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Frosty
I honestly cannot believe that everyone agreed to the terms and conditions I laid out for the team. I understood the desire for vengeance, but it cannot be allowed to override the need for justice. Harley directly injured a number of people, but others like him may be detrimental to an even more significant number of people right now or in the near future. He is the only one we have identified by name, so yes, he is the number one target on the list. But he will have at least some information that we need to find the others.
Revenge is an excellent motivator, and I am all for using it to maintain forward momentum. The problem with that is that it can also blur the lines between right and wrong. In this case, wrong is killing Harley without the chance for interrogation. When they say that they understand that the picture is bigger than just Harley and the shifters captured in Nantucket, I have to believe them.
The group slowly returns to their places, as they were before the conversation started. If this is what we are starting with—these people here in this room—I need Cato to be the one to order them to his clutch. I have already told them it was the next move, but he needs to be the one to initiate it. Hoping that he reads the signals right so we can talk a little before we head out, I push away from the counter and head toward the doors.
"Those of you who have enlisted for this task force, finish up and make the arrangements you need for your children. You should all be ready to go by this afternoon so we can get started. I am sure Prayer will be willing to send you as soon as you are prepared. Frosty and I will be notifying the clutch of your impending arrival. Do you have any questions before we leave?"
Everyone responds in the negative to Cato's question, and he falls in step behind me. My faith in him and our relationship soars, knowing that I do not have to say the words for him to understand. That thought slides right into the memory of how he understood exactly what I needed in the bedroom as well. The heat flushes through me as I remember his hands and mouth on me, and the flush turns into a shiver. I have no idea what is happening at first when Cato swoops me up, pulls me close to his chest, and carries me to our room. I lean back to look at him, and another spark lights up in my body, seeing his eyes glowing brightly. My heart pounds in my chest when I see the dragon light coming from his. The light that proves I am his true mate.
I am completely overwhelmed with too many feelings at once, and I pull his face down to mine just as he opens the door to the bedroom. It may have only been days since I met him, and less than that, having accepted and committed to mating him, but it feels like I have been waiting my whole life to have him. Cato quickly takes the situation into his own hands, but just as I think he is taking me to bed, I find myself standing on the floor, pressed hard against the wall.
"No time." He growls in my ear as he kisses and licks my neck. "You wanted to get started so soon, and now we have to get started soon. I am not leaving here until I have had you again."
His words have the ability to weaken me to the point that I am barely holding myself up. Cato spins me around so I am pressed hard against the wall with my palms flat. His hand comes around the front of me expertly, releasing my fastenings in order to pull my clothes apart. Though my shirt is still technically on, his hands are roaming over my breast before sliding down lower on my body. My breath catches in my throat, and I could not make a sound if I tried. My body is vibrating with excited anticipation.
"You made me wait a long time to have you, Vixen. I am never going to be denied this body again." His fingers slip slowly around the nub that he knows just how to play to coax my body into flames.
"It was...one day..." I breathe out, unable to find my voice.
"That was one whole day that I could have spent inside you, where I belong. I have claimed my mate, and you will not be doing that again to me, will you, Vixen?" The circles he continues to run with his finger are so slow I want to scream.
I tilt and rock my hips to get the pressure I need from him or maybe to encourage him to move faster, but he holds himself back, maintaining the same slow pace. The heat between my legs has increased to the point where I am molten. He wants the words, and I would love to give them to him, but as much as he can make my body beg, my mind rebels against the manipulation he is using. That is just not who I am, and before he can figure out what is happening, I buck my hips against his hand and flip around, placing his back against the wall.
I place my hands on his shoulder and jump up on him, bringing the hottest part of me into direct contact with his hard, flat stomach. His chest and eyes both flare brighter at the same time, and I wonder if any man could ever be as seductive and beautiful as Cato is. He brings his hand up under me, lifting me and positioning me to take him inside me. I reach between us, undoing his pants and shoving them down to the floor. I grin viciously at him, and I lift myself over him, planting my feet against the wall.
"I have waited to have you too, My Treasure. I waited to be sure you wanted me, not just because the stars told you so or because your DNA or mine decided for us. I waited to have you inside me, where I knew you belonged." I take his mouth with mine as I slide down onto him, enveloping him with my body.
