by T. S. Joyce
Grim murmured immediately, “Well you bit me, woman.”
“I know, but I didn’t think you thought…I mean…I didn’t know if you wanted…”
Grim lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against her knuckles, and all the chaotic jumbled mess of words in her head quieted. It was okay. He was okay, so she was okay. They could talk about this later.
Grim squeezed her hand and lowered it back down to his side. “I just came here to get my grandma out—”
“I don’t want to go,” Rose said softly.
“What?” Grim asked. “Then why did you tell me to come get you?”
“Because I wanted you to talk to Ronin face-to-face. You were such good friends as boys. Ronin was always a good boy, always had a good moral compass. It’s part of why he couldn’t stay in the Pride. And when the council saw how close you two were, even after they’d made the Reaper, they didn’t want him messing with your moral compass.”
“What moral compass?” Grim growled.
“Exactly,” said Rose.
Ash had never seen anyone look so sad as Rose when she murmured, “You didn’t have a shot at changing your fate in this Pride, Grim. But Ronin was banished and raised well, and he can fix us. I know he can.”
“At my expense?” Grim uttered softly.
“Your mate can stay here with us,” Ronin said. “She’ll have the protection of the Tarian Pride—”
“No,” Grim murmured.
Ash held his hand tight because his eyes were glowing brighter.
“You can have a dozen cubs, lion or bear, won’t matter. I just need you to—”
“No,” Grim said in a sterner tone.
“Just back me up and be my Second, and when we go after the new council, you’ll—”
“Kill?” Grim snarled. “Is that what you need from me, Ronin? Can you not feel him? Do you not remember what it was like for me when the Reaper was born? It got worse for me with every kill. Every drop of blood marred my soul and fed the devil inside of me. I left here wanting it all to end, and I found something I never thought could exist for a man like me instead.”
Ronin looked pissed, and his breathing was heavier as he stared down his nose at Grim. “And what’s that?” he asked, the words tapering into a smile.
Grim tipped his head toward Ash. “Hope. And I’m pretty damn determined to keep it. I’m not your Second, Ronin. I’m Alpha of my own Crew of fuck-ups now. I’m keeping them.”
“If the council is reinstated and Tarian Pride stays in the hands of the townies, who do you think they’ll come for? When all the dust settles, who do you think they’ll want to serve them?”
Grim made a clicking sound behind his teeth and gave Ronin his back. He pulled Ash toward the car.
“Don’t walk away from me!” Ronin roared suddenly. “Who, Grim? Who do you think they’ll come for? Your precious Crew of fuck-ups. They’ll cut you off at the knees and starve you out. They’ll take everything from you just like they did to me because that’s what they do. If they want something, they take it, and they’ll get you back. And in two years, you’ll be standing right here remembering the chance I gave you to change everything!” Ronin strode toward them and yelled, “Reaper!”
And that was enough. A rattling growl in her throat, Ash spun on him just as Grim did the same. He had his hand in front of her hip protectively as the lions surged forward, but whatever Ronin saw in her face made him stop in his tracks. Fury boiled through her blood, but her voice didn’t shake when she said what she needed him to hear. To really hear and accept, because Ronin might have been a childhood friend of her mate, but he clearly didn’t know the man he was now.
He wasn’t anyone’s weapon.
“His name is Grim, and his Reaper don’t belong to no one but him.”
As the last word left her lips, something terrible happened. Behind her came a monstrous roar that shook the earth. Heat blasted against her back, and she knew with certainty what she would find when she turned around.
A dragon was blasting fire in a line across the mountains. Grim had been right. He’d been right not to trust Vyr because something was wrong. He had mountains to take care of already. Why would he be setting fire to these? Terrified, she clutched onto Grim’s hand and held tight.
“The Red Dragon,” Rose murmured in a frightened voice, eyes full of horror as the profile of the fire breather reflected in her terrified eyes. The snowy woods were glowing with fire. “What’s happening?”
