through those differences while guiding the shifters into a more peaceful era.
“Do Protectors live as long as shifters?” she asked curiously.
“I’m not sure. I don’t see why you couldn’t, since you pretty much are a shifter.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, not liking the reminder.
“Even if you don’t for some reason …” he continued, hushed. “Sky, I’ve lost everyone I ever cared about. At one point, it made me harden myself to the world.”
She studied him as he spoke, hearing the pain in his voice.
“But with you … I can’t live without you. I don’t want to live without you. I’d rather spend eighty years together and eternity with the knowledge that my best years were with my Sky than walk away and never know how incredible it is to be with you,” he said softly. “I guess we’ll find out. Either way, I’ll never, ever regret you, Sky, or take advantage of every second we spend together.”
Her eyes misted at the sweet words, and she ducked her head, the giddiness inside her wanting to explode with happiness.
“Now, let’s see what we got waiting for us!” he said with forced lightness and opened the door to the cabin.
Turning her mind to their mission, she followed him outside. She smelled fire the moment she stepped onto the porch and sought out the source. Black smoke rolled into the sky from the direction of Mason’s hideout.
“Chace …” she murmured.
“I see it. Want a ride?”
She nodded, trusting his wings more than hers.
He stripped and shifted, turning into the magnificent teal dragon that once terrified her. With a tight smile, she rubbed the soft spot between his nostrils then stood back when he took flight.
Chace picked her up gently and soared into the sky, staying a few feet above the treetops as he made his way towards the base where Mason had taken her. She saw the damage before they reached it: the compound was on fire, along with the forest around it. Her senses picked up on the shifters in the vicinity, and she cataloged them quickly. Four alive, over a dozen dead.
Mason was among the living.
Chace found a nearby meadow and lowered them into it. The moment her feet hit the ground, she was running towards the shifters she sensed were alive, assured that Chace would be at her heels as soon as he shifted. Her heart pounded and her hands trembled from concern that was too strong to be anything other than one of her newfound instincts. She didn’t even know these shifters, and she was terrified for them.
“Mason!” she cried, reaching a picnic area near the lake.
Smoke ballooned overhead. The breeze was carrying it in the direction opposite her, but it filled the sky.
Forcing herself to focus on her shifter senses, she picked up on the lion shifter and altered her course. He and the others were close to the lake.
Skylar pushed through trees to reach the opening around a cluster of boulders and tree stumps. The four living shifters she sensed were present covered in soot and ash.
She slowed when she reached them, assessing them quickly. None of them appeared to be too badly wounded.
“Mason, what happened?” she demanded, sinking onto the ground beside him.
The lion shifter appeared exhausted. His clothing was torn and charred in spots, and there was blood on his arms and chest.
“Something I didn’t expect,” he admitted with a sigh. “Dillon and Freyja teamed up. I think things are about to get nasty.”
“Teamed up?” she echoed, astonished. “They hate each other!”
“But they hate you more,” he said, meeting her gaze. “Think about it. With the legit leaders of the shifters coming into power, what could be worse? I just wish …” His gaze clouded and a look of agony crossed his features. “These were the only ones I could save.” His whisper was so low, she barely heard it.
Skylar’s gaze skimmed over the other three. They, too, showed the signs of having gone though a war zone. Her thoughts grew darker as she
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