35. Chapter Thirty-Eight

This wasn"t the best idea.

You don't realize how desperate you are until someone you care about is threatened. I couldn"t list the things I"d endure to keep Amara safe.

Even if it meant salivating werewolves.

I could feel their eyes on Amara, not that the man inside of me blamed them, but my dragon was on edge. He had ten different escape routes ready at all times.

Stopping at the edge of the woods, I turned to face Chandler and pushed Amara a few inches behind me. It was barbaric and unorthodox to be so protective of her, but I couldn't help it.

Chandler lifted a quizzical eyebrow.

"I'm assuming you'll all shift to get there faster? I'll fly ahead if you can keep up."

Chandler gave me a lazy look. "Of course, we can."

Turning my back to him, I lifted Amara into my arms, watching the amazement on her face as she watched them shift over my shoulder. I didn"t blame her, because it was fascinating to see someone shift, no matter the species. "Wow," she whispered as they snorted and pawed at the ground. "I've never seen a wolf shift before."

Adjusting her in my arms, I glanced back at Chandler's huge wolf. The alphas were always bigger than the rest. His dark black fur shimmered in the sun. "Don't be too amazed," I whispered. "He can't fly."

Amara turned to look at me with a smirk. "Is this the part where I fan your ego?"

"I'd appreciate it."

"I'm more of a cat person, anyway."

Bending down, I shot into the air, keeping a low flying range so the wolves could stay close. The flight felt shorter on the way back, maybe because the hardest part was finished.

Now it was time to train them on a species with no knowledge about them.

Hopefully, Zerk had made leeway on the sirens.

It was early evening when we made it back. I landed at the base of the mountain where the cabins were located. My parents kept up every part of the kingdom because they couldn't stand the thought of anything looking rundown on their watch.

Which was coming in handy for me.

The wolf pack scurried up seconds later and shifted into a herd of naked men. Amara dipped her head, ignoring the pork-fest in front of her. "These are the cabins. I'll have dragons from the castle bring up food for you all. I think we need to rest and begin training tomorrow."

One of the wolves snorted. "We don't need to train."

Chandler glanced over his shoulder. "We'll train because we don't know what these things are capable of."

"Make yourself at home. Do not stray into the kingdom. My father doesn't know you're here and I'm not sure how he will react. I don't need a war before the real one begins."

Chandler nodded. "Noted. We'll stay here."

"We're up there if you need us. Just howl or ... whatever."

Chandler chuckled. "We can make it up a mountain if we need to. Thank you for the hospitality."

Leaving the wolves to themselves wasn't what I wanted to do. If they stepped foot onto our kingdom they"d be in the same boat as Chandler all those years before. I'd send guards down to the tree line to make sure they didn't wander over.

Wolves were very animalistic. Catching the scent of a female they liked would cause their wolves to go crazy.

Amara cleared her throat. "I'm hungry."

"Me too. Let's go."

Amara's smile slowly faded as her gaze caught something. I glanced over at Chandler's Beta, Roan, staring daggers at Amara.

"Roan," Chandler yelled, authority in his voice.

Roan turned swiftly and jogged toward the cabins.

I didn't like the look on his face or the fact that he was so adamant about not helping us.

Zerk was perched on the edge of the lounge chair outside, with a book opened on his lap and a cup of coffee resting on his knee. "I take it the wolves came. I can smell them," he said, crinkling his nose.

"Yes, they are in the cabins for the night. I've given them strict orders to stay there. If Father sees them, or one of the other guards, he'll be pissed I went behind his back."

Zerk shrugged. "Justifiably. He is the king."

"Thank you for that Zerk."

Standing up, he gave me a sheepish look and tossed the book onto the lounge. "Do you want to know what I learned or not?"

Amara walked out onto the balcony with a mug of coffee. "I do."