Grim looked sick as he watched the monstrous creature dive and eat more ash. “He’s claiming these mountains.” He looked back at Ronin. “The council and Alpha war are the least of your worries now.”
Chapter Nineteen
“I can stop him,” Ash murmured, her heart pounding against her sternum.
“What?” Grim asked.
“I can stop him,” she said louder. “Are they worth it? The Tarian Pride. Ronin. Are they worth letting them govern their mountains?”
Grim looked from her to Ronin and back. His eyes were the color of the sun as his mouth formed the answer. “Yes.”
Adrenaline dumping into her system, Ash bent her head and texted Juno as fast as her flying fingers could type. Vyr is burning the mountains. Can you see him? We have to stop him! Send.
Head spinning, she kicked out of her shoes and stripped out of her clothes, then bolted for the woods. “Vyr knows me! I can fix this!” she yelled over her shoulder just as she hit the tree line.
It wasn’t just protecting the Tarian Pride from whatever revenge Vyr had planned. It was keeping Vyr accountable for his dragon. Because once upon a time, Vyr had been a part of Damon’s Mountains. He’d grown up with her, and she knew in her heart he was still good. But she also knew in her heart that if he didn’t quit claiming mountains, he would get addicted to the power and lose himself completely. It wasn’t the other dragons that the world should’ve been fearing all along. It wasn’t Dark Kane, Rowan, or Harper. It wasn’t Damon Daye, the ancient dragon himself. It was his son, Vyr.
She ducked a big branch and pushed her legs harder. This body was too slow, so she rushed her Change in desperation. She closed her eyes and pitched forward, landed on all clawed fours and kept running. Good bear, she was right there when Ash needed her. The grizzly was lightning fast when she wanted to be. Please, let this work.
Her breath chugged like steam in front of her face as she raced for the dragon. Her claws dug in the snowy earth and her muscles stretched and warmed with her long strides. Faster and faster she went. She heard him before she saw him. Felt him on her heels—the Reaper. She wasn’t scared. He wasn’t chasing her. She cast a glance to her left, and he was there. Racing in the glow of the fires right along with her. His body was pure grace and power and hunter. Of course, he wouldn’t leave her to do this alone. It wasn’t in him.
Up ahead, she could see the crackling of flames licking at the trees. She could hear the roars of animals, but they were hard to identify over the noise of her own growling and breathing. Movement caught her attention, and on her other side were the lions. They were barreling toward the blaze right along with her.
And then there was the drumming of fists against a rock-solid chest. When she heard the challenge of a silverback gorilla, it changed everything.
Oh, no, oh, no! Torren, the son of Kong, was here. Which meant Nox, the son of the Cursed Bear, was here, too. Vyr’s Crew was here to back him up.
Her biggest fear was realized as she and Grim burst into a clearing fringed with dragon’s fire. Torren’s massive silverback gorilla and Nox’s blond grizzly were charging two brown she-grizzlies. Juno and Remi were here, looking pissed as they aimed straight for Vyr’s Crew. The Sons of Beasts were at war with the Daughters of Beasts, and nothing was okay.
Fucking Vyr.
Two enormous lions charged from the woods just as Juno and Remi clashed with Nox and Torren. Rogue Pride Crew had followed through and come right after them to have Grim’s back just in case
things went south with the Tarian Pride. Good Crew, but none of that mattered if they all died together tonight.
The sons and daughters of Damon’s Mountains were at war.
This would echo through the mountains she’d called home for always.
Her heart was in her chest as she torpedoed with Grim toward the Red Dragon, who was circling for another pass. Ash couldn’t tell if the white falling from the sky was snow or ashes.
All she knew was she had to appeal to Vyr’s heart before he burned a line in the earth, or he would be too far away for her to get into position again. She blasted right between Juno and Remi, then she looked back over her shoulder just in time to see Grim leap through the air and hit Nox like a cannonball. He freed up Remi, who bolted after Ash. Okay, good. Remi had guessed the plan then. Vyr was only going to pay attention to people he cared about. To people from Damon’s Mountains, who he considered friends to protect. The lions, he would burn to ashes and eat them without a second thought. But Ash, Juno, and Remi? They stood a chance at surviving him. She hoped.
