“Here. You look like you could use this. It’s hot cider with rum. It helps with pre-battle nerves.”
Seraphina stepped away from the group that was assembling to save her children to thank Aimee. She took the peculiar cup that smelled quite delicious. And as her gaze fell to Aimee’s distended stomach, she realized a fact that had escaped her earlier attention.
The bearswan was Arcadian. She had to be. Aimee wouldn’t be able to shapeshift while pregnant. That was one of the worst drawbacks of being a female Were-Hunter—you were locked into your base form for the duration of any pregnancy. Should anything force them to shapeshift while they carried another life, both mother and child or children would die.
Gods, as bad as her own fears had been while she carried her children, she couldn’t imagine the uncertain horror Aimee must deal with. At least she and Maxis were the same species. How could an Arcadian bear stand being with a Katagari wolf?
How had they even courted? Or conceived? Common thought was such couples were sterile. But then, their very existence defied all natural order. Given what Lycaon and the gods had done to them, there was no telling, really, what a Were-Hunter could or couldn’t do.
“You’re mated to a Katagari?” The question was out before she could stop it.
Aimee’s features turned to stone and all friendliness evaporated from her eyes. “Careful where you go with your next words. My mother was Katagari. My father Arcadian. And they died as bonded mates.”
That stunned her. Bonded was the highest declaration of love for their species. It meant the mated couple had made the mutual and conscious decision that rather than let death separate them, they chose to combine their life forces into a single cord. Whenever one mate died, the other would follow them into eternity.
Very rarely did Arcadians make such an unbreakable pact. It just wasn’t practical. And even though Maxis had asked it of her and she’d refused him out of fear, she’d always assumed it would be even more rare for the Katagaria to make so strong a commitment. Most Arcadians believed them incapable of comprehending it. To her eternal shame, she’d refused to bond with Maxis, hoping that one day death might free one of them to find a mate of their breed.
But that was before she’d had his children. They and his absence had taught her an appreciation for her mate that she wished she’d had before he left.
“Did their differences ever bother you?”
Aimee’s features softened as she placed her hand over her stomach and lovingly caressed the unborn children she carried. “What bothered me was having to hide and lie about my true form because of the prejudices others hold. Having to hide and run with my parents and brothers before we were granted the license for a limani. The fact that my parents had to live in secrecy from even their own families, or risk harm to themselves or us.”
Seraphina could only imagine. The gods knew her tribe had never been kind to Maxis. The only thing that had saved her children was the fact that they were Arcadian born and her skills with a sword had forced the ridicule to stop. No one wanted to go against her battle skills or face her maternal devotion.
Even so, Hadyn had borne the brunt of it. It’d forced him to grow up much faster and harder than he should have. And there was a deep-seated bitterness in his eyes that tore at her heart every time she caught his unguarded expressions. He’d never been fairly treated among her people and she knew it.
Just like his father.
For that alone, Seraphina could almost hate her tribe.
Yet Aimee’s words gave her comfort that maybe Hadyn would one day find a woman who could love him as he deserved to be cherished. “Thank you, Aimee.”
She inclined her head. “Any time.”
“May I ask another question?”
“Sure.”
“Did…” Seraphina paused as she tried to think of a gentler way to phrase her question. “Does it ever bother you that Fang is a wolf?”
“Because I’m a bear or an Arcadian?”
“Either.”
Aimee shook her head. “No. It never mattered to me that he was Lykos Katagaria. Though I didn’t want to admit it, I lost myself to that face the first day I saw him. But it scared me how others—and in particular, my mother—would react to our union. And it terrifies me what they might do to our young once they’re here. My mate comes with some rather scary enemies. And not just in our community.” She cast her gaze to her massively large brothers. “But the good news is, I come from a scary, over-bearing family.”
She laughed at the bad pun. Then turned serious as she remembered why she was so harsh against the Katagaria. Those memories still woke her up at night with terrors that never faded. “But you never had the Katagaria tear apart your family, either.”
The anger returned to Aimee’s eyes. “No. I watched my older brothers and parents be viciously slaughtered because of lying Arcadian bastards and their needless hatred and intolerance for their Katagaria brethren … and my brothers they slew were Arcadian. But they didn’t want to believe it.… Honestly? I’d rather lie down with the animals at night. From my experience, they’re a lot less likely to go for my throat than their human counterparts.”