Zerk sighed heavily. "Sirens originated from the water. They spent decades there. When humans began to catch them and drag them to land, they began to evolve. Their powers began to grow and evolve as well. Their hatred for other species grew. It seems each siren can hypnotize someone. Which means I'm going to need a way to block it. That's going to be the biggest defense we can offer the warriors that are fighting. A defense against their hypnotizing abilities. And because some sirens have certain powers, and others do not, we can only train for the ones we know."

Leaning against the doorframe, I asked, "Which are?"

Zerk gave me a grim look. "Disappearing. Levitation. Shape-shifting, which is another one I'm a little worried about," he sighed. "Then some can change your mindset. You could be fighting in the battle and the next thing you know you're floating in the ocean."

With each word, my stomach sank lower into my stomach. "So you're telling me they can practically do anything?"

He scratched his unruly head of hair. "They are very powerful. Almost like immortals but without the living forever."

Amara cleared her throat.

"What are their weaknesses?" Amara asked.

The corner of Zerk's mouth tugged into a smirk. "That's one thing on our side, Amara. Fire."

"Let's burn down their forest," I suggested.

"There are children there, Dorran. I know you well enough to know you wouldn't hurt a child."

He was right. I wouldn't.

"So, they get here and the dragon guards soak them with fire?"

"Perhaps," Zerk said. "I doubt they'll come in giving you the chance to do so."

Amara stepped over to me and looped her arm around mine. "That gives us a fighting chance."

I looked down, cupped my palm around the back of her head, and nodded. "You're right, it does, Little Mouse. It also tells me they will have a plan. We need to be ready for anything."

Amara nodded.

"That's all the reading I can do today. I'm going to head home and try to get something ready to block the hypnotism. I'll see you both in the morning."

Amara reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Thank you for all of your help."

Zerk patted her arm. "Absolutely."

Amara waited until Zerk shut the door. "Let's eat. I popped a casserole into the oven when we got here."

She seemed so nonchalant about the revelation.

Whistling to get a guard's attention, I pointed toward the base of the mountain. "Can you all rotate on watching the cabins? I have some wolves staying down there. I need to make sure they stay inside."

"Yes, Sir."

Amara sat at the kitchen bar, finishing her coffee when I walked inside. "What are you thinking about?"

Her blue gaze shifted toward mine. "About tonight. I'm dreading being taunted all night by him."

Stopping in front of her, I placed a palm on either side of her hip and leaned close. "Maybe we can take a long bath tonight, drink some wine and that'll block him out."

"It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

The oven timer went off, but I stopped Amara from walking over and pulled out the casserole myself. "Do you think Roan is going to protect me if it comes down to it? Because it looked like he wanted to kill me earlier."

I slid the pan onto the island beside her. "He'll do whatever Chandler asks him to do."

"Not if we're in the midst of a fight," she whispered. "What if he tries to hurt me?"

I glared at her. "I will be with you during the fight, and no one is going to touch you."

"Promise?"

I leaned forward, over the casserole and whispered, "I promise."

Amara leaned in and kissed me softly. "Are you afraid of me?"

"What?" I asked. "Why would you ask me that?"

Amara pulled a fork from the drawer on the island and dipped it into the corner of the casserole. "There was something in your eyes earlier that looked like fear."

My mind flickered back to the first time we met on the bridge. She looked so innocent, so pure. The fear in her eyes when she saw me looking into her window. "Why would I be afraid of you?"

"Because we don't know what I'm capable of, and look what I came from. Evian is looking more and more like a monster. What if I'm a monster?" she whispered.

Palming the back of her neck, I tilted her head upward, and her bottom lip trembled. "You, Amara, are not a monster. You're kindhearted and strong. You don't let anyone, Evian, whoever, tell you that. If he tries to convince you that you are, block him out. He doesn't know you. I do. All he knows is what he's been taught. You weren't taught that. This is you. Not some kind of monster that he is going to put in your head," I said, tapping her temple. "You hang onto your heart, and you'll be fine."

She smiled softly, a tear racing down her cheek, and she rested her forehead against mine. "I—I think I love you, Dorran."