Free On The Prowl by Catherine Vale Page A

smiling. But he didn’t return her smile. In fact, he looked angry, staring down the corridor into the shadows.
    “Come.” He turned away from her, striding down the passage.
    “Wait. What is it?” She struggled to keep up with him, frequently losing sight of him as he negotiated the twists and turns he knew so well.
    They burst into a larger room, Griffin coming to a sudden halt, Addison crashing in to him. She peered around him, straining to see what he was looking at.
    And then she realized why he was angry. Daniel was at the base of a fresh excavation. The men Griffin had left to guard Daniel were standing above him, clearly torn between their orders to protect Daniel, and tearing him limb from limb.
    “What have you done?” Griffin’s voice rang out. Daniel looked up, face and clothes covered in dust. He glanced briefly at Addison and then back to Griffin.
    “I’ve been working.” He stared at Griffin, and Addison knew by the set of his shoulders he was trying hard to hold back his anger.
    “You cannot disturb these ruins.” Griffin took a step forward, standing at the edge of the shallow excavation.
    Daniel set a hand on the edge of the pit and climbed out. He straightened, coming to stand in front of Griffin. They stood, almost eye-to-eye, Daniel with hands on hips, Griffin with arms crossed over his chest. The dynamic was classic, two alpha males fighting for territory and control. Except this wasn’t Daniel’s territory. The tension between the two men grew, even in the few minutes they’d been in each other’s presence.
    Addison drew a breath and stepped between them. Neither paid any attention to her.
    “Daniel. What have you done?” She was practically standing on his toes. He frowned, looking down as if he’d just realized she was there.
    “Addison? My God! You’re a mess!”
    “Nice to see you, too, Daniel. But what are you doing here?” She glanced down into the hole he’d dug. It appeared to some kind of room, although it was oddly proportioned, too short for a man to stand, but with a door, and a small window.
    “I’m doing what I do best. I’m looking for evidence. And I’ve found it.”
    “Found what? Can you just tell us, without the theatrics?”
    There was a snort from Griffin, and Daniel’s frown deepened as he glared at Griffin. Addison put her hand on Daniel’s arm. He drew a ragged breath, reluctantly looking back to Addison.
    “I found evidence of the shifter culture. That paper you made me read on the plane, by Dukeshire. I’ve found things—bones—that support his theory. And it convinces me that shifters actually exist.”
    The sound Griffin made now was louder, an outright snarl. “You are treading on dangerous territory.” Griffin waved his arm over the exposed room.
    “You have disturbed a sacred site, and you have disturbed the remains of one of our most revered ancestors. You could—should—be killed. Many before you have been.”
    “What has he found, Griffin?” She set her hand on his arm. Griffin flicked his glance toward her, and she saw a change in his expression, a subtle lessening of the tension in his body. She didn’t miss the look Daniel shot her, the raised eyebrow, but she didn’t have time at the moment, to deal with whatever he was thinking.
    “He has found the burial chamber of the first of our kind. We have guarded this site for generations, to keep this very thing from happening.”
    “I found this as well.” Daniel reached into his pocket, pulling out something on a chain, holding it toward Addison. Griffin reached out and snatched it from Daniel.
    “This is the mark of our kind.” He looked down at the pendant in his hand. Addison leaned over and he held it for her to see.
    The medallion was dulled with age, but she saw the soft glow of gold. Incised on the surface was a figure, and as she looked closer, she saw it was a creature with a man’s torso, standing upright on jaguar legs, with a long tail behind.
    “There’s