by Zoe Chant
Ransom handed the box back to Fiona. Without a word, his face expressionless, he got up and took a seat at the rear of the plane.
Everyone settled in. The plane was small enough that they could all talk to each other, including the pilot. As Carter taxied down the runway and took off, Ethan and Destiny put their arms around each other. They settled into each other’s warmth and together watched the jungle and the ruins of the base dwindle beneath them.
Once they were on their way, they placed a call to Hal on a satellite phone.
“How’s Ellie?” Ethan asked immediately. “Is she still in labor?”
Hal’s rumbling voice seemed to fill the plane. “She’s fine. And so are our new twins!”
“Oh.” Ethan was immensely relieved, but also disappointed. He’d missed the birth, like he’d missed so many things in his sister’s life. “Give her my love.”
“You just did,” Hal said with a chuckle. “You’re on speakerphone.”
Ellie’s clear voice came through. “Ethan! You’ve got a nephew and niece. Hurry up and meet them.”
“I’m flying as fast as I can,” Ethan replied.
“Come straight to the house,” she said. “Hal intimidated the doctor into letting us leave early. His bear was demanding that the cubs go back to the lair, where they belonged.”
“I’ll come as soon as we land. Hey, do our parents know yet?”
“Yeah, I called them.” Ellie sighed. “Mom is on vacation in the south of France. She said, ‘Congratulations. Don’t you dare name the boy after your father.’ Dad is busy at work. He said, ‘That’s nice. I hope you won’t have the bad taste to name the girl after your mother.’”
“Well, for once I agree with them. Neither of them deserves namesakes.”
Ethan couldn’t help glancing around the plane to see how everyone else was reacting to this. Destiny squeezed his hand, and he felt as well as saw her love and lack of judgement. Lucas, who had largely been raised by a cold and hostile uncle, had sympathetic understanding in his golden eyes. But while some of the others looked angry or sad or appalled, none of it was directed at him or Ellie.
“I’ve made my peace with it,” Ellie said, and he could hear in her voice that she really had. “Hal’s parents are going to be the best grandparents ever, even if they drive Hal and me nuts doing it. And the kids are going to have the best extended family ever. They can ride on panthers and dragons and leopards and wolves—”
“And lions and tigers and bears—” Ethan put in.
“Oh my!” Ellie exclaimed, and they both chuckled. “And they’ll have the best uncle in the whole wide world.”
Ethan had to swallow back a lump in his throat before he spoke. “Thanks. Have you named them yet?”
“Got any ideas?”
“Sig and Sauer,” Ethan suggested.
“No!” Ellie exclaimed indignantly. “Any sensible ideas?”
“Cloud and Tifa?”
“No! Good Lord.” Ellie snorted, but Ethan was touched that she recognized the characters from his favorite video game, even though she’d never played a single one herself. “Anyway, you’re too late. They’re Haley Catalina and Elliot Ethan, and they’re both Brennan-McNeil. I wanted there to be a McNeil family that loves and supports each other—one that’s bigger than the two of us. We needed that for so long. And now we have it.”
The lump in his throat returned, along with a prickling in his eyes, but Ethan no longer cared about hiding his emotions. “Love you, sis.”
“Love you too.” A baby’s shrill wail rose over her voice. “Uh-oh. Here, I’m giving Hal the phone.”
Hal took the phone back, and they gave him the report on what had happened. The one thing they left out, at Ethan and Destiny’s request, was that they were mates. They’d wanted to tell him and Ellie in person.
When they were finished, Hal said, “Merlin, Roland, Pete, Ransom, Carter… Your lives have been turned upside down. You don’t have to deal with everything alone. I’d like to help you. My team would like to help you—the same thing happened to some of them. Why don’t you all stay in Santa Martina for a while, and we can help you sort things out?”
“Thank you for your offer,” Roland said. “It’s very kind, and I’d like to take you up on it. The Army’s been pushing me to retire for years, and I suppose I have to now—from the military. But I’m not the retiring type. I’d like to stay a while and talk to you about running a security company. Not as competition with yours, of course. I was thinking of the east coast.”
