Chapter Twenty

Awe didn't even begin to describe what Sloane felt as she stepped out of the truck.

There was a huge lawn that was perfectly manicured, with a circle drive that went around an enormous water fountain. A stony cliff face drove straight into the sky, but there were huge windows and a door and peeks of a mansion that appeared out of the craggy stone face. And near the top of that cliff clung a monstrous blue dragon with razor-sharp spikes down his back. His blue wings were tucked close to his back, his long neck was stretched, and his eyes were on the smoke.

Damon.

A tall, red-haired beauty emerged from the front door. "Let me guess. Fastlanders?"

"We brought the problem with us," Silver said. "Clara Daye?"

The woman nodded her chin slightly in confirmation.

Holy. Shit. All of her research hadn't prepared her for actually seeing the dragon, or his mate. Sloane felt starstruck, and scared, and excited, and nervous, and worried for Captain, all at once.

"The mountains are dry right now," Clara said, gesturing them inside. "It's a dangerous game they're playing with Wreck."

Silver countered. "It was a dangerous game for Damon to put Wreck in our Crew in the first place. I'm Silver. This is Corey, Ace's mate." She waited until Clara finished shaking Corey's hand before she gestured to Sloane. "This is what has Captain fighting."

Clara lifted her chin higher, and a slight smile took her lips. "You're human."

Sloane scrunched up her face. "I never really thought that was an issue until recently." And then she let off a soft, nervous laugh. She pointed her finger to the perfectly-still dragon above them. "There's a dragon on your house."

Clara bit back a smile. "Let's get inside, lest he spray us with rock when he launches."

"Will he launch?" Silver asked.

"He hasn't yet, which tells me the Fastlanders haven't killed each other. He likes to let new Crews work their issues out themselves, and only steps in if he's needed. The Fastlanders…" She let the rest trail off into silence as she held the door open for all of them to pass.

"The Fastlanders are a disaster?" Silver guessed.

Clara laughed. "Pretty much, but I've never seen my mate so…hopeful."

"Hopeful?" Corey repeated softly as she looked around the enormous entryway with the dark wood accents peeking through rock, and the towering chandelier, and the white marble floors.

"His dragon needs more lately."

"Needs more fighting?"

"No. He needs more territory to his mountains. The Fastlanders are the experiment. He's had his eye on Gunner as an Alpha for a long time."

"Gunner is an idiot," Silver ground out.

"I disagree," Clara said, leading them into another room with twenty-foot ceilings.

A long, deafening dragon roar sounded, and Sloane clapped her hands over her ears at the pain it caused her eardrums. Corey and Silver did the same. Clara just stood there, stock-still, watching them.

A couple of stones dislodged from the ceiling and fell to the floor near their feet, but still, Clara didn't move. She waited until everything settled before she gestured formally to a sprawling eighteen-seat table made of what looked like some ancient tree.

Silver grabbed Sloane's hand and followed Corey to the seats, settling Sloane between her and Corey.

Clara made her way to an enormous wine fridge and pulled out a bottle. She looked at the label and then brought it over, opened it like a pro, and poured it smoothly into five glasses. She passed each one out, set the fifth aside, and then took a sip of hers. "I've been saving this one for a special occasion."

Sloane looked to Silver and Corey, but they looked as shocked as her. They were a special occasion?

Corey said, "Hallie is going to be so upset that she missed this."

"She's almost here," Clara said easily.

And sure enough, a knock sounded at the door, echoing through the cavernous room.

"Mason, will you get that?" she asked.

The Beast Boar himself stepped from the shadows in the corner of the room and nodded at her, his eyes glowing blue, then made his way to the front door.

And sure as shit, Hallie came in a few moments later, looking as shocked as Sloane felt.

Clara gestured for her to sit down and handed her the fifth glass, and then stated, "Lucia likes red."

Sloane had heard that name before. When she looked at the others, they were already looking around the room like she would appear out of thin air. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood as Clara made her way to a wine rack, drew down a bottle of red, and then busied herself opening it.

Silver explained, "I asked her to come."

"Why?" Hallie drawled out, and Sloane didn't miss the unease in her tone.

"Because I have a theory about her vision, and I want to run it by her. Figured this was a good place to meet up, since Lucia is Damon's right-hand woman now."

With her back to them, Clara nodded. "It is true. Beaston has taken a step back to give his daughter more space for her powers to grow, and Damon has begun to trust her powers."

"When will she be here?" Silver asked.

