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“Thank you, sovereign.” Stiff words from the woman beside him, her breath shuddering in and out. “But to be frank, I need to clear the air between us. What Jacob did to you was unfair, and I apologize for my part in it. It was wrong of me to keep it from you, especially in light of our … previous relations.”
Isaiah was silent as he processed the words, but no anger rose in him, the venom that’d been so potent having dissipated.
“Jacob didn’t see another way, Sia.” A sad shake of his head. “Part of me wants to demonize him for his actions, and perhaps that will always remain. But I can understand why he did what he did, even if it meant putting the rest of us in his crosshairs.”
As he turned to study her, the light reflected off the wetness of her cheeks. “I was angry, Sia, but that doesn’t change the fact that I expect complete honesty and transparency from my people. Don’t ever betray me again.”
“You have my word, sovereign.” Staunch determination filled her words and she stood a little taller. “And you have my congratulations on your mating.”
Isaiah nodded once, companionable silence flowing in the air between them before Sia took her leave in the same fashion as Derikles. As he surveyed his territory, he consciously examined the psychic network that linked him to the people he cared for so deeply.
The bonded connections, both new and old, were aflutter with life on the canvas of his mind. His people were settling into their new roles and clan well. Jacob’s former clansmen were making frequent trips to Utah to get the lay of the land, and hiking parties had been established to acquaint them with the landscape.
While Isaiah didn’t yet know what he’d do with Jacob’s old territory land, he knew he’d never sell it. It was too precious to him, too saturated with memories to relinquish. When all his clansmen had relocated to Utah, he’d raze the uninhabited buildings, but he’d keep the heart of what it’d been.
Rukia would love the ocean.
Sighing contentedly, Isaiah teleported back to Paracel.
He appeared directly behind Rukia’s lithe form as his immortal siren stood with her hands defiantly on her hips, glaring at a simpering Jeremiah. Instead of announcing his presence, he simply drew her into his chest, nuzzling her neck in a very public display of affection.
Though he’d expected an elbow to the gut, the water Elemental leaned back into him, besotted happiness rumbling through their shared mating bond. Delicate hands captured his forearms, a girlish giggle escaping from her throat as she made no move to escape.
“Sickly sweet, Rukia,” came the very sarcastic tones of a werewolf alpha who was smirking devilishly only feet away. Isaiah had a feeling he was missing a piece of the puzzle, but he truly couldn’t care less—not when he held the most captivating woman in his arms.
“Go bark up another tree, you flea bitten mongrel,” she jeered, leaning into Isaiah’s chest and sparking a flair of desire in his blood.
As the alpha gave her a wolfish grin, the sound of frantic footsteps raced into the building from the street outside. Awash with panic, Aaron’s face had lost all of its color.
“Gideon’s rising—I can feel him in the earth!”
No one moved as swiftly as Rona did, the rest of them pursuing her out of the great hall. Stepping into the humidity of the Iowa summer, the earth below them shivered and quaked. Though the anticipation was thick in the air, no one moved, no one spoke.
They simply waited.
Rukia’s grip on his arm had tightened, her fingertips digging into his skin. Anxiety and anticipation soared in his mate, her body trembling. Isaiah had to consciously remind himself to be steady and supportive, the calming influence when she felt anything but. Regardless of how this ended, Rukia would need him to support her.
The ground parted in a mesmerizing display of soil and rock, brilliantly separating in clean lines as grasses and yellow hibiscus flowers rolled away untarnished.
And then there he was.
Leisurely stepping onto solid ground from the churning topsoil behind him, the earth Elemental had confusion stamped on his downcast features. Frowning at the ground below his feet, Gideon hadn’t looked up from where his golden eyes were searching through the flowers that surrounded him.
Rukia was the first to speak in the silence. “Gideon?”
Molten gold eyes snapped up to gaze worriedly at the group assembled before him, looking from one face to another as he blinked through his bewilderment. Gideon’s lips parted only seconds later to speak his question.
“Why was I in the earth?”
Rona could no longer stand the distance. In the blink of an eye, she’d parted from the group to lock her arms around her husband’s waist, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. Confusion changed to empathy near instantly, the man automatically enfolding his wife in his arms.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
No one said anything, too in shock at his appearance to answer him. Rona couldn’t say a word, obviously too overcome to answer his question.
“Rona, why are you crying? What happened?” At a complete loss, Gideon looked up to the completely mute group of them standing stock still several yards away. “I—I don’t understand.”
Isaiah took pity on him. “What is the last thing you remember, Gideon?”