“I’d be happy to tell you everything I know,” said Hal. “We have more business than we can handle, actually. I’ve been thinking we needed an East Coast branch, and you seem like just the man to run it. You’d need a team, of course. But maybe you’ve already found one…”
Roland looked over the others. “I was hoping for exactly that. What do you all think? You don’t have to decide now. Take your time.”
Instantly, Carter said, “Roland, Hal, I’m just here to fly this plane. Once. And only because I owed a favor to some people on your team. As soon as it touches down, I’m taking it and flying out of your lives. Out of all of your lives. For good.”
Unperturbed by Carter’s rudeness, Roland said, “Offer still stands, any time you want to take it up.”
“I will!” Merlin said at once. “My time’s up with the Marines anyway. And I’d like to grow out my hair.”
Pete shot him a baleful look. “Maybe that’s your other power. The wizard said you have two.”
Merlin, unoffended, laughed. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair? Guess we’ll find out.”
“Welcome to the team, Merlin,” Roland said, and offered Merlin his hand. They shook hands gravely. “Pete? Ransom? What do you think?”
“Marines taught me I don’t play well with others,” Ransom said. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not joining any more teams.”
“I’ll think about it,” Pete said slowly. “East coast, huh? That’s where I’m headed anyway.”
“My offer stands as well,” said Hal. “To all of you. But I’ve got a different one for Ethan. I know your time’s up with the Marines. Do you want to re-enlist? Or would you rather join Protection, Inc.?”
Destiny locked her arms around his chest. “You’re with me, jarhead. I’ve got you now, and I’m never letting you go.”
Hal’s deep chuckle resounded through the phone. “Oh, it’s like that, is it? Congratulations!”
There was a scuffling sound, and Ellie said, “Yeah, congratulations, you pair of perfectly matched idiots. Took you two long enough to figure it out!”
A baby began to cry, and there was a bang as she apparently dropped the phone. Hal came back on. “Welcome to the team, Ethan.”
“Don’t I get a say?” Ethan asked, but he couldn’t keep a straight face. At last, he’d officially be a member of the team he’d always secretly wished to be on. And he’d be with his mate, too! “Okay, fine. Of course I want in! And thanks.”
Now two babies were crying loudly. Hal, sounding harried, said again, “Welcome! See you.” There was another scuffle, a crash, and the line went dead.
“Better get there soon,” Shane said. “Sounds like they could use another diaper-changer.”
As everyone began to congratulate and welcome Ethan, Destiny nudged him and said, “Wait a second, you guys. Aren’t you going to haze him? It’s traditional.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to be left out,” Ethan said. “Make it good.”
“You could all shift and jump him,” Destiny suggested.
“Or Shane could glare at me really hard,” Ethan added.
“That’s been done,” Destiny pointed out. “Multiple times. Go on, guys. Use your imagination!”
The rest of the Protection, Inc. team looked at each other.
“Well…” said Shane.
“Perhaps…” said Lucas.
“Maybe I could…” said Catalina.
There was a long silence. Then al
l of them, Ethan and Destiny included, burst out laughing.
“He already got attacked by a two velociraptors, a T-Rex, a pterodactyl, a hell pig, miscellaneous monsters, and a five-headed hydra,” Rafa said. “I think he’s been hazed enough.”
“Point,” said Justin. “He hasn’t been attacked by a Cerberus pup yet, though. Lick him, Trio!”
As his team once again broke into laughter, Ethan knew that though he was still flying above the middle of nowhere, he’d finally come home.
Epilogue
Destiny
I could get used to this, Destiny thought contentedly, lying back in Ethan’s arms. She was filled with delicious satisfaction after making love with Ethan the night before, and again first thing in the morning. Then, reconsidering, she thought, I hope I never get used to it. I hope I always appreciate it like it was the first time.
She knew that she always would.
“What’re you grinning about, nerd girl?” Ethan inquired.