"I have been here all along," a voice emanated from the same dark side of the cavernous room that Mason had emerged from.

Clara smoothly turned and offered a glass of red to Lucia as she passed.

Sloane was taken aback by the pretty woman. She had hair the color of raven's feathers and bright-green eyes, the same shade as Hallie and Corey's when they were riled up.

"Nice to see you again, Maker," Hallie gritted out, and her eyes flashed with a wave of fury as she watched Lucia Novak make her way to the table with her wine.

Lucia smiled. "I know a part of you hates me still," she said. "I know your mate hates me too. Yours as well, Corey. But you should both ask me if I regret it. And then ask your bears if they regret their existence."

Hallie and Corey both glared at Lucia, and then exchanged a glance. It was Corey who spoke. "My bear does not regret her existence, and after watching what has been done to Captain, I am grateful for what I am. So…" She lifted her eyes to Lucia. "Thank you."

Lucia nodded, and then looked to Hallie expectantly.

Hallie still looked at the striking woman like she hated her. "I'm still traumatized by Turning my cousin and being Turned unwillingly, so forgive me if I'm not to my thank-you stage quite yet."

"You will be," Lucia assured her. "You'll thank me in three months' time, on the edge of Fastlander territory, when it is just you and me and the trees. You'll be carrying a child in your belly that you just found out about and haven't yet announced to your mate. He'll be a bear, and fierce just like his father, and just like the bear I gifted you. You're going to name him Arden. And you'll be able to protect him as he grows…because of the bear I gave you." Lucia arched her dark eyebrows and held Hallie's gaze. "Because of that pregnancy, you won't be able to Change during the Holland War, and you will have to depend on the Fastlanders and the weapons they can provide to keep you and your unborn cub safe."

Chills.

Chills.

Chills.

"Three months?" Silver asked. "Can you see the timing more clearly now?"

Lucia shook her head. "It's at least three months. I can see Hallie can't Change, but I can't tell how far along she is. I only see her from behind. She's got a rifle. She's screaming orders. I keep trying to move in my vision, but I'm stuck behind her. It's like I'm…" Lucia inhaled deeply and shrugged up a shoulder. "I'm a part of it, but I can't tell if I make it there in time or not. I can't see the Warlanders. I can't see Damon. It happens fast."

"Is there fire?" Hallie asked.

Lucia shook her head. "I don't know. I see everything close up. I don't know if Wreck makes it there in time."

Silver huffed a laugh. "Wreck would kill us himself."

Clara swirled her glass of wine. "Have you figured out what he is yet?"

"Dangerous?" Corey guessed.

A smile stretched Clara's lips. "Very. It's better to be with him than against him."

"Pretty sure he thinks we're against him," Hallie said. "That's what the fire in the mountains says."

"He was protecting Gunner," Silver said softly.

Hallie frowned. "What?"

"He came when Gunner was being charged by Captain and Owen. When we were trying to get away before Gunner put a stupid order on me."

"What order was he wanting to put on you?" Hallie asked.

Silver sniffed and shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know. Not going back there to find out until I fix this."

"By fix this, you're referring to Sloane Middleson?" Lucia guessed.

Silver chugged her wine, which probably cost more than Sloane's entire annual salary, and leaned forward on her elbows, staring right at Lucia. "The lioness you saw behind Ruger—what did she look like?"

A deep frown knitted Lucia's dark eyebrows. "Same as any other lioness. Gold eyes. Big. Powerful arms, massive paws."

"Any scars?" Silver asked.

Lucia frowned again and got a faraway look to her eyes, then shook her head. "None that I can see."

Sloane watched a slow smile stretch across Silver's lips. "Good."

"Good why?" Hallie asked.

"Because I know every Holland lioness who would engage in this war, and they are all scarred to hell. I don't think Ruger is being chased by a Holland lioness in your vision, Lucia. I don't think he's being chased at all. I think he's being protected."

"By who?" Corey asked.

Silver slid her gaze to Sloane. "By his mother."

Sloane didn't understand. "Wait…" She frowned, mind racing. "Okay, so you see Ruger? My son, Ruger?"

Lucia nodded. "I started seeing Ruger in my visions when you and Captain reunited."

"So, you see him with a lion." Sloane looked around. "I don't understand." And damn the panic in her voice as she admitted that aloud.

"Has Captain told you about the war with the Holland Pride?" Corey asked.

