Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound #11)(41)

Angus checked the number calling before he said a cautious, “What?”

A voice came through, male, with an Irish accent. “Sean here. My dad wants a word.”

“Does he? Then why isn’t Dylan calling me? Never mind—put him on.”

“I don’t mean he’s here with me. Our dad is never that straightforward. He wants a meet.”

“Don’t have time. Busy. I’ll catch him later.”

The easygoing lilt in Sean’s voice changed, the man’s dominance coming through to Tamsin. “It’s not a suggestion. Dylan says it’s urgent, and I’m not to let you blow him off. His very words. I know you’re driving Dimitri’s souped-up rig, and I know you’re heading to Kendrick’s, so take a turn north and meet in our usual spot. Please don’t make me tell him you’re not coming.”

“I have Ciaran with me. I’m not racing off for one of his meetings with my cub.”

“Dylan knows Ciaran’s with you,” Sean went on. “He says bring him. And the red-haired woman. Do it for me, Angus. If I can’t persuade you, I’ll never hear the end of it. Don’t do that to me, my friend. Take pity on me, please.”

Angus’s jaw tightened so much Tamsin feared he’d break his teeth. “Fine,” he snarled. “I’ll be there.”

He snapped the phone closed and tossed it down, slamming his hand back to the wheel as though resisting the urge to crush the phone in his bare hand.





CHAPTER TWELVE


“Jaycee mentioned Dylan,” Tamsin said, sounding casual. “Who is this guy?”

Angus didn’t look at her. He sped up, feeling the need to move faster. “Dylan Morrissey. Full of himself Shifter with way too much power.”

Sean’s statement that Dylan, former Shiftertown leader of Austin and now a liaison between Shiftertowns in South Texas, knew about Tamsin made Angus’s hackles rise. Every misgiving leapt into his brain.

On the other hand, he knew Dylan would track them down more diligently than Haider ever could, and at this moment, Angus wasn’t certain which man was more dangerous.

“You agreed to meet with him,” Tamsin said. “Why, if you don’t like him?”

“Because he’s Dylan. He’ll find me if he wants to.”

“Dad works for him.” Ciaran’s sleepy voice came from the back. “At least sort of works for him. I don’t know what he does for him.”

Angus kept his mouth solidly closed. Dylan had approached Angus a few months ago, right after Dimitri and Jaycee’s mating ceremony, with a proposition. He was quietly gathering Shifters to train for a fight against the Fae, who were gearing up on their side of the gates for a full-scale war. The Fae were coercing Shifters to fight for them, promising them all kinds of shit if they would become the Battle Beasts like in the old days.

Dylan and his sons, and other Shifter leaders like Kendrick, believed the Fae had been instrumental in having the Shifters exposed to humans, Collared, and rounded up into Shiftertowns. The Collars could be triggered by special swords the Fae had made, another method of keeping the Shifters under their power.

Shifters, led by Dylan, were secretly removing the Collars—a slow and laborious process—and replacing them with fake ones. The weaker and less dominant Shifters were being freed first as they would suffer the most if the Fae came.

The Fae had more tricks up their flowing sleeves, however. They were busy recruiting Shifters who were devout Goddess worshippers, filling their heads with the nonsense that the Goddess—who’d created Fae as well as Shifters—wanted the two reunited.

Angus had spent some time in Faerie during his adventure with Jaycee and Dimitri, and he had firsthand knowledge that the Fae were cruel and crazy bastards who would do anything to win.

Angus hadn’t talked about what he did for Dylan to anyone, least of all Ciaran. He did not need those he loved to be tortured for his illegal activities. The less they knew, the better.

“This is interesting.” Tamsin was studying Angus, the lights from the dashboard glowing on her face. “Do you trust him?”

“Dylan used to be the Shiftertown leader in Austin. Stepped down so his son could take over. Retired.”

Tamsin cocked her head. “Retired? Didn’t know Shiftertown leaders could do that. In the wild, when a clan leader got too old, he let his son kill him and the Guardian send him to the Goddess.”

“Times have changed.”

“Obviously. And I thank the Goddess for it. I’m just surprised. Maybe I should meet this Dylan. I like a Shifter who changes the rules.”

“He changes the rules to suit himself and his purposes. Don’t trust him.”

“I didn’t say I’d trust him. I said I wanted to meet him. Big difference.”

Tamsin leaned sideways against the seat to watch him, her body drooping. It had been a long day and night for her—for all of them. She needed rest and so did he. Another reason a summons from Dylan was not welcome.

Angus took an exit to leave the I-10 and headed north. The highway he turned onto snaked toward Bastrop, east of Austin. The farms around them rendered the night black, few buildings in sight, though city lights were a faint glow against the sky in the west and south.

In a town that was close enough to Austin to see its lights, but far away enough from its Shiftertown and South Texas Shifter Bureau for secrecy, Angus pulled into the parking lot of a small, two-story chain motel.