Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend by Stacey Brutger Page A

speak as he trotted through the tent, observing each cage for a few
minutes like a proud owner admiring his newest acquisitions before halting in
front of her.
    Without a shred of doubt, she knew her suspicions were true.
    They replenished their ranks by kidnapping people, and her pack
were the newest recruits.
    Calculating thoughts flickering behind the dark pits of his
eyes, and her hands clenched around the bars until her knuckles ached. Raven
concentrated on blocking as much of her magic and beast as she could. She must
have passed for human for he turned away. Relief trickled in her veins, the
tension releasing its stranglehold on her body.
    Her secrets remained safe.
    Now she just had to keep it that way.
    She needed to think human.
    How the hell was she supposed to do that when she’s never
been human?
    The few humans that she’d met when growing up had all either
experimented or tortured her.
    Fun times.
    “Imagine my surprise when we stumbled upon these two skulking
behind the circus. We offered our hospitality while they waited for your
return.” Their scent. Raven cursed her carelessness, sick to her stomach. The
people from the circus must have searched the cars until they’d located their
scent and found Durant and Jackson waiting like sitting ducks.
    While Taggert and she were playing hide-and-seek, they’d
been hunting her men.
    The ringmaster walked around the cages in a proprietary way,
remaining just out of swatting distance. She didn’t like the possessive way he studied
the three men, judging their worth like he already owned them and could do whatever
he pleased.
    “You make it sound like we set a trap for you.” More the
other way around. Rage seethed under her skin, and she was proud her voice
didn’t shake with her volatile emotions. Raven leaned back as casually as
possible until her spine hit the cage, refusing to be intimidated, keeping him
in view as he continued to clomp through the tent. “What do you want?”
    She wanted it spelled out. She wanted to know exactly where
they stood.
    His brows rose, as if surprised that she would speak for the
group.
    Then a satisfied look settled on his face.
    “My name is Clancy, the ringmaster here. You all have been
given the honor of being chosen to join my pack.” He paused as if he expected
some sign of appreciation. When no one even moved, a frown furrowed between his
brows at the slight. “You will be expected to work for your food and board.
You’ll be given a one-week trial, so you’ll want to make sure you pass
inspection.”
    A slight smirk danced about his lips, but it was the
malicious gleam in his eyes that made it clear that if they failed to pledge
allegiance, they would not enjoy the consequences. Then he nodded toward her.
“For your own safety, you will be separated from the shifters and housed with
the other women. If you obey the rules and earn your keep, you’ll be granted
the privilege of a few minutes alone with each other at meal times.”
    Giving them a taste of what they were missing, a nasty
reminder of what they had to lose if they didn’t behave. Everything inside her
rebelled at being separated from her men. Fury scorched her insides raw at
being used as a damned hostage, and she quickly reined it back before it could
leak pass her shields. If she hadn’t been in a damned cage, she would’ve leapt
at him.
    “And if we don’t obey?”
    The man cocked a brow at her, clearly not impressed. “If you
don’t earn your keep, then I have no use for you.” He gestured with two
fingers, signaling to a man hidden outside her range of sight.
    The man who entered the tent next appeared no more than thirty
years old, but age could be deceiving when shifters lived a few centuries. Definitely
a shifter from the energy roiling under the surface, but he had himself locked
down so hard, she couldn’t tell which breed. Muscles roped his body, not a speck
of fat on him. Trimmed dark hair and plain nondescript clothes allowed