Weaving in and out of trees, Ash kept her attention on the uneven ground in front of her and on the sky where Vyr was diving toward them. He had lined up and opened his massive jaw, exposing a row of razor-sharp teeth. Shit, they were too far off. Run, Remi!
Ash pushed her body until her muscles screamed. Until her legs were blurring under her and she risked falling hard, but she couldn’t slow down. She could hear Juno now, breathing heavy at her flank. All three of them were running as fast as they could, desperate to stop what was happening. To stop Vyr. To save him and save these people here.
Vyr’s Firestarter clicked and echoed through the mountains. Time slowed to a crawl as lava and fire spewed from his mouth across the ground, aiming right for Ash and the girls. The wind from Vyr’s wings was like a hurricane, and as she roared loud enough for the dragon to hear her, she uttered one name in her mind. Reaper!
The wall of fire came straight for her, Juno, and Remi. They were roaring, too, but the blistering heat was still coming. She saw the dragon’s eyes just as he realized they were there. He clamped his mouth closed and beat his powerful wings, aiming for the sky, rumbling the earth with the sheer power of him changing directions, but it was too late. The fire had already left his mouth, and he hadn’t pulled up in time.
Terror seized her in the last moments of her life, but just as she closed her eyes against the burning pain, something hit her like a battering ram from the back, and she pitched forward into a tree. Knives. That’s what pierced her thick hide…right? Something was wrapped around her, stabbing her, blocking her from the sky. She knew his smell. With every breath she took in this life, she would recognize it. Grim had wrapped his body around hers and had his claws sunk into her, holding on as a wave of heat rippled against her cheeks. His body twitched, and he grunted in pain.
Stunned, Ash looked up to find Juno and Remi on the ground out of the way of the fire. Kamp and Rhett had knocked them clear into the woods.
It was the silverback charging through the dying flames that got her moving. Grim lurched up with her, and they ran for Torren. His massive fists punched the ground as he came for them, long canines exposed as he roared at Ash.
But something stopped Torren in his tracks, and he skidded through smoking ashes. He looked to the sky, nearly knocking into Ash. She looked up in time to see a blue dragon torpedo through the sky and slam into the Red Dragon.
Holy shit, Damon Daye was latched onto his son. They were both beating their wings, lifting higher and higher until they disappeared into the clouds. Bursts of flames spewed from the mouths of the beasts, illuminating the clouds and exposing their silhouettes as they warred.
Ash leaned heavily against Grim’s golden-eyed lion as they watched the battle in the sky. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or heartbroken that father and son were burning each other.
Up in the clouds, the fire stopped and the tips of their dragon wings sank down low enough to show through the clouds. They were flying east.
The clearing went still, other than the few burning blazes from Vyr. Dragon’s fire burned hot and snuffed out quick so they could eat the ashes without consuming the flames, but there were places here and there that still burned.
Torren looked like hell. He was battered and clawed, and when he took a few hesitant steps toward her, heartache in his bright green eyes, Grim charged and let off a challenging roar. His back was burned from protecting her, but he didn’t favor it. Tough mate.
Torren slammed his fists on the ground and said in a snarling voice, “I’m sorry.”
Grim slowed to a trot and watched him turn around and leave with Nox’s blond grizzly. They disappeared into the smoky woods, but still Grim stood sentry for her. His body was wrecked, but he stood straight with a proud lilt to his head, and when he let off a trio of short roars, Kamp and Rhett answered.
The Tarian Pride was across the clearing, loosely grouped and watching Grim.
He roared over and over, his frame tensing with the effort of each one until Ash couldn’t help it—her bear had to answer back.
Why? Because Grim was bonding them. Not just her, but the entire Crew. How did she know? Because Remi and Juno were answering his call, too.
