by Silver Milan
“So when did you figure out that Logan was responsible for what happened to her?” Jett asked.
“We knew something was off from the beginning,” Cliff said. “She was acting strange. At first we thought she was a ronin—a lioness belonging to no pride. But her behaviors were erratic. She would leave kills in the forest half-eaten, as if she ate only out of sheer hunger and was otherwise disgusted by the meat. She seemed to transform randomly, as if unable to control her change.
“All these behaviors suggested someone who was newly bitten. She had that new lion fear smell all over her, too. When our scouts finally caught sight of her in the daytime, we realized she had brown and yellow patches on her back, with streaks of white along the flanks. There was only one other shifter like that in our midst. Someone visiting Blue Hurricane from Bounding pride out of Colorado. Logan Kane.”
“So you detained him?” Jett said.
Cliff shifted uncomfortably. “I sent texts back to camp, with instructions to question Logan on the matter. He denied biting her, of course, and said his Alpha father would be outraged I even made the accusation. I had my representatives tell him he would have to remain in our camp until we could capture the lioness for questioning. I didn’t consider him a flight risk, based on his condition, but I told the men in camp to set up a twenty-four-seven guard anyway. Apparently it wasn’t good enough.” He glared at two members of the pride circle before continuing. “The next day I received a text telling me Logan had eluded them and run away. Logan would have only been half healed by that point.”
Jett nodded. “He would be fully healed by now. Which suits my purposes just fine. I guess I’ll be heading to Colorado.”
“Logan is still in our territory,” Cliff said.
Jett cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“You went through Starry Oak territory getting here, no?” Cliff asked.
“I did,” Jett said.
“You noticed the state they left their cabins in?” Cliff said.
Jett frowned. “I did. And I haven’t missed the fact that their whole pride is camped out here with you. You’re telling me Logan spooked them all the way here?”
Cliff glanced at Finn. “Tell him what you know.”
“Two days ago, our scouts spotted a group of five Orions in our territory,” Finn said. “Logan Kane was with them. They had at least one witch among them. I recognized her by the gauntlets of their order.”
“So he’s sold out his own race to the Orions,” Jett said.
Cliff nodded. “He knows his father wouldn’t be able to protect him when we confirmed he’d broken our most sacrosanct law. By betraying us and joining the hunters, he prolongs his life on this Earth, if only for a little while.”
Jett glanced at Finn. “So you abandoned the Starry Oak camp when you saw these Orions?”
Finn nodded. “I made the call to leave, yes. I’d never be able to handle the witch. When you find witches among the Orions, usually they aren’t weak.”
“No, they’re not,” Jett said. “Why didn’t you come to the dragons for protection?”
Finn shrugged. “I don’t like owing dragons any favors.”
“It wouldn’t be a favor,” Jett said. “We’ve signed a treaty. It is our duty to protect the shifters on our borders.”
Finn shrugged. “I’d prefer to rely on my own kind. I knew if I joined up with the larger Blue Hurricane pride, we’d have more than enough to take them. We’ve been sending out scouts since arriving, but haven’t seen any further sign of them.”
Jett glanced at Cliff. “You’re okay with this?”
“We like the action,” the Alpha of Blue Hurricane said. “We need it, in fact… it lets us funnel our aggression toward other things besides each other. We can definitely take on these Orions. Besides, we hate to call in favors from you dragons, because you usually increase the tribute we owe you in later years after that.”
“I didn’t know that,” Jett said. “I’ll have to have a talk with my shifter affairs minister.”
“You do that,” Cliff said.
Jett inhaled deeply. Ariel worried that the Alpha was behaving too bossily and condescending with him. Jett was a king, after all. She wondered if the two men would come to blows.
But when Jett spoke again, his voice was the epitome of calm and patience: “Do you have any further intel on these Orions? Where they are headed?”
