Interesting that Zander thought he’d be looking in on Kendrick’s Shifters. Well, they could use a healer these days.

Robbie, who’d finished his breakfast and slipped outside, now came running back in. “Dad. He’s here.”

“Who?” Kendrick was on his feet, expecting the twisted face of Lachlan to appear at the door, but the man who came in was Dylan Morrissey.

The Shifters around the table tensed until the air crackled with it. Seamus rose, both to confront Dylan and to keep the other Shifters from charging the man.

Kendrick got himself up and around Seamus. He needed to make it clear this was a leader-to-leader meeting, not an attack. There was no way Dylan had come out here without backup, and the situation could escalate into a pitched battle if Kendrick didn’t keep things calm.

Kendrick spoke before Dylan could. “Welcome. Thank you for your help at the fight club.”

His Shifters relaxed a fraction, though only a fraction. Kendrick was indicating to all present that this was his territory, Dylan was a guest, and so far, he would be tolerated.

The alpha in Kendrick couldn’t help a touch of triumph. He’d been under Dylan’s thumb for a while. Knowing he could throw Dylan off his turf anytime made him want to do a victory dance, like Brett did when he won a tussle.

Kendrick restrained himself. “What’s up?”

Dylan gave him a conceding nod. The man was three hundred years old, venerable even for a Shifter, but he was strong, with the energy of his sons. His blue eyes were clear, his hair bearing only a touch of gray, and the lion in him could still win every fight in the fight club.

With the nod, he acknowledged that this was indeed Kendrick’s territory, and Kendrick was master here.

“Tell me about this Shifter,” Dylan said. “The one who tried to kill you last night.” He shot a blue gaze past Seamus and around the table, knowing these were Kendrick’s top men, who would defend their leader to the death. “And I wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee, if you have it to spare.”

*   *   *

Kendrick launched into his tale.

Twenty years before, Kendrick had joined forces with a half-human Shifter called Lachlan. They’d agreed, after the Shifters had been outed, that letting themselves be rounded up into Shiftertowns was a bad idea.

Though Lachlan was Lupine and only a half-blood Shifter and Kendrick was Feline, they had a common cause, and they became good friends. They wanted their families to remain free and without Collars.

They’d escaped from the humans rounding up Shifters and hidden out together in the wilds of the Yukon, staying far away from any human settlements. They’d realized that if they could find a place remote enough, they could live without detection.

If they didn’t allow themselves to be Collared, with a record at Shifter Bureau and all that crap, most humans wouldn’t even know they were Shifters. Lachlan, especially, could blend in, proving Shifters could live alongside humans—holding jobs, buying property, opening bank accounts—with no one being the wiser.

Since Kendrick was a Guardian, and Guardians by tradition weren’t leaders, they agreed that Lachlan would be Shifter leader, with Kendrick as his second and the group’s Guardian.

All went well at first. Kendrick found like-minded Shifters, helped them get away from the humans rounding them up and saving all the family members they could. It was tough—the humans ruthlessly herded Shifters into holding areas where they’d be processed. Cubs were separated from parents. Shifters young and old were taken away for experiments. By the time humans who were horrified at the treatment of Shifters had enough influence to stop the abuse, too much damage had been done.