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“Back to dragon shifter duty,” I said to Kylie and Felix. I hurried over to the jaguar shifter and hiscompanion.
“Princess,” Marco said with a smile. He pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “My lieutenant was just telling me about what the dregs of the rogue group have been upto.”
My eyebrows rose. I turned to Timothy. “Last night their king mentioned that the rogues had been talking with him. Did you seethem?”
The lieutenant inclined his head. “Only a handful of them. From what I gathered, that’s all that’s left of the group they once had. At least, all who are still planning to keep fighting. But they know they don’t stand a chance against you and our alphas. There was one grizzled old guy there—I didn’t get close enough to scent him, but he looked canine. He seemed to be leading the stragglers. And he’s led them right into the vampires’grasp.”
I grimaced. “How can they ally with the vamps? Don’t they know the king hates allshifters?”
Timothy shrugged. “They weren’t acting very friendly with each other. The bloodsuckers were pushing them around some. But I guess to those few it mattered more to them to finish their fight than what happens to themafter.”
“Too much pride and not enough sense,” Marco said, wrinkling his nose. “Well, they’ll learn their final lesson pretty soon, I’d be willing to bet.” He patted his lieutenant on the arm. “You did a good job, Timothy. Keep focusing on your recovery fornow.”
“Have you checked in on Nate again?” I asked my mate as Timothy ambledoff.
Marco nodded. “No change. Is there anything I can do to help outhere?”
“I don’t know,” I said.Istill had to find some way to help prepare for whatever the vamps had in store for us tonight. But thinking about my last interaction with West, the prospect of asking him for ideas felt prettydaunting.
Marco must have read some of that feeling in my expression. He touched my cheek. “Is something elsewrong?”
“No. I just—” I bit my lip. “West seemed angry with me. I’m not sure if I did something wrong somehow last night—Ididlose control of my fire—or… I mean, it’s not like it’s strange for him to be grouchy, this just seemed a little more extreme thanusual.”
Marco gave me a crooked grin. “I don’t think that’s about you, princess. Wolf boy—well, let’s just say I’m sure recent events are stirring up a lot of uncomfortable emotions for him. And he does seem to have difficulty processing those emotions without getting them all over everyone aroundhim.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?” Obviously the vampire attack had upset all of us, but Marco sounded like he was hinting at more thanthat.
The jaguar shifter shrugged. “It’s not really my place to talk about it. He’d probably bite my head off—maybe literally. But I don’t mind pointing you in the right direction. Next time you have the chance, get him to talk about hismother.”
Chapter 7
Ren
The late afternoonsun had already dipped to the tops of the trees, but it still managed to blaze against my dark hair. “Is that the last of it?” I asked, wiping sweat from myforehead.
The canine shifters glanced along the line of hastily chopped firewood we’d already heaped up just outside the estate wall. “I think we’ve done all we can,” Bertrand said. “We’d be able to keep this fire going for a good long time. If we even need to, with your dragon fire on our side.” He shot me a respectfulsmile.
At least West’s kin figured I could hold myown.
“I think it’s just about time for dinner,” Felix said, licking his lips. The faint smell of roasting meat was drifting over the estate wall from the house. My own stomachgurgled.
We tramped across the cleared earth around the ring and through the gate. Bertrand shut the door with a thump and locked it. Then we all filed into the dininghall.
The canine estate wasn’t quite as posh as some of the others, but the dining hall was still impressive. Huge oak beams crisscrossed the high ceiling all through the immense space. Heavy rugs overlapped each other under the matching oak tables, each of which was large enough to seat twenty. Light danced in sconces all along the walls, even though enough daylight streamed through the windows at the head of the room to make themunnecessary.
The roasting smell thickened as we stepped inside. My gaze snagged on the head table by those front windows, the one meant for me and my mates. Normally I’d have sat there with West by my side, for him to show me off the way the other alphas had. But since the estate was crowded with refugees, the tables were merely being used for serving now, with everyone eating on their feet as they circulated through theroom.
I spotted Aaron and Marco at the far end of the space, but I couldn’t see the caninealpha.
Would West even have wanted to show me off? We’d barely had a chance to really talk since we’d arrived. And I couldn’t blame that on him, not really. The vampires had kept us plentybusy.
What did his kin make of the fact that he hadn’t consummated our bond yet? They still seemed to treat me as if they considered metheirdragonshifter.
All I knew was the uncertainty dragged at me—like a rough wind that washed over me every time I thought about that missing piece in my role as dragon shifter. In mylife. I was meant to stand united with all four of the alphas, all four of my mates. And one of them continued to keep his distance. Another now lay on what could turn out to be his deathbed.
I was pretty sure this was not the future my mother had meant for me when she’d spent all that time trying to keep me safe. In fact, I’d be willing to bet this kind of danger and turmoil was exactly what she’d hoped to keep me outof.
At least my chances of surviving this situation were a lot better than they’d been when I was five. Smallvictories.
