Jace reached for Deni, who’d hung back from the family greeting, and pulled her forward. “You remember Deni Rowe, Ellison’s sister.”

Eric understood their connection as soon as he looked at Deni, and Iona caught on a second later. Eric gazed at Deni with eyes the same color as his son’s, then he put his big arms around Deni and pulled her into an embrace equally as tight as the one he’d shared with Jace.

“Thank you, child,” Eric said, his voice rumbling into her ear. “Welcome to the family.”

He stood Deni back and studied her, a satisfied look in his eyes. Iona slid past Eric and hugged Deni herself.

“Congratulations, you two.” Iona winked at Deni as she stepped away from her. “Jace is a sweetheart. A keeper.”

Deni smiled her agreement. “I think so.”

“And now Collar-free,” Eric said. “Thank the Goddess.”

Deni understood Eric was thanking the Goddess for more than Jace’s Collar being off. A shudder went through Eric, which Deni recognized as a father’s relief that his cub was safe and whole.

“Jace has a theory about that,” Liam said from where he lounged on a window seat in the living room. He held his black-haired daughter in the curve of his arm, little Katriona watching the adults with interest. “Carry on, lad.”

Jace held up his hand, which bore a red streak. Last night, when they’d returned to the Austin Shiftertown and after Sean and Dylan had gotten Marlo to a hospital—the resilient man was on the mend—Sean and Jace had painfully dug the remnants of the gold chain from Jace’s hand. Andrea had quickly done a healing on him, then Deni had completed the healing in the privacy of the Rowe family’s secret basement.

“Fionn saw the bracelet last night when he was visiting Andrea,” Jace said. “Andrea told me this morning that Fionn told her that this bracelet is made of Fae gold. Passed down through the female line of many generations of Deni’s mother’s family. Shifters used to live in Faerie—why couldn’t one of them have had access to Fae gold?” Jace slid his arm around Deni. “I was holding the bracelet, which Deni gave me as a keepsake, when the plane went down. I went through hell, nearly burned alive. The heat must have melted it into me, where it entered my nervous system or bloodstream, or skin cells, or something. I haven’t figured that part out. But somehow, my Collar loosened and fell away, without hurting me. Though maybe I didn’t notice the pain while my fur was being fried off.”

“The third element,” Sean said. He dangled a Collar from his hand, Jace’s Collar, which Sean had found in the wreckage. “Silver and human technology, fused together by Fae gold. Whether the gold is already in the Collar or only put into it when the Collar goes on the Shifter’s neck, we don’t know yet.”

“Or how to use that knowledge to get the Collars off,” Jace said.

Sean studied Jace’s Collar, which looked remarkably intact for its time in the crucible the plane had become. “Maybe a syringe of the liquid gold carefully injected into the Shifter will loosen it? Or simply rubbed on the skin? Will be tricky, this, since Fae gold’s pretty hard to find, according to Fionn. Fionn says he’ll help us, but even he says it’s very rare.”

“He claims he has it in the walls in his house,” Jace said. “Tell him to dig it out for us.”

“He explained that to me,” Sean said, without smiling. “He said when it was all chipped away it would only be an ounce or so. But we’ll work on finding a source. And start trying out techniques. It might still be very painful.”

Jace touched the fake Collar around his neck, put there courtesy of Liam and Dylan this morning. “Well, you can try it on someone not me. I’m done messing with Collars.”

Sean nodded in understanding. “You’ve got it, lad. Volunteers only. But I’m thinking some will put up with a little hot gold on their skin to be free of these bloody devices.”

“Me,” Deni said. “You can try it first on me. Use whatever is left in the bracelet. I’m sure my mother would be fine with me using it to free myself and my mate.”

Jace’s hold on her tightened. “No. Not until they know what they’re doing.”

“Sean will figure it out.” Deni leaned into Jace, feeling warm and protected. “I want this damned Collar off. I want to heal all the way. With you, and without the Collar.”

Jace growled, but she saw sympathy in his eyes. “All right, but I’m with you every step of the way. Every second. And if Sean hurts you more than necessary, he answers to me.”

“Oh, good,” Sean said. “No pressure. Don’t worry, lass. I’ll be trying these ideas on meself as well. I have a mate who can make us all better if I screw up.”

“I hope I can,” Andrea said. She held her son close, his gray eyes so much like his mother’s.

“I’m just feeling better about this all the time,” Sean said.

“We can do volunteers from our Shiftertown too,” Eric said. “Those who would most benefit. If there proves to be so little Fae gold, the weaker Shifters should be released first, those whose Collars hurt them the most. Those of us who can control the Collars’ effects—we’ll suck it up for a while.”

“Speaking of your Shiftertown,” Deni said, and Eric focused on her.

“Don’t worry—I’ll make sure Jace can move here officially,” Eric said. “And have leave to visit me and bring you with him as often as possible.” Eric swallowed, the light in his eyes dimming. “I’ll miss him, but I know what a mate bond is like.” His hand drifted to Iona’s, and his mate rose on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.

Another thing Jace was doing for her, Deni reflected. Traditionally, Shifter women moved into the homes of their mates, leaving their own families behind. But it would be difficult to obtain permission to move Deni and her two cubs to the Las Vegas Shiftertown, and it would also mean leaving Ellison. To prevent Deni having to leave her sons behind, Jace had volunteered to move here instead. A break with tradition, but a kind one.

“Well,” Liam said, pushing himself from the window seat and handing Katriona to Kim. “I’m looking forward to conducting yet another mating ceremony. Unless Eric fights me for the honor. But we have other business at hand. Tiger.”