could manage. “I’ll be fine.”
It wasn’t true. But she couldn’t let any of them know that. It might get back to Fenrir, and she couldn’t make this any harder for him than it already was. He needed to believe that she would be okay without him.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Just…just look after him for me, okay?”
“We will,” Rory rumbled. “And Darcy? No matter how long it takes, we won’t give up. We’ll find a way to defeat Uncegila. He’ll be able to shift again one day, I promise.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Picking up her bag, she took two steps toward her car—and stopped dead.
“Oh shit,” she breathed. She whirled, looking around wildly. “Fenrir! Fenrir!”
He must have been lurking invisibly all along. He appeared out of thin air right at her side, the fur on his spine bristling.
*What is it?* He loomed over her protectively, teeth bared. *What is wrong?*
Despite everything, her heart rose at the sight of him. “Nothing. Or maybe everything. Fenrir, I just realized something.”
Edith broke into a beaming smile, her hands flurrying like fireworks. “A way for you and Fenrir to be together!”
“No. Nothing to do with that.” Darcy rubbed her forehead, aghast that she’d almost overlooked it. “Something that Uncegila said while she was possessing Fenrir. What with everything else, I’d forgotten it until now. What Rory said just now about defeating Uncegila—she said that too.”
Fenrir’s canine face couldn’t show expression like a human one, but she still knew the moment that he made the same connection. His fiery eyes flared, widening.
*Said, no one would be able to stop her,* he whispered. *Once the pack was dead.*
“That’s why she attacked us,” Blaise breathed. The dull grief left her eyes, her face regaining its usual animation. “It wasn’t just spite, or vengeance because we’ve stopped her demons before. It was because we’re a threat!”
Rory’s eyes gleamed feral gold. “Which means we can defeat her.”
“Which isn’t good news,” Darcy said, cutting across the excited murmurs. “Because we have to do it now. Remember what else she said, Fenrir?”
Fenrir growled, showing his fangs. *That her victory is imminent. Sister mentioned something similar. That soon all this would be over.*
“Any idea what she meant by that?” Darcy asked. “Did she drop any clues at all?”
Fenrir’s huge claws fretted at the ground. *Think…think it is something to do with the Thunderbird. And the serum. Sister told me that she couldn’t spare much. However she is making it, must have a use for the rest.*
“Well, whatever Uncegila and Lupa are planning, they’re almost finished.” Darcy looked around at the crew. “There’s no time to lose. We have to stop her now.”
Rory swore. “Cal, is there any way Agent Min-Seo can get here? Or any of her colleagues?”
Callum shook his head, looking grim. “Even if Min-Seo hurries, it’ll take her at least a day to reach us. And Shifter Affairs doesn’t have that many agents, at least compared to the scale of territory they have to cover. Even if she can send backup, it’s unlikely to be in any number. We’re probably the most powerful group of shifters in the entire Northwest area as it is.”
“Another reason for Uncegila to be scared of us,” Joe said. “We can’t sit around and wait for help to arrive. We’re it. We have to do something.”
Rory paced a few tight steps, shoulders tense. “I agree. But we don’t even know where Lupa is.”
“That’s just it,” Darcy said. She held up a second USB stick, twin to the one that she’d given Callum. “I do.”
“The Malvery family estate?” Wystan leaned closer to Darcy’s laptop screen, frowning at the picture of the imposing mansion. “You really think Lupa’s been hiding in her own house all this time?”
“People are creatures of habit,” Darcy replied. “You’d be amazed how many bail skippers I’ve tracked down just because they couldn’t bear to give up their morning coffee at their favorite cafe.”
*Den is important to hellhounds,* Fenrir said. He was squashed into the hall with them, his huge bulk occupying one corner. *And sister is still a hellhound, no matter what else. Would only leave home territory if no other choice.*
Darcy still had qualms about Fenrir listening in on their plans, but he’d been certain that he could prevent Uncegila from using his senses to eavesdrop on them all. Even if he was wrong about that, she supposed it didn’t matter anyway. Uncegila already knew that they’d uncovered Lupa’s true identity. She must have worked out