Akio sat on her other side, squeezing her shoulder. “Your color is a little better. You will sleep on the trip out to Boston.”

Suddenly all that alpha male in the room drowned her. All that attention and concern stifled her, even as she found it reassuring.

Tracy rolled her eyes with a grin and then shrugged. “I know. I grew up in a house full of them and now I have two of my own. You’ll get used to it.”

“This is nice. I mean, thank you, Josh for the sandwich and for touching base with Owen for me. And thank you, Akio, for your concern. But all this alpha-male smothering is a lot and I need to breathe.”

Akio eased back. Only a little. But enough. Gabe smiled and winked at Tracy, who leaned into his body and took up some of his attention.

On the other hand, Josh stared right back at her. “Tough. You scared the hell out of me, Michelle. It’s going to take me a while before I can manage to feel any better about it. I need to know you’re okay. My wolf needs to take care of you.” He tipped his chin. “Eat while you talk.”

She sighed but obeyed, eating automatically, and yes, after several bites of the rare roast beef on the sandwich, she did indeed feel better.

In between bites, she explained to Tracy and Gabe what she’d felt at the scene, in the circle, and tried to make sense of the way she’d sensed the energy of Pacific wolves. She was certain they’d stolen the magick from the wolves, the way they had with the witches. But who they were and where they’d gone was still a mystery. And this new and altogether terrifying presence she’d picked up at the murder scene made her very concerned.

They didn’t overstay their welcome after that. Only urging Josh, Michelle and Akio to stay safe and check in frequently. Michelle needed to pack a quick bag, and they were on the way to the airport where Akio had arranged for a plane to Boston. They’d added Pacific wolves to Jack’s team so Akio would be free to fly back to Boston with Josh and Michelle.

“I’ll be all right, you know,” Michelle murmured to Josh after Akio had gone off to check in and connect with their pilot. “Your job is here. Your job is protecting the Alpha trio and you can’t do that if you’re with me.”

“My job is protecting my pack. Which I’m doing by going to Boston. And now my job is protecting my mate. You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’d let you fly across the country without me. Even with Akio. We just mated. You’ve had an extraordinarily shitty week. I’m with you and that’s all there is to it, so don’t waste your energy arguing any further.”

She leaned against him, sensing how agitated he was, wanting to comfort and soothe. “Okay then.” Since they needed to wait until they got all the stuff in place to take off, she took that time to call Owen and ended up with voicemail. She left as detailed a message as she could about what she’d encountered at the scene. About that other sort of magick she’d sensed. Not related to the mages or the turned witches. Something she’d never encountered the likes of before. Even talking about it hours later, it filled her with dread. A dread Josh must have felt through the bond because he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her until she felt a little better. It worked both ways.

Akio returned and hustled them onto the plane where she strapped in. The melatonin she’d taken just an hour before began to make her eyelids droop, and it wasn’t very long until she gave in and let herself sleep.

Josh kept an arm around her as they flew. Reassured by the slow, deep rise and fall of her chest. Gage had told him once she slept, her magick would begin to heal her and replenish from the shock of what she’d experienced at the murder scene.

Their bond, golden, brilliant and strong, hummed between them, and his wolf eased back. A little. He’d been in a high state of agitation since he’d seen her slump over and their bond had gone pale and thin.

“She’s going to be all right.” Akio handed him a cup of coffee. “So strong, this one. Witches have a spine of steel. She’ll get along well with Renee and Kendra, the witches I know in Boston.”

“Renee is Jack’s mate and Kendra is her sister, right?”

Akio nodded. “Kendra is mated to Max de La Vega, who is the Alpha of the jaguar jamboree in Boston. She took on a jaguar without being bitten. Her magick just sort of…absorbed it. Insane how powerful these two sisters are. I’d wondered if they were an anomaly. Neither of them operated within a clan or a coven. But I’ve met other witches since, and the women most especially seem to have the hearts of lions.”

Josh snorted. “Too bad they don’t have the physical strength of one. She’s so fragile. It fills me with terror. You only saw pictures of the results of what they did to Allie. My wolf is not happy at all. Keeps sending me mental images of that as he snarls.”

“Not like you’re going to be able to manage her.” Akio grinned before it faded. “We’ll keep her safe. You have my word that I will do all I can. Do you think she’d ever consider taking on the change?”

Some mates who weren’t wolves opted to be bitten and go through the change after they were claimed. It made them physically stronger and longer-lived as well. She’d already have a longer life as she was a witch, but the physical strength was something he really liked the idea of.

“I might suggest it. In the future. She’s had enough to deal with lately.”

Akio nodded. “Would you two consider staying in my home while you’re in Boston? It’s safer than any hotel. I’m near the pack house and so I can easily up the number of guards. And I’ll feel better, safer, if she’s safer.” He paused. “I know this is hard for you. She’s yours. I don’t dispute that. But she’s mine too in many ways. I just want to protect her.”

Josh understood it, though he couldn’t have before Akio became their anchor. This male wouldn’t ever get between Josh and Michelle. But he loved Michelle because of their bond and would die to protect her. That meant a lot. And he didn’t feel threatened. Not like he did when other males came around. His wolf recognized Akio as theirs in some sense.

Josh nodded. “I’d appreciate that.”

She woke up to Josh kissing her softly. “Hello, beautiful. We’ll be landing in a few minutes.”

She stretched, feeling a lot better after sleeping pretty much the entire flight. “I’m sorry, did I drool on you?”

He laughed. “Not that I noticed. You didn’t even stir as Akio and I talked. You were out. How do you feel?”

“I’m glad I slept. I do feel like my magick has recharged. I’m not feeling dirty the way I did before. Or weighted down by whatever I brushed up against.”

“Good.”

She stood. “I could totally get used to private-plane travel.”

Akio approached, smiling when he caught sight of her awake. “I was just checking with the pilot. You look better.” He hugged her before setting her back to look her over carefully.

“I’m fine. Though I will clean up a little before we land.”

“Bathroom is through there.” Akio pointed.

She grabbed her purse and headed back. Nicely, it wasn’t one of those teeny bathrooms they had on commercial flights. This one was roomy, and in the medicine cabinet, it had toothbrushes and other things she’d need to freshen up with.

She brushed her teeth and washed her face, moisturized and dealt with her hair. She was going to meet the king, or supreme Alpha or whatever he was called officially, and that was important to both Josh and Akio so she didn’t want to look like she just fell out of bed.

Thank goodness she’d tossed her makeup bag into her purse before she’d left so she could do some basic foundation, blush and some lipstick. By the time she joined Akio and Josh as they’d announced their descent and to get strapped in, she felt a lot more human.