Seraphina swept her gaze around the small group gathered on the third floor of Sanctuary as they prepped a rescue for her children.
Different species.
Katagaria and Arcadian.
All working together to save two teens they’d never met and knew nothing about. Each prepared to bleed and die for them.
She couldn’t fathom it, and she knew in her heart that her tribe would never do something like this to save strangers, especially Katagaria children.
Aimee had a vicious point.
Not wanting to think about it, she was just about to take a drink when three more wolves came up the stairs to join their raiding party, leading an attractive human female … each of them carried a small child in their arms. Three boys and one girl, ranging in ages from about a year old to around six or so. But then given the fact they were Were-Hunters, the children could be older than that. Unlike their Apollite cousins and humans, Were-Hunters aged much slower, and what might appear to be a six-year-old Arcadian Were could easily be as old as ten or even eleven or twelve.
Sound asleep, the babies were nestled in the arms of the adults.
Fang came over immediately to take the girl from the sole human. “What are you guys doing here?”
The human kissed his cheek. “Like big brother would let you face this alone. Or leave me by myself at the house with an imminent threat of any kind, even though I’ve got two packs of wolves denned in every house in and around my block? Get real. This is a blood alert, so here we are until it’s cleared and everything’s safe and quiet.”
Fang laughed. “Well, I’m glad to see you. Maybe you can talk Aimee into going to bed. She’s not listening to me and she’s been up for almost twenty hours straight.”
Tsking, the human walked over and hugged Aimee. “What have I told you about resting those puppies?”
“I know. I know. I was going to bed when all this happened. It’s hard to sleep when my family is up here planning to go break badass on a horde of Sumerian demons who were created to eat gods for fun.”
The female wolf who held a small infant boy had the same chiding expression on her face. “You need to rest, Aims. C’mon. Let’s put these pups to bed and Bride can ride herd on you for a few hours.” She handed the infant in her arms to Aimee, then took the girl from Fang. “I’ll be back in a few to gear up for battle.”
Fang kissed her cheek. “Thank you, Lia.”
Seraphina froze as the small group drew near her. The voluptuous, auburn-haired human offered her a kind smile. “I’m Bride Kattalakis. Fang’s sister-in-law and mate to his brother Vane, the dark-haired cutie next to him.” She brushed her hand over the head of the sleeping eldest boy. “This is our son, Trace, and the girl is our daughter, Trinity.”
Seraphina inclined her head to her. “Nice meeting you.”
“You, too.”
The female wolf had a strange hair color that was white-blond at the roots and slowly darkened to black at the ends. Her brown eyes were every bit as friendly. “I’m their brother Fury’s mate, Angelia. Call me, Lia, though, everyone does.… The two younger boys are ours. Asher is the older, blond one, and the dark-haired baby is Ryan.”
She must have had a peculiar expression on her face because the next second, Lia laughed. “Yes, I know. Fury and Fang are Katagaria. Vane and I are both Arcadian Sentinels. And all the children are Arcadian … so far. But since both Vane and Fury changed their base forms during puberty, we’re waiting to see if the kids remain Arcadian or switch in a few years.”
Her eyes widened. “They can do that?”
Aimee laughed. “Yes. We can when we have mixed parentage. I started out as a cub and switched myself.”
Now that was something Seraphina had never known about or considered. Could that have happened to one of her children? Edena had been acting very peculiar and secretive. Seraphina had foolishly thought it might stem from a crush on a male she didn’t care for. But that might explain some of her daughter’s more irrational behavior …
Could Edena have switched from Arcadian to Katagari and been too afraid to tell her about it?
She wasn’t sure what upset her more. The fact it could have happened or that her daughter wouldn’t trust her with the truth. That Edena would be afraid of her own mother judging her for something the child couldn’t help.
