“Then he’ll have no choice. When the full moon arrives, he’ll have to shift completely,” Barrett confirmed with a solemn nod of his head. “He’ll need help. Fighting the change will only make it more painful the first time. He’ll also need guidance back. His family?”

“No family. No pack,” I said firmly. Barrett had to understand that James had nowhere else to turn.

His brow crinkled as he looked at me and a fresh frown formed on his face. “Is he searching for a pack?”

“No, I doubt he will ever be a part of one. He just needs someone to help him get his feet under him again. Get him through the first full moon. A little advice and guidance. That’s all I’m asking for.”

To my surprise, the lycanthrope only thought about it for a couple of seconds. “Send him to me a couple days before the full moon. The pack will help him.”

“I’ll do what I can,” I replied, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

“You’re not sure he will come?” Barrett asked, his tone jumping in surprise.

“This has all come as a surprise to him,” I admitted. “He may be resistant at first.”

“How old is he?”

“I—I don’t know. Mid-twenties, maybe.” I honestly hadn’t a clue as to how old James was.

“He’s twenty-eight,” Mira interjected, drawing my gaze back to her. For a moment, I wondered how she knew I was talking about James and then I felt it, a shift in power. She was a ghost in my thoughts, listening in undetected when I didn’t think such a thing was possible. I had been so focused on getting James help from Barrett that I had dropped my guard.

“It will be hard on him, but the pack can help. Get him here,” Barrett said and then rose to his feet. “We’ll do what we can.”

I slid to my feet at the same time as Barrett and shook his hand. “Thank you for meeting with us and for your assistance.”

“My pleasure, and please, dinner is on me tonight.”

“Barrett!” Mira started, but the lycanthrope held up his hand, stopping her.

“Accept it as an apology,” he quickly said, forestalling any further comment from the vampire. “I had some of my people speak with your friend recently.” His dark copper eyes returned to my face and he gave a brief bow of his head. “For the trouble. I did not understand the nature of your relationship with Mira.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to argue that I had no relationship with Mira. That our preferred arrangement was one of hunter and prey. That this “friend” status Mira was bestowing on me was complete bullshit. But I kept my mouth shut and tried not to glare. This wasn’t his fault. It was Mira’s.

While I was standing, Mira slid out of the booth and I silently followed her out of the restaurant. It was only when we were both out on the street again in the cool fall air that I felt as if I could relax. I rolled my shoulders and leaned my head toward either shoulder, loosening up the muscles. I hadn’t realized I had grown so tense while talking with Barrett until we were away from the restaurant.

Mira walked beside me, jiggling her keys in her hand. “At least that is out of the way,” she muttered.

“Not exactly informative.”

“I didn’t expect it to be,” she replied, walking around to the driver’s side of the car. She hit the button on the remote, and the lights briefly flashed as the doors unlocked. “I took this meeting as just a kind of warning that you and I are looking into the murder.”

I paused in the act of lifting the car door handle and tilted my head slightly to the side as if I was trying to hear something, but I was actually reaching out with my other sense. My powers flowed out from me, covering the area. The dozen or so lycanthropes in the nearby restaurants muddied up my senses, but as I reached past them, it cleared.

“We have to go now,” I said, looking at Mira over the roof of the car.

“How many?”

“Four and they’re approaching fast.”

Mira looked up at the black night sky as she jerked the door open, as if she expected them to swoop down on us at any moment.

“No,” I said, jumping into the car as she did and slamming my door shut. “By land. I think they’re in a car.”

“Damned naturi.”

It was only after the tires finished squealing, launching us out of the parking lot and back onto the street, that Mira tried to speak. Battling any member of the naturi was a tricky matter at best.

“What do you mean you think they’re in a car?” Mira snarled, as both of her hands gripped the wheel. “Naturi? Is there something else with them?”

“No,” I said, twisting in my seat to look behind us while struggling to hold onto the armrest on the door. Mira was whipping us down a winding street, continuously keeping me off balance. I had yet to actually see the car, but I could feel them following. They weren’t gaining ground on us, but they weren’t losing any either.

“Naturi are driving the car? Are you serious?”

“Damn it, Mira! You’re a vampire and you’re driving a car.” For a brief moment, I wondered which one of us had actually lost their mind; Mira for her shortsighted bias or me for even participating in this argument. Of course, the thought was shoved from my mind as Mira made a sharp left turn in front of a semi, causing its tires to screech as the driver slammed on his brakes.

“I know! I know! I’m still getting used to the idea,” she shouted, waving one hand in the air.

“Where are you going?” I demanded when I learned to breathe again.

“Highway. I’ve got to get them away from the lycans,” she said as she finally grabbed an on-ramp to the highway, leading us north.

I sat back in my seat, staring forward as I shoved both hands through my hair, pushing it away from my eyes as I tried to think. Mira was still weaving through traffic like a madwoman, but I had faith in her quick reflexes not to plow us into a concrete divider or crush us under the tires of a tractor trailer.

“How the hell did they find us? Naturi can’t sense vampires. At least, they never could before,” Mira ranted, her voice dying off at the end.

“Shit,” I hissed, barely resisting the urge to smash my fist into the car door on my right. “I bet they can track humans.”

“Yeah, but you’re…”

“I’m still at least half human.”

Mira stared at me with wide eyes. The few times the naturi had managed to locate her, I had been at her side. They had learned to locate me and were potentially following me or at least watching me from a distance, waiting for me to join Mira. They were using me as a homing beacon to locate her.

“We can separate,” I suggested.

“No!”

I sat back and released my seat belt, causing a little bell to start chiming in the car. “Let me out, and I can draw them away from you.”

“I said no,” she repeated, punctuating her remark with an ominous thunk that echoed all around me. She had locked the doors with the switch at her side. “I didn’t save your sorry ass in Venice to hand you over to the naturi now. If I just randomly drop you off, they might guess that we’re on to their little trick. They will have no use for you, and will simply kill you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Maybe you can and maybe you can’t. We’re stronger as a team and you know it. So why don’t you stop arguing with me and help me think of a plan.” Mira glanced at me for a second before looking back at the road long enough to cut between two cars to get to an open lane. “And put your goddamn seat belt back on.”

I didn’t take my eyes off her as I drew my seat belt back on and latched it with a soft click. There were lines of strain cutting across her forehead and pulling at the corners of her eyes. Her fingers continued to tighten and loosen on the steering wheel. She was fighting to stay in control while fear of the naturi beat at her.