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THE WILDLANDS

2013

Moonlight glazed the lush foliage in silver as Talon crossed the boundary into the Wildlands He stopped to take a deep breath, the ne

Shit, he&039;d been gone too long

Four weeks and two days to be exact

He grimaced He hadn&039;t expected Parish&039;s order to hunt for the traitors to lead hih of a shock to accept that there could be Pantera in their sanctuary illing to betray their own people Hell, Parish had denied it even when the evidence was right in front of his face

But after locking away Vincent and Savoy, and beginning his search for Pantera with the Mark of Shakpi branded on their heel, he&039;d learned that two Geeks had gone on the run, slipping aithout leaving ith their fa therim smile touched Talon&039;s lean, starkly handsome face He&039;d been pissed that he&039;d been forced to waste adown the bastards, and evenDyesse Fete-the celebration of the birth of the Pantera, and the most important holiday in the Wildlands

Since the Elders had begun to notice the stagnant pools of decay at the fringes of their land it&039;d been feared that the tradition would die away Just another sign that the Pantera were hovering on the brink of extinction So it was hardly surprising that they each waited with baited breath each summer for the bloo of the festival

Still, when he&039;d entered the apart the traitors

He&039;d located the mother lode

Fake IDs, lists of addresses, and several papers written in code that would have to be deciphered There were also three laptop coain infor the twohome

Now he just wanted to return to his roo the chains he held in his hands a tug, he lance over his shoulder at the men ere leashed by heavy collars laced with iven in to the inevitable without a fight, barely speaking on the trip back to the bayou

That was fine with Talon

If the Pantera didn&039;t need the information the bastards could provide on why they&039;d beco to destroy the Wildlands, he&039;d have happily killed thee

To hi

How could you call yourself a Pantera if you weren&039;t willing to put the welfare of your people ahead of your own, selfish needs?

They&039;d reached a narrow canal choked ater lilies when Talon caold threaded with copper highlights as his hair, snapped together over his eyes that were a pale gold rie nu

Tightening his grip on the chains, Talon was preparing for an attempt to rescue the traitors when a faold eyes leaped gracefully over the canal to land directly at his side

Instantly he relaxed

Raphael, the leader of the Suits, had been like a father to Talon after the death of his parents in an airplane crash thirty years ago Despite the fact that they were only distantly related, and Talon&039;s faction was Hunters, not Diplomats, Raphael had been the one to visit the school where Talon was being trained in his duties Whether it was to cheer hi his athletic competitions or to kick his ass when he&039;d snuck into the nearby town, La Pierre, and left an alligator in the mayor&039;s bathtub

Raphael had also been the one to take hiet him cross-eyed drunk when the cute little fe decided to dump him for another male

Talon trusted thisswirl of color before Raphael shifted into his human form, dressed like Talon in faded jeans and T-shirt

A tall olden beauty that had driven females wild At least until he&039;d stunned the back at the Wildlands with a

It was aas they could keep Ashe and her baby alive

Which hy Talon had been sent to track down the traitors

"Welcome hoolden eyes shadoith the brutal fear that was threatening to destroy him

"Why the welcome committee?" Talon demanded

"We need to speak" Raphael&039;s tone was flat A sure sign his eers and Sebastian appeared at his side The Suit was a bronze-skinnedhazel eyes and a chiseled body that proved he didn&039;t spendbehind a desk His tawny hair was threaded with gold and brushed his broad shoulders "Take the prisoners to the elders"

Talon tossed the chains toward Sebastian who curled his lips to growl at the cringing prisoners Next, Talon shoved the backpack that held the computers and file folders into the Suit&039;s hand

"These need to go to Xavier," he said, referring to the brilliant head of the Geeks If anyone could coax inforave an unnecessary jerk on the chains, leading the prisoners away just as Raphael nodded his head toward a thick grove of cypress trees

"This way," the Suit co in Raphael&039;s wake, Talon studied the tense set of the older man&039;s shoulders and the manner in which he turned his head fro for hidden eneeons and chains, does it?" Talon lance over his shoulder "We don&039;t have dungeons"

Talon gri his way past the veil of Spanishin the center of the trees

"We didn&039;t when I left, but things are clearly changing," he pointed out in dry tones

"Unfortunately," Raphael agreed, restlessly pacing over the spongy ground

Talon rolled his weary shoulders, sensing he wasn&039;t going to see his bed anytime soon "What did I aze "You were already on the hunt when Jean-Baptiste returned with the female voodoun"

Talon nodded He&039;d known the one to fetch the human female, but he&039;d been headed out of the Wildlands before Jean-Baptiste returned

"Did she help Ashe?"

"I believe so"

"Thank the goddess," Talon breathed, relief shuddering through him

Raphael&039;s ile woe that they&039;d allowed their eneer laid heavily on all of theive thanks yet," Raphael warned

"Why?"

The leader of the Suits scrubbed his hands over his face Talon wondered when he&039;d last slept

Probably not since Ashe had been attacked and infected with so," Raphael growled

"Here" Talon pulled out his silver flask filled with Don Julio tequila and tossed it toward his friend "Tellas the expensive tequila slid down his throat "As I said, Jean-Baptiste brought Isi to the Wildlands" Another griainst her will"

Talon arched a brow "She&039;s prejudiced against the Pantera?"

"No For so someone ill? That eird

"I&039;ve never heard of that before," Talon said "Of course, I don&039;t have enough interest in humans to knohat ed He didn&039;t really care if she was sick or not Nothing mattered but Ashe and the baby

"Did she have a potion for Ashe?"

Raphael turned to glance at the heavy layers ofa chill of fear down Talon&039;s spine

Was he afraid so to spy on them?

Were there more traitors?

Shit

"Actually her th," he at last said, his voice low

Okay That see

So asn&039;t Raphael happier?

"I don&039;t understand," Talon ad "The Healers suspect that the toxin in Ashe&039;s blood is targeted to attack the babe It&039;s taking every ounce of her strength to protect her child"

"That makes sense," Talon said He&039;d already heard the poison was ent design to destroy the baby "What does the fe her near appears to" Raphael searched for the word to describe the female&039;s effect on his mate "Steady Ashe"

"Steady?"

"It&039;s alth"

Talon frowned He didn&039;t doubt the power of the voodoun The spiritual world was a powerful force But he&039;d always thought they needed potions and spells and rituals to weave theirin the sa in the Wildlands"

Talon shook his head He didn&039;t like the thought that the female could somehow ta to stir up a potion Or even do one of those mysterious rituals they seee

And he didn&039;t trust strange

"Do the Healers knohy?"

Raphael&039;s expression tightened, his eyes glowing gold with the power of his cat "They&039;re divided"

"Why do I sense I&039; to like this?"

"Because you won&039;t," Raphael said bluntly, halting his pacing to aze "Isi is Ashe&039;s sister"

Talon blinked, his brain struggling to process the words

"Sister?"

"Her twin sister"

Twin sister God alht you said Ashe&039;s only relative was a drunkard mother," Talon said

"That&039;s what Ashe had always been told"