As the women drifted away, Fury, who had white-blond hair similar to Blaise, came forward. He shifted Trace in his arms. “Don’t worry. You’ll learn our names quick enough. And I’m easiest to remember as I’m the one most likely to say or do something really stupid or offensive. But don’t be offended. I’m socially awkward and mentally stunted.” He wrinkled his nose in a very wolflike gesture. “Once they learned I wasn’t Arcadian anymore, I was harshly ejected from my Arcadian pack before I got fully mannered up. Lia and Bride keep trying to school me on how humans behave, but I’m learning it’s really hard to teach an old wolf new social skills. So don’t let me hurt your feelings. I don’t mean nothing by it.”
She smiled at him. “Same here. I don’t really understand this time period or … how all of you do things.”
He ran his gaze over her wardrobe. “Fourth century BC? Steppe tribe?”
“Amazon. Not sure what you mean by fourth century BC.”
He stroked the sleeping baby’s back in a very human, fatherly fashion. “What emperor or warlord got on your nerves the most?”
“Philip of Macedon, and his son Alexander.”
He let out a low whistle. “Yeah, you’re ancient. You pro-Rome, or hate their guts?”
“Not my favorite group.”
“Fair warning, then. There are two of them in this city, Roman and Valerius. They’re on our side. Try not to kill them. Especially Val. Once you get past his assholishness, he’s actually a decent enough guy. And his wife’s one of Bride’s best friends. She’d be real put out if you killed him, which would upset Vane and, well … you know, shit rolls downhill.”
Seraphina laughed. Yes, yes, it did. “Thanks for the warning.”
He inclined his head. “Let me go tuck my nephew in with my sons and I’ll be right back.”
Isolated again, she returned to listen to the small group continue to discuss the best way to attempt a rescue for her children and not get eaten by gallu in the process.
For the first time, Seraphina understood how Maxis must have felt when he’d found himself thrust into her tribe after their mating. How completely alienated he’d been, and how foreign the surroundings and customs and faces. Because she’d been born among the Amazons, she’d always known their traditions. Known their language and felt a part of them. How they fought and went to war.
Yes, she’d been orphaned after the attack on her village, but she hadn’t been the only survivor that night. Her aunt’s Amazon tribe had welcomed them in with open arms and great compassion. Each of them had been given adoptive families and treated as natural-born daughters.
From the moment of Maxis’s arrival in her village, they’d received him as an outsider and had never allowed him to forget the fact that he wasn’t one of them, and would never be fully accepted among her race.
When Maxis had first seen the number of Drakaina tents, he’d slowed his horse and worn a look of feral reservation in his eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid.”
“Not afraid. Only disquieted.” His gaze had gone to the collection of cloaks and shields her tribeswomen displayed outside their tents that were made of the tanned scales and skeletons of past dragon kills they proudly flaunted as war trophies. “What is the penalty for killing an Amazon in combat?”
“None, so long as it’s fair and open. Murder, however, is punished swiftly and severely. I wouldn’t advise doing that. No matter how tempted someone might make you.”
And when they’d neared Nala’s grand tent where a row of dragon skulls were mounted on dragon-spine posts, he’d arched a brow at her. “I think I know that guy.”
She’d laughed, until she realized he wasn’t joking. “Seriously?”
“Aye, but it’s all right. I owed him money.” He’d winked at her.
His sense of humor and extreme intelligence had always caught her off guard. It was what had always charmed her about her mate.
Maxis was never what she expected.
“Are you all right?”
She swallowed hard at Samia’s question that dragged her away from her memories and back to the present. “Thinking about the past.”
Sam nodded with a sympathetic smile. “I heard you were recently awakened from a curse where you were all turned to stone? What’d you do?”
“Fought for the wrong set of gods, and were too successful at it.”
Sam sucked her breath in sharply. “That would do it. So who did you piss off?”
“Zeus.”
“Ouch.”
Seraphina didn’t comment on that as her gaze dropped to the low cut of Samia’s shirt where a part of a double-bow brand mark peeked out.
The symbol of a Dark-Hunter—they were immortal warriors who’d sold their souls to the goddess Artemis to fight in her army and protect mankind from the Daimons who preyed on human souls to elongate their lives. Since they hunted the cousin race that had birthed the Were-Hunters, they were normally avoided or considered enemies to her people.
How odd that Samia would end up mated to a Were-Hunter.… That had to be the strangest union of all.
“Are you still in service to Artemis?”
