Chapter 35
Mara
Three weeks later
My apartment is small. One bedroom. Kitchen the size of a shoebox. But it has actual walls and a door that locks and a shower with water pressure that doesn’t make me want to cry.
After a week in the mountains and then more time in Aurora facilities for all their damned debriefs, it’s paradise. Especially since Elena snuck in and gave it a little makeover. Seems that having a billionaire boyfriend has given her a sense of style. And a flair for spending his money.
I’m sitting cross-legged on our couch—because I have actual furniture now—laptop balanced on my knees. The screen shows seventeen different data streams. Syndicate communications I’m not supposed to be monitoring, but totally am anyway.
Because old habits.
“You are doing the thing again,” Kael says from the kitchen.
“What thing?”
“The thing where you promise Viktor you will rest and then immediately break into classified systems.”
“I’m not breaking in. I’m… visiting.” I don’t look up from the screen. “With permission. Sort of.”
“Mara.”
“K.” I finally glance at him. He’s standing at the stove, shirtless because dragons apparently don’t believe in shirts at home, attempting to make scrambled eggs. “Are you seriously lecturing me about rule-following while making breakfast at two in the afternoon?”
“I was in a council meeting until noon.”
“Right. Because Caleb needs the ancient Dragon King’s opinion on supply chain logistics.”
“He values my perspective on historical trade routes.”
“You’re adorable when you pretend you’re not basically retired.”
He points the spatula at me. “I am not retired. I am… consulting.”
“Consulting. Sure.” I grin. “That’s what we’re calling it.”
The bond hums warm in my chest. Content. Happy.
It’s been three weeks since we sealed it. Three weeks of Kael Craven learning how to be mates in a world that’s moved on four hundred years. Three weeks of him discovering things like Netflix and smartphones and the concept of brunch.
It’s been crazy.
I love it.
My phone buzzes. Elena.
Elena: Meeting tonight. Viktor wants everyone there. Something big.
Me: Define big
Elena: He wouldn’t say. Just said it was urgent. 7 p.m. Don’t be late.
Me: Have I ever been late?
Elena: You were late to your own birthday party last year
Me: That was ONCE
I set the phone down. “We’ve got a thing tonight.”
“What kind of thing?”
“Aurora meeting. Viktor called it. Elena says it’s urgent.”
Kael’s expression shifts. That ancient tactician look he gets when processing threat assessments. “The Syndicate?”
“Maybe. Or maybe he just wants to discuss quarterly budgets. You never know with Viktor.”
“Viktor does not call urgent meetings for budgets.”
“You’ve known him for like a month.”
“I am an excellent judge of character.”
“Sure you are, Dragon King.” I close the laptop. “So. Eggs ready? Or are you still figuring out how the stove works?”
“I know how the stove works.”
“Do you, though? Because last time—”
“That was one small fire.”
“Small?” I laugh. “K. You set the smoke alarm off. Twice.”
“The device is oversensitive.”
“The device works fine when I cook.”
He brings two plates over. Sets one in front of me. The eggs are… actually pretty good. Slightly dry, but edible.
“These are great,” I tell him.
“You are lying.”
“I’m being supportive.”
“You are a terrible liar, Mara Jones.” But he’s smiling. That small smile that makes my heart do stupid things.
I lean over. Kiss him. Taste eggs and coffee and hot dragon.
God, he does things to my girl bits that really should be illegal.
“I love you,” I tell him. Because I can. Because the bond lets me feel that he loves me back. Because saying it out loud still feels like magic.
“I love you.” He cups my face. Thumb tracing my cheekbone. “My beautiful woman.”
“Your disaster.”
“That too.”
We eat in comfortable silence. The kind that comes from knowing someone completely. From feeling their emotions like your own.
My laptop chimes. New data stream.
I reach for it automatically.
“Mara.”
“Just checking one thing—”
“You promised you would take time off.”
“I am taking time off. This is me, relaxing, casually checking some emails—”
“That is a Syndicate communication protocol.”
“…Maybe.”
He sighs. But doesn’t argue. Just finishes his eggs and watches me work with that fond exasperation that means I’m probably going to get lectured later.
Worth it.
***
Later that night
The Aurora briefing room is packed when we arrive.
Dragons, witches, wolves—everyone who matters crammed into one space. Elena sits with Caleb. Dorian and Juno near the front. Lila and Talon against the wall.
