She’s looking at the trees like her daughter might step out of them at any second, clutched in the arms of a feral wolf, determined to tear out her throat.
“Fine. We plan. But we movesoon.”
The bear shifters give us the lay of the land with quick, clipped gestures, but I’m distracted by the stench around me, and Aura’s desperate presence.
“They’ll have patrols,” Hunter mutters. “They’re disorganized, but aggressive. Anyone who comes within twenty feet of their perimeter, they attack first, ask questions later.” He crouches low beside a crooked stump, his fingers carving lines into the mud, sketching a rough outline of thecamp. He points at intervals around the perimeter. “Here. Here. Here.”
“We go in at three points. Dragon and bear. The first go in human form, ready to negotiate.”
Kelan shakes his head. “We go in raging with teeth and fire.”
Hunter holds up his hands. “I appreciate your passion, but I know these festering rats. They’ll kill the child without a second thought.”
“No,” Aura gasps, pressing her hand to her lips and glancing around, concerned she may have revealed our presence. We are far enough from their perimeter to remain undetected, but her distress is evident. I recall what she endured here; the scars healed by her magic and those beyond its reach.
Perhaps we should have taken her to safety, though I know she would never have agreed. This is her battle more than ours.
“The priority is to get the child out,” I say, my eyes on Aura. Her shoulders relax a little.
“What about Nixon and his family? They’re good people. We won’t leave until they’re freed.”
“We won’t leave until every threat in this territory is eliminated,” Kelan says. “If we can free your friends, we will.”
“Let us worry about them, then,” Hunter says, eyes wary again. “We will work to free those who are captive.”
Kelan nods.
“And Aura?” I ask because no one else has.
All heads turn toward her.
She rises from the fallen log beneath a twisted tree, gazing at the pale sky. Her arms are wrapped tightly aroundher waist, her fingers twitching as if she is holding herself together by will alone. Her silence is overwhelming.
“We protect her,” Kelan says flatly.
“She’s coming into battle with us?” Robert asks.
“Leaving her here alone is too risky.”
Aura nods at Kelan’s statement, her relief evident.
She remains with us. We promised to protect her from these creatures, and we will honor that commitment.
“We should release her magic,” Darial says, without thinking.
In our minds, Kelan’s dragon roars;she doesn’t know how to use it. It would be more dangerous for her to free it.
And if we don’t release it, we leave her without the means to protect herself,Darial cautions.
We are her means of protection,Kelan barks.Or have you forgotten you're her dragon mate?
I will keep her close,I say, torn between their views.
No,Kelan argues.She stays with me.
He is my alpha. His word is law.
“We should go now,” I say out loud so the bears and Aura can hear. “Most will be sleeping. We may have the element of surprise on our side.”
