Page 20 of Shifters Reckoning

An Hour Later

Olivia stood in the middle of Logan’s study in Six-Mile Manor, staring at me with an incredulous look on her face. “You want to call a conclave?”

“Yeah, we’re going to rework the clans, mix them up, maybe shake some more traitors out of our numbers. Maybe breed a little trust across shifter lines. Make sure the council members know that their attendance is also demanded.”

“Demanded?” Olivia’s eyes widened. “They’re going to hate that, especially after the last rather explosive council meeting.”

“It’s my right as the multimorph.”

“I don’t disagree,” she said, “but they’re not going to let you do that without at least a little bit of fight.”

“They should save their fight for Acheron.”

“Again, I don’t disagree,” she said.

The floor creaked as a naked Logan entered the room. I kept my eyes on his face. His hair curled around the nape of his neck.

“You could have joined me in the kitchen, Emma,” he said.

Olivia snorted. “You’d have been in there for days, and Jasper and I would have dragged you out by your tails.”

“If you could have.” Logan’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “Our fate bond is still new enough to warrant focusing only on one another. You know that’s what we’re supposed to be doing right now anyway.”

“You know we can’t spare that much time,” I murmured.

His gaze cut to me, and his eyes narrowed.

I raised my hands, my palms toward him, entreating. “I’d like nothing better than to spend the next several months locked into a bedroom with you.”

Olivia cleared her throat, crossed her arms, and studied me. “Have you had a heat yet?”

“Heat?” My voice cracked. Fuck. “I’m going to have a freaking heat too?”

Logan smirked again. “Not yet.”

“Is that worse?” How could it be worse than the obsession we already had?

Olivia shrugged. “Can be. You’re driven to procreate, and there’s no set length of time before it shows up for fated mates. It just always does eventually. You can choose to avoid each other if you’re not ready to procreate, but if you think it’s bad now…”

“It gets worse? That’s…” I didn’t know what it was.

“Exciting?” Logan offered as he crossed toward his desk chair, practically swinging his damn hips as he passed in front of me.

Asshole. I pushed the accusation through the bond.

His delighted laughter echoed back. At least he was more like his normal self after the romp in the woods and the subsequent shower.

“It’s horrifying,” I countered before turning back to Olivia. “How soon can we get word out to the other clans to send their alphas back for another council?”

“Today. We have shifters here who can be sent out to all the territories. We should have answers tomorrow.”

“Good. Then I want the council meeting to be scheduled for three days from now. Meanwhile, I’ll check on everyone in Willow Creek tomorrow morning. Do some normal Emma Carter things.” I paused. “Normalish, anyway.”

Logan and Olivia talked back and forth about the state of affairs in his territory. Nothing out of the ordinary at the moment.

My mind wandered to the town that used to be my home. This time, maybe I’d make it back from Willow Creek with my red motorcycle, the one I’d purchased not long before I’d had my first shift. I’d planned to get a multicolor paint job and turn my social media into a feed filled with the rainbow vet on the rainbow motorcycle. Heck, if—no, when—we beat Acheron, I’d treat myself.

Maybe the frivolity was my own futile attempt at a low-stakes goal, or maybe planning for the future. Either way, it appealed to me, and I intended to make it happen. It wasn’t like I’d ever officially moved into Logan’s house or even brought my things from town.