“I know what you’re thinking, Ana,” Owen said. He gently leaned me against the wall and held my face in his hands. He was so warm that I couldn’t help tilting my cheek against his hot skin. “This isn’t your fault.”
I looked down to avoid his tender gaze. “I should have killed the first one. If I had, Kimberly wouldn’t be here.”
Owen’s grip tightened. He tilted my head up until I had nowhere to look but his eyes. “This is not your fault,” he repeated. “You did all you could. It was your first bear shift after being weakened for days by poison.”
“I know, but—”
“But nothing.” Owen placed a soft kiss on my forehead. “You aren’t to blame. Doctor Siegfried is to blame for creating these monsters.”
My heart skipped as he leaned back to meet my gaze. His eyes simmered with acceptance, warmth and love. No part of his man blamed me for this. If Kimberly’s own brother didn’t blame me, did I have any right to blame myself?
“I’m sorry,” I said. My cheeks heated with embarrassment. “We’re here for your sister, and here I am making it about me.”
Owen chuckled. “Forget about it. All that matters is Kimberly is alive and will recover.”
I nodded and took his face in my own hands. I ran my thumbs over his beard and tilted my face up to kiss him. Owen’s lips were soft and gentle, but firm in his love. I melted under his touch, and then into his arms. I buried my face against his chest and hoped beyond hope that we could stop these monsters from hurting anyone else.
9
Ariana
As we walked out of the shifter wing in the hospital, we came to the waiting room. Jett didn’t move, but Cash and Maximus both shot to their feet. My wolf mate rushed to greet me, sensing my distress.
“What happened?” he demanded.
“Those monsters attacked Owen’s sister,” I said, my voice shaking.
“Is she okay?” Maximus asked, pulling me against his chest and reaching behind me to pull Owen in. They sandwiched me between them, wrapping their arms around each other for a long moment. In that instant, I knew what could make someone hate another creature so much they would do anything, even betray their own mate, for revenge. I knew that anyone who would hurt my Owen this way needed to go. If I could hate the monsters that much for hurting my mate’s sister, I couldn’t begin to imagine Jett’s pain and rage that they had killed his father.
When Maximus released me and Owen, I turned to find Jett watching us, a strange mixture of emotions on his face—pain, sadness, and loneliness barely masked by his amused smirk. I had been so angry at him for what he did that I hadn’t really considered how deeply he must be hurting to overrule and ignore his panther.
I gave him a tentative smile. Now was not the time to hash things out with him. I’d do that later, when we’d gotten rid of this plague to our people and to innocent humans.
Which I realized was exactly what Jett had been trying to do when we created something so much worse than vampires. The irony was not lost on me, but I had to focus on my task right now.
Owen cleared his throat. “My sister is alive, and with her bear’s help, she’ll make a full recovery,” he said. “The bad news is that these creatures seem to be trying to create more like them.”
Cash gave a low whistle. “That’s not going to stay hidden long.”
We stood in the lobby in silence while those words sank over us. Seeing the gloomy expression on Maximus’ face, I knew he’d already started to believe that stopping them was impossible. Owen looked broken and haggard from his visit with his sister, and Cash just looked shocked.
Jett slid from his chair and strolled across the room to join us, though he kept himself a step back from the group. He arched an eyebrow and pursed his lips when he caught my eye. “What’s next, Quicksilver?”
That name sent a kick through me. I was the Silver Shifter. This was my moment.
“Now, we act,” I said. “We’ve been talking about uniting the clans since I got here. Well, now we need to stop talking about it. We need to do it.”
“Okay,” Owen said, nodding and pulling out his phone. “I’ll call my clan.”
“The pack is on board,” Maximus said. “I’ll have Shira come into the city to discuss.”
“Sounds good,” Jett said. “I’ll let Cassie know.”
“I’ll call a meeting of the Dragon Council,” Cash said.
