, before stopping at her side, by her hip.

When he stepped up to her, Sophie resisted the urge to flinch. She made herself keep her straight stance.

Cael's hand was surprisingly warm, his grip making her skin feel electric as it slid down to her hand. Slowly, he unclenched her fist.

"Sophie," this close, his breath washed over her neck. Her cheeks burned as he moved to her other hand, working at her fingers. Every gentle touch only made the pressure behind her eyes worsen. "Tell me what happened."

She was an idiot for thinking this would be easy. "I don't understand. I thought you and the shifters were just waiting for me to leave. I'm not here as a friend, Cael. You should be relieved."

"I'm never the emotion people tell me to be."

Sophie shook her head, her gaze blurring with unshed tears. "Cael, it's time I go home. I've done what I can to help with Arietta and her mother. I can't stay here forever, and I really shouldn't."

"Tell me what happened, Sophie."

Why was this so hard? Logically, it made little sense. And why was Cael so... so concerned?

"Reison." She told him. "Reison happened. When he took me hostage, he took my sister as collateral. To keep me in line. Now my sister is missing and I'm the only one who cares enough to find her." At that, her traitorous tears spilled over. She wiped at them with the back of a shaky hand. She didn't deserve these stupid tears. She didn't deserve to feel anything but guilt over being the reason her sister was missing.

"The tablet," Cael murmured, as if to himself. "That was why you needed it."

"I called the police department. The moment Reison's name came up, they hung up on me," Sophie said quietly. "The system is corrupt. And I can't do anything from this far away."

Cael still had a hold on her hand. He held it now between his own, staring down at it. Slowly, he traced the side of her hand with his thumb.

"Stay," he told her. "I will help you."

Sophie laughed humorlessly. "You have more pressing things to attend to," she said. "And I'm the last person you need to spend your resources on."

"This is not something you can do on your own. We have information here that can help you in your search."

"Cael, I can't—" her voice broke.

"You can." He said definitively. "Give me a chance to help. If we find nothing, then you can leave. But let us try first."

Her heart beat so hard in her chest she thought it might just burst out entirely, though she knew that was not scientifically possible.

Could she be selfish enough to stay? To take Cael's offer?

She could. Because Cael was right. Realistically, she wouldn't even know where to start on her own. She couldn't do this by herself. And these shifters had resources that she didn't.

Maybe...maybe it would be better for Katarina if she sought help from the shifters.

What else was she going to do?

"Thank you." Sophie's tears felt like hot tracks down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She didn't know what she apologized for. Being a burden. Making Cael house her for longer. Her damn emotions. Maybe everything.

These shifters weren't cruel beasts. They were exactly the opposite of everything she'd heard and known.

"I'm sorry," she told Cael again.

"I will help you find your sister," Cael reassured her.

And down to her very bones, she believed him.

***

Unknown location, 12:56AM...

The phone on his bedside table buzzed. Once. Twice. Three times.

Irritated, Governor Quinn set his glass of whiskey down and picked the device up. This wasn't his work line. The small black phone was the other line.

"What?" He barked into the device.

"S-sir. Sorry to bother you."

"What is it?" He asked, pulling his thin reading glasses from his face. He had another twenty pages of this drafted proposal to go over, and it would take at least another two hours to comb through it.

"Sir, it's Elena James."

"What about her?" He didn't like the way his chest tightened at the doctor's words. But it was hard to keep emotions out of it when it came to the integral part of his serum.

"She's dying, Sir."