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Chapter 1
Ren
As the privatejet soared down toward the canine shifter estate, resolve sat tight and heavy in my chest. I should have been arriving here to meet the last group of shifter-kin as the newly confirmed mate of their alpha. I should have been bringing good news. I was their dragon shifter—the last dragon shifter alive. By taking the four alphas of the kin-groups as my mates, I was supposed to unite all shifter kind and end the turmoil they’d all beenthrough.
Instead I’d have to announce that we might be on the verge of a paranormal war. That was what Marco, the feline alpha I’d consummated my mate-bond with less than a day ago, had called it. And I hadn’t consummated my bond with the canine alpha yet. Sitting in the seats closest to the jet’s door, West looked even more grim and tense thanusual.
We’d been through plenty of turmoil already, but this time it was worse. Before, it’d just been our own kind we’d had to fight, rogue shifters who wanted to disrupt the status quo. Now, the remaining members of the rogues’ sort-of pack had fled to the vampires, and the vampires, for whatever reason, had decided to attackus.
All we knew for sure was that the bloodsuckers had taken over a house that Marco’s feline kin used as a local base of operations near New York City. He’d told his kin who’d survived the attack to meet us here, at the closest shifter estatenearby.
My hands clenched as the plane bumped across the runway. The view of the majestic pines outside the window reminded me of our strength. I’d come through a hell of a lot in the last few weeks since my alphas had come to me and woken me up to my true role. I’d faced challenge after challenge and won. No undead creeps were going to get the better of usnow.
The jet rumbled to a stop. Kylie reached across the armrest to grip my hand. My best friend, who was as human as I’d used to think I was, had come to visit me with even less of an idea of the shifter community’s turmoil than I’d had, but she was still here. Still supporting me even though she’d seen me at my most vicious. Still giving me that brilliant smile as her neon pink pixie cut shone under the overheadlights.
I didn’t know whether I was more worried or grateful that she was here. But I wasn’t pushing her awayanymore.
West stood up first to open the plane door. The wolf shifter’s dark green eyes blazed with concern for his kin and anger at the people who’d put them in danger. Seeing him like that, my heartsqueezed.
The rest of us got up to follow West. “How many of your kin were heading to the estate?” Aaron asked Marco. The eagle shifter, alpha to the avian kin, had a habit of focusing in on the facts. Hearing his calm, warm voice always settled my nerves at least alittle.
“There were seven of them using the house,” Marco said. “The last I heard, three of them were on the run—one of them injured. We’ll get the whole story now. They should have made it here before us.” The jaguar shifter’s usual mischievous gaze had darkened. He raked an anxious hand through his jagged black hair as he stalked down the aisle toward theexit.
Nate, the last of my alphas, stood back to let Kylie and me go ahead of him. He rested his strong hand on my shoulder. Tall and brawny as the grizzly bear he could shift into, he’d always had my back. But he was a total softie when we weren’t underthreat.
The early morning breeze rushed over me as we clattered down the steps. It was cool and thick with the smell of the pines. A high stone wall bordered the runway. I headed in the other direction, along a winding path through the trees, and discovered a house that matched the wall at the otherend.
To call it a “house” was really underselling it. Kylie sucked in an awed breath when she saw it. The place was a mansion, no doubt about it. Three expansive floors encased in solid stone blocks, with an arch of dark hardwood over the heavydoor.
Several of West’s kin had come out to meet us. If we’d been making our expected visit a day or two from now, there might have been a crowd. As it was, I couldn’t help feeling grateful to see so few faces beaming at me in greeting. The canine shifters had always been welcoming to me—overwhelmingly so sometimes—but danger seemed to chase me wherever I went. I’d rather have fewer kin in thecrossfire.
“Dragon shifter,” they murmured first, with respectful bobs of their heads. The one who held himself with the most authority, one of West’s lieutenants I guessed, turned to hisalpha.
“Three feline kin arrived a couple hours ago. We offered them guest rooms, and the one who was wounded has been seento.”
Marco stepped up beside West. “Is she allright?”
The lieutenant—a coyote shifter by his scent—nodded quickly. “Her injuries were serious, but not fatal. She’s sleepingnow.”
“And there’s been no sign of vampires in this area—no word from any of the villages closer to New York City?” Westasked.
“The settlement by the edge of New York City,” the coyote shifter said with a grimace. “We got word that they’d scented vampires in the area not long after I last spoke with you. Then we lost contact. I sent a few of our people out there to check firsthand.”
West’s jaw set. “You let me know as soon as you hearback.”
One of the other canine kin, a fennec fox shifter with a narrow face and a shock of tawny hair, had zeroed his attention in on Kylie. “What’s ahumandoing here?” he said in a needlingvoice.
I bristled. “She’s my friend. Anywhere I go, she’swelcome.”
The fox shifter cocked his head. “I’m just saying, it seems like we’ve got major shifter business to take care of here, and I don’tsee—”
“Felix,” West snapped. He pushed in front of us to glower at his underling, who stood a good half a foot shorter than the wolf shifter’s lanky frame. West’s teeth bared slightly. “As should be obvious, she’s here with mypermission.”
The fox shifter’s body had gone rigid. “Yes, sir. Of course. I wasn’t thinking.” He raised his chin high enough to show the pale length of his neck. I hadn’t seen the gesture before, but there was something clearly apologetic aboutit.
Aaron had come up beside me. He leaned over to murmur by my ear. “Among canine shifters, exposing the throat is their most overt sign ofsubmission.”
West had already relaxed at the posturing. “All right,” he said in his usual gruff voice. “Maybe try to do a little more thinking before you start shooting your mouth off next time? Wedohave a lot of important business to seeto.”
