She let go of his arm at the exact moment there was room to progress and then stepped in front of him.
“Want me to go first?” Ulric said, pointing at Nessa. “I know shifters don’t like people at their backs. Plus, this is your last chance to run. I can go before you, if you want?”
“Is it always like this?” John asked. Definitely bewildered.
Nessa stopped on the stairs to look back at him, her brows raised.
“Is it always this…?” John didn’t finish the sentence, probably not sure what words to put with it.
Ulric laughed and stepped in front of the powerful shifter. “Yup. It defies logic, but we areincrediblyeffective in battle.”
Nessa winked before continuing up the stairs.
Ulric entered the doorway of the jet after Nessa and held his breath. Two steps, three, no one entered behind him. Jessie looked up from her seat, her brows lifted in question. Austin’s face was blank, his alpha mask that hid his thoughts.
And then John appeared in the doorway, hands in his pockets, and stepped across the threshold.
They had him. If he hadn’t run by now, he wouldn’t. He’d be sucked in like they all were, a misfit recognizing a home when he saw it. A bunch of eccentric oddballs who somehow fit together.
It was incredibly humbling that Ulric was part of this oddity, but so was Tristan, and he was renowned in the gargoyle culture. That definitely softened the blow.
And then Ulric heard, “What in the hell is with all this food?”
Nessa turned back to John, laughing merrily. She leaned around Ulric to say, “Told you so!”
26
Ulric
After a very quickflight that could’ve probably been a bus ride, the large private jet jolted as the wheels hit the runway. A plate of cheeses slid up the table in front of Ulric and nearly ended up in John’s lap, who sat in the aisle, facing him. Aurora, sitting next to Ulric on the window seat, caught the plate and pulled it back into place.
John put his hand on the tray to keep it steady. “Why do I make you uncomfortable?” he asked, looking at her.
She pulled her hand back as though burned. “You don’t. My father is Alpha Barazza, Austin Steele’s brother. Dad shared news of the other packs with us as we went through our training. He used a lot of it as educational. I’m just…”
Her face flamed and Ulric grinned at her. It wasn’t often she got flustered.
Jasper sat next to John, facing Aurora. “Processing?” he said, helpfully.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, is all,” she murmured, looking out the window. “He thought you were a very good alpha.”
John didn’t look away. “Being good often comes at a great cost. At least it did in my case. You were the little girl who got in the way of your uncle fighting your father?”
She swallowed and turned to meet his gaze before dropping it respectfully. “Yes.”
“You’ve joined your uncle’s pack? You’ve forgiven him?”
Her eyes came up slowly, fire burning in their depths. She did not like being questioned about this, and the shifter subservience reserved for a formerly renowned alpha dissolved. “I forgave him the moment he approached Dad, apologized, and asked to be correctly trained,” she said. “He hadn’t been in his right mind. It took longer to forgive him for leaving, but now that I’m older, and having witnessed what it was like for him when he came home, I get it. He didn’t have a lot of options, despite the rumors.”
John held her gaze, something untamed moving behind his eyes. Something that made Ulric uncomfortable, like maybe he should switch seats with Tristan and let the big gargoyle handle things.
Aurora didn’t look away, though. If anything, she leaned in. “Yes, I’ve joined his pack. There’s more opportunity for me here. More of a challenge. More to learn. It’s also the most important place a person can be when the mages strike next. It’s the best way to help our kind.”
They stared at each other for a long beat. Under the table, Ulric noticed Aurora curling her hands into fists, as though struggling to hang in there.
Finally, John dropped his gaze to the cheese. Taking a cube, he popped it into his mouth and looked out the window.
“I used to hate that rumor mill,” he muttered, chewing. “I envied those who had time to sit by and gossip while keeping me in their sights.”
