Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Now that Billy was feeling better, he was literally itching to be close to Amalie. The lion kept brushing up against his insides, pushing him to go find her. To take her in his arms and convince her that she belonged to him. And only him. Forever.

It was a lot to come to terms with, but the lion inside him had no doubts. No uncertainty. No excuses. It knew Amalie was their mate, and it didn't understand why they were waiting to tell her and establish the bond that would never be broken. His human side just didn't know if that's how magic users did it. Although he'd seen his brother's mating with Meg, that was still so shiny new, Billy didn't know what to think about it all.

It had been just after noon when Amalie had brought them back to the mortal realm. He'd had little choice but to leave her with her grandmother, but now that he'd touched base with Rich and Meg, he wanted to get back to her. But he couldn't very well explain why. Rich's mating was so new, and Billy had only met Amalie days ago. Their relationship had grown from the first moment, but nobody had seen it happen. Nobody outside of the two of them knew what had gone on between them, though Billy guessed Gavin probably had a pretty good idea.

"Are you two hungry? Did you have lunch?" Meg asked after Billy and Gavin both reached for the last scone at the same time and ended up compromising and splitting it.

"We had breakfast before we left the fey realm," Gavin told her, "but that really feels like it was a long time ago. Even though we got here in the blink of an eye. The magic Amalie commands is really remarkable."

"All the more reason for you to report on it directly to our Alpha and the Admiral," Lester commented dryly. Gavin nodded at his uncle as he scarfed down the half of the scone he'd shared with Billy.

"I'm going to feed you two," Meg said, rising from her chair. "It's obvious you all have a lot to discuss, and Rich can fill me in on anything I need to know later."

"You really don't have to go to such trouble," Billy began, but Meg shushed him with a smile.

"It's my pleasure. I have plenty of food in the house now that Rich is stocking the cupboards with his own appetite in mind. Honestly, you guys can really eat ." She chuckled as she headed for the kitchen. "I'll be back in a jiff."

"Thanks, Meg," Billy called after her. "You're one in a million."

"That she is," Rich said, his eyes following his pretty mate as she left the room. Rich's smile was a bit cocky, but Billy thought he understood now that he had Amalie in his life. Finding one's mate was a special, special thing.

Meg fed them, and Billy felt himself revive a little more with every bite. Apparently, traveling Between did leave one a bit drained, though he hadn't realized it at first. Maybe it was like that other magic the Marsh Witches had done on him and his brothers—it took a while for the effects to be felt. He'd have to ask Amalie about it when he saw her next.

"I think I'm going to invite Amalie and her grandmother over for dinner," Meg said, and Billy almost shook his head. He'd been woolgathering, which was very unlike him.

Billy looked up to find Meg watching him with a bit of suspicion in her eyes. He figured he might as well get her on his side, so he nodded at her.

"Thanks, Meg," he said in a low voice as a bit of interest sparked in her eyes. But she didn't have time to follow up because Lester spoke next.

"That's a good idea," he said. "I'd like to meet the Portal Master in person."

Billy suppressed his lion who wanted to growl at the older man. Billy knew Lester was talking strategically, but until Amalie agreed to be his, Billy would be like the proverbial lion with the sore paw. And he was startled to find he was a jealous lion, at that.

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what had just happened and what it might mean for the future. They took breaks every now and again, and Lester went off for a while to make some phone calls. Billy was sure the older man was setting up the debrief for Gavin. Billy also wondered why Lester hadn't tried to talk Billy into attending the same meeting. Maybe the older man was learning to respect the brothers' boundaries when it came to dealing with the Clan.

Billy would make his report to the Admiral directly, and that would have to do. Gavin could deal with the Alpha, Sam Kinkaid. Billy might be thawing a bit toward Gavin and even Lester and his son, Liam, but he'd never met the Kinkaid Alpha and didn't care to. He and his brothers had gotten along just fine without the rest of the Clan in their lives all this time. To make friends with them now would be just too little, too late, as far as Billy was concerned.

When they'd really needed help—when their parents had died, leaving them as teenage orphans—the Clan was nowhere to be seen. Now that they were successful, skilled operatives, they didn't need the Clan. The reverse might be true, but that really didn't impress Billy or his lion. Nope. Not at all.

*

Amalie was thrilled to learn that she and her grandmother had been invited to dinner at Meg's house. Amalie knew Billy was there, and she…missed him.

It was as simple—and as complicated—as that. In the short time they'd known each other, he'd become important to her, and she missed him when he wasn't near. That probably meant something really significant, but she wanted to know what he was feeling and if their whirlwind relationship could go further. Maybe all the way to forever.

She sighed dreamily as her grandmother joined her at the doorway. Luckily, Amalie had left part of her wardrobe behind when she'd moved out to try her hand at a normal life in Ohio. She was wearing a sundress she'd bought but not worn often, and it was perfect for dinner on a summer evening at a friend's house.

