“Or maybe he sees that you can give him an element of safety. You weren’t defeated by an attacking mage.”
“That shifter doesn’t crave safety for himself; he craves providing it for others. He doesn’t fear death, especially now.”
“So he came here to see about an alpha who didn’t lose everything to an attacking mage, and then just hung around in the bar for a while, or… Because you didn’t have him training with us, and even though Niamh has clearly noticed him, I haven’t seen him around the streets or anything…”
“He did hang around for a while, but he did it by the book. Given that he isn’t an alpha with a territory, he didn’t need to introduce himself or ask for passage. Many people who have been alphas for a while can’t help dominating those around them or comparing status.” Kingsley had been like that on his visit. He certainly couldn’t help it. “Brochan didn’t do any of that. He kept his head down. Then, a couple of weeks ago, when he decided to join my pack, he approached me directly and explained his history. He wanted me to know he’d been an alpha, and also that he’d hung up his desire to reestablish a pack. He would never be an alpha again. He was content to follow someone else’s rule; he just needed to make sure that someone was strong enough to lead him.”
“Which you are.”
“Yes. I think the first two weeks was him assessing the situation. Me, basically. When he challenged into the pack…” Austin shook his head. “I had to stop three fights and take over. No one could handle him. He’s better than anyone in my pack now, even Kace. He’s on a level nearly as high as Kingsley. He’d be my beta, no problem, if not for his emotional issues. First we need to see if he can get beyond them. If he gets a handle on himself, and learns to live again, he might still be my beta.”
“If you can trust him.”
“Yes. For the last couple weeks he’s been training with the pack and doing very well. He’s a strong addition. He could be to me what Nathanial is to you.”
“If you can trust him.”
“Right.”
“And how did you decide you trusted him enough to bring him?”
“Because even though he’d heard by that point which mages were going, he never once asked to come.”
The limos pulled off the highway, the land flat and covered in dried golden grass. Smaller planes were parked to our right, and a few jets were stationed a little closer.
“Oh,” I said, taking in what Austin was saying. “But won’t it mess with his head if he sees this mage?”
“Maybe. But then the basajaun said that, and…” Austin shook his head. “Something clicked. I can’t describe it. I feel it in my gut that he should come. That he needs to be in the tiptop of my hierarchy. He will help me protect my mate better than anyone else in the world, because he knows what it’s like to lose one. He won’t wish that on anyone.”
The limo slowed as we passed a mostly empty parking lot. A small building accompanied by a tower rising into the sky hunkered in front of us. An open hangar sat to our right, a large jet waiting for us to board.
Butterflies swam in my stomach. I’d never so much as flown first class. This was a sort of luxury I’d never experienced, and it was somewhat alarming that my excitement level was competing with my churning worry about meeting a bunch of conniving mages and a guy I was going to try to kill in not-at-all-cold blood.
“My life has taken a very strange turn,” I muttered to myself, nearly plastering my face to the window so I could stare at the jet. “Ever since my divorce, my life has been just plain weird.” After a moment, I asked, “Did you ask him how he might react if he sees that mage?”
“Of course. I also asked him if he thought he could handle standing idly in a room where that mage might be sneering at him. He said it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“I find that hard to believe. Oh my God, Austin, there’s even a red carpet.” I beamed at him, patting his arm. I felt like a little kid in a candy shop with unlimited funds and zero restrictions. “There’s a red carpet. Look! The door thing is coming down. The steps. This is awesome. I mean, the whole nature of this trip is the pits, but this one shining moment is awesome.”
“I found it hard to believe as well, until I realized that Brochan is emotionally dead where his family is concerned. He cauterized the wound, shoved it into a cold, dark box, and shut the lid. He won’t have a problem handling it because he won’t be able to feel at all. In theory.”
“That’s not healthy, Austin,” I said, shifting away from the display of luxury to look at him. “One day he’ll snap.”
“Yes, he will,” he said, his eyes full of fire. “And so help me God, I will arrange it. I will get him into a room with that mage, flip the lock, and let Brochan have his vengeance. No one should be allowed to get away with what that mage did. He created an altercation where there wasn’t one, he wouldn’t back down when he should’ve—when he was in the wrong—and he mass-murdered innocents. Children! If the Mages’ Guild allowed something like that to happen—if this is what it looks like when they ‘police’ their own—then I’ll take matters into my own hands and police them myself. Sebastian was right. No one comes together like shifters do.”
The limo stopped in front of the red carpet, my door perfectly aligned with it.
“Oh my God,” I muttered, “this is my best life and worst nightmare, all wrapped up in the same day. Why can’t I just have normal good things going on without the crap that always seems to go with it?” I pushed out a breath, trying to still my excitement. Trying to force down the swell of anxiety. But neither emotion cooperated.
The limo driver opened my door, and I tried to remain calm. I took his hand and stepped out in my long, swishy black dress and my neck full of jewels. I’d nearly forgotten I was wearing all of that.
“So what you’re saying is…” I stepped to the side, waiting for Austin to get out on his side and come around. Apparently, the old slide across wasn’t in vogue.
The rest of the limos were stopping behind us, lining up for their turn on the red carpet.
“Oh my God,” I said again, butterflies fluttering through my stomach. “I hope there are, like, little baskets of goodies and chocolates and stuff on the plane. That would really make this amazing.”
Austin dropped his hand to the small of my back and guided me toward the steps.
“What you’re saying,” I started again, “is that you will build a castle around my keep, manage the very powerful creatures I have called in, and also create some sort of massive shifter organization that sticks it to the Mages’ Guild and Momar?”
Austin paused as I grabbed the railing and started climbing the stairs in black three-inch stilettos. I should’ve worn flats.
“Yeah,” he said, following me up. “Might as well, right? Beyond the initial meet-and-greets, your people don’t seem to need much muscling around. I might as well look for a bigger challenge.”
I laughed and stopped on the stairs, stepping down one so my back connected with his front. He placed a hand on my hip, and I paused for a moment.