With my heart in my throat, I ran to a window in the living room. My breath caught at what I saw.
Thick black smoke rose over the forest. The sun was still setting, but the smoke blocked it out, turning everything dim and eerie. Patches of orange bled through like fire behind a veil.
I tried not to panic when I felt Riggs’ presence behind me.
“Don’t worry,” he murmured, looking out the window. “We have paranormals with water and frost magic in the Clan. And we have Roarke.”
Roarke? What could a dragon do? Didn’t Moonhaven have a fire station?
Riggs stepped back and pulled out his phone. “There’s a fire,” he said. “Can you help? Hold on—I’m getting an update. Okay… the Clan has most of the hot spots out, and the fire is undercontrol, but there’s a section near the road into town where they don’t have any water to pull from.” He shook his head. “I know it rained last night, but it’s not enough, and they’ve already pulled what they can from the air. Yeah. Okay, thanks.”
His shoulders eased slightly as he stared out the window. Smoke drifted over the forest like a dark shroud, making everything look dim and otherworldly, but at least some of it had cleared near the Lodge.
“Was it Barrett?” My hands were shaking, so I shoved them into my pockets.
He sighed. “Most likely. The forest was too damp for a natural fire. If it had been lightning, it would have happened during the storm.”
Even though I already knew the answer before I’d even asked, I didn’t panic at his response. Things were different now. I wasn’t alone and carrying it all on my own anymore. There were a lot of people helping us now.
Which reminded me—“Where’s Orion and the others who came on the plane with me? I haven’t seen them today. Have they settled in?”
“They have. All of them chose to stay with some of my enforcers rather than here in the Lodge. And before you ask, they already ate. They didn’t want to intrude on a Clan dinner.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I knew Orion and the others were just trying to give the Clan space, but it seemed impolite.I’dbeen included, after all.
“You’re Clan.”
He stepped closer. Close enough that I could feel the heat of him at my back. His breath against my ear made my stomach tighten.
“I know you don’t think of yourself that way, Piper,” he said softly. “And I know we have a long way to go, but to me, to all of us, you’re Clan.”
And then he stepped away, his warmth disappearing just as suddenly.
I shivered at the loss.
Chapter 11
Riggs
Nearing seven that evening, I took a quick shower to wash the soot and ash from my skin, changed, and made my way to my office.
After the fires had been put out, Roarke had roared through the forest with a massive barrel clutched in his front claws, refilling it again and again from the nearest lake to douse the last hot spots my Clan couldn’t reach. Once everything was under control, I’d left Alanna well protected and gone out to survey the damage.
Several acres of beautiful green forest were now gone.
It was yet another thing I needed to repay Barrett for, not just terrorizing my mate and cub, but also setting fire to my lands and putting my Clan in danger.
I settled into a chair to work for a few minutes, but caught the scent of a master vampire approaching my door. The hair on the back of my neck stood up again. His power was unreal.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Draven walked in. He was dressed more casually than usual, in a pair of athletic joggers, a black tee shirt, and tennis shoes, much like my usual clothing. It was probably the influence of his new wife, because I couldn’tremember ever seeing him in anything other than a three-piece suit before.
I shook his hand, and he settled into a chair. I took one opposite him. I hadn’t wanted to sit behind the desk with him across from me because I felt it gave the wrong impression for this kind of meeting, so I chose a chair built for a smaller bear and hoped it would hold my weight.
Draven leaned back with his hands folded across his stomach and stared at me unblinkingly. I didn’t interrupt whatever he was doing, and several minutes passed like this in uncomfortable silence. I’d never been to therapy before, but I thought it was possible that this was the strangest therapy appointment ever.
“Your bear is usually very present,” he said suddenly.