Sam shook her head. “I got my soul back.” She jerked her chin toward Dev, who was shoving at his twin brother. “It’s an adorable werebear who owns me now.”
“And you’re happy?”
A wicked smile spread across her face. “He’s a very special kind of happiness.”
“Meaning?”
“He loves to tease and nettle me to the brink of murder, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. He is everything in this world to me.” She wandered back to Dev to give him a hug from behind.
A part of Seraphina envied Sam that easy camaraderie with her mate. She’d never really had that with Maxis. Some of it was the fact that he was so much taller and more massive than her, even in human form.
But mostly it stemmed from the fact that she was acutely aware of the their “other” differences. The fact that he stood out radically from other males.
Even in this group.
Both he and Illarion, and Blaise. While they weren’t the largest in their human incarnations, there was something more feral and innately powerful. Something about them that warned they were much more than they seemed. They exuded a quiet, lethal predatorial confidence that other species lacked.
An air that said they were the pinnacle of the food chain and that anyone else could be added to their menu at any time.
At their sole discretion. And there was nothing anyone could do to stop them.
He also moved with an exquisite grace. A fluidity of muscle and sinew that was both beautiful and unnerving—like watching a sleek jungle cat stalking its prey on the savannah.
Maxis was the perfect killing machine.
It was what he’d been conceived for. All he’d been created to do. Since the dawn of time, his species had existed for no other purpose than to kill and breed. To guard and protect.
To survive in solitary seclusion, under the harshest of environmental conditions, hot or cold, feast or famine. While other creatures needed social interaction to save their sanity, dragons didn’t.
Females were biologically driven to find males twice a year to spawn and carry on their species. Unless a male caught the scent of such a fertile female, they were content to remain celibate, and reclusive.
Alone for centuries.
Being merged with humans had changed that. Arcadians, because they possessed human hearts, formed communities and tribes or patrias of dragon clans, as did many of the animal-hearted Katagaria.
But Maxis had remained solitary even after his transition.
Until they’d been designated as mates. With her alone, Maxis had been unbelievably attentive and affectionate. Insatiable. And true to his dragon’s blood, he’d made her his own sacred object that he’d held and guarded, and dared anyone to threaten or harm. She’d been the one thing he’d kept diligent watch over.
He seldom even slept whenever she was with him. No one could come near her that he didn’t watch them with careful suspicion, ever ready to attack if they said or did anything to hurt her.
And the entire time he’d lived with her, he’d sought out her company, and made her feel as if she were the most beautiful and precious woman in all the world.
Given that absolute hunger he’d possessed for her, she had no idea how he’d managed to leave and return to his monastic ways. Even now, he kept glancing at her with that familiar, scorching heat in his eyes that said he wanted to find a secluded nook for them … kept holding his mouth as if he were tasting her already. It left her breathless and starving, and for that, she could almost hate him.
She had seriously underestimated how much impact his presence would have on her. How traitorous her body would be once it was this close to his. Dear gods, it was unbearable to be under that golden scrutiny again and not have some way to taste those lips. To run her hands over his long, languid body and enjoy the wealth of tawny skin …
Did all mated couples feel like this? Did they have the same overwhelming need whenever they were together?
But then Seraphina knew from experience that the other Arcadian Draki didn’t respond this way to their mates. In fact, the females of her tribe, even those already mated, had been drawn to Maxis in a way that had viciously pissed her off. Any time they thought they could get away with it, they’d cornered him and called it “curiosity” over the fact that he was Katagari and they’d never been that close to a Katagari Drakos before outside of battle, especially one in human form. They’d claimed they only wanted to see if there was any difference between his kind and male Arcadians.
It was that very thing that had led to their first real fight when she’d returned to her village from a hunt to find him gone. Her tent empty.
No sign that he’d been there at all. Something that was a viciously rude public slap in the face, as it was expected for mates to receive their warriors on their return. He should have been there with the rest of the males and children and elder villagers to celebrate as the returning war party rode in a parade to Nala’s tent. Since Seraphina was the queen’s champion, he was supposed to be waiting outside Nala’s tent to greet both her and Nala.
As her mate, his absence was well noted, especially since they’d left a space of honor for him to stand.
