“Excellent,” Zhuron said. “Then go the fuck home. All of you.”
He stood there, that black dragon, and waited. Finally, after a long, long stare, one took off. Then another. Zhuron didn’t move until every one of their adversaries shifted and took off. Zeke hesitated, then nodded at Rune, who returned the gesture.
The Huracáns didn’t move at all. With the departure of the last one, Zhuron turned and walked right to Rune, hand outstretched. “It’s nice to see you on the right side of the law again, my friend.”
Rune grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. “Glad to see you can still take a beating. When did you get so intimidating, anyway?”
Zhuron shrugged with an answering grin, then sobered quickly. “We will get word of these rulings out to the rest of the colony.” He paused. “I should have acted on your warning sooner, then I could have saved lives.”
“You warned the Alliance?” Finn demanded, coming up, his movement a signal to the others, who gathered closer.
Rune crossed his arms, suddenly smug. “I’ve been in contact with Zhuron all along. My first position in the king’s guard was actually to his detail when he was the king’s beta.”
“We’re old friends,” Zhuron said. “How do you think this guy got wind of so many places to hide, or the location of new mates? King Gorgon’s orders, in fact.”
“Fuck me,” Keighan said. Rivin opened his mouth, and Keighan elbowed him before he could speak. “Not right now, though. We need to find a woman who likes it rough.”
With a wide grin, Rivin subsided.
“How is the king’s war going? Really?” Rune asked, ignoring the other two.
Zhuron’s expression turned grim, his black eyes glittering harshly. “I’m not going to lie. It’s ugly. We don’t know who to align with or who to believe.”
“So we wait,” Rune said.
Zhuron pulled his shoulders back, the picture of a true leader. “We wait.”
Maybe the remaining Alliance could be trusted, as long as he was at the helm.
Rune turned his gaze to her, and she could feel the way his soul seemed to suddenly break free, lighter than it had been, as though whatever weight had been crushing him had been lifted. And she knew, without a doubt, that things were going to be okay for the two of them. At least for now.
For the entire team, too. The relief starting to hit them all was almost palpable, and then they were all hugging and talking at once.
Hadyn reached up to lay her hand against Rune’s cheek. “How’s it feel, being redeemed?”
“Well…” He leaned down to kiss her softly. “Almost as good as being mated.”
“Your work isn’t over yet,” Finn interrupted.
Rune groaned around a wide grin as he straightened to face his team. “I thought I’d got rid of you fuckers. The bonus of going rogue.” Then lifted his hand, showing the king’s mark returned to the skin on the back. The mark of the new king of the Black Clan, matching the one on Zhuron’s hand…and hers. “I guess that’s out now.”
Answering grins lit up every face around them. “Holy shit,” Hall groaned. “He’ll be impossible to live with now that he’s legit again.”
The entire team gathered around, slapping his back, hugging her, and laughing.
“Legit again, huh?” Finn said. Then held up his own hand. “You’re not the only one. Hurt like a son of a bitch.”
And had apparently removed the false dragon king’s sign the Huracáns had all been wearing at the same time? No one had ever been able to explain the magic of the marks. Like her being turned, they just…were.
Finn grinned. “I’m officially reinstating you as a member of the team.”
The contentment that filtered to her from her mate was almost as strong as the moment when their bond had clicked into place. Almost, but not quite. That told her how much leaving them had hurt him.
“Welcome to the family, son.” She and Rune spun to find Chaghan and Qara standing behind them, tears glistening in both their eyes.
In an uncharacteristic move, Chaghan pulled Rune in for a hug. “I don’t know how it’s even possible, but I mean it. You are family now.”
The way Rune’s shoulders hunched slightly just about took her knees from under her. That meant more than he’d admit. Laughing, Qara pulled her in for an embrace. “I can keep you as a daughter for longer now,” she whispered in her hair.
Hadyn had to swallow around the lump in her throat. She’d worried Qara might feel that she’d betrayed Kip, but this was the love of a true mother. One who only wanted happiness for her child.
With another laugh, they switched so she could hug Rune, too, and Chaghan could hold Hadyn. “I’m so proud of you.”
That seemed to start another round of questions, unanswerable questions, flying at them from all sides. Eventually, though, they all seemed to come to the conclusion that mates were changing, and this was a blessing they shouldn’t question beyond that.
Hadyn found herself being passed around from person to person to be hugged and welcomed. At least until Keighan tried to “kiss the bride” and Rune growlingly pulled her back to his side.
Rivin slapped the back of Keighan’s head. “Don’t you know better than to fuck with a newly mated dragon? He could have ripped your lips off.”
“Nah,” Keighan grinned. “He loves me too much. Even if he’s too tough to say so.”
Rune grunted a sound that could have been agreement or denial, then turned back to Zhuron. “So, about the mates…I have a lot of suggestions.”
Hadyn took a long, deep breath, the reality that maybe…just maybe…things were going to work out finally starting to sink in.
Yes, they had decisions to make. Yes, these were dragon shifters, and trust was like a four-letter word among their kind, which meant true peace was not likely. At least they wouldn’t be fighting everyone all at once for a little while.
No more running. No more hiding.
A slow grin crept over her face, echoed by a matching one from her mate. He pulled her close and leaned over to nuzzle her neck.
“Our mating must be blessed,” he whispered for her ears alone.
“Why’s that?”
“Because as soon as you became mine, I found peace. In every way.”
Epilogue
Rune woke with the blaze of morning sun shining in the wide window facing out over the large pines of a serene forest and Hadyn in his arms.