“Everything, nerd boy. You. Our life. The team. Our trip to India. The family we’re going to have.” She pointed at the wall across from their bed, where his sword and her tiger claws were hung in a place of honor. “My waghnakh.”
He chuckled. “And after all your angst about accidentally stealing them.”
They’d been so excited about seeing Haley and Elliot, and all the wonderful changes in their lives, that it had been weeks before they’d gotten around to unpacking their backpacks. Only then had Destiny discovered that they’d flown back to the US with priceless Indian antiques that they had no easy way to return.
She’d telephoned Mataji, who had been their point person in the plan for Indian shifters to dispose of the dinosaurs and “discover” the Golden City. As it turned out, Mataji had been about to call her to give her an update. She informed Destiny that the dinosaurs had been given a decent burial (a thousand feet deep, Destiny hoped), and that her mongoose shifter niece and her elephant shifter girlfriend had been recruited to discover the city “on a camping trip.” The Indian archaeological society had been so delighted that they’d offered the finders a pair of swords from the city. As they were neither history nor weapons nerds, they’d declined with thanks.
“Considering that, you should consider the weapons yours,” Mataji said. “They’re going to start letting tourists visit once they reconstruct the tower they think collapsed in an earthquake. You two should come then.” The old woman laughed. “Though I don’t expect they’ll let you sleep in the palace.”
“We’ll survive roughing it in a hotel,” Destiny said, and ordered a pair of brackets to mount their souvenirs.
Gazing at her wagnakh, she had to admit that the joy it gave her was undeniable proof that she was the biggest history nerd ever. It was the cherry on the cake of her happiness. She had everything she’d ever wanted.
Except for a winged kitten.
But she had almost everything she’d ever wanted. And she could play with Carol and Shadow whenever she—
There was a scratch at their front door. She and Ethan sat bolt upright, then threw on bathrobes and went to investigate. A fluffy white furball sat on the doorstep, wagging its cotton puff of a tail. It had very pale gray-blue eyes, the color of a frozen sea, which instantly fixed on Ethan. With a joyous yelp, the puppy leaped into his arms and started licking his face.
“It likes you,” Destiny said.
“I can—yecch.” Ethan wiped his mouth. Holding the puppy at arm’s length, he said, “I can tell.”
The puppy, deprived of a face to lick, yelped indignantly. The front of Ethan’s bathrobe went white with frost.
“What the—” Ethan put down the puppy and prodded his robe. The front was frozen solid. “Brr. Did the puppy do that?”
It thumped its tail on the floor and yelped again. A sprinkle of snowflakes, each one perfect and beautiful and unique, fell out of the air and landed on the rug.
“Guess we know where you came from,” Ethan said to the puppy. To Destiny, he said, “But how in world did it get here?”
“Lucas said one of the magical animals could open portals. I guess it was this little guy.”
Ethan was grinning so wide it nearly cracked his cheeks. “Hey there, Snowy. Wanna make some snowballs for us to play catch with?” Then he caught sight of Destiny’s face and put his arm around her. “He’s not just my dog, you know. He’s ours.”
“No, I think he’s really yours.” As if to underline her words, Snowy curled up on Ethan’s bare feet and fell asleep. “It’s okay, jarhead. I’ll survive not having a magical pet of my very—”
A winged kitten landed on her shoulder.
Destiny jumped in surprise. It dug in its pinprick claws to keep its grip, spreading out its wings for balance. She craned her neck to get a better look at it. The kitten butted its head into her cheek and purred enthusiastically. It was smaller than Carol and Shadow, small enough to fit into the palm of her hand. Its fur was fluffy and white, like Snowy’s, but its wings were feathered and blue as a jay’s.
“It’s beautiful,” Destiny breathed.
Welcome, little sister, said her tiger.
The kitten folded her sapphire wings and purred.
“A gift for your inner eleven-year-old,” said Ethan, and kissed her. The kitten arched her back and flapped her wings in alarm. “Relax, kitty. We can share her.”
“I think it’s just scared by your giant face.”
“Hey, you love my giant face. Let’s get inside and get dressed. I’m about to freeze off my other giant thing you love.” He gestured at his frozen bathrobe front.
