Chapter 20
TALON
Until recently, my life was one of servitude, with brief moments of interaction with other shifters. Most of whom I either worked for or had to kill.
There was no true connection or bond in my life.
All of which changed the moment I set my eyes on a terrified, unexpectedly perfect omega.
As much as I wished to take back our first meeting, I was too selfish to ever risk not tying her to me in all ways. Every moment spent with Emme, sleeping beside her, touching her soft skin, and drowning in her scent calmed and healed my beast and me.
Now we cared about more than just our task and the destruction of shifter cities.
We cared about our mate and the entire pack of alphas in my quintet.
The transition from wanting to please my captor to wanting to protect my family had changed me on a level that felt essence-deep.
Touching Emme all night soothed ragged edges that I never even knew were there until I had the after to compare to.
Along with my twin’s proximity, I’d never slept so well in my life.
You heading out soon? Slade’s voice was a low hum in our bond, neither of us needing as much sleep as Emmeline, but unable to leave her comforting presence in our bed.
We were tangled around her, just as our beasts were pressed against her wolf in the bond.
Yeah, it’ll take me four or so hours to fly to the compound, and then I need to scout the area. Assess the danger. I paused, as a worrying thought hit me. Will Emme be in pain from our distance. Our bond isn’t new, but this full connection is.
He was silent for a moment, his fingers tracing gently over her stomach, soothing her pain. I don’t believe so. There’s no evidence of any strain now we’re all bonded in a complete quintet. With the ability to communicate and share energy fully in our grasp, we’re never really at a distance.
His logic was undeniable. You have sensed the way we can share our essences now too? Her magic feels similar to the energy our dragons use to control matter around us.
Slade’s green eyes flashed, the darkness of the room not enough to restrict my sight of him.
Agreed. Our essences are all flowing together, along with her magic.
I’ve experimented and pulled a little into myself, and it tasted like all of our beasts.
Emme hasn’t fully figured out how to control it yet, and when she does, she could possibly block the share, but none of us could block her.
We would never want to block our heart.
The silence extended, and it was comfortable and warm. Warm was the oddest concept for one who’d lived such a cold life.
What if the witch is there? Slade asked, a flicker of concern bleeding into those words. Maybe I should come with you. The others can keep an eye on our mate while we’re gone.
My beast reared up at the thought of one of us not being here with the pack. In this situation I don’t think it’s necessary. It’s only scouting. If I was planning on attacking, then it would be worth the risk to remove us both from the pack.
Slade wanted to argue, but this time I had logic on my side. My twin loved logic. Yeah, that makes sense. I’m also not ready to fully trust Constantine. Not yet. Still, I find myself uncomfortable with you leaving.
There was that damn warmth again. I’ll be careful, I assured him. This is just a scouting mission. I shouldn’t have to get close enough to trigger any magical alarms.
Long before the light of dawn filled the room, I dragged myself from Emme and Slade. As she slept, I brushed my lips lightly against hers, relieved that she already felt less exhausted. She’d needed this healing sleep—we all had.
The strength of our quintet pleased me, and I enjoyed the magic flowing through our beasts now too. I thought I’d hate the foreign feeling of magic inside her, but it feels like ours. She is ours.
Slade’s words resonated deeply within me and my dragon.
Always ours. We have magic too, and all of it works together.
Yes.
When I’d first met my twin, there’d been a strong rift between him and his beast. This volatile, roaring chasm of pain that neither of them were able to cross. Now that we’d reformed our twin soul bond, that chasm was gone, and in its place a sea of tranquility.
My rift with my dragon had never been as deep or enraged, but it existed all the same. We both enjoyed this new feeling of power and peace. I’d never experienced anything like it before, and I would not give it up easily.
After drawing the covers over Emme’s bare shoulders, I forced myself into the bathroom to get ready for the day.
On the street, in the predawn chill of the winter day, there was no sign of shifters.
A light dusting of snow had fallen overnight, and as I glanced around at the picture-perfect scene, it was hard to believe our world could be torn apart in a matter of weeks.
Thank the goddess I hadn’t ended up helping Fletcher with his master plan. While part of me still saw the reason in what he wanted to do, a stronger part now knew that it wasn’t my place to make a life-altering decision for all shifters.
Even as a dragon, I never would.
Shedding my clothing, I placed them into the small bag with elastic sides attached to my leg.
It was specially designed shifter equipment that would expand during my shift, allowing me a change of clothes when I reached my destination.
I’d used these Expanbags many times in the past and had no fucking idea they’d been invented by my entitled alpha.
Hunter created the prototype four years ago, and it was one of their best sellers.
For all of Fletcher’s complaining about his son’s company, which had surpassed his by hundreds of millions of dollars, he’d certainly taken advantage of their products. Especially their weapons and defensive items.
Just as I was calling on the energy to shift into my dragon form, I felt the spark of my mate through our bond.
When she burst through the front door, I was ready and waiting for her.
Slade must have gotten one of his shirts over her head to hide her nakedness from prying eyes, but her arms weren’t through the sleeves yet as she sprinted forward and launched herself at me.
“You can’t sneak away to do dangerous scouting and not say goodbye,” she choked out against my chest, which felt like it was caving in at the devastation in her tone.
“I’m always with you, Honey,” I said, breathing in her sweet scent. “We don’t think you’ll get any kickback or bond strain now that we’re a completed quintet, but I’m going to keep an eye on it. Let me know if you feel any unease.”
“I will,” she said, her gaze piercing as she pulled away to examine me in a way that had my alpha roaring. “Please be careful.” She shivered when the breeze drifted between us.