“As Finn mentioned, we haven’t seen any sign of them since Starry Oak arrived,” Cliff said. “But I know why you’re asking. It’s doubtful the hunters will attempt a penetrative attack on your domain. Especially with only five of them.”
“Assuming there aren’t more out there,” Jett said.
Cliff bowed his head, conceding the point. “By the way, the Orions are the reason we haven’t been receiving your texts. When we realized the hunters were prowling our woods, we shut down our sat-phones and disconnected the satellite Internet. We were worried the hunters were monitoring our communications. We’ve also hunkered down, going into lockdown. Those of us who work have called-in sick to our various jobs in the city and backcountry. We leave camp only to scout and hunt.”
Jett nodded. “Probably a good precaution. It’s highly unusual for a group of Orions to trespass in these woods. They know your territory is protected by the dragons.”
“Logan must have promised them easy spoils,” Cliff said. “He knows our numbers. The layouts of our camps. With a lightning quick raid, they could be in and out before you dragons could do anything.”
“So what are you planning?” Jett said. “You’re just going to wait here until they attack?”
“I have members of both prides out in the woods now, watching for these Orions,” Cliff said. “When the scouts find them, we’ll make a preemptive attack.”
“I could easily summon a hundred dragons to scour these woods,” Jett said. “There will be no tribute required on your part. The moment the Orions realize dragons are searching for them, they’ll flee.”
“Do you want to risk Logan getting away?” Cliff said.
“No,” Jett said. “You’re right. I’ll stay then, and help you ambush these Orions.”
Cliff shook his head adamantly. “We can’t have a dragon in our midst. A pride can only take so many Alphas. Already tensions are strained with Finn here. If we add you to the mix, we’ll be constantly fighting.”
Ariel could certainly see that happening; despite the calm demeanor Jett was presenting, she had the impression he was seething inside.
“But—“ Jett began.
“You would break our autonomy agreement?” Cliff said. “We have sworn to go to war for you. To pay tribute. To watch your borders. In return we, like all shifters in North America, are allowed to run our pride as we see fit. You would deny us this last freedom? Go against years of loyalty and goodwill?”
Jett’s features hardened for an instant, then he looked down. “No.”
“Leave the Orions and Logan to us,” Cliff said. “This is a pride matter. I’ll text you a photo of Logan’s body when this is over. Will that be acceptable? I promise if it turns out there are far more Orions than we can handle, I’ll get in touch and ask for your help.”
“It could be too late by then,” Jett said.
“I’m sorry, that’s all I can offer,” Cliff told him.
Jett hesitated. He glanced at Ariel with an unreadable expression. “What about her?”
“She’ll be safe,” Cliff said. “She won’t be a member of any attack parties.”
“Assuming she wants to stay,” Jett said.
“She doesn’t have a choice,” Cliff said. “We can’t let her out into the wild, not when she might transform at any time. We must teach her how to control her inner lioness.”
“But there are other prides nearby,” Jett said, looking her way. “Maybe she would prefer to join one of them instead?”
“What’s the difference?” Ariel said. “One group of smelly lions is the same as the next.”
Cliff arched an eyebrow. He seemed amused.
“But at least another pride might not have Orions hunting them,” Jett said.
“The Orions hunt us all,” Cliff said. “You know that. One pride is no better off than the next, not in that regard. If they’re not hunted today, then they will be tomorrow, or the day after. She’s probably safest here with us, since the proximity of you dragons does normally act as a deterrent.”
Jett gestured toward the boarded-up cabin. “You’re going to keep her caged in there all day?”
“No,” Cliff said. “As I told you earlier, she’ll be allowed free rein of the camp when she’s in human form, though she’ll have at least two of us with her at all times. Maybe more, given how aggressive we’ve seen her behave.”
“And when she transforms?” Jett said.
“She must stay in the cabin,” Cliff said. “At least at first. Eventually, when she grows more comfortable with us, we’ll begin allowing her lioness out into the camp as well, also under escort. We’ll allow her to range farther and farther in both human and lioness form, and eventually she can even join us on hunts. When she finally has her beast under control, we’ll give her the option to stay with us, or she can go ronin.”
