It took me what felt like an eternity to regain control. After a few slow breaths through my nose, I managed to shove the power back inside myself, and my bears cautiously lifted their heads, their eyes glowing with their shifter counterparts.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I just realized that during the search, Alanna was tense and quiet, and the reasons for that made my bear fly into a rage.”
“Understandable, Alpha,” Taco said, subdued, and the others nodded.
I tried to loosen my tense shoulders by rolling them. “Okay, I guess we’re all sleeping out here in the living room tonight. Taco, if your snoring keeps Alanna up, I will throw you in the pool,” I threatened.
He grinned at me, though there were new shadows in his eyes, and went to grab his bedding. We could all sleep as bears, but some of us were too big and wouldn’t fit in this space together. Akeno would fit if he were here, being one of the smallest bears in the Clan.
After we all settled in, we were too keyed up to sleep, so we stared at the ceiling as we listened to Alanna breathing softly from her crib.
“Alpha, if Piper doesn’t come back, we’ll help you raise the cub.”
“She’s coming back, Alistair,” I said. Just the idea of her not returning set my lungs on fire and made my blood turn to ice. I needed her to come back.Alannaneeded her to come back.
He just sighed and whispered, “Sometimes they don’t.”
I knew where he was coming from, and his history with his mate, but it wasn’t something I even wanted to contemplate.
“She will.” I put every ounce of determination I had into those words—determination to protect her and Alanna, and the hope that one day she would accept me as her bear.
Chapter 5
Piper
After a snowstorm delayed us overnight and into the next day, our chopper finally touched down outside the gates of Dragonspire late afternoon. The gates to the city were closed, and shifter soldiers, too numerous to count, were stationed on the walls as well as at ground level.
Tamaro whistled when he saw the castle in the distance. It was impressive, even if you knew what to expect. “Captain, you sure you’ll be okay without backup?”
I patted his shoulder. “We’ll be fine. Just let us grab our things and go home to your mate and baby girl.”
He nodded, though he still looked like he wanted to insist. It was probably only our months of service together that held him back.
I gave him a hug, and Matteo and I grabbed our bags, then hustled out of the chopper. Before I shut the door, I yelled to be heard over the sound of the blades. “Thanks, Tamaro! I owe you one.”
He waved my words away, and when Matteo and I were clear of the liftoff zone, he took off, heading back to the States.
I spun when I heard a throat clearing behind me. A man stood there, looking grizzled and dangerous. He had a jaggedscar running down one side of his face, a shaved head, and he was big enough to stop a semi.
“Mind telling me who you are and why you’re here?” he asked with deceptive mildness.
“My name is Piper Winstead, and I need to see the Prime.”
“The Prime’s hours of holding court are over for the day, miss. You’ll have to come back next week.”
I shook my head, refusing to be dismissed. “It’s an emergency. I know Everly, his mate, if that helps at all.”
The shifter sighed and took a few steps away, communicating with the keep via a discreet earpiece.
When they responded, he nodded up at someone in the gatehouse, and the gates opened enough for us to go in. “Belos will escort you,” he said, nodding toward another guard coming toward us. Belos was deceptively small, but I sensed the dangerous energy swirling around him. I thought it was entirely possible he was a ninja. At least, I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone had told me he was.
Belos nodded at us and motioned for us to follow him.
As the doors slammed shut behind us, I looked around. The city within the keep’s walls was interesting. It was vibrant and busy, with shifters of all kinds, shapes, and sizes going about their daily lives, even at an hour when most other places would be closing for the day. I spotted various shops and restaurants—a grocery store, a general store, a bakery, a bookstore, and many more—just in the main square. As we moved past the area where most of the food vendors seemed to have set up shop, my stomach snarled in hunger, and Matteo chuckled.
“That dinner at the diner seems like it was a long time ago.”
“Itwasa long time ago. I didn’t think to bring anything with me, and we didn’t have the opportunity to stop anywhere to grab snacks.”
