by Amelia Jade
“You guys rented a private plane for the journey?” she asked in surprise.
“Ah, yes. Rented. Exactly,” said the person occupying the seat in front of her.
Garrin, his foot hitting the brakes to bring them to a halt in front of the jet, glanced over at the big man. “Did you buy the damn plane Asher?!” he asked, his tone just as incredulous as hers had been.
“It was simpler that way,” came the sheepish reply.
“You dragons have entirely too much money,” Garrin said dryly, shaking his head even as he slammed the vehicle into park. “Okay, everyone out and onto Asher’s newest toy.”
“It is not a toy,” the dragon shifter protested, but nobody was listening to him.
Mia reached down in front of her, grabbing her sole bag and slipped from the truck. Beside them the others on the strike team were doing the same. Mia glanced over at the various people. She knew some of their names, like the dragons with Asher, and Andrew, and Ava. She also knew some of the Green Bearets who had come along.
Garrin was leading the overall mission. She saw Major Jarvis Eidelhorn disembark from one of the far vehicles, along with Lieutenant Aksel Muller and another lieutenant, one she didn’t recognize.
“Who’s that?” she asked Garrin as they walked toward the plane.
Her mate—she’d begun to stop fighting the use of the term, as everyone referred to them as mates, though she still wasn’t one hundred percent in agreement with it—followed her gaze.
“That’s Kiefer Hartmann. He’s second-in-command of Luther’s company of Green Bearets. Solid shifter.”
“And that,” she said, pointing to another shifter getting out from a large silver pickup, directing several other Green Bearets with him.
“Captain Gabriel Korver, and the sullen one next to him is Corporal Ethan Manning.”
Mia nodded.
“I can’t believe you made him ride with Gabriel. That’s cruelty,” said another voice.
Turning, she glanced upward as yet another familiar face approached. “Why is that, Luther?” she asked.
The captain smiled. “Ethan and Gabriel…don’t see eye to eye so well.”
“Meaning?” she asked, ascending the stairs toward the plane, the others falling in behind her. “Gabriel knocked Ethan out over a girl,” Garrin supplied.
“He what?”
“Gabriel was sweet on her. She was sweet on both of them. It was funny to watch,” Luther said with a chuckle. “I’ve rarely seen someone play two shifters off like that, but they deserved it. They were both being asses, and she fleeced them for every dollar they had at the time.”
Mia laughed. “Good for her.”
The laughter died in her throat as she entered the plane’s cabin.
“Something wrong?” Garrin asked as he pushed in behind her, gently bumping Mia forward. “Holy hell!” he exclaimed. “Asher, who the fuck did you buy this from?”
The dragon shifter muttered something unintelligible and slipped between the two of them and threw himself down into the nearest seat.
Mia couldn’t even call it a chair. The word simply didn’t apply to something so opulent. The brown leather appeared to be full-grain, and she wouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest if the gold inlay on it was real.
Elsewhere in the richly appointed cabin, light shone from gold and all manner of semiprecious stones. There were two of the sinfully comfortable-looking chairs on either side of the aisle, with enough seats to occupy all of the strike team, and then some.
“This is what I call traveling in style!” Luther said as he entered the cabin behind them, his eyes going wide at the real dark wood in the floor and along the walls. Above them jade and sapphire gemstones glittered from tiny little chandeliers, casting bizarre patterns of colored lights on the walls.
In the floor there was hardwood down the aisle, and rich Persian carpet underfoot. Mia had no proof, but she suspected the hardwood had infloor heating. At the rear of the cabin there wasn’t actual seating, but instead just a huge mattress stretching from wall to wall, filled with dozens of little throw pillows.
“This looks like the inside of a harem,” she sneered, shaking her head as the other shifters filed in, all of them making comments at the décor.
“Okay, okay!” Asher said, his voice booming. “I get it. This was the closest, most readily available jet that could accommodate our party’s size. So you’ll just have to deal with the rundown appearance and sit in your tiny chairs. If anyone starts to cramp, they’ll have to brave walking down the aisle.”
There was a round of chuckling as the various aerial shifters and full squad of Green Bearets settled into their chairs.
Moments later the jet whined to life and began taxiing down the runway.
Mia’s hand gripped the armrest tightly, ignoring the fact that Garrin’s hand happened to be in the way, having already been resting there.
“Umm, Mia?” he asked softly, leaning over to whisper it into her ear. “You’re digging your nails into my skin.”
“I’ve never flown before,” she said tightly, fear closing over her at the suddenness of it all.
“Scared?” he asked gently, bringing his free hand across his body to rub her leg.
“No,” she lied.
“It’ll be fine,” he reassured her.
The engines built to a pitch.
“So fast,” she muttered.
“What’s that?”
“It’s all happening so fast. Two hours ago we were at my place having breakfast. Now we’re all on a plane and flying to Fenris.” She shook her head. “A plane. But yet we’re traveling with a dozen or so shifters who can fly.”
