The Amber Shift

Sixteen

Remi

"Hey, Corbin is calling my phone," Asher says as he stares down at the screen.

Fuck. "He's pissed, isn't he?" I ask, flinging myself down on the couch in the den, leaning my head back and staring at the ceiling.

"I'd say that's a pretty fucking safe bet," Killian grumbles as he sits down next to me and crosses his arms over his broad chest.

"I gotta answer it. Right?" Asher says, and his face is a pale, ashen color that makes his eyes stark green against his skin.

"That's a stupid question. Just be glad I talked him out of having this call last night, and I took the brunt of that ass chewing," Elijah answers, his voice clipped, and I clench my teeth. This is going to be bad...really bad.

Asher takes a deep breath and slides to answer the FaceTime call. "Hey, Corbin," he says, and his voice is trembling just enough that I notice it, and the others do too.

"How is my niece?" is the only greeting we get, and I can tell without even seeing Corbin's face that he is livid, terrified, and out of his mind with worry.

"She woke up for a minute last night. The pain appeared to be gone, but she was terrified. She's sleeping peacefully now," Elijah says, leaning into the view of the camera so our alpha can see his face.

"I need every one of you in the frame for this call, please," he commands, and Killian and I leap to our feet and kneel behind the couch, so we are in his view. "Please tell me that someone was with her at all times last night."

Elijah nods his head. "Yes sir. We were going to take turns, but..." He clears his throat. "Like I told you last night, I am the one who healed her wounds, and I stayed at her request."

I glance at Elijah as a ripple of jealousy streaks through me. I wish I could have been the one to give her relief from her pain, to hold her as she drifted off to sleep. Even more than that, though, I wish none of this had ever fucking happened. We were such —

"Fools. All four of you," Corbin says, snapping me out of my thoughts. "How could you let her go outside at night alone? And on her eighteenth birthday. You know what is at stake."

"Sir, I—"

Corbin holds up a hand. "I'm not finished, Elijah. I sent you up there to keep her safe, and then she gets fucking mauled on our own back porch. You four have let me down, and I never thought I'd say that."

We exchange ashamed looks, and we know he is right. We put her in danger, and I hate myself for it. The wounds on her neck and shoulder are likely healed by now thanks to Elijah, but it never should have happened. I should have offered to stay with her until the others were in the hot tub with her and then changed. But I was eager to see her in what was sure to be a small swimsuit and to feel her wet skin against mine. I let my dick do all the thinking last night.

Our alpha releases a breath that rattles his lips and rubs his hand over his head. "She's not safe there, and she's definitely not safe here. I don't think there is anywhere she can go where she won't attract attention."

"Do you think that was one of Dante's assassins?" I ask.

"I know it was," Corbin says. "He has noticed Elijah's absence, which means he sees that all of you aren't here. My best unit is missing, and he wants to know what you're up to. I'm sure the lycan's orders were to kill anyone who was not you four."

It wouldn't be the first time that the Lycan King sent someone to check up on us. Corbin and Dante have a tumultuous relationship, to say the least. They haven't trusted each other since they were young men. I've never heard the full story, but I know it had to do with a girl.

Elijah rubs his chin and stares at the ceiling. "I think we should stay here for now. We took care of Dante's assassin, so that should give us a couple days to devise a solid plan."

"I'm taking it that we are on our own with figuring this out," Killian says.

Corbin nods. "I can't afford to let anyone else in on this. The less people who know how important Noelle is, the better."

"I don't get how they knew where to find us." Asher says. "We could have been at any of your properties, anywhere in the world."

"With the unexpected visit, I'm sure he assumed we couldn't get far, so he started with the closest location," Killian says.

Until we show our faces to the king, he is going to continue to hunt us. All we will do is buy days at a time if we move from location to location. The tether between all Lycans has shifted, and Dante can feel his hold on our people slipping through his fingers. He must refortify his bond, and there is only one way to do that—find the person who is accessing our call to shift and stop them before he completely loses control.

"Remington."

I jerk my head up and meet Corbin's eyes. "Yes sir?"

"You had your first kill last night. Even though I'm pissed at you, I want to make sure you're all right."

I swallow and nod, my stomach churning at the thought of pulling that trigger and killing another lycan shoots through me, making me sick to my stomach. It was only a matter of time before I took a life, and I thought I was prepared for the mind fuck that would be. When the lycan fell to the ground, I was hit with an adrenaline rush like I've never experienced. I was proud of my kill and happy for the pats on the back I received from the others. The same couldn't be said for last night in bed; I tossed and turned, picturing the wolf with the bullet in his head.

My nature is to hunt and kill or be hunted and killed. I always thought my wolf would handle the task. It was too vicious, too unnatural, too horrific with a gun. But I'd do it again in a heartbeat to save her.

"I am fine. It wasn't a hard decision; it was either him or Noelle, and I sure as hell wasn't going to let him hurt her again."

Corbin nods and says, "Thank you for that." He looks each of us in the eye before saying, "I don't think I have to say this, but I am going to anyway. Don't let her out of your sight again. Period. I want someone with her 24/7. I don't care if she pushes back; tell her to call me if she wants to talk about it."

We all express our agreement and Elijah speaks up. "She has questions. About how things happened last night. How I—how I was able to shift to help her among the biggest of them. I told her I wasn't completely sure, and I know you probably have things you want to tell her, but now that we don't know when we're coming home...I know she's going to keep asking. She's inquisitive."

Corbin runs his palm over the back of his neck and nods. "I do have things to tell her, but you can answer her questions on a need-to-know basis. I trust your judgment, Elijah." Someone calls to Corbin in the background, and he looks over his shoulder then back to us. "I have to go. Keep her safe. Please."

Before we can even respond, the call disconnects.

Asher lays down his phone and we all release giant breaths, staying silent for a moment until Killian asks, "What are you going to tell her, Eli?"

Elijah shakes his head. "I have no fucking idea."