Page 84 of The Reluctant Alpha
I shook my head. "No, shifters and humans are not excluded. But we would scent them immediately, so there is no need."
Dimitri nodded.
"Do you think the revenant is working with someone?" I asked.
“Let me be clear,” Dimitri said, leaning forward. “A revenant is an abomination with no thought process other than greed and revenge. If he is being controlled by something, then that control is about to come to an end. There is no higher power, no witch or seer, that can exert influence on it, and definitely not two revenants working in tandem.”
"Unless Rafael isn't the only one who came back," I suggested, a chill running down my spine at the thought. "Are you sure Alessandro himself..."
Rhys interrupted. "Impossible. Alessandro would have been returned to the earth. There would be nothing left to reanimate."
“What about Ivan?” Simeon asked. “He conveniently disappeared while all this was going on.”
Dimitri met Simeon’s gaze. “I will find out.”
"So, we have two possibilities," Phoenix summarized, his voice controlled but tight with anger. "Either there are two revenants—which you claim can't happen because you know all the silver-skins in the coven—or we have a silver-skin that’s gone rogue, and he's somehow controlling Rafael in the short term."
Dimitri glanced at Axel, but they both inclined their heads.
“There is something else,” Dimitri said. “Do you have any of your pack missing?”
“Missing?” Phoenix repeated.
“You said it can cross the barrier without triggering the alarm. I am sure Rhys and your seer made the wards. They would have used old blood magic, not simply a case of differentiating between a silver-skin and a shifter.”
“Are you saying,” I asked slowly feeling the horror rolling through me. “That this has to have been a pack member?”
But Dimitri put up a hand at the same time as Phoenix shook his head. “Shifters cannot be turned,” Phoenix confirmed, but I knew that. It had to be a human, and the only three currently in pack lands were Danny, Emery and Callie.
I glanced at Phoenix. “One of the gun-runners from last year?”
Phoenix stilled. “Are you saying a blood relation of pack wouldn’t trigger the alarm?” He glanced at me. “The only person I can think of is Callie’s father.”
“Ben’s step-father, Jem Collingwood. He was one of the humans we killed when they attacked us with the guns,” Simeon confirmed. “The human bodies were buried.”
Dimitri shook his head. “It wouldn’t work, even we cannot reanimate a dead body.”
“It doesn’t matter who it is, we still need it tracked and destroyed,” Phoenix said.
Dimitri stood up. “I agree. This helps neither party. I will be in touch when I have information to share.” And in a blink, they were gone.
“I think you’re right in calling a Gathering,” I said, knowing this needed all of us.
Phoenix nodded. “I’ll send messengers."
Danny
I was feeling a lot more like myself after an hour in the kitchen with Ben. He was a great sous chef, and his presence had kept me from spiraling into a pit of self-loathing. We'd just put the chocolate bomb in the freezer when the front door opened, and I heard multiple footsteps in the entryway.
My heart leapt into my throat, and I wiped my hands nervously on a dish towel. Ben gave me an encouraging nod before slipping out the back door, giving me privacy for what was sure to be an awkward reunion.
Although I might’ve craved privacy, this wasn't the time. I'd even texted Bayer to make sure he came to the packhouse and had gotten Em to text Phoenix. I didn't get a reply from Bayer.
Bayer appeared in the kitchen doorway first, his massive frame filling the space. He looked tired, shoulders slightly slumped, but his eyes lit up when he saw me—before quickly dimming as he remembered our last interaction, and he took a step back.
"I made dinner," I blurted out, gesturing to the stove where the sauce was simmering. "Spaghetti Bolognese. And garlic bread. And chocolate bomb for dessert. Ben helped."
Phoenix, Kaylan, and the others filed in behind Bayer, their expressions ranging from curious to wary.