Garrin smiled wryly. “It’s a bit of a long flight to fly directly from Cloud Lake to Fenris,” he chided her. “Plus, we’d kind of show up on all sorts of radar and other such things. Might give away the element of surprise.”
He shrugged. “Oh, and of course, you know, ignoring the fact that we’re not actually allowed to take our animal forms outside of our territories. So we’d also be forced from the skies by your government.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “If you’re trying to distract me, it isn’t help—”
Her voice caught in her throat as the jet’s single engine roared to life and they suddenly accelerated down the runway.
“Garrin,” she said, her voice sounding very small.
“It’s okay,” he assured her, resting his big paw on top of her hand.
The plane cleared the tarmac and she looked out the window as the ground swiftly receded below.
“Oh—” she yelped as her stomach did backflips.
Mia closed her eyes, taking deep breaths, trying to steady herself.
After a short time the plane leveled off and she heard a bell chime.
“What’s that?” she asked. “Are we going to crash?!”
Garrin chuckled softly beside her, leaning close to kiss her cheek. “No, it just means that we can take our seatbelts off and move around now.”
“Okay, good,” she said, hopping up from her seat and heading for the washroom at the front of the cabin. She didn’t think her stomach was going to betray her, but one never knew.
“Mia,” a voice called softly to her as she approached.
Glancing in the direction, she saw Ava gesturing to her.
Her eyes flicked to the washroom and back. Her stomach was okay for the moment, she decided. Mia hopped into the chair next to Ava, thankful that the Pegasus shifter had pulled the blind closed.
“What can I do for you?”
Ava shook her head.
“No, I wanted to know what I can do for you.”
She blinked, lost for words. “Umm.”
The composed woman smiled gently. “I can tell something is bugging you.”
“I’m fine,” Mia said. “It’s just some nervousness at flying. I’ve never been in a plane before.”
“I think it’s more than that,” Ava said compassionately.
Mia tried to keep up her front, but it crumbled quickly in the face of the knowing look the female shifter was giving her.
“Okay,” she sighed. “I’m having second thoughts. Seeing all this,” she said, gesturing around at the plane and the occupants within it. “It’s made me realize that I am so, so far out of my depth here.” She looked away. “I should never have forced my way on here.”
“I thought it might be that.”
“So many fighters,” she said. “All of them ready to fight, and die, if necessary, for one human.”
Ava nodded. “Yes, the men tend to get fatalistic like that, don’t they?”
The women shared a smile.
“How do you do it?” Mia asked.
“Do what?” It was Ava’s turned to look confused.
“Work with them,” she said. “Your world seems so male-centric, and yet here you and your team are. All women.”
Ava’s face split wide in a grin. “Oh, that. Well, I’ll let you in on a secret or two. First off, our society isn’t much different from yours.”
“It’s not?” Mia asked.
“No. We’re just better than you at making the men feel like they’re in charge.”
Ava had spoken just loud enough for the rest of her team to hear, and the whole RAF team laughed along with them.
“And on top of that,” Ava continued. “It’s not just my team that are female. The entire RAF, the elite of my race, are all female.” She grinned fiercely. “There are no males. They can’t cut it.”
Mia stared. “Seriously?”
Ava nodded. “Yes. And there are plenty of other female shifters in the other races’ warrior arms as well.”
“I’ve only seen a handful of them in the Green Bearets,” Mia said. “That includes the Turned mates I ran into as well.”
“Ah,” Ava said. “Well, with the bear shifters, the women tend to be much better trackers and scouts. So the majority of their females are deployed to the border of Cadia as Guardians. They leave the males to do the fighting.”
Mia sat back, digesting that information. Until Ava forced it from her, she hadn’t realized just how bad these issues were bothering her. It was good to know that women were valued in shifter society. The question that was left to her though, was why had she been so concerned with it to begin with? And why hadn’t she been able to recognize it was bothering her?
“You look like you’ve got a question on your mind,” Ava said.
“I don’t understand why the place of women in your society, and my place on this mission, is such a big deal to me. I didn’t even realize it was until you forced me to talk about it.”
“It’s because of him.”
“Who? Garrin?” she asked, not following.
The Pegasus shifter nodded slowly. “You two are mates. I can see it. He sees it too.”
“He does?” Mia frowned. “I mean, he certainly likes me and cares for me. But he’s never really mentioned it, or brought the topic up.”
“That’s because he recognizes your hesitation. You’ve yet to accept the fact, though it would appear your subconscious is, hence your concern about living in his world and your place in it.”
Mia’s jaw dropped open at the last words. “Living in his world?”
“He can’t enter your world, dear. Shifters aren’t welcome. Once this is over, even our presence in Cloud Lake will disappear. He has responsibilities with the Green Bearets.” Ava shrugged helplessly. “To be together, you will have to enter his. Which means knowing your place in our society, and hence your worry that that place would be subordinate to him.”
“Oh,” Mia said in a very tiny voice. “I see.”
“It happens fast with a shifter,” Ava told her. “But that’s just the way we are. When we know, we know. I think, if you look deep inside yourself, push your fears and worries to the side, if you do that, you’ll see too.”