Slade appeared in the doorway, and there was a surge of his beast heating the air so Emme didn’t freeze.
“I will return to you,” I promised. “No matter what it takes. You don’t need to worry. There’s very little in this world that can threaten me.”
Emme didn’t look convinced as her bottom lip trembled. “Just remember that magic has taken you down before. Don’t be overconfident. Scout and return, and we will face whatever is there as a pack. That’s where we’re truly strong, now our essences have joined.”
Reaching out, I helped her get her arms through the sleeves of the shirt, wanting to feel them wrapped around me. “Was in a bit of a rush,” she mumbled, her cheeks pinkening to match the end of her cold nose.
My dragon growled, pushing once more to snatch our adorable female up and steal her away to a cave high in the mountains, safe and hidden from the world. Where no one could touch her again.
Except there was no safe or hiding from the curse. It would come for us all, and there was only one way to stop it.
Needing another taste before I left, I swept her feet off the ground, and when her arms wrapped around my neck the world stopped for just a beat. We kissed until my dragon roared in my head, wanting to bury in her softness. My dick was a hard length between us, which we were both ignoring.
I stroked my tongue against hers, inhaling her sweetness. Goddess, I wanted to drop to my knees once more and worship at the altar that was Emmeline Anders. Only this wasn’t the time or place.
“I love you,” I said. The easiest words I’d ever said. “I fucking adore you, Honey.”
She pulled away breathless, her expression lighting up. “I love you too,” she said, with so much warmth that my heart cracked again. I never knew a shifter could have such a full, intense feeling in their chest and not die from it.
Brushing her messy hair back, I cupped the side of her face. “If my twin is too hard on you in training today, I will kick his ass for you. It would do everyone well to remember that I can kill a shifter in at least a hundred different ways.”
Slade scoffed, but through the bond I felt his amusement. My twin was the only shifter who could give me a run in a fight, and I was looking forward to testing myself against him one day.
I will destroy you without even breaking a sweat, brother. Yep, he was definitely amused.
“I can handle Slade just fine on my own,” Emme sassed, shooting a soft smile over her shoulder. “And he always goes easy on me. He may not say the words, but I know he loves me.”
Our mate had grown confident within the quintet bond, reading all of us on a level much deeper than what we showed the world.
Slade’s growl filled my mind, straight in our twin connection.
Love is such a pathetic word to use for what I feel.
People love kittens and food. They love walks in the park and television shows.
What I feel for our mate is beyond all love, obsession and idolization.
I would not survive or exist without her, and she wants me to call it love.
His tone was filled with fire as he raged with each sentence, and I barely contained my smirk. Doesn’t matter if the word is pathetic. She wants to hear it from you.
He better give our mate what she wanted, or I really would beat his ass.
“Slade loves you,” I confirmed, ratting him out. “He loves you in ways that are far beyond a single word.”
Emme’s smile was broad, and her eyes shone like crystals, icy in color but somehow still filled with heat. “I know. He shows me every single day how he feels, and it means more than the words themselves. But he’ll say it eventually too. We all fall back on love, as it’s the best we’ve got.”
My twin growled and muttered, “We’ll see,” as he crossed his arms over his bare chest.
Emme popped up on her toes for one last kiss. “I love you,” she murmured again, as if to prove her point. “Please stay in touch.”
With one last deep breath of her scent, I let her go, and she hurried back up the stairs. Slade scooped her off her feet as she passed him, hugging her shivering form to his chest.
When she relaxed against him, I dug deep for the strength to call on my beast and shift. The change was fast, and I shot into the sky, aware that if I didn’t leave now I never would.
It was far harder than I expected to race away from Golden Claw, but thankfully there was no strain in our bond. Emme’s beast remained strong and vibrant, and the connection swirled even with distance.
I’d never have expected to enjoy living in an overdeveloped city of metal and concrete, and for the most part I didn’t. But I certainly enjoyed the pack I’d found myself in.
Over the next few hours, my beast took control, and outside of checking in on the bond, I lost myself to the freedom of flight.
Emme was training now, and through Slade I marveled at her skills.
In both hand to hand and with her blades, she was learning exceptionally fast, and with each lesson her confidence soared.
When familiar landscape started to appear, I slowed and let the clouds shield me from view as I assessed for danger. Finding none.
On the ground, I shifted back and pulled my clothes on. Wasting no time, I took off along a rather underused path into the compound, using every skill I possessed to remain undetected.
There was no sign of life in the area, no scents, sights, or sounds.
It also looked rundown, with the grass, browned from frost, sitting at uneven lengths.
Fletcher would never normally allow his surroundings to look so unkempt, but since he was dead, that didn’t mean there weren’t still others inside.
Using the back entrance, I moved past my old quarters—a prison far worse than the one I’d found myself in at Reeves pack house. At least there I’d had company and my mate nearby.
The top level of the compound was where Fletcher and his son lived, but there was no one inside today. I’d never been into the lower facility before, but I knew the entrance was a concealed door near the garage.
As I got closer to it, there was an echo of a thud from below, so faint that I doubted anyone with weaker senses than a dragon would have heard. Another thud followed by a groan, and I sensed a shifter down there. One of Fletcher’s captives?
Not that I was going to open the door to find out today.
I had no idea how many might be below, trapped and waiting to die.
Getting back to my pack was my only concern today, along with keeping my promise to Emme that I wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks.
There was very little a shifter prisoner could do to hurt me, but it would be better to return with the full quintet tomorrow.
Just in case it was one of Jewels’ well-laid traps.
She might not be here in person, but it didn’t mean there weren’t dangers here of her making.
All of which we’d find out tomorrow.