be polarizing. Especially lately.
“Uh-huh. Talk.”
Lyndi pointed to Deep. “You’re up.”
He wasted no time. “With the upheaval in the clans, we’ve lost all confidence in the Alliance and the other two enforcer teams that still serve them.”
Shula’s eyebrows—Lyndi really needed to ask her how she got them so perfect—shot up. “That’s…” She stopped herself, eyes narrowing again. “Why?”
Deep didn’t pull his punches. “We, too, have had issues with them trying to take mates. One woman, in particular, even though she’s now mated, is still in hiding with her family.”
“My mate was already turned, and they took her anyway,” Shula said, the words flat and bitter.
Lyndi would have sat down if there’d been a chair in the room. A feather could’ve tipped her over. “You turned a human?”
A female-born could do that? She’d never heard of such a thing. Shock skittered down her spine like a rat down a sewer pipe. What else didn’t she know about herself and the others like her?
The crook to Shula’s mouth could almost be considered a give. “Believe me, it stunned me as much as anyone when she showed up with my family crest on her neck. My line dies out with me. All my brothers are dead, which is why I came here. Hope of a different life. I brought others from my clan with me who were also searching for a fresh start, and we’ve lived here in peace. We haven’t bothered anyone.”
“But she survived your fire?” Levi asked.
Another twitch of her lips. “Yes.” The miniscule smile disappeared. “And now she’s been stolen from me.”
“Did they give any indication where they were taking her?” Lyndi asked.
Shula dropped her head, glaring at the ground. “They want to send her to the Mating Council to be…examined, I believe were their words.”
“Shit,” Lyndi muttered.
Examined, as in under a microscope? Poked and prodded as the powers that be tried to figure out why things that weren’t supposed to be happening were happening? Only by the grace of who they were mated to had that not happened to Delaney or Sera.
“Exactly.” Shula pulled her shoulders back sharply, no more give in her, only suspicious wariness. “So what kind of help are you offering—”
She paused, canting her head as she appeared to listen for something or to someone. Then she shot them a narrow-eyed glare. “You brought backup?”
“What?” Lyndi looked at Levi and Deep who shook their heads. “No.”
“Three. Names of Mike, Attor, and Coahoma.”
Lyndi closed her eyes. Dammit. “Those would be my boys.”
Shula’s lips flattened as she crossed her arms. “Your boys? A gold, red—well, pink from what I understand—and white dragon are your boys?”
“Orphans,” Lyndi said succinctly. “I adopted them so they wouldn’t have to go rogue.”
Shula’s arms dropped to her side as she stared harder. “I’ve heard of the dragon shifter orphans banded together near here. I just didn’t believe it.”
Was that a good thing? Or a bad thing?
“Why did they follow you?” Shula asked next.
Beside her Levi snorted. “At a guess, they don’t like their adopted mother being in any kind of danger.”
He wasn’t wrong. They better have left someone with the younger boys, or there would be even more hell to pay.
“You should have the pink one practice more. We saw him coming a good ten miles away.”
Mental note to have Drake and Levi work with Mike on that. They’d already improved his ability to camouflage his unfortunate neon coloring. Just not well enough, apparently.
“So, what do you suggest?” Shula asked.
Lyndi frowned. “About what? Mike’s unfortunate dayglow coloring? My boys following me here? Or your mate?”
“The last one.”
“I think you and your people lay low. Don’t do anything to attract more attention. And we’ll see what we can find out about where she’s been taken.”
…
Damn the gods for landing him with a woman who wanted to fix everything that was wrong with the world, no matter what the cost might be to herself or those who loved her. Conveniently ignoring the fact that he was made of the same stuff. The same need.
He knew the words were coming before she even opened her mouth. A promise. He should be grateful she hadn’t flown off half-cocked to bring Shula’s mate back herself this very night.
Shula eyed Lyndi, flicking him and Deep a quick glance before returning to her. “You find her for me, help us get her back, and my people will swear allegiance to yours.”
Lyndi shook her head at the same time that Levi did. “We’re not looking to take over,” he said.
“We simply want