Page 63 of Damien’s Mate

But this group had something more—something physical. Magical, even. You could feel it in the air all through the room. She almost wanted to put her hand out and grab it, wrap it around herself like a blanket.

Damien and Brock came back into the room, joining the others. Remy, both arms around his mate, was teasing Damien about constantly running straight into shifter fights. “Somebody ought to Turn that dude and get him some claws,” he said. They all laughed, even Damien.

He fits in here, she thought. And suddenly she was overwhelmed with a desire to fit in here too. She’d been happy here, in a way she’d never been happy in her life.

She heard her father’s voice in her mind. We are Lion Guard. Our duty, our honor, our family, our home.

He sounded stern and strong, as powerful as if he were standing next to her. She knew that was his dream—the Guard was everything to him.

But for the first time, watching the others—watching Damien—she wondered if it had to be her dream.

What if she didn’t go back? What if she just gave the artifacts back to the Draken?

The very idea made her feel both excited, and somehow hollow inside. Who was she, if she wasn’t Lion Guard?

It was unthinkable.

Unnoticed by anyone, she slid off the stool and went upstairs. Anxiety was clawing at her stomach, and she had to go look at the artifacts and remember who she was.

She had to touch them, and relive the moment when each of them had been acquired, laid in its place in the case, one step closer to the dream.

She was almost running by the time she reached the suite and went inside. She grabbed the case and opened it, fingers trembling.

There they were. Her greatest accomplishment and her future, cast in solid gold, waiting for her. It was still there. She was still her.

Everything was all right.

She touched each of the artifacts, and then pulled out the orb box. As she did, one corner caught on a tear in the velvet lining right where it attached to the case.

There was something white stuck in there, as if it had slipped between the side of the case and the lining.

She pulled it out. It was a note, with her name on the outside in her father’s handwriting. She’d never known it was there.

Slowly, she unfolded it. It was dated the night before the last mission they’d done together.

Lila, my brave soldier,

I write this on the eve of our foray to recover the fifth artifact. I begin to see the end in sight—the time when our honor will be restored and we return to the Guard side by side.

I look forward to presenting you to the Lord High Commander of the Guard, as we return the Calebite Artifacts and reclaim our own places there.

Then you will live the future I’ve envisioned for you these many years. You will know what it is to be honored by the Guard. Our people.

This is all I’ve ever wanted for you. To be a credit to your name, to the Guard, to the Draken who gave us life.

You have sacrificed everything for that moment, and I want above all else to give it to you. I am filled with pride; you are true Lion Guard. No one could have asked for a better daughter.

Your loving father,

Kester Mondray.

Lila stared at the note, tears pouring down her face. He’d been so stern, so disciplined. He’d trained her, pushed her to her limits.

He’d rarely told her he was proud of her.

He’d never told her he loved her.

How could she ever have thought, even for a minute, of scrubbing the mission? How could she have let a human man make her forget who she was?