She raised her shoulders and let them drop in a gesture of helplessness. She couldn’t figure out what to say without hurting Jason’s feelings. Best to stay quiet.
Jason's jaw hardened. "At least think about it."
"I will." She rubbed noses with him in a gesture of affection.
His eyes gleamed.
Oh! No. He was going to try to kiss her.
With a lithe move, she slipped out of his grasp and took off running, a laugh bubbling out of her. "Last one is a wolfie."
They'd invented the insult to tease Caleb, a wolf shifter friend who was Eve's bodyguard.
It did the job.
Jason chuckled.
The tension that'd been simmering between them dissolved.
Putting on speed, Jason caught up with her.
Hope let him overtake her. She was not in a hurry to see Eve.
8
Aaron
Cain and Aaron made sure all the wounded were transported to the infirmary. It was dawn before they headed back.
Four hours of sleep later, Aaron walked toward the conference room in the mayor's palace. It was one of the few government buildings to have survived the tsunami of 2014.
It was not even midday, but the sun rays already heated the air. The sound of kids playing on the beach drifted over to him.
As he crossed the courtyard, his shirt was already damp with perspiration. He couldn't stop himself from scanning the skies.
He was looking for a slash of vibrant color, the jeweled hues of a dragon shifter. What greeted him was the blue expanse of the morning skies.
When he entered the room, Logan, his fellow Ascendant, was already there.
Hearing Aaron come in, Logan turned, his shoulders broad enough to block the light from the open window. "You did well by getting the wounded to the hospital." Logan's clipped British accent had softened during his time in Bombay, but it still marked his origins.
His piercing blue gaze followed Aaron's progress across the room.
Aaron stopped next to him. "It's the least I could do as a Guardian of the City."
"It's good to have you back, bro." Logan gripped his shoulder. "Zayn's death affected all of us."
Aaron swallowed the thick ball of emotion that clogged his throat. "I've been hell to be around the last few months, but I’m here." Thanks to a pair of emerald-green eyes.
He was going to find that dragon shifter and explore this potent attraction that drew him to her. "Have you heard from Kris?"
Kris was the oldest of the Ascendants. He was on his honeymoon with his mate, Tara.
"He's extended his trip to visit McLeod town in the Himalayas before returning." Logan looked to the door at the new arrival.
Aaron followed his gaze to see Leana enter, the mayor of the city.
Her thick dark hair hung to below her shoulders. The soft cotton of her flowing shirt outlined her advanced state of pregnancy. Her skin glowed.
Mikhail, their fellow Ascendant and her mate, guided her to the head of the table.
"Should you even be here?" Aaron scolded her.
Leana's face lit up. "Aaron."
Walking over, Aaron took Leana's hand and kissed her fingertips.
This wolf shifter was the alpha of all the species in Bombay. She was also the first to mate with one of the Ascendants. It made Aaron very protective of her.
Her hand slid over the mound of her belly. "Oh!"
Mikhail dropped to his knees next to her. "You okay?" His jaw hardened with concern.
Taking Mikhail's hand, Leana clasped it to her stomach.
He held it there for a second, his eyes widening, before his gaze locked with hers. "Thank you." Mikhail brushed his lips over Leana's forehead.
The depth of emotion in those two words twisted Aaron's heart.
Seeing the bond between Leana and Mikhail, Aaron realized that even when he’d had Zayn, he'd been alone.
The emptiness had stayed inside, buried under his promise to protect their fellow species. But he'd never be lonely again. Not when a green-eyed dragoness was out there.
Leana rapped the table, calling the meeting to order.
Cain swaggered through the door and dropped into the closest chair.
As everyone took their seats, Leana got straight to the point. "Aaron and Cain were at the site of a very serious attack on one of the most popular night spots of this city, a space off-limits in the fights between the species…until today. The evidence points to attacks by an outsider." She looked around the table, making sure she had everyone's attention.
Logan folded his arms over his chest. Mikhail's gaze was on Leana's face.
"It also reveals the existence of not one but two unknown forces, each more powerful than the combined powers of all of us put together."
Aaron leaned forward, elbows on the table in front of him.
She turned to Aaron, inviting him to speak with a nod.
Aaron rubbed the back of his neck, not quite sure what to tell them. He didn’t want them to think that Hope was a threat. "A telekinetic appeared out of nowhere," he finally said. "The man's psychic control extended to the humans, vampires, and shifters in the bar."
"Impossible." Mikhail drummed his fingers on the table. "No race can be that powerful."
"No known race," Aaron corrected, maintaining eye contact with Mikhail.
"The telekinetic was a complete surprise." Cain tipped his chair back until it teetered on its hind legs. "Aaron has not addressed the other real issue…the dragon."
Aaron hunched his shoulders, knowing he'd been caught. He'd have to tell them about what Hope had done. But she'd protected the people at the bar, hadn't she? He'd just have to make sure he convinced them that Hope was on their side.
"Brahma's prediction was true." A nerve throbbed above Logan's temple.
"Tell us what you know." Leana leaned forward, chin balanced on her hand.
Logan's eyes shone with an inner ability that hinted at just how powerful he was. He was the only one of the Ascendants with a secondary seer ability. "Brahma said there would come a time when we'd see dragons fly."
Logan stayed motionless, eyes unfocussed as he looked into the distance. "Only a force formed of the union of the wings and the will can stop this new threat to the city." It was a future no one else could see.
A shudder ran down Aaron's spine. He knew his future was intertwined with this prediction. The certainty of it had Aaron shuffling his feet. The sense of foreboding grew by the second, until it felt like a heavy weight was crushing his chest.
Logan’s eyes cleared. His gaze swept over the team. Everyone's attention was on him. "That's all I sense. Sometimes, these visions are but pulses of feeling that I must interpret."
The ring of truth to his words was ominous.
Cain brought his chair down with a crash.
The hairs stood up on Aaron’s arms. Something was wrong. He was already on his feet when the air behind Leana shimmered.
Aaron threw himself over the table. The jump took him clear over the heads of Mikhail and Leana.
He wasn’t going to lose another person he loved.
9
Aaron