Jett talked further with the other lions, but Ariel tuned out. All she could think about were the next few weeks. They weren’t going to fun. She would be alone here, training with these lions. But at least she would have something to distract her from Jett. That was one plus to the situation. Perhaps the only one. And when she had her beast under control in a few months, or maybe years—hopefully not years—maybe she could finally move back to the city. And who knew, by that time, maybe this place would feel like home.
But as she gazed at those men and women scowling at her, it was hard to imagine a future here. She glanced at Jett; he looking so tall, so royal among these lions. She truly wished he could stay. But it was probably for the best he was leaving.
At least that was what she tried to tell herself.
16
Soon Ariel was being led away by Jett to the perimeter of the camp. Three Blue Hurricane members escorted the pair at a distance, big muscular men who remained just out of earshot. At least she thought they were beyond earshot, but she wasn’t sure, given her unfamiliarity with the capabilities of her own enhanced hearing.
She and Jett walked by a parking lot filled with trucks, SUVs and jeeps. The vehicles had been meticulously cleaned and polished. Two of the trucks were jacked up, with big monster tires. There were stickers in some of the back windows; a couple stood out: Lions Eat Meat, and Deer Hunter Onboard. A gravel road led away into the woods beyond.
Staring at those vehicles, Ariel allowed her mind to wander, not wanting to dwell on the inevitable goodbye that was coming.
Cliff had apparently taken away everyone’s car keys after the lockdown. Not that the vehicles and the connection with civilization they provided truly mattered to the survival of the pride. When she’d talked to the Alpha earlier that morning, Cliff had explained the lions were fairly self-sufficient. They could hunt for all the food they needed in the woods, making any outside visits unnecessary. Work was purely optional among the members of Blue Hurricane, Cliff claimed, a means of providing for self-worth and self-esteem, and to acquire material possessions. Despite his boasts, it was obvious the pride members weren’t all that thrilled about the lockdown. She had already heard some of the men whining about how boring it was without a job to go to, or a bar they could visit to let off steam after hours. She suspected the rowdy fight she’d heard outside her cabin late that morning was caused by the aforementioned ennui. There would probably be many more such clashes in the days too come. How much of the day could hunting truly fill, after all?
Jett paused near the edge of camp, bringing her out of her errant thoughts. The moment she was dreading had come.
He turned to her, his eyes filled with angst and a lingering anger. “So this is it.”
Ariel lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry for running away,” she said softly. “I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s what I always do when things get tough. I run. I thought I could master my inner beast on my own. Obviously I was wrong. I ran right into the hands of these lions.”
“That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Jett said. “You need them. As much as it might not seem that way to you right now.”
“No, it definitely seems that way,” she said. “I was a lioness for so long today… wasn’t fun. I have to learn to control my beast. But I can tell you right now, it’s not going to be easy.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my two hundred awake years,” Jett said. “It’s that nothing’s ever easy in this world.”
“No,” Ariel said. “I suppose not.”
“I have some news that might help with your nightmares,” Jett said.
She perked up.
“I sent a text to my White Swords this morning,” Jett explained. “Brazen got in touch with the dragon in charge of the human city, who used his contacts to confirm that a mauled hiker checked into the local hospital a week ago. Good news: the hiker is in stable condition. He’ll survive.”
Ariel staggered, the relief overwhelming. She fell against Jett and wrapped her arms around his sturdy frame, hugging him tight, nuzzling her head against his chest.
“Thank you,” Ariel said. “Thank you so much. I didn’t kill him then. I didn’t.” She couldn’t help the tears of joy.
Jett ran one hand tenderly through her hair. “No.”
The joy fled as she had a realization: “But I still attacked him. An innocent. An innocent!”
“Which is why you have to learn to control your beast,” Jett said. “I just hope this news helps stave off the nightmares.”
