[Carmen]I felt a nervous energy in my stomach. No one had asked me to use my true sight for anything. Orella taught me how to use it along with teaching me about the other magic I was gifted with. So it wasn’t as if I didn’t know how. When Echo touched my hand earlier, I felt her determination. She didn’t want to risk her family. I understood that. If this man was some sort of nomadic hunter who just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, then this was very dangerous. It meant he knew not only where the Master of the territory slept and operated from, but that he was connected with the pack in the area as well. For the most part, supernatural species didn’t mingle or work together. Shapeshifters would sometimes mix and mingle with other shapeshifters. Some of us would make agreements with covens, but nothing further than a basic alliance. No one allied with vampires and the fae often shied away from those who were not also fae. I learned from Rock that a lot of fae actually believe that not only witches, but shapeshifters came from fae as well. They believe that vampires are their opposite. Just as light needs darkness. As life needs death. Fae need vampires. There is no positive without negative. The fae are the creation of the spirit of magic, which they believe to be light magic, and the vampires are the creation of the dark spirits that were left over. It didn’t matter that there were species of fae that were a lot more evil than vampires. That was what they believed.I wasn’t going to argue with beliefs that had been held for longer ago than I could even contemplate. It didn’t really affect me as a werewolf, but I had to know it because it was part of the culture of the fae. Echo and Victor had never made me feel uncomfortable. Gray was her mate and lived there, too. I knew he saw me like an older sister ever since we were little. Growing up in the same home as him for most of our childhood had given us that sort of relationship. If this was a hunter, it was unsafe for him. Then there was the baby Echo was carrying. I didn’t know who the father of the baby was, but it didn’t really matter. Echo was too sweet and kind to let worry about something like this. “Did you talk to Victor about this? It seems like something he should have a say in. It’s his house, his territory, and his rule. I don’t want to overstep.”“Well, no, but he wasn’t in the frame of mind to hear it. I know he would be okay with it, though. I’m sure he would be suggesting the exact same thing when he woke up. This way, we get it finished before and it makes for less work for him.” She sounded very proud of herself. She might be right about him thinking the same thing, but it wasn’t the same at all. I had a feeling, probably from my true sight, that the man wouldn’t be there if we didn’t act soon. She was the mistress of the territory when Victor slept. That was like being Luna if something happened to all of the other ranked members.“I want to help, but I won’t go without letting Rock know. He might want to come along. Would you be okay with that?” I asked. “I understand having overprotective mates. Mine are usually like that. I would be fine with it if he needs to come in order to feel like you’re safe. I was planning to go get my sister, to make this easier. All Harmony has to do is want him to like her and he will,” Echo replied. With a smile, I reached for my phone. Rock wasn’t overprotective. He knew my limits and weaknesses. If this was a hunter, there’s no male on Earth who wouldn’t want their mate to be safe. I was starting to think that Echo wasn’t quite able to judge what was overprotection and what was basic caring. Considering her history, I could understand it. For someone to go from neglected to being in a relationship with two people who would care for and protect her far more than anyone else ever had…. It might take her some time, but I knew Echo would start to see the difference. “Carmen, is there a problem at the office?” Rock asked as he picked up the phone. “Not really, Echo’s here. She wants me to come to her house and see if I can use my true sight to get a read on the human they have there. She said something about him isn’t adding up and they want to know if he’s a hunter or something dangerous,” I told him. “Is he locked up in a cell?” I pulled the phone away from my face and asked Echo. “No, he’s in a guest room, but he is still recovering from serious blood loss.” With a frown, I relayed it to Rock. He was quiet for a while. I could hear his breathing, then the phone went totally silent. Either he muted the phone or he hung up. It didn’t do the lost call tone. Staying on the line, I waited. I put my fingers on my watch. I would give him two minutes, then I would treat it as if he hung up. At almost a minute and a half, there was noise on the other end of the line. I could hear Rock breathing again. “Okay. You can go, but take someone with you for protection. Either Forrest or Viola. I think she might be the better choice, because of the