I lower my legs flush against the front of his as his arms raise me up and down on him.
Cato is on fire, moving frantically as if driven by demons. He lifts me once more, and my body trembles. This time, when he brings me back down on him, he thrusts up inside of me at the same time. My universe rips apart at the seams, and I brace my hands on his shoulders while my body squeezes and thrums around him. He makes a sound that is something between a growl and a howl, and he pushes up inside, keeping himself buried deep within as his own release pulses into me.
It takes me several minutes to catch my breath, and I derive even more satisfaction from feeling Cato's body shaking against mine and his chest heaves with his deep breathing. Just knowing that when we are together like this, the passion is as powerfully overwhelming for him as it is for me is far more gratifying and beyond the physical. I want to be able to stay like this with him, but I know it is unrealistic even to try and steal a few more moments. We have to prepare to leave for the clutch. I lean forward, kissing Cato on the shoulder, and he lifts me gently up and off of him, setting me on my still wobbly legs.
I am now in need of a shower, and if I let him in there with me, there is no telling when we might get out. He knows it, too, because he smacks me right across the ass and points to the bathroom. I laugh happily, skipping off in that direction. My heart is full, and my body is sated, but my mind is already wandering off to what is in store for us. In the shower, I scrub and rinse off in record time. When I hop out, I almost fall directly into Cato's arms because he is standing there holding a towel for me. He holds me for just a moment before stepping into the space I had just vacated.
I thought that I had showered quickly, but Cato was out before I had even had a chance to dress. Now that we are actually moving forward with the plan, Cato is just as eager to get on with it. I throw on one of his shirts and a pair of his boxers and spin around to find him dressing in the closet.
"I am going to see if one of the girls has something I can wear or if Prayer will take me by my apartment so I can get my own clothes. Unless you have no problem with the way I am currently dressed?"
"There is nothing wrong with the way you are dressed, Vixen. If we will not be going to Tennessee, I can think of hundreds of things I could do with you dressed like that." He doesn't even blink as he comes back toward me, pulling his jeans back open as he walks.
"Behave yourself, My Treasure. I need to get clothes. You are welcome to join if Prayer will take me. Rhode Island is a bit of a flight from here." I grin at him, knowing how much he hates the teleportation from Prayer.
"I am going with you. Prayer enjoys blowing me up much more than she does you. Besides, I would like to see where you lived before you met me."
I know he doesn't mean it in some chauvinistic way, but yeah, I am still me.
"What do you mean by where I lived? How do you know I will not ask you to leave your castle, fortress, or whatever it is in Tennessee and move to my apartment in Rhode Island?"
"If Rhode Island is where you want to live—in your apartment, a hotel, or a mansion—that is where we'll live. I will just have to make sure Prayer knows so she can blow me up every day so I can stay in touch with what is going on in my territory." There is never even a pause in his thinking when he answers me.
Well damn. Either he knew I was messing with him and wasn't worried about answering me, or he was being serious and demonstrating once again how completely perfect he is for me. I stand up on my tiptoes, and instead of bending down for the kiss, he pulls me up to him. He doesn't try to take it to another level, and a moment later, we leave the room. I am interested in trying something the girls have told me works for them.
"Prayer, Xita, Kass? Can you hear me?" I say it out loud, and Cato turns to look at me questioningly. After that, I am not sure how to describe what happens next. It is not really words in my head, and I do not hear it in my ears. It is more like a sensation. Kind of like I know something, but I do not know how or why I know it. "Feeling" is not the right word. It is more like the way one recognizes a head nod as "yes" even though nothing is said out loud. I place my hand on Cato's arm and look up at him, confused but curious. There is a scattering of thoughts and images in my head, and I understand what I am seeing but am not exactly sure how to explain it.
"I am not sure how accurate this is, My Treasure, but I think Prayer is with Avalon and will be here in a moment. Kassie is trying to help Sebastian come up with a plan of sorts. Xita is running tests and will not be around today. I think she promised Leander a short day in the lab, and they are going to do something together." I look up at Cato, and he grins, cupping my face under the chin.
