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Every bump along the way, every hurt, every heartache, had always been smoothed over. Worked around. Resolved easily and thoughtlessly. He had never once had to worry, because he hadn’t known he could fail. For hundreds of years he’d been the grandmaster in the game of chess that was his double life, always sure of what move to make next and what trouble to expect up ahead… but now it was like someone had flipped the board over and scattered the pieces.
And there was nothing to be done about it.
Nothing he could do.
All of it was over now.
The opposing queen—the council—would close in and take the pawn who thought he knew better. The pawn who had watched his allies fall because of choices he had made.
But maybe not all was lost.
Bertram looked up from his hand and down the hallway at the moonlight that spilled out of each of the doors along the way.
Yes, he was being pulled in two directions, bound by love on one side and his duty to his family and his clan on the other, but as impossible as it all seemed, he had made a habit out of achieving what should have been impossible.
Defying the council.
Changing the world.
Finding his mate…
The Vanguard was outside of his control now, but it stood to reason that as long as he stayed careful and clever, he could find a way to make things right with all parties who had been wronged tonight—the Vanguard, his family, and his mate.
* * *
Bertram stepped out into the crisp night air and onto the streets of downtown Aurora. Traffic whizzed by despite the hour, but the sidewalks were mostly empty, and he was able to walk unimpeded to the rental car he’d parked several blocks away.
The door opened smoothly, and he climbed in with equal grace and composure, but as soon as the door was closed, he sank heavily into his seat and let his head fall back against the headrest, hooking an arm over his eyes.
It had been a long day, but it wasn’t over yet.
He still had to find a hotel, shower, and figure out his next move. Thank god his brothers had agreed to keep what had happened tonight quiet—if he had to deal with the council on top of everything else, he might very well lose his cool.
He took a few minutes to sit in silence, listening to the crinkle of the leather beneath him and the sound of air moving as he breathed, then took his phone from his pocket with a sigh, intending to book a room in the nearest hotel.
To his dismay, there were notifications waiting.
Two emails from the council, and worse, a voicemail from his father.
“Shit,” he muttered, sure he knew what all of it was about. Had one of his brothers betrayed him, or had someone from the Vanguard anonymously tipped the council off to clear their guilty conscience? Bertram didn’t know for sure, but he did remember Kevin—who in a panic had told him everything about Sandrine’s plan despite orders to the contrary—and thought he had a good idea as to who the culprit might be.
Cursing, he accessed the voicemail and put the phone to his ear. Grimbold’s booming voice cut straight to the chase. “Where are you, Bertram?” the senior Drake demanded. “There’s been an incident involving your brother’s clutch. I need you here at once.”
The voicemail cut off abruptly, so Bertram checked his emails. The council used an encrypted service developed by Reynard that could only be accessed following a thumbprint and retinal scan, but by now the hassle was routine, and a few seconds later, Bertram was in.
The first email was from two hours ago, shortly after he’d left the ruins of the bunker. It was a statement from the council, branded with their official sigil, and judging by the tone of it, it had been drafted by one of the stuffier clan heads.
Bertram put his money on Liu Wei.
An investigation is currently underway regarding an alleged incident in Amethyst territory. Until details are confirmed, level two precautions are to be enacted for all clans, with special attention paid to the candidates of the mating experiment, who are considered to be at elevated risk.
The target of the investigation is alleged to be a human terrorist group with no known ties to draconic society. Their motives are unknown, but they are thought to be extremely dangerous. As a precaution, all agents are to report to their clan heads immediately for further briefing. Should travel be necessary, caution is strongly advised.
The second email was just as concise, timestamped an hour after the first.
Pursuant to activities reported on 01/11/2020, the threat posed to draconic society by the target has been escalated to level four. Detention is hereby requested with neutralization to follow should the target not be eliminated on sight.
Extreme caution is advised.