"A little, but we don't really talk about shifter stuff. We just…" She looked around, her panic wrenching up. "We just live more in the human world, I guess."

"Okay, it's okay," Hallie said, holding her hands out to reassure her, but it wasn't working.

Sloane stood up so fast, the heavy chair behind her fell backwards and hit the marble floor. "So you see something with Ruger? Is it bad? Is he okay?"

"Hey," Hallie said, hands out. "It will be okay."

" You will be okay. With your baby Arden and your rifle, but what is my kid doing?" she asked Lucia.

"Running," Lucia said seriously.

Horror filled Sloane. "Does he look scared?"

Lucia blinked slowly and lowered her gaze, then nodded once.

"Okay. Okay. So…can you see Captain? Is he protecting him?"

Lucia licked her lips and shook her head. "I see Captain fighting lions, but he isn't near where I see Ruger."

"Okay, and there is a lion. How do I protect him from a freaking lion ?" she asked, her voice wrenching up so loud, it echoed through the cavernous chamber.

The others grew silent, and she tried to understand the loaded expressions they exchanged.

"How do I protect him?" she demanded louder.

It was Silver who answered. "You become the lioness."

Those four words made no sense in that order. That word combination was incomprehensible. She locked her arms against the table. "I just…become the lioness."

"I'm allowed one Turn in my lifetime," Silver murmured. "My mate is a shifter. I didn't have to use my one Turn on him."

"I can Turn her too," Corey offered.

"Yeah, but Lucia sees a lioness," Silver pointed out.

All of them were staring at Sloane, and what was she supposed to say? "Why would I become a lion?" she demanded. "I like being a human, like my son."

Corey inhaled deeply. "Look, you and Captain are doing your thing—"

"Were! Gunner made him forget me!"

"I can handle Gunner," Hallie assured her.

Corey continued. "Your timing isn't great. We're on the brink of war, and your man is a huge weapon for the Fastlanders. He's the Fastlander Fighter. He's maimed all of our mates recently, so I physically can't even imagine what he would do to someone who threatened the people he loved. But if you want a piece of his life before the war? You have to be able to protect yourself and your son. If not, you just have to wait until after the war and hope…"

"Hope what?" she demanded.

Corey got really quiet and looked anywhere but at Sloane.

"Hope what?" she asked, louder.

"Hope he survives," Lucia said, filling in the blank.

She felt slapped.

Sloane felt like someone had reared back and slapped her. She took a step back, her thoughts racing like mad. The thought of him not existing anymore was unbearable. It was unacceptable.

"So my choices are what?" she asked, wanting to know exactly what the proposal was.

"You stay human and go back to your life, date a normal human man someday when you are ready, and Ruger grows up outside of shifter culture. Human. You continue your normal human life."

"Without Captain," she interjected.

After a few beats of silence, Hallie nodded and said, "Without Captain."

"And the other option?" she asked.

It was Corey who answered. "You let Silver Turn you. You'll do it here, in the lair of the blue dragon, where you can transition safely. We will be there for you. We will teach you about control. And when the war happens, in three months to a year's time, you will have a part of you that is capable of protecting your son."

"From the shifter shit I will expose him to," she whispered. "I just want to be clear."

Lucia leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, then agreed. "From the shifter shit you will expose him to."

"All so I can be with the man I love?"

Clara canted her head, and her eyes were full of some emotion Sloane couldn't fathom. "We've all had to make sacrifices, Sloane. But given the chance to do it all over again, I bet all of us would do it the same way."

"Safe life, or deep life," Silver said. "There's your two options. Go find your safe human man someday and live a mediocre life, or feel the devotion of a mating bond, and see what your animal, and what Captain's animal, will do when your cub is threatened."

Her mind was racing in circles.

She couldn't breathe! This was an impossible decision, and she couldn't do it right now. "I need time to think," she whispered.

Another roar rattled the room, so intensely loud that even Clara lifted her eyes to the ceiling.

Sloane checked her phone, but her messages to Captain still hadn't gone through. She couldn't even check on him if she wanted to.

"Is Captain all right?" she asked.

"Yes," Clara said. "If not, Damon would've taken flight."

And Sloane didn't know why she did it, but she sent him another picture of them, even knowing she was blocked.

This time she sent him the one of her and him and Ruger in a selfie at the ice cream shop after last week's game. He wouldn't see it, but it was her favorite picture of her boys, and in this impossible, overwhelming moment when so much was uncertain, she felt better sharing a picture she loved with the Captain she used to know.