"It doesn't surprise me even a little. I have watched my girls go into battle and move together the way people do after a lifetime of fighting together. I have seen them react to each other's emotions. Prayer went into a violent rage because Kassie was pissed at Damon. Xita was a sweet, nonviolent, nonaggressive girl who turned away from violence until she went with Prayer and Kassie and saw Marcus was under attack. The night you saw me, your instinct was to kick my ass because I was not helping them. I believe you were drawn to help fight with them—an instinct. Whatever happens in your head is between you and them. I know you will always put them first." He says, placing a kiss on the top of my head.
I can feel the buzzing and see the images racing through my mind, and I know he is right about the connection the other women and I share. His understanding is a little bit off, though.
"They are like my sisters, the family I never had, and the only ones I have ever met that are like me. But you are My Treasure, and you will always come first."
Just as the words leave my mouth, Prayer appears. Avalon is not with her, and I wonder if they are finally comfortable being apart from each other. The image of Avalon searching through computer files with another man is immediately in my head, and I look at Prayer.
"It is been getting stronger since we met you. Avalon believes we were always meant to be together. Xita thinks that our ancestors must have drifted apart, and when they did, they were weakened until you get to where we are now. Orphans that were left behind with no one to tell us who or what we are. I can tell you we gain strength from our mates like being made whole, but the more of us that come together, the stronger our abilities become. Kassie has recently started speaking to Sebastian without speaking out loud. She has been able to speak to him the same way they speak to her. It is fascinating. Xita is excited to see what else she can do, but Leander is having none of that. He says she is putting herself through too much already." She smiles but rolls her eyes.
"I would hate to see anything happen to Xita, but do you not think she should be the one to make the call if she is doing too much?" Cato says.
"If you asked Xita, she'd say yes. But as long as she can get what she wants done, she doesn't mind bending to his constant worries. She is still supplying vials of blood to dose the other betas, enforcers, and even Ben when we get a hold of them. Kassie is starting to go a little crazy with worry for him. As am I. However, Avalon and I are determined to locate others like us. If we are getting stronger when we find each other, that may be a key to locating them somehow." Prayer sounds slightly frustrated, and I can tell how important it is to her.
"I am not trying to cut you off, and you are free to send images to my head all day, but please, would you take us by my old apartment so I can get some clothes and then over to our dragon clutch? Please." I ask, trying very hard not to sound as rude as I feel.
Prayer laughs and winks at me, and we are off.
Cato
You know that you really love someone when you do not understand everything but are still willing to accept it. A lot of Frosty's personality is reflected in her sisters—as she has taken to referring to them—but she is also unique to herself. We do not stay very long in her apartment, and it turns out she really was okay with leaving the place behind. Even when I reassure her that I really am willing to stay here with her, she just smiles and goes about packing. She packs up a bag and grabs a few books, her laptop, and some random boxes that she hands me to carry. She looks around the small but cozy rooms, barely touching anything, and announces she is ready to go. I have my doubts about Prayer being able to find the location of the clutch because I had flown back to Black River from Rhode Island, which is also where Marcus had been.
The majority of us are dragons, and we cannot hide as effectively as the smaller species of shifters, and there are no wild animals we can just blend in with. There will never be a day when someone just ignores the dragon strolling down Main Street. Certain species have no issue with blending in with pets or wild animals, but when was the last time a dragon was seen at the zoo? At the time that I built the clutch, I had no idea in what direction technology would take, but I knew the clutch had to be far from human eyes.
In the mountains of Tennessee, there is a mountain with a strange dark beauty to it and a lovely plateau that is covered in acres of forest pines and evergreens. The first time I saw it, long before it was a state or before this new country had even existed, I knew it was where I wanted to have my forever home. The trees—as the name implies—were green all year round with thick, full, protective branches that blocked the view for miles around. From the top of the mountain, you can look out and see far into the distance. In the center of all this protective beauty is where I built the clutch. In the basement of the clutch is a long tunnel that leads to the peak of the mountain, and when the weather is right, it is a perfect taking-off point for dragons. Prayer doesn't know any of this about my home, though, and I am reasonably certain she has not yet met Eshaq. Did she really think she could find my home using only GPS coordinates?