As Destiny dissolved into giggles, the kitten launched off her shoulder, seized her bathrobe cord with all four paws, and flew into the living room with the end trailing on the floor. Destiny snatched at her suddenly-open robe. Snowy woke up abruptly and pursued the cord, barking. The cord froze solid and clattered across the tiles, startling the kitten enough to drop it. Snowy began to gnaw on his prize as the kitten flew into the bedroom and perched on the brackets that held Destiny’s tiger claws.
“I can tell it won’t be boring around here,” Ethan remarked. “Got a name for her?”
“Sky,” said Destiny. As they returned to the bedroom, a thought struck her. “I thought Snowy was the animal that could open portals. But Sky’s here too. Think it was really her?”
“It might not have been either of them,” Ethan pointed out. “The portal creature helped all the other animals escape. It might be something we haven’t even seen yet that’s still out there somewhere, sending its buddies where they belong.”
“Think anyone else who didn’t get a pet at Apex will get one now?”
“What, you mean like Merlin?”
A little guiltily, she admitted, “No, I hadn’t been thinking of those guys. I meant like Grace and Ellie and Journey. I know they wanted one… but you’re right, if any animals come back for anyone else, it’ll be for the people who were actually there when they got released.”
“You never know,” Ethan said thoughtfully, watching Sky and Snowy chase each other around the living room. “They are magical.”
There were too many happy occasions to have separate parties for each one, so they celebrated the twins’ birth, Ethan joining the team, and Ethan and Destiny’s engagement all at once. Grace and Rafa, who had the biggest backyard, were the hosts.
Like all shifters who owned their own house, Rafa had made sure his backyard was enclosed in a high wall. Like the wall around Destiny’s backyard when she’d been a child, where she could play outside without fear of exposure. She eyed this wall, which Grace had painted in vibrant colors, with the memory of feeling trapped, relief that it was over, and a strange kind of nostalgia. She’d had happy times in her backyard, too.
Raluca came to greet her. She wore a dress of her own design that was elegant without being formal, in a shimmering blue-gray that set off her silver dragonmarks. To Destiny’s amusement, her purse and shoes matched the sapphire dragonette
perched on her shoulder.
“Did you pick a name for her yet?” Destiny asked. Raluca, who like Lucas had already known about dragonettes and how unusual it was for them to bond with humans, had taken that task very seriously indeed.
“I have. Her name is Doina.”
“That’s pretty,” Destiny said. “Does it mean something?”
“It’s a very old name from my own country. And also a type of music, the kind one might hear in a remote village.”
Doina trilled a musical note, making both women smile, then flew away.
“I saw you looking at the wall,” Raluca said, a little hesitantly. “Does it remind you of your own?”
When Destiny had returned, she had finally told her entire team and their mates the full story of her childhood, which not all of them had known. They’d reacted much as Ethan had, with sympathy and respect. By then that didn’t surprise her.
“A bit. Mine had ivy growing all over it. A wall of green, like a jungle…” For the first time, Destiny realized why the Indian jungle had never seemed alien to her. “Huh.”
Lucas and Journey joined them. She was bedecked with precious jewels, as usual, with her mating gift of a golden dragon pendant in the hollow of her throat. But none of them outshone the glittering brilliance of Treasure, the diamond dragonette that had appeared and bonded with them both, and was now coiled around Lucas’s forearm.
“Lucas and I had a wall that was special to us, too,” Journey said. “It was part of a maze, all covered in roses.”
“That sounds beautiful,” said Raluca.
“It was,” said Lucas.
Treasure flew up to join Doina in an aerial game with Carol and Sky. Shadow stayed on Shane’s shoulder and watched.
“Lying in wait,” Shane said fondly.
Another flying kitten leaped from Rafa’s shoulder and landed on Grace’s outstretched arm. When he did, his glossy black wings and fur, which had been the exact shade and sheen of Rafa’s mane of hair, changed to match the bubblegum pink of Grace’s handknit arm warmers, a gift from Rafa’s mother.