Instead of cheers, smirks, and snide innuendoes had greeted her.
A quick interrogation of her neighbors and she’d learned Maxis had left her village just after her raiding party had ridden out. No one had seen him since.
Angry and concerned, Seraphina had headed into the woods, with her tribe’s wild speculations about his activities ringing in her ears. Everything from he’d gone hunting humans, to he was practicing the black arts and conjuring foreign gods.
Because they were mates, she had no problem picking up his scent to track, even though it was days old. It was the same ability that had enabled her to locate him here in Sanctuary.
Unless Maxis blocked his scent and used his powers against her, Seraphina could find him with ease.
That was also the first and last time she’d seen him as a dragon.
Without thinking, she’d tracked him into a dark cave where he’d taken refuge to await her return. Because it was a full dragon’s den where he’d placed his own belongings without her knowledge, she hadn’t realized it was his.
Until that moment, she hadn’t given any thought to the fact that Maxis had come to their marriage with nothing more than the dragonslayer’s sword he’d taken from his brother’s killer, the clothes on his back, and the horse she’d given him as a wedding present.
As she’d stumbled upon the sleeping dragon, she’d unsheathed her sword, intending to kill the beast. His ears had twitched as he detected the subtle sound of metal scraping.
With the fierce rumble that said he was preparing to let loose fire, he’d opened his eyes and turned toward her with a vicious, feral growl. His deep blue scales had turned bright red—a battle color … then green as he focused his gaze on her and relaxed. He’d folded his wings down to lay against his back, and slid his tail beside his rear left foot—a dragon’s position of peace and acceptance.
“Sera?”
The shock and horror, as she realized this was what the gods had mated her to, had claimed her so fully that she really didn’t remember the next few minutes. Only that when she returned to her senses, Maxis was human and holding her against his chest as she sobbed violently. Something that wasn’t in her nature.
“I’m so sorry.” He’d kissed the tears on her cheeks as he sought to soothe her. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Once the shock had worn off and her mind worked again, she glared at him.
He’s a dragon. A full-blooded, horrific dragon.
A dragon.
Yes, she knew how stupid that sounded. She’d known what he was.
But knowing and seeing …
It was so different.
He was one of those awful, murderous things that had brutally slain her entire family. Her mother and sisters. Without regard or mercy. One of the animals that held no care or concern for her people. Who preyed on them as if they were cattle.
As if they were nothing.
And as she’d glanced around the dark cavern and saw his trunks of treasure and lair—the things he valued—she’d realized that this was what he considered his home.
Not her tent. Not her tribe.
Not her.
This was his home. His den.
He’s an animal. The pile of straw on the floor attested to that. Straw like what her horse slept upon. No bed or pillow. Or blanket.
He even had a trough of water.
Disgusted, she’d shoved him away and risen to her feet as the brutal reality slapped her hard.
His expression shocked, he stood. “What’s wrong?”
She didn’t know where to begin. The question wasn’t what was wrong. It was what was right. “You were supposed to be in the village to welcome me home. Why weren’t you there?”
He’d laughed derisively. “Really didn’t want to see the lot of you returning home with the bloody hides and scales of my brethren dripping from the backs of your horses as you dragged them through the village. Damn sure didn’t want to celebrate your sneaky victories and bloodshed.”
Sneaky? That had only made her fury grow. How dare he dismiss the danger in what they did! “I’m your mate!”
Heat had darkened his deceptively human cheeks. “And I’m yours! You just took one look at me in my real body, and screamed for an hour, and then went into shock at the sight of me. How would you have felt had I done that to you the first time I saw you naked?”
“It’s not the same!”
“Isn’t it? Or better yet, what if you’d come here to find human skulls and bones littering the floor and decorating the walls? Huh? How would you react to human fat burning as oil for my torches? Yet you left me alone in your village that’s held together with the remains of dracokyn. And that includes the tent where you sleep. Do you really think it’s escaped my notice that the posts of it are made from the bones and tusks of drakomai? Or that the candles that burn throughout the village are made from dragon fat? You think I don’t know that smell?”
Unwilling to cede the point since he was right, she didn’t bother to contradict him. Instead, she moved on to something he couldn’t argue with. “Your place is at my side!”