Though they’d shown me their support throughout the process of visiting the clans, and I didn’t doubt the loyalty of the mates I’d claimed, it felt good to have Jett join in. Not only that, but they’d all backed me instantly, accepting my decision without question. Somehow, I had been chosen as the Silver Shifter, and I was going to do my job. Unite the shifters of New York once and for all. And my mates were here to help me every step of the way.
“Then let’s set a meeting for tonight,” I said. “We can’t wait any longer. This needs to happen now.”
My mates nodded in agreement, all of them getting their phones to contact the other decision makers in their clans. Our clans.
“I have the best accommodations for this sort of meeting,” Cash said, and to my surprise, there was no argument.
The others nodded in agreement, setting a time before dispersing. We all climbed into the cars and headed for Cash’s penthouse to get ready. I caught Jett’s eye as he climbed into his car, and my heart ached for my lonesome panther mate. Even if it was one hundred percent his fault that he was alone, I still felt for him. I could see his pain, and I knew he needed me even if he wouldn’t admit it.
I also knew that Owen needed me, and he’d been nothing but kind and loving to me since we’d met. When he steered me toward his car, I went, though I spared Jett a long look on my way, hoping he’d see that I was sorry I couldn’t be with him right now. Still, my resolve was crumbling already.
When we arrived at Cash’s, I was startled to see armed guards outside his garage. “He’s really ramped up safety measures,” Owen commented as we stopped for the guards to inspect our truck. I knew they could scent what we were, and that Cash would have alerted them to our arrival. Otherwise, we probably would have been grilled for a lot longer.
Finally, we pulled into the garage full of Cash’s luxury cars and parked. “Sorry about that,” my dragon mate said with a grin as he climbed from his Mercedes SUV. “I should have warned you.”
“Better safe than sorry,” Owen said with a shrug.
I knew Cash had lost a father figure in the attack on the dragon tower, so I understood the extra precautions. Wherever I went, I put people in danger. I was about to put an end to that. When Maximus had saved me from the pits, I’d thought I might get to see a little more of the world than the inside of a cage. I still wouldn’t mind having a few adventures in life, but not the kind that ended with people around me dying. I was sick to death of getting attacked.
Upstairs, we all collapsed on the many leather sofas in Cash’s living area. We had a few hours until the meeting, but we’d all gotten up before daybreak to rush to the hospital. After slipping off my shoes, I lay back on the couch, resting my head on Cash’s thigh and putting my feet in Maximus’ lap. Owen checked his phone, his expression troubled, and my heart went out to him. I knew he was waiting for news of his sister, but there was nothing we could do now but move ahead with the plan to protect the world from more similar attacks.
I gazed up at the painted portrait above the fireplace, the frame ornately carved gold. The woman inside the frame stared back at me with close set black eyes set in a brown-skinned face that resembled Cash’s more than a little. Instead of his black waves, she had long, silver locks.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “Is that your mother?”
“Yes,” he said, giving me an arch smile. “Why?”
“She’s the last Silver Shifter? The one who was a dragon, so she married the dragon alpha—your dad.”
“Yes,” he said again, looking slightly amused and slightly curious.
&
nbsp; I stared up at the picture for another minute before pushing up onto my elbow to look at him. “Um, exactly how old are you?”
“Uh…” Cash scratched the back of his head.
Jett started snorting with laughter, and even Maximus looked amused. “Go on,” he said. “Tell her.”
“Well, dragons live for a long time,” he said. “Compared to humans and other shifters.”
“How old?” I asked.
“You’re legal,” Jett said. “That’s Cash’s only criteria.”
Cash glared at the panther. “Ariana and I have discussed my past, and she doesn’t hold it against me,” he said. “We all make mistakes.”
“Glad some of them can be forgiven,” Jett said, going back to his phone.
“Having a wild youth before you meet your mate hardly compares to kidnapping your mate and poisoning her,” Cash said coldly.
“Apparently,” Jett said, not looking up from his phone.
