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When they turn as one to face us, I hold my breath, waiting, hoping that I have judged them aright. I have a sense of their answer, even before Dawson nods his head.
“I will persuade Tavion to accept you into our pack,” Dawson says, his young voice ringing with the gravity of the pact we make. “Although, knowing Tavion, it will not be a hard task. Humans and shifters alike, and all that are yours, children, and their children to come, will be welcome. I swear on my honor that I will persuade him to do so.”
“Then we shall help you gladly,” Jim says. “Although I can freely admit now that we would have helped you, either way, for I wish no one, man nor woman, to be taken by orcs.”
ChapterSeven
Jasmine
Doug returns to collect me, and I throw my arms around his beastly head, sobbing with relief.
He does not shift to his orc form but instead bays pitifully in response to my emotions. There is danger still, so much of it, and I know his beast will not yield to him while it remains.
“Ashe is coming. He has battled no less than six Blighten patrols. He will challenge Travis. I have pledged my support.
“Oh, Doug.” I hug him, sobbing harder.
“I should not have done so,”he says. “I should have spoken to you first. I should take you away where it is safe.”
“I am safest with you,” I say, wiping the tears from my cheeks and straightening my shoulders as I feel my resilience return. “Wherever that may be. They took her, Doug. Not only Fern but her mates, too. Travis betrayed his own son. Ashe and Tavion helped us when we had no one. How could I live with myself if I stepped away from them? How could I abandon them now in their moment of greatest need? I love you. You have been mine from that very first day when you chased Trent away and offered me a crust of bread. Some things are worth fighting for. Some people, too. My mama would have been so proud if she could have met you, just as I am proud to be your mate. We will go to the pack together. And whatever happens, we shall face it together, too.”
* * *
Doug
My mate is a wonder, so brave and fierce, even as she is tiny and weak compared to me. Jasmine has an inner strength, one that has carried her through the great adversities in her life. Her courage is what makes her face fears great enough to bring lesser mortals to their knees.
All my life, I have followed a cause that was not mine. This last year among the shifters has shown me that a different, better life is possible. And while there may be bastards like Travis in this society, there are more who are his opposite. Men like Ashe and Tavion, men I follow not because I must, but because I choose to do so.
I feel powerful in a way I have never done before.
I will keep my mate and our babe safe.
I will also do right by the promise I made to Ashe.
“We are here.”Ashe’s voice claps like thunder through the mental connection.
As I slip into the back of the great cavern, tension already crackles in the air. I search the crowd and see Deba standing on the edges, wringing her hands, her face ashen.
Jasmine climbs down.
“Stay with Deba,”I say.“The lesser shifters will know how to get you out, should trouble prevail.”
I remain in beast form, vigilant, even as I trot forward in a way that is bold for me. I have always been treated as less than the others. Today, I do not cower from anyone nor hide in the shadows but take my place proudly next to the members of Ashe’s patrol.
Ashe is in human form, and I immediately see the weariness that manifests in the sallowness to the skin that happens after shifting too many times in succession without taking the necessary nourishment and rest.
A hush falls over the cavern.
Travis lounges on his ludicrous throne. There are no wolf bitches at his feet, but his two enforcers stand attentively close, forewarned, I presume, that his betrayal did not yield Ashe’s death as they had hoped.
I am blessed in some ways and cursed in others. I cannot speak, but I have found that, with certain alphas, I can mind-speak regardless of which form they might take. It is a skill unique to shifters bound together in a pack or patrol, and also to me, even though I am neither part of Ashe’s pack nor patrol.
Although, perhaps I am.
Perhaps he has always had my allegiance, and today, I merely chose to tell him formally.
I feel my chest rise further.
