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Both Corbin and Justice take a look before their eyes meet mine.

“You know who this person is?” Justice is the first to ask.

It was a simple question, but one I truly don’t want to answer. Not because I don’t want them to know, but because I just don’t want to deal with this. Not again.

“Yes, his name is Kakos. I haven’t seen him in years. Centuries.”

“He’s like us?” Corbin asks, glancing around at the group.

“No, he’s not a shifter. He was human, and the gods cursed him. A lost soul, forever searching for an end he will never find.”

“What’s that got to do with you?” Primal asks.

“He thinks I have the answers. He believes that if he can take my abilities for himself, he’ll be able to see what he’s searching for. He was obsessed with me for so long. He captured me a few times, but Orpheus and Aziz were able to foil his plans. Orpheus had him on the brink of death, but because of the curse, he couldn’t be killed. Orpheus never shared with me what he did to him. But Kakos is a crazed man, and he’s smart. He spent so long trying to decipher prophecies and spells that would allow him to leech my power. I don’t know why he’s suddenly back, but I can only assume he’s figured out something new.”

“I don’t care what he’s figured out. He’s not laying a hand on you,” Primal snaps from right next to me.

I give him a gentle smile. That protective streak runs strong in him.

“Primal’s right. We’re not going to let him get anywhere near you. We’ll all take turns watching over you until we find this Kakos and make him wish he never came anywhere near you,” Justice continues.

I look around the group, and I know they are all telling the truth. They want to protect me. They have faith in their abilities, both as shifters and as a club.

But I know Kakos. I know he won’t stop until he can’t move forward. I remember being chained for months while he researched and tried every last incantation he could to get what he wanted.

Chained up . . .

Another piece of the puzzle falls into place, and I realize once again that the same vision that has been plaguing me isn’t about someone else. It’s about me.

The chains are for me.

Even with the entire Spiked Raiders clubhouse rallied around me, I know there’s nothing they can do to stop what’s already in motion.

Kakos has big plans for me, and none of them are the kind that end well.

I’m going to have to go through this fight once again, praying that I make it out on the other side.

But this time I don’t have to do it alone. If I read the vision correctly, the lion who appears in the forest is my strength. The one who can save me even from myself.

Chapter

Sixteen

Primal

Sibley has gone quiet.

As long as she’s still conscious and not crying, it’s okay. I can handle her silences.

Corbin is issuing orders, “Now, that we know who we’re searching for, we need to double up patrols. I don’t want this Kakos asshole anywhere near this property or Sibley. Best case, we catch him out of the public eye, but if we have to catch him near the shop, that’s fine as well. But he’s not to get anywhere near the clubhouse. If he’s willing to go after Sibley and finds out about Karsyn or one of the other mates here, we don’t know what he’ll do.”

“I don’t think he’s going to be there when she’s not,” Coby speaks up. So far, he’s been quiet.

“Why do you say that?” I ask him.

“Because the footage shows it. If she’s not at the shop, he doesn’t show up. It’s like he knows where she’s going to be and when she’ll be there.”

I growl and squeeze my eyes shut. “Then he probably knows she’s here right now.”