Sam and her team had returned.
“The key won’t work unless your intentions are honest,” Sam said. “A small group is more likely to make it through the magical protections.”
Austin ground his teeth together. “I don’t like it.”
“Yeah,” Cody added. “Anytime we end up separated, you end up getting kidnapped,” he said with a glance at me.
“That’s not even close to being true,” I objected.
Jason snickered at my side, and I gave him an elbow jab to the ribs that made him stop.
“We can’t give Blaze an opening to take over the pack,” Trevor said with a frown. “Tension is high, not everyone is happy with the new additions, and supplies are running low. That creates the perfect environment for rebellion.”
Austin sighed. “This isn’t a prison. Anyone who wants to leave is free to do so.”
“I’m more worried about him challenging you,” Trevor stated bluntly.
“That can’t happen!” I said a little too loudly. “Austin built this pack from the ground up.”
Austin gave me an affectionate smile. “It won’t.”
“We do have several pack masters planning to visit our territory over the next few days,” Cody said slowly. “If we want any chance of convincing the shifter community to stand with us in the upcoming war, we need to show them a strong, united front.”
“We need to show them what we have to offer them,” Caleb corrected. “They need to see us prospering to see an advantage to becoming our allies.”
“We also need to make it clear that we’re the strongest pack,” Trevor added. “We can’t risk them turning on us and attacking to take what we have.”
I ignored the worried look on Trevor’s face and looked at James. He was frowning.
“Austin and Cody should stay,” James said after some deliberation. “They’re both well-liked and can put a stop to dissention.”
Austin’s jaw tightened. “I still don’t like it.”
“Someone has to stay,” James said practically. “We can’t leave the pack without leadership.” He hesitated and gave Austin a wry look. “Do you really want to leave me here to smooth over hurt feelings and coax other wolves to join with us?”
Cody snorted.
That definitely wasn’t within James’ skill set.
“James comes,” I agreed. “Austin and Cody stay.”
“We’re coming,” Mason and Jason said together.
“We’ll annoy the shit out of people if we’re left behind,” Jason said with a straight face.
“Yup,” Mason agreed. “There will be a rebellion just to get rid of us.”
James gave a long-suffering sigh. “And you won’t annoy the shit out of me?”
“Well…” Jason said hesitantly.
“We’re highly trained marines,” Mason said over his brother. “Some of the best people you can have on a mission to find magical places.”
“Yeah!” Jason added. “And we’re completely devoted to Anna. So this magic key thing will read our intentions the same as Anna’s.”
“I doubt that’s how it works,” Caleb said drily.
Sam shrugged. “If they’re completely focused on getting Anna where she needs to go, then it might work.”
Trevor sighed. “This is a whole new level of magical bullshit.”
He and James shared a glance that made it clear they were both on the same page this time.
“It’s decided,” I said as I clapped my hands together. “James, Mason, and Jason will come with me. Caleb will coordinate with us from here, and the rest of you will hold the pack together.”
Davis raised his hand. “Are we sure this whole thing is a good idea, though?”
Mike cleared his throat. “We saw what happened last time we woke a god up.”
Trevor touched his ribs, but I think that was subconscious. He was injured the worst in their fight against the Jaguar Goddess. I imagine his near-death experience wasn’t a pleasant memory.
“We can’t move against the Morrigan alone,” Austin said decisively. “It would be a suicide mission.”
“We can’t expect Anna to be the only person who’s able to fight against her,” Sam agreed. “The rest of us will be useless against her, we simply don’t have the magical abilities that they do.”
Silence fell over the room. I’m sure everyone was thinking it - but doing this out of desperation didn’t necessarily make it a good idea.
“I’ll trust my gut,” I assured them. “If anything feels off about this, I’ll abandon the mission and we’ll come up with a new plan.”
“You know Dark and Grumpy won’t let Anna put one foot into danger,” Jason said with a grin at James.
“And we’ll just pick her up and carry her away if she gets past James,” Mason added.
I shook my head, but I had a smile on my face. I knew my guys would