The final triplet, Elijah, seemed to have inherited the dragon traits. Elijah stalked to the side and slightly behind his brother, his young gaze scanning the area, his hands free. Garrett had no doubt Elijah had shoved the kitten into Tackle’s hands, thus leaving his own hands free to defend if necessary. The trait was inherent in the kid—he’d never been attacked. None of them had.
Tackle reached them and handed his sister the toy. Then his gaze caught on Sam setting out food, and he jumped that way, reaching for a sandwich.
Elijah was slower to reach them. “Did runnin’ hurt your foot?” he asked his sister.
“No.” Lyssa cuddled her kitten closer and laid her head against Garrett’s chest. “It don’t hurt no more, Jah. It’s okay.” She looked up at Garrett. “I bumped my toe, and I cried.”
“I always cry when I bump my toe,” Garrett agreed.
The little girl grinned and kissed his whiskered chin.
“Is that my girl kissing some yucky guy?” Bear stalked their way, carrying two coolers and appearing as powerful as the leader of the entire Grizzly nation should.
“He’s not yucky,” Lyssa yelled, kissing Garrett again.
Elijah shrugged as if he didn’t agree and walked over to accept a sandwich from Sam.
Bear dropped the coolers by Sam and straightened, looking like a full-on bear shifter. Shaggy brown hair almost reached his shoulders, which were wide by anyone’s standards. His chest was a barrel, his hands made for breaking pretty much anything. At the moment, his honey-brown eyes were frustrated. “The movie died. Completely. They sang at the top of their lungs for a hundred miles. A hundred.” Without looking, he snatched the beer Sam tossed to him right out of the air.
“Where’s Nessa?” Garrett asked, turning to look. His gaze caught on Dessie, who stood near Sam, her eyes wide on Garrett. She looked shocked, actually. Seeing him with the toddlers probably was a surprise.
“Here.” Nessa strode up behind Dessie and Honor, no doubt having just used the facilities. The witch had long black hair, violet eyes, and an amusing penchant for creating fire out of the air and throwing it at Bear. “At the top of their lungs, Sam.” She held out a hand for a beer.
Garrett strode toward them, easily holding the toddler. He made the introductions.
Bear’s nostrils flared. “She’s human.”
Dessie frowned.
Nessa slapped her mate’s arm. “It’s nice to meet you, Dessie.” She held out a hand.
Garrett’s phone buzzed, and he tugged it from his pocket, looking down. “I have to take this.” Handing the toddler to Bear, he strode past the rocks and kept going as he answered the video call. “Garrett.”
“Where are you?” Dage Kayrs asked, gaze steady on the camera.
Garrett gave their location. “We’ll be at the camp in a few hours.” He leaned against a rock and studied his uncle. “Is all good?”
The king’s silver eyes revealed nothing. His black hair was pulled away from his face, and he looked closer to thirty than centuries old. “That’s up to you, G. If you can’t negotiate peace with the feline shifters at this meeting, we’re going to war with them. I like the cats as allies, not enemies.”
Not for the first time, Garrett felt loyalties pulling him in opposite directions. The feline nation was angry with the vampires and demons because of Garrett and his blood brothers. Not the Grizzlies, but brothers forged in blood and bone and a shitload of pain, whose mission was to save the world. Seven immortals. In order to prepare themselves, they’d altered the known physics of this world, and the cats were pissed. They had been for years, and they were about to make a move. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Afterward, I’m calling you home. You’ve ridden with the Grizzlies for years, and I know you thought you’d find your mate with them. But enough is enough. You’re needed here with family. The world is heating up, as you know. We’re about to go to war again, even if the feline nation doesn’t attack.”
“I’m aware,” Garrett said, the idea of leaving the Grizzlies feeling like a punch to the gut. They were his family, too. And he hadn’t found her yet. His mate. The one he dreamed about. His gaze lifted to see Dessie sitting on the ground braiding Lyssa’s hair with the little girl snuggled in her lap. Tackle sat next to her, his elbow on her thigh as he ate. Elijah stood nearby, watching her carefully, almost seeming to be guarding Dessie as much as his sister.
A low tug pulled at Garrett’s chest. “All right, Dage. I’m coming home, and I’m bringing a friend. She needs to see the best doctor we have, which means your mate.” He clicked off.
Chapter Six
Dessie stretched beneath the sleeping bag, surprised at how comfortable the ground could be, even though she was freezing. In fact, with gathered leaves beneath the bag, it was more pleasant than the thin mattress she’d slept on at school for so long. The stars twinkled above her. She tried to count them, but her eyelids grew heavy. The autumn air swept across her skin, chilling her even more, but she didn’t care.
The stars were too beautiful.
They’d reached the charming meadow in time to unpack and set up in an area next to outcroppings like the ones earlier. A fire roared in the middle of their small camp, and Grizzly members had bedded down all around them. Other groups could be heard in the distance, each with their own fire. She noted absently that anybody who wanted to get to her would have to go through the entire Grizzly encampment.
Garrett had helped her get settled in and then had left with Sam to cut through a group of pine trees, saying he had a meeting.
What kind of meeting did one take after dark?