They walked the few blocks to Meg's place and were greeted at the door by Meg and her new mate, Rich. Amalie's Gran handed him the dessert platter she'd put together from the baking she'd been doing earlier in the day, as if she'd known they were going to be invited out tonight. Gran had a way of knowing these things, and Amalie should have realized when she'd seen Gran baking several batches of her delicious pastries that they were going to come in handy at some point soon.

Meg escorted them into the dining room and made small talk while Rich put the box of pastries on the sideboard. The aromas of roast and other savory dishes made Amalie's mouth water.

"It smells really great in here," Amalie observed, smiling at Meg.

"Thanks. I can't take credit for everything. Rich helped with the roast. Shifters have very acute senses, and they seem to make everything in life a festival of texture, scent, taste, and all the rest. Rich and I have only been together a short time, but I'm already learning how it works. Everything he does has a little something extra," she said, smiling at her mate. The love between them was so obvious and so…heartwarming.

Billy came into the room, his hair damp as if he'd just come from a shower. He greeted Amalie's grandmother first, as was only polite, then his eyes met Amalie's, and her heart went pitter-pat. She wanted to jump into his arms, but that wouldn't do. Not in this setting. Not unless she wanted to shock everybody.

The doorbell rang, and Rich went to answer it. He returned with two more blond men, one a bit older than the other. Amalie watched as the mood in the room changed.

"Mrs. Talridge, I believe you may have seen Liam around the development. He led the units that helped in the recent battle. This is his father, Commander Lester Kinkaid, who commands all those troops," Rich said by way of introduction.

Gran reached forward to shake Lester's hand. "I've heard of your base out on that little island. You're doing good work there, Commander," she said, holding the older man's hand tight for a moment as she peered up at him. "I see two other spirits in your eyes. Spirits of great power and wisdom." She released his hand. "Ah. Now, I understand why you are the one in charge out there." Gran nodded to herself while the older man just looked somewhat contemplative. She then turned to Liam. "And you, young man," she addressed him. "I know my sisters have already done so, but I would like to add my personal thanks for what you did the other night. To both of you," she included Lester in this, looking back to him, and then turned away to seek her seat at the table. Gran was done with the introductions and ready for the next part of the evening, it seemed.

Bemused, and not at all surprised by her Gran's behavior, Amalie smiled at the two men, shrugged and joined the rest of them in seeking their seats at the table. Amalie was seated between her Gran and Billy, which suited her just fine. Under the table, she reached for his hand and was gratified when his big hand immediately enveloped her smaller one. The touch felt so…right. So perfect. So…exactly what she had been missing.

She looked up at him. "I missed you," she said softly.

She didn't think the others could hear her, but maybe she'd miscalculated as both Rich and Gavin turned to look at them. She let go of Billy's hand and busied herself with her napkin as Meg came to the table with various dishes. Rich went to help, and although Amalie offered, she was told that they had things under control and she should just sit and chat.

The conversation remained somewhat general during the meal. The shifters all ate with a gusto she was coming to expect from them, and the food was remarkably delicious. Amalie answered Meg's questions about her life since leaving the neighborhood, and they caught up with each other's activities since the last time they'd met. Small talk. That's what they were doing. It felt natural and very comfortable, even though Amalie didn't know the newcomers, they participated when the conversation turned to current events around the world.

The men were very knowledgeable about foreign political situations and natural disasters and other things like recent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. It was her grandmother who put it all in perspective for Amalie with her typical bluntness.

"Most of those serious geological phenomena in recent years have not been natural," Gran stated, attracting every eye at the table. "It was the Venifucus , of course, trying to harness the cataclysmic power to open a portal strong enough to reach the forgotten realms."

"Yes, ma'am, we are aware of several instances where their agents were thwarted in exactly those kinds of situation, both on the West Coast and in Iceland, among other places," Lester said, surprising Amalie, "but how did you hear about it? Those battles were mostly shifter events."

"Pish," Gran replied, waving her hand. "It's obvious enough, now that they are attacking people out in the open. I'm not the first witch to put two and two together. What's this about Iceland? I thought the tigers had that place under control, but now that you mention it, there has been more volcanic activity than usual in that region in recent years."

"You are very well informed, ma'am," Lester said, wiping his mouth with his napkin before launching into a tale that held Amalie spellbound.

He spoke of tiger kings and a palace made of ice hidden in a magical crevasse. Of political intrigues and brother killing brother in a power struggle of epic proportions. Amalie hadn't realized things were so dire among some of the big cat shifters. She'd never really thought much about shifters at all, she realized, other than to wonder what it must be like to share your soul with an animal spirit.

"I tell you all of this in the spirit of cooperation," Lester said as he drew his tale to a close. "This all happened a few years ago and is almost common knowledge among shifters. There's no reason I can see that you shouldn't know about it, and every reason for you to be aware of the struggles we've had in the lead up to our current state of affairs."

"This all starts to make sense now." Gran drew everybody's attention as her voice sounded through the room. "We've only seen a very small part of the overall picture until now, but with Entwistle's actions against my granddaughter, it's pretty clear to me that the Demon Wars have begun."