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Waving a hand at the twins, he carried on. "Take these two, for example. They're so powerful the average person can't even look at them without falling to their innate magic.Youcome equipped with a fallen wolf disguised as a blessed one. Sariel’s blended DNA is not just limited to having mismatched wings; Gingko has leveled battlefields with a wave of his hand.Everynew hybrid is unique and dangerous. Eventually, you really will run into one that’s everything the Upper Council says they are, and it'll be your job to police them or fall back into this same cycle."
This was apparently a soapbox for him because he visibly reeled himself in and gave us a smile. "You two will be interesting to see in a few hundred years after some soul searching. I hope I get to see what you become."
With that, the meeting moved on.
Auren discussed plots for trying to gather forces against what was left of the Upper Council. Aria’s idea about replacing the bad apples was added to the pile for him to weigh the pros and cons of; I realized that in the event we reallydidfollow through on that, we would need to add another seat for the hybrids.
That thought, I kept to myself, but anxiety about how that would evenbeginto be sorted out trickled to my mate, despite my best efforts. She didn't prod at me about it, though, focusing on the discussion.
However, I couldn't help but focus on it when it became clear to me that it would probably be someone in this room.
Knowing Auren, he would push for it to be Aria or me, but I was content with our dream of running off into solitude when this was all over. The twins, then? Kiyomasa? I couldn't foresee themwantingit, but Atlan seemed the most likely to take the job if only to ensure it got done.
Kiyomasa didn't even want to run the Resistance anymore, so he would probably pass if it was offered to him.
When all was said and done, all we'd accomplished was sharing information again. The inaction was maddening, and I hadn't even been present for most of the debriefs they'd been having since I was abducted.
The Resistance was stagnant, waiting on an opportunity that might never come, yet I couldn't push them forward no matter how badly I wanted to. It was Auren’s circus, though, and he'd been doing this for years without getting everyone killed, so his plans were obviously working.
Want to go for a run?
Aria caught my attention as we walked toward our place. Part of me had wanted to ask if we could move rooms, but that felt… insane. The thought of sleeping wherehehad slept with my mate was maddening, but I knew that, given time, I could get past it.
What? Like… shift?I asked.
She nodded slowly, and I groaned. But, of course, I hadn't meant to shift the first time, and the whole experience had been tainted with Lucifer's interest in the fact I was a fallen-blood wolf.
We don't have to, but I thought it might be a good idea.
I knew my mate struggled with her own wolf still, despite our talks about it. Apparently, my previous can-do-attitude was biting me in the ass because I now needed to show her it was both okay to accept her wolf and that shifting was natural—even though the thought of sharing a body with a fallen-blood wolf still disgusted me.
Aria let me process that, though, and didn't weigh in even though it probably stung to feel.
Yeah, I think that's a good idea,I finally said.
She beamed, pride rushing to me, and the two of us made it up to the training field before realizing that there was really no discrete way to do this. Could we even control a shift?
Even when I was just thinking about it, my wolf pulsed and rushed forward, lengthening my nails and canines to assure me that he was more than ready to come out if I was willing to let him.
"We should probably strip," Aria said, then grumbled about wasting clothes. I recalled her asking about going shopping once when she thought Barimuz was me, and anger suddenly lashed through me.
She pursed her lips, not looking at me as I tried to pack the reaction away. She knew I needed time to recover from everything, but that didn't mean she was prepared to feel every ounce of turmoil that hit me.
I yanked my shirt over my head and blew out a breath before kicking off the rest of my clothes.
My wolf took over immediately. This time, I was more aware of what was going on; every stretch and crack of my body was like jolts of lightning before I was left in fur, tail wagging. We weren't entirely one being, but I was still co-piloting my body, so I considered it a win.
Aria followed me swiftly, and I yelped when her wolf immediately pounced.
My mate’s frustration tingled down the bond. She hadn't had the same luck with controlling the shift; that was even more apparent when we looked at the wolf prancing around us, obviously looking to play.
She's excited to meet your wolf and won't let me take control,Aria explained, exasperated, and I couldn't help but chuff out a wolfy laugh.
Her head cocked, ears twitching in confusion, and I tried to let myself relax. This was okay—everything was going well, and my wolf wasn't going on a murderous rampage.
Sensing my distress, my wolf pushed further forwards, and suddenly, I was in the backseat—and that was when the real panic set in.
With no control of my body anymore, my wolf pounced and played with Aria’s, with me unable to wrest control away.
