“Let them,” Zander, who’d come up onto the porch behind Rae, said, not sounding alarmed. “The Goddess doesn’t like to be second-guessed. Are they willing to risk pissing her off?”
“It might be better to let them go through with the Choosing,” Eoin said. “When Rae is Chosen again, there can be no doubt.”
Zander didn’t look reassured, and Rae privately agreed with him. If Rae was touched at another Choosing, it might only convince the more hostile Shifters that Eoin had rigged it. Unrest in Shiftertowns could lead to violence, no matter what the rules, no matter that the Shifters wore Collars. “Shiftertown leader” was an artificial position, created by humans, and the other clan leaders were always vying for it.
Eoin released Rae and went to greet his guests. Ezra looked exhausted—he was breaking down from grieving—but he took Eoin’s welcoming embrace with equanimity, grateful for a place to stop.
Carson looked around with wary gray eyes, hand whitening as he gripped his pack. Zander had convinced him to leave his pistol on the boat with Miles—or Shifters might make him eat it, he’d said. More than once, Carson started to rest his hand on the absent weapon, then flinched when he didn’t find it.
“Your hurt is deep,” Eoin said as Zander led Carson up to the porch. Eoin didn’t try to touch the man—he knew when to take his time. “You are welcome to rest here and heal.”
Carson obviously didn’t know what to say. He gave Eoin an acknowledging nod, but his suspicions were going to die hard.
“He’s all right,” Zander said. He closed his hands over Carson’s shoulders. “We’re going to help him find his enemies, figure out what’s up with them, and kick ass if we have to. Carson’s actually not a bad guy, just a little confused.”
Carson stepped out from under Zander’s touch. “I’m not a Shifter,” he said. “And the fact that you can help me doesn’t negate that you tranqued me, imprisoned me, stole my boat . . .”
“I could say the same about you,” Zander said in a light voice. “But here I am, forgiving and forgetting. You do the same, while you’re here.”
Carson raised his hand. “I’m willing to call a truce. But you walk a thin line, Shifter.”
Rae gave Carson a sympathetic look. “Zander has that effect on everyone. But I don’t care right now—I just want some burgers. Colin’s cooking.”
With that, Rae walked past her dad and brother into the house, which seemed to reach out and embrace her.
* * *
Rae’s exuberance at being home again lasted until after supper. Colin did set up a grill in the backyard and started turning out perfect hamburgers, topped with gooey melted cheese. Logan returned from wherever Eoin had sent him and ate three burgers in one sitting. They all lounged on the porch after eating and sipped beer as they did many a summer night, as the stars came out and frogs and crickets began their nightly songs.
There was no sign of the Lupine Zander had asked to come to their Shiftertown. Rae didn’t want to mention him again, not before talking to Zander about it first. She hadn’t yet confessed to Eoin that the sword was broken—if Zander’s friend could fix it, she might not have to.
Zander related Carson’s tale about Shifters going on a killing spree to Eoin and Rae’s brothers. Carson filled in details—he and his wife had been staying in a cabin along the border between Idaho and Canada. Shifters had attacked the cabin, and when Carson had shot one, they’d turned savage. They’d beaten both Carson and his wife senseless, stolen or destroyed everything in the cabin, and finally departed. Carson had recovered, but Viv had not. She lay in a hospital in Seattle, on life support.
Carson had reported the attack, of course, but investigations by Shifter Bureau, their military detachment, and local law enforcement, no matter how vigilant, had turned up nothing. Carson, angry and frustrated at their lack of progress, had taken it upon himself to hunt down un-Collared Shifters and bring them in, hoping one day he’d find the specific ones who’d hurt his wife.
“I heard about that when it happened,” Eoin said. The night was soft, a breeze keeping things cool. “Indirectly—Shifter Bureau questioned the Coeur d’Alene Shiftertown closely but none of their Shifters had gone missing.”
“Rogues,” Zander said. He swallowed a sip of beer. “Shifters who never took Collars,” he said to Carson. “Some of them go feral.”
Rae looked pointedly at Zander’s bare neck, but he only winked at her and toasted her with his beer bottle.
“There might be some information about them in the Guardian Network,” Zander said. “Speaking of that, Rae needs access to it.”
Eoin started. “Why?” he asked, his voice hard.
Zander became watchful, but Rae realized that those who didn’t know him might think he didn’t care one way or the other. “She’s a Guardian. She should already be in.”
“Shifters here are not going to be happy if Rae messes with Daragh’s laptop,” Eoin said sternly. “In fact, his entire house has become a shrine to his memory.”
“Since when?” Rae asked indignantly. True, the small house Daragh had occupied apart from his clan—his right as a Guardian, though not all Guardians exercised the right—had not been taken over since Daragh’s death. Rae had never imagined living there herself. It was Daragh’s.
“Since you’ve been gone.” Eoin gentled his tone. “The clan leaders who claim there is no Guardian are keeping Daragh’s house intact for the next one.”
Rae clutched her empty bottle and kept herself from throwing it. She wondered how long it would be before these Shifters openly defied Eoin and tried to challenge his leadership. They might kill him if he didn’t submit, and make sure the reports of his death to Shifter Bureau said “accidental.”
“You’re Shiftertown leader,” Zander rumbled. “Overrule them.”
Eoin turned dark eyes to him. “You’ve obviously never lived in a Shiftertown, lad. Keeping the balance is never that simple.”
Ezra, who’d been withdrawn and silent since they’d arrived, spoke up. “The whole discussion is ridiculous. Rae is a Guardian. She sent my father to dust. I witnessed it.”
“So did I,” Zander said. “But I have the feeling the testimony of rogue Shifters like us won’t convince anyone. We’re not from around here.”