Ash stood proudly and watched her mate take his place at the head of Rogue Pride.
His Crew had shown up, and the Reaper had done something he’d never done before. He cared enough to claim them.
Ash hadn’t killed him like the Reaper had predicted, and thank goodness for that. Instead, she’d softened him just enough to let people in. Good people. He’d compromised with The Good enough to give Grim balance. She could feel it now. She could sense it.
Grim would always hold more power than one man should, but he wasn’t so sick anymore.
His future wasn’t impossible. His journey wasn’t at the end of a road; it was at the beginning.
She’d always thought of Grim as this great book…
And now she could feel things turning around for him.
She knew it with such certainty…
His best chapter was starting now.
Chapter Twenty
Ash was having a moment. It was an old, familiar feeling of uncertainty as she looked at her reflection in the hotel bathroom mirror. Where did she go from here? Where was home?
While her bear had laid it all out there for Grim and bitten him, her skin was still unmarred by a claiming mark. And perhaps it would always be like that. The mission to extract Rose was over. Ash didn’t know if it was a failure or not, but Grim’s grandmother had decided to stay with the Tarian Pride and even seemed happy about that decision at the dinner they’d had together last night.
So now what?
“You look so pretty,” Grim murmured from the doorway behind her. He’d been sleeping on account of all the healing he needed to do. His back had been burned protecting her, but he acted like it didn’t hurt at all. Maybe he was just used to aching. His eyes were hollow and he looked exhausted, but that smile… It was genuine and easy and made her chest flutter.
She shuffled over to him and leaned into his open arms where he held her for a long time. There weren’t any words needed right now. The shock of the war still clung to them like a second skin.
She didn’t know what would happen between Vyr and Damon or between the Sons of Beasts and Rogue Pride. She couldn’t guess the future of the Tarian Pride. She didn’t even know where to call home. She was only certain of one thing—she really loved Grim.
“I don’t want to be apart,” she said suddenly.
“What?” Grim eased back and cupped her cheeks. “Why would we be apart?”
A loud banging at the door sounded, and Rhett yelled through the barrier, “I got us all food. This probably isn’t me kissing your ass because I want to be you Second.”
“Give us a second,” Grim called. “Ash, I don’t want to be apart either.”
Rhett called, “It’s just you gave a specif
ic amount of time, and it’s been one second.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Grim murmured.
Giggling, Ash ran her hands down the curves of his strong shoulders. The man carried the weight of the world so well. “You won’t kill him because deep down you care about him. And Kamp, Remi, and Juno.”
“And?”
Confused, she asked, “And what?”
“And you. I care about you. More than anything. I would’ve never claimed this Crew if you didn’t come along and make me feel salvageable. You made me feel worth a damn, despite all of my faults, and there are many of those. No one could’ve turned my head around like you. No one could’ve got me living again, but you.”
Ash’s lip trembled, and she dropped her gaze to hide the stupid weak tears building in her eyes. “I never thought someone would see me that way,” she said in a very small voice.
“I do. You picked me when I wasn’t worth a single second of your time. You got devoted, you got tough, and you had my back from the moment I saw you. You are loyal, sweet, and submissive, but you aren’t weak. You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met. You have a place with me, Ash. And, hell, it won’t be easy. I’m no walk in the park, and I’ve never done this before. I feel like I’m going into this blind and with no tools. I know I’m gonna fuck up a thousand times before I start feeling like I’m getting the hang of taking care of you. But I want to learn. For you. For me. Because you changed the course of my entire life. You did that, Ash. You have that power.” He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m an Alpha because of you, and I’m not even scared of failing them because I know you. You’re a stubborn woman with her heart in the right place, and you won’t let me fail. You’re gonna make me work hard until I’m less shitty at this.”
“It’s been a minute,” Rhett said. “I counted to sixty. I got you extra onions on your burger because you are a monster, and monsters like extra raw onions.”
“I hate onions,” Grim growled over his shoulder.