“Aye, at your side. Not beneath your feet to be trod upon. I am not an Amazon male who caters to your every whim and begs for a kind word from you. You do not own me. I am not your property! And I will not allow you to treat me as such!”
“And I will not allow you to embarrass me in front of my basilinna or my tribe. I’ve worked too hard to reach my position—”
“As a murderess?”
“Dragonslayer.”
“Nay.” He shook his head. “Sneaking into a lair while a dragon sleeps and cutting his throat isn’t noble. It’s murder. You don’t hunt. You tiptoe to slaughter.”
“And what do dragons do? You attack sleeping villages! Is that not murder?”
“No, we don’t. We don’t attack, ever. Katagaria are not drakomai. Do not insult me by mistaking my brethren for one of them. They are a different breed entirely. Made by an Arcadian king and a psychotic god who wanted to please him. Merged with Apollites by dark magick. ’Tis the bloodline of your kind that taints those poor bastards. Drakomai are not raised to attack unprovoked. We don’t hunt for any reason except to eat, and we don’t prey on man. That is not in our natures. So long as you stay out of our territory and dens, we leave you in peace.”
“You lie!”
He shook his head. “We are solitary beasts who only war when confronted.”
She’d gestured at the trunks of treasure that surrounded them. Gold and jewels that glimmered in the dim light. “And what of that? Are those not your war trophies?”
Sincere shock had marked his handsome features. “Hardly. I have no need of treasure or money. Those are things given over to me for my protection. I hold them in trust for their rightful owners.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Believe it or not, that’s up to you. It’s the truth. Everything I own, I placed in your tent.”
“And why weren’t you in my tent on my return?”
He’d stared at her in sullen defiance.
“Answer me!”
His eyes had snapped the same fire he could have easily breathed all over her. “You don’t take that tone with me. I don’t speak to you in such a manner and I demand from you the same respect I show my mate.”
Fury had simmered deep in her and she’d wanted to beat him for that. In Amazon culture, the men bowed down to their women and were, in truth, subservient to them. But she knew he didn’t come from that kind of environment. And she did her best to understand and respect it.
Yet it was difficult when it went against everything she knew.
“Fine, then. Please, explain to me why you humiliated me today.”
He’d snorted in shocked disbelief and repeated her words back at her. “Please explain how I humiliated you?”
“By not being there when I returned. You showed a total lack of regard for me and my standing in the tribe. And they all laughed at me because of it.”
His jaw had gone slack. “I didn’t know that.” His brow furrowed by earnest regret, he’d closed the distance between them and cupped her cheek in his warm palm. “If this is true, then I’m so sorry, Sera. I had no idea that was your custom. No one told me. I swear, I never meant to hurt you.”
It was so hard to be mad at him when he looked at her like that. When he touched her with such loving sincerity. She felt her anger wilting. But worse than the anger was the underlying hurt, and their mockery that stung much deeper than she wanted to own up to. “Why weren’t you there?”
Then she saw it. The bitter agony in his eyes. His own hurt and embarrassment. “In the future, if you will call out to me on your approach, I shall make sure to be in attendance on your arrival.”
“But you won’t stay in the village while I’m gone?”
He’d shaken his head.
“Why?”
His gaze had burned into hers. “You know why, Sera. My speaking it aloud will only anger you, and solve nothing. And we both know the only thing you can do is leave … which you won’t do.” He’d placed a tender kiss to her lips. “I don’t wish to fight with you any longer. Come, let me make amends for my unintended slight. I promise, by the night’s end, I’ll earn my way back into your good graces.”
And that he had. He always did. No matter how much she wanted to stay angry at him, he had ways of making her smile. Of melting her ire until she was laughing and happy again.
That was his greatest magick of all. His ability to wash away her pain and drive out her demons with nothing more than a teasing smile, warm hug, and tender kiss.
Worse, he’d been right that day. The members of her tribe had always been too free with their hands on his body. Even though they knew he was mated and off-limits—that he couldn’t do anything had he wanted to—they’d constantly tried to corner him so that they could compare him to a “regular” man. Get a “hands-on” comparison.
To Maxis’s credit, he’d done everything he could to avoid them and their cheap caresses. Everything he could to fit in and please her. To make their union work.