And Nadia.
She’s standing near the door. Arms crossed. Face carefully neutral.
But I can see the tension in her shoulders. The silver flash in her eyes. Her wolf sitting just beneath the surface.
I nudge Kael. “Something’s wrong with Nadia.”
He follows my gaze. Nods slightly. He sees it too.
Viktor enters. The room falls silent.
“Thank you for coming.” His voice carries. “I’ll make this brief. We’ve received a request for sanctuary. From a Syndicate operative.”
Murmurs ripple through the crowd.
“Who?” Caleb asks.
Viktor’s eyes find Nadia. Hold there.
And I know. Before he even says a word. This is about her.
“Jericho Allon. Former Syndicate tactical commander. He claims to have intelligence on upcoming operations. He wants to defect.”
The room erupts.
But I’m watching Nadia.
She’s gone completely still. Every muscle locked. Eyes burning silver.
“No.” Her voice slices through the noise. Flat. Final. “Absolutely not.”
“Nadia—” Viktor starts.
“Jericho Allon ordered the hit that killed my mate.” The words come out precise.
Controlled. Like she’s reading from a report instead of talking about the worst day of her life.
“Five years ago. August fifteenth. He sent the team. Gave the order. Stood there and watched my mate die and called it acceptable losses.”
Silence falls.
Complete. Suffocating.
“And now—” Nadia’s voice doesn’t shake. Doesn’t break. But I can see her hands trembling. “Now he wants sanctuary. Protection from the same organization he served. The organization that murdered the man I loved.”
“He has critical intelligence,” Viktor says carefully. “Information that could save lives. Prevent attacks.”
“I don’t care.”
“Nadia—”
“I said I don’t care.” She pushes off the wall. Heads for the door. “You want to give him sanctuary? You want to protect a murderer because he has useful information? Fine. That’s your choice. But I won’t stay here and watch it happen.”
“Nadia, wait—”
The door slams.
The room explodes. Half the people arguing they should refuse sanctuary. Half saying intelligence is too valuable to pass up.
“When does he arrive?” Caleb’s voice cuts through.
Viktor’s expression is grim. “Seventy-two hours. He’s traveling from the East Coast facility under protection. Secure route. Armed escort.”
“And the council’s decision?”
“We vote tomorrow. But given what he’s offering…” Viktor pauses. “It’s likely we’ll approve sanctuary.”
“Even knowing what he did?” Elena’s voice is tight.
“I don’t like it,” Viktor says. “But we’re at war. If Allon has information that saves even one life—”
“Then we’re trading Nadia’s pain for tactical advantage,” Dorian says coldly.
More arguments. More raised voices.
But all I can think about is Nadia.
The way she looked. The control it took to not shift right there in the briefing room. The trembling hands she tried to hide.
Five years of grief. Five years of mourning.
And now the man who killed her mate is coming here. Protected. Untouchable.
“We need to check on her,” I tell Kael quietly.
He nods. We slip out.
The hallway is empty. We head toward Nadia’s quarters.
She’s not there.
We check the gym. The training rooms. The armory.
All empty.
“She left,” I say. “Right after the meeting. She’s gone.”
“To hunt,” he says, immediately assessing the situation.
“Most likely.” I nod. “She has seventy-two hours before Allon reaches Aurora protection. Seventy-two hours to intercept him. To find him before he gets here.”
“We should tell Viktor—”
“And say what? That we think Nadia’s going to hunt down the man who killed her mate? Viktor already knows. That’s why he looked at her like that when he made the announcement.”
Kael’s quiet for a moment. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know.” I lean against the wall. “This isn’t our story, K. This is hers. Nadia’s decision. Nadia’s choice.”
“And if she kills him?”
“Then she kills him.” I look up, surprised I just said that, but knowing I’d do the same if anyone hurt my mate. When did I get so shifter-y? “I’m not going to judge her for that. Are you?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Just stands there processing.
Finally: “No. I suppose I am not.”
We stand in the empty hallway. Thinking about Nadia somewhere out there. Hunting.
Thinking about Jericho Allon. Traveling toward sanctuary. Not knowing the woman whose life he destroyed is coming for him.
Thinking about what happens in seventy-two hours.
When either Nadia arrives with blood on her hands.
Or Allon arrives under Aurora protection.
And Nadia has to live with the fact that she let him go.