"Prayer, have you been out to Swift Wind yet?" I ask her, not caring that she will find my concerns comical.
"I have not. I hear it is quite beautiful, though. I cannot wait to see it. Do you suppose someone will be willing to give me a tour?" She smiles innocently at me.
"Prayer, how do you know where you are going? How do you know where you are taking us?" I have to ask because I do not even like airplanes or elevators moving me around, so this whole being blown to bits to be reassembled elsewhere is just not my idea of a good time.
"It is as new to me as it is to you, Cato. All I know is that I focus on a location, and we are there. Are you ready?"
"I am never ready for this," I tell her honestly as I pull Frosty up against me.
When I close my eyes, Frosty is giggling uncontrollably, but when I open them again, she is not laughing but staring open-mouthed at the familiar surroundings of Swift Wind. Until this moment, I had not thought about how much I had missed being home. I have been away for weeks doing whatever was needed to help my fellow alphas. Taking Frosty by the hand, I reach back and grab Prayer's hand as well. I want them to see the room I know they will love the most in my home. If they were impressed with the library at Black River, they will never want to leave the library here. I have spent several hundred years making it what it is now.
"This has been here the whole time, and you have just let us rot away in Black River?" Prayer turns on me with her hands on her hips.
"Did you or did you not just teleport yourself here? I wanted to show you what was here in case you girls ever wanted to visit Frosty while we are busy putting the team through whatever training she has planned." I pull myself up from the floor as I answer her.
"Damn right, we will be visiting. Look at this place." Prayer spread her arms wide, turning in circles to encompass the whole room.
It is a lovely library, to be sure, but after so many years of collecting books and journaling, I needed a place to decompress and rest while working. Like every other room in the place, the library is dragon-sized. Typically, we do not walk around in our dragon form, but when younglings are maturing, they may shift during an erratic mood swing. It doesn't happen often, but once would be enough to bring down the walls of a normal-sized home.
From floor to ceiling, the library is as tall as any other room in the building, standing three stories tall. One wall is entirely covered in windows that are fashioned after the traditional Gothic style. Light and color are diffused throughout the space due to the combination of clear glass at the bottom and stained glass at the top. There are bookcases built into the walls at each end of the room and a spiral staircase on each end that steps off onto a mezzanine with two different levels. Four magnificent chandeliers would have been right at home in the palace of Louis XVI. Calacatta marble covers the floors, and the furnishings are French from the 18th century in muted blues, creams, and golds.
"I will be right back." Prayer says, and before I can blink, she is gone.
"You know what's happening, right? I suggest we leave and prepare for the team's arrival before the girls get here." Frosty takes my hand and leads me away, even though there is no way she has any idea where she is going.
"I need to check in on Eshaq. He is been keeping this place running since I left, and he hasn't complained once, but I need to do a check-in. I want to see if he needs anything since if all goes as planned, I will be leaving him to it again."
I steer her in the direction that Eshaq, Marcus, and I keep our offices. I sent him a text not too long ago saying that we would be coming today, and he knows about Prayer's teleporting, so he should be expecting us. Frosty's eyes bounce back and forth, taking in as much as she can as we walk through the halls. Outside the office, I listen for just a moment when I hear Eshaq verbally shredding into someone. For what? I have no idea, but he is absolutely livid.
"I am going to forgive you for not telling me how wonderful this place is because I live here now. If I were just visiting, I would kick your ass for making me wait. You better check that out." She nods her head toward the door. Obviously, he is being loud enough not to require supernatural hearing. It is almost ear-shattering once I open the door.
"You find Oscar and Soraia, and you bring them here. Both of them. Here. In this office by nightfall. I am not playing around on this one, Aman. I want them here by tonight." Eshaq slides his finger a little harder across the screen than he probably should have, and it flies out of his hand. He stomps back and forth several times before lifting his head and seeing us in the doorway.
"Did he put the wrong sheets on your bed, Shaq?" I ask, sensing the immense amount of tension in him. It isn't that I think whatever he is dealing with is a minor issue. He would not get pissed over something small. But dragon tempers often lead to dragon actions we cannot take back.