If only I’d met him halfway.
Seraphina winced as the guilt of it settled hard on her shoulders. She’d asked things of him that were so far beyond tolerance, she still couldn’t bear to think on them. Things he’d suffered.
To please her.
She hadn’t deserved him and she knew it. Unfortunately, that realization had come too late. She’d listened to the wrong people and allowed their venom to color her heart. Had allowed their beliefs and opinions to interfere with her relationship with Maxis. Instead of trusting herself and her husband, she’d trusted them.
And learned the hard way that too many people spoke jealousy under the guise of “truth” and “good intentions.” When honestly, their only purpose was to make others as miserable in their lives as they were in theirs.
And instead of having a devoted husband at her side when her children had been born, as Aimee would have with Fang, she’d been completely alone.
The loss of what should have been was what made her saddest of all. Her pride and blind stupidity had robbed them all of the family life they should have had.
But there was no way back. And she had no one to blame for it except herself.
“So how do we find where they’re holed up?” Dev asked Fang, distracting her from her thoughts.
“I called Thorn, and because they’re gallu, he’s clueless. Since they don’t fall under his jurisdiction, he doesn’t deal with them and knows nothing bout them. I tried to call Sin and got no answer, so I left word with Kish to tell him what was going on. He said he’d have him call me ASAP.”
Dev glanced over to his younger brother Kyle, who’d joined them a short time ago. “What about Kerryna? Doesn’t she know them? They are technically her family, right?”
Kyle made a rude bear sound. “Um. Yeah. They’re hunting her so they can enslave and use her to awaken her evil sisters. Needless to say, she tends to keep as far away from the gallu as she can. Kind of like you and Rémi. As much as she loves us, she’s not volunteering to help with this fight. And if we ask for that favor, her hubby will tear our heads off and make us bearskin rugs. Charonte are ridiculously protective that way, especially when it comes to the mother of their young. Xed basically chased me out of the club for even trying to talk to her about the gallu.”
Dev snorted. “But she can give us intel, right?”
Kyle gave him a droll stare. “Let me reiterate. He chased me out of the club … with barbecue sauce. While smacking his lips and calling my name.”
“And?”
Fang answered for him. “Give the kid a break. They basically locked her up from the moment of birth, so she hasn’t really interacted with them … and while she’s born of the gallu, she’s not really one of them. From what she’s said in the past, they’re a separate beast.”
Seraphina felt sick at where this was going. And how slowly. They didn’t have much longer before Nala would return here and demand she leave.
Or worse, discover that she’d lied and Maxis was here, after all. In retrospect, maybe she shouldn’t have come. She could have screwed this up on her own.
Really, she didn’t need any help at all.
Off to the side, Maxis passed a look to Illarion that said the two of them were speaking in their heads. Then he locked gazes with her. “I might be able to find them. But it will require my mate to trust me and do something that’s repugnant to her.”
Her eyes widened at that. “What?”
Illarion took his arm and vigorously shook his head no.
Maxis ignored him. “It’ll be fine.”
Illarion rolled his eyes. He mouthed a silent curse at his brother.
Blaise burst out laughing, then stopped as he realized the rest of them weren’t in on their private conversation. Clearing his throat, he slinked off to a corner to examine a spot on the wall, even though he was blind.
Seraphina scowled. “What’s going on?”
Max hesitated as he swept his gaze around everyone gathered there. This motley hodgepodge was his family and he didn’t want to risk losing any of them. “I can track the children.”
“There’s no way,” Sera said affirmatively. “They have them shielded. If it was possible, I would have done it already.”
“I can find them.” His tone held absolute resolve.
Her doubting expression was as comical as it was beautiful. But then she’d always underestimated his abilities. Most creatures, to their detriment, did. “How?”
“If you’ll trust me. Completely. I can do it.”
Fang cocked his head as if he now understood what was going on. “You’re part Oneroi?”
Max snorted at the assumption that he was one of the gods who raided human dreams so that they could siphon off emotions. “Don’t insult me. I’m not Greek. I was captured and dragged to Arcadia. It was never my homeland.”
Fang’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?”
Illarion nodded. While I’m a son of Ares, we’re related only through our mother. Max is a lot older. His powers much stronger and more akin to those of the gods than a typical Were-Hunter.
