looked like a tattoo of a crescent moon, but it appeared suddenly and of its own volition. The location varied from wolf shifter to wolf shifter, and more than one had made a seductive game of tempting the mate to find it.
Caleb couldn’t see any change in Wynter, but he thought things had just gotten very interesting. She would feel the mark burn, if she had it. What if she didn’t? Could she be Arach’s destined mate without him being hers? Caleb wasn’t sure. Usually mates had no powers of their own.
But then, Maeve had turned everything and everyone upside down.
Murray was wiping glasses with gusto, his eyes round, looking like he needed to do something to keep busy. The Pyr were studying Wynter and only the wolf shifter mates, of all those beyond the Pyr, seemed to recognize what was happening. They looked between Arach and Wynter, smiling and whispering to each other.
“This means that to keep the faith with all of us, and prove that the Pyr haven’t made a deal that leaves the rest of us out, you have to offer a hostage,” Wynter said to Theo.
What? It was time for Caleb to intervene. This was his turf and they followed his rules. He’d let Wynter talk to deal with her grief but she was pushing too far.
Arach smiled and took a step closer to Wynter, too. She glanced back as the light flared to greater brilliance, burning yellow between them.
The rest of the Others seemed to finally understand. Maybe they were feeling the sexual demand of the firestorm too.
Caleb certainly was.
“Wynter, you’re out of line,” he said sternly. “This is an alliance...”
“And it’s only going to work if we trust each other. When one group looks like they have an inside deal, we have to restore the faith of the Others in the alliance.” She turned to those gathered in the bar, inviting their agreement. “Right?”
“Right!” they roared, toasting her with their drinks and raising their fists high.
“Looks like a done deal, Caleb,” Wynter said, her eyes sparkling with triumph. If it hadn’t been for the spark of the firestorm, he would have been tempted to wring her neck.
As it was, he figured Arach had won that honor.
“Don’t worry,” she said to Theo. “I’ll take good care of you.”
“Me?” Theo said then laughed. “You won’t be my captor.”
“You have to keep the faith,” Wynter began to insist but Arach approached her quietly. When he dropped his hand on the back of her waist, a flurry of sparks shot from the point of contact.
“Take me,” he said in a low rumble and Caleb heard a wealth of meaning in that invitation.
Wynter surveyed Arach again, her eyes narrowed, then Caleb watched her inhale slowly. “You’re Pyr,” she murmured and he smiled.
“And I’m all yours,” Arach said.
“What’s this light?” she demanded.
“A firestorm,” Arach said. “It means you’re my destined mate.”
“I don’t think so,” Wynter protested as everyone in the bar watched with open interest.
“Well, since I’m your hostage, we’ll have plenty of time to find out,” Arach countered.
Wynter opened her mouth and closed it again, then glanced at Caleb as if she’d appeal to him. As far as he was concerned, she’d created her predicament herself, and he didn’t mind one bit if the Pyr kept her busy while he regained leadership of the Others.
“You made the rules,” he told her. “You get to live with the consequences.”
Wynter’s eyes narrowed, her gaze nearly lethal, then Arach took the final step between them. The firestorm’s light flared to brilliant white and Wynter stared at him. Her lips parted, then she licked them. She shook her head, swore with gusto, then spun to face him. Without warning, she caught Arach’s face in her hands and kissed him.
And the mates who had followed her from Alaska cheered.
Five
Alasdair had been sleeping so hard that Hadrian hadn’t wanted to wake him up. Balthasar was out cold, too. Hadrian made a pot of coffee and poured himself a huge mug, then returned to his studio to examine the blades he’d left to cool. They’d come out better than he’d dared to hope. There was no telling when his mate would return, so he heated the forge again, drank more coffee, and got to work.
He could sleep when he was dead. Ha. Somehow that joke wasn’t funny, given his current situation.
When would his mate return?
Hadrian soon forgot his exhaustion as he became absorbed in his task. He hammered each blade for the flattening and tensioning. It