“Stop avoiding the question,” I said. “I don’t know how old any of you are, actually. I asked Maximus once, but if I recall correctly, you avoided the question.” I poked him with my toe.
He cleared his throat and adjusted the front of his buttoned shirt. “I’m thirty,” he said. “Is that a problem?”
“No,” I said after a second. “I guess not. I’m a lot younger than you, though. It’s not a problem for you?”
He shook his head. “It’s not something that matters to me. Wolves live at least a hundred years, sometimes more.”
At least I had plenty more years to enjoy life, have some non-lethal adventures, and have pups with Maximus one day. Dante had only owned eighteen of my years. I had so many more to live—if I didn’t get murdered by psychotic vampire hybrids before then.
“I’m twenty-eight,” Owen volunteered. “If you’re worried about it. Bears live a little longer than wolves.”
“Twenty-five,” Jett said, looking bored.
I turned back to Cash. “Just tell me.”
“Fine,” he said. “But don’t freak out. Dragons live a thousand years. I’m really just a baby. I mean, if we’re going by wolf years, I’m even younger than you.”
“But if we’re not going by wolf years?”
“A hundred,” he muttered.
Holy shit. My head was spinning as I lay back against the couch. A hundred! I’d assumed all my mates were older than me, since they’d already ascended to alpha of their respective clans. If I’d thought they were old for me, I could hardly wrap my head around how long Cash had been around. Suddenly, his wild past was a lot…longer.
“Are you going to start calling him Grampa?” Owen asked with a grin.
Apparently, it didn’t bother anyone else. They’d all known about it. But wow. A hundred.
I suddenly wondered if I had a lot more than a hundred years to enjoy life. Because I wasn’t just a wolf. I was a dragon, too. I was all the shifters in New York. Suddenly, I knew how I was going to get the clans to really accept me. I’d been going about it as if I were a wolf the whole time. But I wasn’t. I belonged to all of them, and they all belonged to me. I just hoped it wasn’t too late to save every one of the clans from discovery by humans. Because if that happened, it wouldn’t matter what kind of shifter I was. We would all be fucked.
10
Ariana
The time had finally come. Today the four clans of New York would unite—I was sure of it. But whether it’d be an easy process remained to be seen.
My heart raced as the elevator descended from Cash’s penthouse suite to the same office-like floor I’d been to only once before. After the building had been attacked, the Dragon Council had to relocate to this floor. Frankly, I was still stunned such an average looking floor existed when Cash’s suite, and the Dragon Council’s former meeting chamber, were anything but average.
I shook my head and clenched my fists at my sides. I had to believe I could do this. I kept telling myself that if the panther clans could unite, then so could we. But they weren’t my only inspiration. As I thought about how I wanted to reshape the New York Clans, I drew inspiration from governments around the world, as well as what little I knew of the Society of Supernaturals and their Council.
If all the vampires in the world were technically united under this council and their queen, then why couldn’t the four of us find a way to coexist peacefully?
The doors dinged open.
I stared down the long office hallway with linoleum flooring and fluorescent lights, and my entire body turned to lead. I was only one person who didn’t know enough of the world, especially the supernatural one. I knew there had been many Silver Shifters before me, great women who’d tried to bring peace to the clans. And they’d all failed. They must have had more information on the world than I did. If Cash’s mother couldn’t unite the clans, then how could I?
“Ariana?” Maximus gently prodded my lower back. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Still, I couldn’t force myself to take a step forward.
The elevator doors dinged again and attempted to close on us. Cash whipped out a hand and caught the doors before they closed. He eased them open before flashing me a confident smile.
“Don’t worry, Ari. We’ve got your back.” Cash winked. Despite his casual flirting, I saw pride and certainty in his eyes.
“You really think I can do this?” I asked, gulping. My mouth suddenly felt like a desert, and I cringed at my sandpaper tongue.
“We know you can,” Owen said. He curled a piece of my hair around his finger and leaned down to kiss me gently on the forehead.