Even Dev was awed. “So what are you, then?”
“Xarunese.”
“Bless you,” Dev said drily. “You need a Kleenex? Benadryl?”
Max sighed heavily at the bear’s fucked-up sense of humor. “Land of Xarun. Much like Atlantis, the gods took issue with it. What little remains sits at the bottom of the Black Sea. I’m one of the very few who survived the sinking.”
“Ouch.”
Max inclined his head to Kyle for his verbalizing the pain of that particular nightmare.
“So wait a minute.” Dev cocked his head as if he just realized what Max was telling them. “You’re not Greek or Apollite … how exactly are you Katagaria?”
Carson Whitethunder, the hawk who was also their resident vet and doctor, passed a smirk to Dev. He and Aimee were the only two creatures here who had ever seen the mark that was branded on Max’s thigh. And only because they had treated his injuries. Aimee when Max had first arrived one heartbeat from death, and Carson decades later after a couple of their grittier confrontations with enemies who’d tried over the years to destroy the Peltier family. “Haven’t you ever wondered why, in over a hundred years of living here, Max has never stepped a single foot outside of this building?”
Dev snorted. “We’re all freaks here. I don’t judge.”
Max glanced to Seraphina as he remembered the less than pleasant way she’d handled the news when she’d first learned what that mark was. Why he bore it.
He’d never intended for anyone here to learn about it. But it was time to come clean.
“Remember that you’re all bound by the Omegrion laws. None of you can attack me on Sanctuary grounds.”
“Sheez, boy,” Dev groused. “What are you? The Dragonbane, or something?”
Max inclined his head to him, and as soon as he did, it sucked every bit of oxygen from the room. Half the shapeshifters around him took a step back, as if terrified being near him would taint them.
All humor and friendliness evaporated from Dev’s eyes as he gaped. “Are you shitting me? You’re the sole reason for the war between the Katagaria and the Arcadians?”
Illarion stepped between them. It’s not that simple, Dev. Calm down.
Dev curled his lip. “Not that simple, my ass. You murdered Lycaon’s heir in cold blood and started this bloodbath between our people, and you’re telling me it’s not that simple?”
Max felt that same sick knot in his stomach he got any time someone saw his mark and recognized it.
He was the most hated among his people.
No, not his people.
They were Greeks and Apollites.
He wasn’t. He’d never really been one of them. Forever a hated outsider. An interloper who’d been mistaken for them since the day Dagon had captured him and mixed him in with their ancestors.
Unable to bear their rejection, he met Sera’s gaze and waited for her to condemn him as well.
Seraphina choked on tears as she saw the familiar agony in that golden gaze. The reservation and acceptance of the fact that he didn’t belong to anyone.
For the first time ever, she saw him.
Worse, she saw herself in the way the others reacted as they shouted and accused him of crimes and misdeeds. Judged him without a hearing or without understanding. Like her, they had accepted him only a few minutes ago and now they were attacking him, without listening. They were so busy condemning him over the stories they’d all been told that none of them even asked him what had happened.
They acted as if they knew.
But none of them had been there. With the exception of Maxis, none of them had been born.
Yet they were the experts, with all the answers.
“Enough!” Fang shouted, holding his hands up to get the others to settle down. “We’ll deal with the Dragonbane issue after this is over. Right now, we need to focus on getting the kids away from the gallu before they convert them. Regardless of anything else, they’re innocent in this.”
His eyes haunted, Max held his hand out toward Seraphina. By the expression on his face, she could tell that he expected her to react the same way she had the first time she’d learned he was the Dragonbane.
To refuse him completely and shirk away as if he were poison.
This time, she did what she should have done then—she took his hand and smiled up at him. “I trust you, Lord Dragon. Lead me to your lair.”
But as he closed his hand around hers, a chill of foreboding rushed over her spine. With this one action, she was either saving all their lives …
Or consigning them to death. And not just them. Her children were counting on her to not screw this up. Yet what choice did she have?
There was no one else to turn to.
Yes, Maxis was the most hated enemy of her people. But he was the father of her children. And he was the only chance she had to save them.
Please gods, let this be the right choice.