“It definitely helps,” Ariel said. But she doubted the disturbing dreams would go away entirely. Not while Logan still walked freely somewhere out there. She wasn’t going to tell Jett that, though. She wanted him to feel that he had helped her a lot. Because he had.
She pushed away from him and wiped away the tears. “Well, I guess we should say our farewells, get it over with.” Hard as it would be.
Jett scratched his chin uncertainly, as if there was something he wanted to say but wasn’t quite sure how to put his thoughts to words.
“What’s on your mind?” she asked.
He glanced over his shoulder at the three men who were watching from a distance, and lowered his voice conspiratorially. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to stay with them. You have a choice.”
“What do you mean?” Ariel said. “I thought you agreed with the Alpha dude that it wasn’t safe for the world to have a shifter on the loose who can’t control her inner lioness?”
“You can stay with the dragons,” Jett said. “In Midnight City, you don’t have to worry about transforming.”
“But then I’ll never learn to master the beast inside me,” Ariel said. “And I can never leave. I’ll never taste the fresh air outside that subterranean city again. Never feel the sun on my face…”
“Not true,” Jett said. “You’re forgetting The Hooded Dale. There, in that ring of mountains hidden from the rest of the world, you can feel the sun and taste the fresh air. You can let your beast roam free.”
She shook her head. “But even that will seem a cage, eventually. I need to know that I’ll be able to leave one day. By staying with the dragons, I won’t have that option. Besides, you know I don’t fit in there. You’ve seen how your fellow dragons look down on me.” Though these lions admittedly hadn’t looked at her much differently, so far, but that was probably because she had mauled quite a few of them.
Jett smiled fleetingly. “My subjects will learn to show the proper respect to the king’s mate.”
“Is that what I’ll be?” Ariel said. “Just the king’s mate?”
He opened his mouth, but hesitated.
“I can never be queen, can I?” she pressed.
He s
ighed. “No. My people will never accept a non-dragon as queen. But you would always be queen in my eyes. You know that, don’t you?”
“How can you say that?” Ariel told him. “We’ve only known each other a few days. And we were intimate only once.” Calling what they had together mere ‘intimacy’ was a bit of an injustice to the hot sex they’d shared, but she didn’t want to make this any harder than it was by reminding herself of that fact.
Too late.
“A few days…” Jett said. “It seems I’ve known you a lifetime. Even if you aren’t queen, my people will grow to like you. I know they will.”
“I’m not so sure,” Ariel said. “At least here I’m among equals. Relatively. But if I go back to Midnight City, sure, your people might be able to mask how they feel on the outside for your sake, since you’re king, but inside they’ll always consider me a ‘lesser shifter.’ That fake attitude, those false smiles, I hate it. I’ll take honesty over pretense any day of the week. So no, I doubt I’ll fit in. Hell, there aren’t very many places I do fit in anymore. If these lions can teach me how to control my inner lioness, that’ll open up some doors to me. Maybe I can go back to the city. If I can’t learn how to control it, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Maybe become a lone wolf. Or lone lion, I guess. Ronin, you call it? Forever roaming the woods alone.”
For some reason, his face contorted in anguish when she said those last words.
Ariel had a sudden understanding.
“They won’t let me go, will they?” she said. “If I can’t learn to control it.”
Jett clenched his jaw, but didn’t answer.
“They’ll put me down, won’t they?” Ariel said.
“I won’t let that happen,” Jett said.
“How can you stop it if you’re not here?” Ariel said. “Without interfering in their so-called autonomy?”
“I’ve given Cliff specific instructions,” Jett said. “He’s to send me regular updates on your progress. So I’ll know if anything is wrong. Staying up to date on your progress isn’t interfering with their autonomy…” He looked askance at the three lions again and continued quietly: “You know, you don’t actually have to do this right now. Your training can wait. You can come with me and return to the pride at a later date. When it’s safer. After they’ve eliminated the Orions.”