“You’ve certainly given me a lot to think about,” Mia responded, not denying the words, though she wasn’t yet ready to face them either.
Admitting them meant that she was tying herself to Garrin. Forever. That was a big commitment, and while it might be easy for a shifter to make, it took her longer to accept. She liked him. A lot. There was no denying that. She felt empty and incomplete when he wasn’t around.
But was it just the giddy “newlywed” phase, or did Mia actually see herself spending the rest of her life with him? Possibly even bearing his children?
Even as she asked herself those questions, images ran through her mind. Fantasy scenarios of her and Garrin building a life together. Of them having a human-style wedding and celebration. Of pregnancy and raising children, side by side, teaching them of their shared heritage. They grew old together, and eventually they passed.
It was a rich life, full of love, laughter, family, and friends.
But was it the life for her?
Sleep claimed Mia before she knew it, her mind still racing with more questions than answers.
Chapter Twelve
Garrin
The wind whistled across his face, but the clear goggles he wore over his eyes allowed Garrin to see without issue. Below them, in the deepening dark of late night, trees whipped by so close he felt like he could reach out and touch them with his fingertips.
In reality they were flying twenty feet above them, and if he tried that he’d fall to certain death. The trees were different than those back home. There were no towering Vallenwoods, trees that soared to heights in excess of a hundred and fifty feet. No maples or oaks either. The trees here were all pines and firs, much smaller but more tightly clustered together than he was used to.
“Garrin.”
He looked to his side as one of the huge dragons in the midst of their formation spoke to him.
“Yes, Dominick?” he said, identifying the shifter by the deep cerulean blue of the scales that covered his massive form.
“Asher has spotted enemy dragons ahead.”
“How many?”
“Two. They aren’t flying together. We will need to hit them both at the same time, otherwise one could likely get away to report.”
“Do it,” Garrin commanded without hesitation.
The trio of Cadian dragons rose out of formation and split apart to pursue their quarry, two of them heading north, the ruby red dragon belonging to Zeke Hawthorn heading south. They swiftly disappeared into the night, blending in too well for even his night vision to pick them out.
“What’s going on?” a voice asked from behind him.
Garrin glanced over his shoulder at Mia. She’d slept most of the long trip across the ocean, and when she’d finally returned to her seat near him, she’d seemed withdrawn, almost distant. She’d been her same self when he’d addressed her directly, but it was clear her thoughts were elsewhere.
He wondered what was going on behind those steely gray eyes of her, their swirling mists barely dulled by the goggles strapped over them. Her strawberry blonde hair was swept back into a tight ponytail, but it still swirled and whipped out behind her like a cape, never settling onto her neck as a fresh gust of wind always tugged at it once more.
Still, when they’d reached the point in their journey where they could take flight, he’d enjoyed watching her face light up as the dragons had taken their forms, the wonder and awe in her expression at seeing such a magical change bringing a smile to him. She’d whooped loudly when they took to the air, and her arms had never left his waist as she sat behind him on the broad back of Andrew’s gryphon. But she hadn’t been completely present either.
He wanted to ask her what was going on. But he couldn’t, for two reasons. First, was the mission. Garrin needed to give it his full concentration, lest he make the wrong decision and doom them all. But just as important was a much simpler reason.
It wasn’t his business. If Mia wished to tell him, then she would, and until she wanted to talk, he would give her her privacy. She deserved it, after all.
“We’re nea
ring the Fenris border,” he said, speaking loudly to be heard over the wind. “They’re going to try and deal with the guards.”
“Kill them, you mean,” she said.
Garrin frowned. “Yes, Mia. They are going to kill them. If we don’t, they’ll try to kill us. That’s why we’ve doubled up some of the gryphons, to keep the dragons free during our entry.”
“Right.”
He sensed hesitation and distaste in her voice.
“We don’t like killing each other,” he said. “I regret each and every death that I have been directly or indirectly responsible for. But it must be done if we’re to survive.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s just I’ve never been in this sort of situation before, where people will die because of something I need to do.”
“They brought it upon themselves by kidnapping your brother,” he said, his voice vicious and cold. “This is not your fault. Do not let their deaths affect you.”
“I suppose,” she said, though he could tell she still didn’t like it.
Ahead of them the sky lit up with a burst of fire. To the left a lightning bolt shot across the sky moments before a cone of fire returned the other way. Garrin pursed his lips as his forces joined battle with the dragons of Fenris.
“That’s going to let everyone know something is up!” he shouted, getting the attention of Andrew. “Our only asset now is surprise, and we’re going to need to get there fast.”
The huge flying beast, half-lion half-eagle, screeched a low agreement, and the huge feathered wings beat harder. They surged ahead, picking up speed as they moved faster and faster. Around them the others simply kept pace, not bothering to question the increased tempo.
“Are we far?” Mia asked, shouting over the increased whistling of the wind as it whipped across their faces.
“No, we’ll be there shortly at this pace,” he called back.