"I am really glad to see you, Cato. You could not have picked a better time to come home. I am dealing with a pair of traitors here, and I am trying hard not to skin them alive and hang them on a pike like we used to." As his temper flares, I can see the muscles in his jaw and eyes tense and shift very slightly.
"Hi there! Is it Shaq or Eshaq? Which would you prefer?" Frosty steps away from me and walks straight up to Eshaq.
"Who's asking?" His intense gaze is fixed on her, but Frosty turns to face me with a smile, and my growing rage subsides slightly.
"I am Frosty, Cato's mate."
He shakes his head as though trying to clear it. He meets my gaze, and I assume he recognizes the truth there because his expression changes from shock to delight before he leaps to embrace Frosty tightly. She responds to his embrace with a happy giggle and a hug of her own, and when he sets her down, she lifts her hands to cup his face. I feel a reflexive burst of jealousy, but I wrangle it under control, understanding my mate. Her eyes flash that beautiful white, but her face holds none of the rage or passion that I have seen before. She looks compassionate and understanding in much the way a sister might look when calming a brother.
"Hey, Shaq, whatever it is you are dealing with, we are here now, and we will help you. There is no need to get angry. You can just tell us who did what and to whom, and we'll help you." Between her voice, physical contact, and the power behind her eyes, Eshaq appears to deflate right in front of her.
"If you think you can focus now, maybe you can tell us what it was that irritated you enough to hurl veiled threats at Aman."
"Did it really sound that veiled, Cato? Anyway, we do not actually know who is behind this. Before you yell at me for not contacting you, your hands have been pretty full, and I have had no real specifics to give you." He takes a deep breath before continuing. "I received word that one of the cougar shifter couples that have been staying here for the last two years has been in collaboration with Harley and the boys you have at Black River right now. The only reason I found out at all is that Aman was walking the grounds when he heard them talking. They were saying something about the plan going sideways and," he glanced at Frosty, "the bitches putting holes in the plans. When he heard Harley's name mentioned, he tried to bring them in, but they shifted and took off. I do not know if you've noticed, but cougars move around in the forest a lot better than dragons do, so they were able to shake him pretty quickly once they went into the woods."
Before I can lose my mind, Frosty comes over, presses her back into my chest, and wraps my arms around her. Propping my chin on her head, I take a deep breath of her strawberry and cream scent and allow my nerves to calm slowly. Reflecting, I remember the days when, had I been delivered news like that, the first thing I would have done would have been to level the forest so they had nowhere to hide. I raise my head and look back at Eshaq. His mouth drops open, but he recovers quickly and gets control of his facial expressions as he looks behind Frosty and me.
"Did we come at a bad time?" Kassie asks from behind me.
"Oh, he is pretty, too. Are all the shifters this beautiful?" Xita walks over to Eshaq. She smiles up at him as she reaches out and takes his arm. "Do not be scared, pretty boy. This is to protect you." His head is darting back and forth between the women, and he isn't paying attention, so he doesn't notice Xita pushing the plunger into his arm. He jerks back on his arm, but she has a firm grip, and it never moves as she continues to inject her blood into his vein. His other arm jerks up as if to hit her, and she spins, still holding onto his arm until she has emptied the syringe. She drops his arm and walks back to Kassie and Prayer.
"You can thank her later, pretty boy. It sounds like you might be in need of the help she has to offer. Friends of Harley's are no friends of ours, believe me." Kassie says, and her eyes flash hot.
"What is this she injected me with?" He asks, staring at his arm.
"My blood, of course," Xita says, blinking her eyes at him, probably trying to figure out why he would need to ask.
"Xi, honey, remember we talked about this? Just because it is in your head doesn't mean he knows what it is about." Kassie pets Xi's hair. "In the simplest terms, her blood carries immunities for shifters. Do you remember the poison that Harley and his goons have been spreading around? Her blood is the vaccine that prevents you from being infected."
"In that case, thank you. Cato, you need to understand what I was trying to say. The reason Aman took off after them and tried to capture them was because they were not talking about Harley's plans. They were talking about the person who gave Harley the fucking plans. They know who Harley is taking orders from. They know who set all of this in motion."