“Take a breath, Quick Silver,” Jett grumbled. “If the four of us can stand in an elevator together without ripping each other’s heads off, we can figure out a way to stop our people from killing each other, too.”
I looked over my shoulder at my panther mate. Though I hadn’t claimed him yet, my inner beasties howled for me to kiss him right then. Instead, I averted my gaze from the fiery look in Jett’s eyes and took a deep breath.
“I can do this,” I whispered to myself.
Cash chuckled and motioned me out.
Finally, I forced myself into action. I strode down the long corridor, glanced out at the city beyond the large pane of glass at the end of the hall, and turned toward the large double doors with a dragon guard standing on either side.
Their eyes flashed with hope as I met each of their gazes. They gave me a swift nod and opened the doors for me.
I stepped inside before I could talk myself out of it. Surrounding a long conference table were a dozen people from the four clans. I recognized three of the Dragon Council, Owen’s parents, Shira, a few wolves, Cassandra and a panther from the Panther Nation signing. There were only two people I didn’t recognize along with a few of the Dragon Guard standing along the far wall. With the eyes of so many on me, I wanted to flee with my tail between my legs. I was not a public speaker.
As I met their gazes, some confident, others wary, I realized they all had the same spark in their eyes as the Dragon Guard outside. Hope. They all hoped I could do this.
I hoped like hell they were right.
“Good evening,” I said.
What a lame start.
I fought not to roll my eyes at myself and took a breath.
You can do better than that. The doors closed behind us, and silence lay thick in the room. I stepped closer to the head of the table where five seats remained vacant. I smiled softly as I realized they were for my mates and me. Despite the fact that seats had been left ready for us, there was no way in hell I could sit down right now. Energy sizzled in my veins, and my heartbeat continued to gallop. This was it.
“You all know me, but before we get started, why doesn’t everyone take a moment to introduce themselves,” I said. I wrapped my fingers around the back of the seat at the head of the table.
My mates filed in around me, taking their seats. Maximus and Cash snagged seats on either side of me, while
Owen sat to the left of Maximus and Jett took up Cash’s right side.
“I’ll start,” Owen’s dad said. “I’m Luke O’Connell, former alpha of the New York Bear Clan.”
I smiled and nodded in greeting at Owen’s father, who gave me a wink and a smile in return. The tension in the air seemed to lessen as the others went about introducing themselves. Since I knew everyone but two, I watched the newcomers until it was their turn.
“We haven’t met yet,” a tall, burly man said. He was so large I was sure he was a bear from the moment I saw him. “I’m Jake Reed, Owen’s second.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
The other newcomer introduced himself as Bernie’s son, Ronny. Bernie was one of the panther Alphas I’d met briefly at the Panther Nation signing. He had a sweet smile and a welcoming demeanor, a fact he seemed to share with his son.
“It’s good to meet you as well,” I said. “And good to see you again, Bernie.”
I wondered why another panther Alpha decided to show up, but I assumed it had to do with his new stake in New York. Now that all panthers were united under one name, if something happened to the panthers of New York, the entire Panther Nation would be affected.
As the room fell quiet once more, my nerves began to thrum through my skull. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans before folding my hands behind my back. I was getting fidgety, and I needed to calm down.
“It’s nice to see all of you again,” I said. “I’m not really much of a public speaker, so my apologies in advance.” I grinned awkwardly, and my statement was met with quiet chuckles and amused smiles. At least no one was looking at me like the fate of the world was on my shoulders.
“We all know why we’re here, and I think it’s long overdue. From what I’ve been told, the New York Clans have been warring on and off for centuries, and I think it’s about damn time that comes to an end.” I took a moment to look around the table. “The fact each of you are here means you want this. You don’t want to fight against your fellow shifters anymore, and honestly, I don’t see a reason to. The benefits of uniting far outweigh any cons I can think of. United, our territories will be stronger. Our people will be stronger, and our alliances will be stronger.”
Her Panther: An Urban Fantasy Romance (Silver Shifter Book 4) Page 6