height of the ceilings in that house. Let her know she’ll earn hazard pay for the time she is watching over you there. I will only need her to tell me how long it was and round up to the nearest hour. I don’t mind overpaying if I know you’re safe.” I smiled at the phone. He loved me so much. It made my heart swell when he told me he wanted me safe. “I’ll ask her. If she can’t, would you be okay with us grabbing Austin instead? He’s working on editing photos right now,” I said. “Austin has been training and he’s a werewolf, but I don’t know if that’s enough for me,” Rock replied. “If it helps, there is a werewolf warrior who was in the second elite team at Hallowed Moon until recently who will be in the room,” Echo said. I relayed that to Rock. He grumbled for a moment. He wanted me to be safe but didn’t know the other warrior enough to trust him. “We’re also taking Echo’s sister. She has the ability to make people like her and want to please her. Mike told me the ability works so fast and quiet that you never even realize that’s what’s going on,” I added. “That’s a little better. Be safe, Carmen. If you feel like you’re in danger, I want you to leave. Shift into Blanche and run. I would rather have you alive,” he murmured into the receiver. “I will. I promise. Get back to work. I’ll call you when I’m done. I love you, Rock,” I said softly. “I love you, too.” With that, we hung up. I nodded to Echo and I could hear her bounce in her seat. It would certainly give me a little excitement in my day. I was starting to run out of things to do now that we’d gotten through the backlog of paperwork and digitized all of the files Rock had. There wasn’t enough work to keep me busy all day. “Viola, do you have time to come with us? Rock says he’ll pay you more for your time while we’re there.” “To the house of a vampire in order to see if a human is a hunter? No thanks. I heard you were thinking of taking Austin. If all you werewolves and a dhampyr can’t kill a human, then you weren’t really worth anything to start,” she scoffed. She had a point. She was hired to assist me and protect me at work. Recently, she had transitioned into design as well as still helping out with the things I couldn’t do if I really needed her. We had actually been talking about getting another assistant who would primarily work for Viola but would also help me when needed. “So it looks like we’ll be taking Austin. I’ll go get him if you want to call Harmony,” I told Echo with a slight chuckle. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Viola gasped. There was a change in the air. I could smell the scent of vampire getting lighter. Echo must have moved faster than Viola was prepared for. Was she going to get Harmony instead of calling? Getting up, I headed to the meeting room where Rock had set up a corner with a computer for Austin to work on. Using a mix of my magic and my knowledge of the layout of the office, I managed to get there without help from my cane or someone else. I really loved how much more smoothly I could interact with my world. “Austin, am I bothering you?” I asked as I entered the meeting room. “No, Carmen. I’m just finishing up with these pictures. What’s up?”“Echo stopped by and asked if we could go to her house. I need to see if I can get my seer magic to work on the human she has there, but Rock wants me to have a guard. He said to ask you if Viola didn’t have time. Are you available to go with us?” He got up and moved closer to me. When he got to the edge of the circle of magic that I kept around me so I could move and work, I could see the outline of him. Austin didn’t move a whole lot closer. Once he learned what my magic could do, he had always made sure he was close enough to let me ‘see’ him but not so close that I felt crowded. It made me happy when he did that. Austin had become as dear to me as Gemma was. I valued him as a trusted friend. “Why do you need a guard for this? Is it dangerous?” he asked. I shrugged. “Potentially. There’s something that makes Echo worry he might be dangerous to Victor and the rest of their household. If she’s worried, then I want to help. Gray is one of my friends and I want to make sure his family is safe. Gemma grew up with Gray, too.” “We had them at the wedding. Gemma said Gray was like a kid brother to all of you. That means this is important to my mate. I’ll go with you. If the man is a hunter, I’ll protect you,” Austin replied. “Thank you, Austin. There will be an elite warrior from the pack there along with warriors patrolling the border. It wouldn’t just be you fighting. The guy is recovering from being attacked by the thing that killed Willow and he’s human. I don’t think he’ll be much trouble for you.” He smiled. “That’s good. When are we leaving?” “In a few minutes. Echo went to get Harmony, then we’ll all leave.” “Is Echo driving?” “I guess. I don’t think she could carry all three of us while running at vampire speed. From what I have heard about vampire speed, I don’t think we could keep up, either.”