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Aaron
Ridingin an airplane never felt quite right. The whole time I was off the ground, my body never stopped itching with the awareness that I was meant to fly in other ways, not let some hunk of metal do the work for me. Given the choice, I’d almost always pick a landvehicle.
I stretched out in the leather seat, which I’d reclined as far back as it would go. I was still a little tired from spending the night before last awake and on edge, so I’d gone into the back room of the private jet on my own and drawn the curtain. So far I hadn’t had a great deal of luckrelaxing.
Considering the circumstances, getting to the feline estate as quickly as possible had seemed the best option. If we could deal with any rogues and their allies in Florida before they had time to finish preparing, so much the better. So I’d agreed when Nate had suggested he have one of his kin pick us up in a jet at an airfield near our ambushspot.
But even having the windows shut, the space was only shadowed, not really dark. With the thrum of the engine beneath me, I’d only been able to doze, not completely drift off. At least that had helped reduce myfatigue.
Now I was just mentally preparing myself for the events ahead of us. The feline kin and avians had never gotten on all that well, even without a traitor in the mix. Cats and birds—not a goodmix.
Someone knocked against the wall outside the curtain. “Aaron?” Serenity said. “Do you mind if I joinyou?”
I straightened up, pushing the chair into its upright position. “Not at all. Pleasedo.”
My mate slipped past the curtain. She smiled at me, but I could see the worry and grief in her eyes. It tugged at my heart. I held my hand out to her, motioning for her to sit withme.
The seats in the back room were set up in pairs facing each other with a small table in between. Serenity sank into the one opposite me with a sigh and leaned her elbows onto the table. “Did you manage to get some rest?” sheasked.
Concerned about me first, even with so much else on her mind. Every time I thought I couldn’t love her more, she stole another piece of my heart. “I got enough,” I said. “I think I’m ready to handle a gaggle of catsnow.”
Her smile twitched with amusement. “I guess they’re not going to be super friendly to you,huh?”
“Doubtful. I’ve never actually visited the feline estate before. We’ve kept somewhat separate the last severalyears.”
“Because you didn’t have a dragon shifter pulling youtogether.”
“Yes. But that time is over now.” I cupped my hands around hers. “Something’s bothering you. You wanted to talk to me aboutit?”
She bit her perfect pink lip, her amber eyes darkening. “I guess it’s what you just said. The tensions between the different kin-groups. All this trouble with the rogues, and then finding out they’re not just managing to sway a few of the regular kin to their side, they’ve got someone high up in the kin who’s orchestratingattacks...”
“It’s hard for all of us to accept that information,” I said. “You know I didn’t want to face the fact that they’d gotten to one of mykin.”
She nodded. “But... you each deal with your own kin your own way. I’m supposed to somehow unite everyone. Make them all believe that, well, believing in me is the best way to go. But I hardly know them. I hardly know my ownfamily!”
“That’s not your fault. No one blames you forthat.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” she said wryly. “I thought maybe I was getting by okay after how things went at your estate, but seeing how wary some of the disparate kin were of me—it was kind of hard to take. And I have the feeling the felines are going to be even more skeptical. They hardly trustMarcoto lead them, and he’s one ofthem.”
I squeezed her hands, my heart squeezing too. “Look at how much you’ve already accomplished. You’re rising to the situation better and faster than anyone could have asked, Serenity. There’s more work ahead—I’m not going to pretend there isn’t—but I know you can meet thechallenge.”
“I just...” Her gaze slid away from me. Her voice dropped. “What if trying to put things back the way they wereisn’tthe best thing for all the kin? Obviously the way the rogues are trying to change things isn’t right, but what if the time when dragon shifters could unify everyone is over now? Maybe it’s been too long without one, and it’s just causing more trouble trying to recreate thepast.”
“Do you really think that’s true?” Iasked.
“No,” she said quietly. “I feel like this is where I’m meant to be. All the kin feel like my people. I want to be what all of them need. I just don’t know if I can be that. And there’s been so much blood shed since I came back,becauseI came back,already.”
Oh, my darling mate. Taking so much responsibility onto her shoulders, more than ever should have been hers. “Come here?” I said, giving her hands a gentletug.
She got up and sidled around the table. I eased her onto my lap, where I could look her straight in the eyes with barely any distance between us. The press of her thighs straddling mine sent a warm wash of hunger through me, but I ignored it. I brushed a lock of her hair back from her cheek. Serenity gazed down at me with affection and a little hunger of herown.
“I told you before that I’ve sometimes felt like an outsider, both among the alphas and among my own kin,” I said. “I know what it feels like to wonder if you’re really what your people need, because they’re not entirely sure you are. But from what I’ve seen and been through, what matters most is simply that youarethere, that you stand up for them in every way you can whenever you can. What all the kin need right now is something stable to hold on to. You can be that sure thing they lookto.”
“You say that like it’s easy,” shesaid.
I chuckled. “I know it’s not. But you can do it. Stay steady. Find a balance between all the demands. You’ve got feline cunning running through your veins, as much as you’ve got avian grace and canine loyalty and a bear’s strength. This is what you’re madefor.”
* * *
