“
That is kind of sad.”
Jess felt for the Elven females and the males too. What would happen if no female chose them for a co-parent?
“
Says the female who still hasn’t answered my proposal.”
Jess was about to argue that she had answered when they came around the corner of Moira’s house. She stopped dead in her tracks. The clearing behind the house had been turned into a makeshift military base. The nearest tent to the house was so big it could have housed a circus under it. It had two thin-wooded doors at each end. The door on the left had a Red Cross over a snake and rod. Jess recognized the symbols as blood and medic. The door to the right had a symbol unfamiliar to her, circular with four different emblems at the four directional points.
“What does that symbol mean?” Jess asked the same moment Shane said “Speaking of mentors” and Jorie shouted “Daddy!” She bounded off to be hugged by the man exiting the door to the right. Gil came out right behind him.
Gil joined them, locking down on Nathan in a classic headlock and rubbing his knuckles across the boy’s scalp. “Lil Jess, I see ya met my good buddy Nathan here.”
“Yes, I did. Now quit manhandling the kid, you barbarian,” Jess scolded Gil, who of course grinned unrepentantly.
“I told him I’d quit tormentin’ him as soon as he can beat me at arm wrestlin.’” Gil caught the flailing arms of the laughing, squirming boy when he tried to break the impossible hold. Jess looked from the tree truck arms on Gil to the skinny, pubescent limbs and shook her head.
Eventually Gil let the boy go, sending him off on some errand. Jorie dashed off to help. Gil introduced Jess and Shane to Jorie’s dad. “This is Napoleon Bonaparte. He’ll be my Euroasian counterpart in this operation. This is Shane and his … eehhmm … mate Jess.”
Napoleon wasn’t overly tall, maybe five foot-six, with lean, defined muscles like Shane. His hair was brown and curly like his daughter’s. His brown eyes sparkled with intelligence. He wasn’t smiling. In fact, the jesting he’d shared with his daughter a moment before appeared to have been forced. All Jess could see was worry on his face. The fine lines around his eyes would indicate that, in happier times, he was inclined to smile often. Wait a minute. Did Gil just introduce him as Napoleon Bonaparte? He did look remarkably like Napoleon from her history books.
“S’il vous plait, call me Napoleon.” He shook Shane’s hand before turning to Jess.
When she offered her hand to shake, he took it between both of his, bowing gallantly over it. “Enchante’e de faire votre connaissance.” He placed a respectful kiss to the back of her hand before straightening, but he retained possession of her hand. “I must express my sadness for the loss of your mother. She was an amazing woman. It was my honor to have known her and to have called her my friend.”
Jess rapidly blinked away the moisture in her eyes. That was the most sincere condolence she had ever received for her mother’s passing. “Thank you, Mr. …”
“It is simply Napoleon.” Smiling, he released her hand with another bow. “If you both could join us, we require your presence to proceed further in our planning.” He swept his arm toward the door, his hand palm up in invitation. “After you, belle dame.”
“Chivalry is alive and well in the French,” Jess muttered, charmed by the Frenchman.
“He’s just showin’ off.” Gil was as soothing and calm as ever. Jess stuck her tongue out at him and Gil laughed, shaking his head.
****
Shane had been well behaved during Napoleon’s attention to his mate, somehow suppressing his growl. He was quick to capture Jess’s hand in his the moment it was released from the charming man. He was secretly pleased when, in her sadness over her mother, she had subconsciously leaned toward him for strength. With his hand on the small of her back, he guided her into the tent. Gil and Napoleon followed them in.
Usually when he was given an assignment, the commander stood in front of the unit and explained the details, gave the orders, and issued the assignments, then off they went to perform the duty. He had never been a party to the initial planning. He had battlefield-planning experience; when all hell inevitably broke loose, he would have to plan by the seat of his pants to recover from whatever goatfuck the operation would and could turn into. That was pure controlled chaos. He’d expected that kind of chaos when he’d entered the war room. Instead he saw precise, detailed scenarios being planned within smaller groups.
These were seasoned warriors from every species working alongside the bureaucracy that made him crazy. He’d never understood the appeal Gil had for these strategic planning groups. This was pretty fantastic. He finally got it.
Excited, he turned to Jess. The look on her face chilled his blood—she looked terrified. She had certainly been thrown curve balls. He lifted her chin, bringing her gaze to his. “You good, Beauty?”
She swallowed hard, showing him a rare vulnerability. “Just stay close to me, K? I can do this if you’re with me.”
She was amazing. It was his turn to swallow hard, swimming in the green of her shell-shocked eyes. “You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.” A grateful, loving smile touched her lips.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jess stopped just inside the room. The rabbit hole got deeper and deeper at every turn. Her abrupt foot-plant forced Gil and Napoleon to step around her and Shane to enter fully. She was overwhelmed. The room was full of people intent on conversation in small groups. What was she doing here? This was a room of purpose. Napoleon had said they needed her and Shane to proceed, but these people seemed to have things well in hand.
Thank God for Shane. He’d effortlessly pulled her out of her insecurities, reassuring her in the most basic way. She loved him more every minute she spent with him. She was his mate; he belonged to her. There was nothing she couldn’t face. Putting on her game-day face, she opened up to the experience of being there.
Shane, Gil, and Napoleon removed their shirts, and dentes appeared in each male’s mouth, though not fully extended like she saw when she and Shane were intimate. Just a hint of the dentes would show if they spoke or smiled. Then the three of them released their wings. She noticed all the Elven, male and female alike, were in similar states. The females’ breasts were covered by halters like the one Nin had on earlier. Jess remembered Shane calling this ‘true form’ when he had revealed himself to her the first night. Looking around, she realized she was seeing all of the species in true form. She wondered what they all looked like incognito. All three of these species had mastered the art of blending long ago, she was sure. It was hard to imagine them walking down a New York street full of people after seeing them the way they truly were.
It was obvious which were Aquaties and which were Tellus. The Aquaties were extremely tall, and their skin looked like it had been sprinkled with diamond dust, rippling with the colors of their surroundings. Long, muscular legs attached to shorter torsos, chiseled with perfection. They had fins along their forearms, though they were tucked in. She couldn’t tell how far they would extend out. The males wore speedo-style shorts, leaving little to the imagination. The females were adorned in small triangles attached to strings concealing their nipples and sex. Jess understood. Hell, if her skin were that beautiful, she would go naked too.
The Tellus were dark-skinned, ranging from deep tan to midnight black, with multiple hair colors of brown, auburn, and ebony. Their eyes were dark as night and sparkled with intelligence. None were over six foot. The way they moved was fluid, displaying a natural grace. The standard dress among them reminded Jess of something an archeologist would wear at a dig.
Shane had to nudge Jess forward to follow Napoleon and Gil. She followed blindly, still unable to look away from the sight of the Aquaties and the Tellus. Shane had told her of the other two species, but this was the first time she’d actually encountered them. That she knew of. She was probably being rude staring open-mouthed, but she couldn’t help it. Thankfully no one seemed to notice her unabashed, awed curiosity, and she was awarded an understanding smile or wave rather than impatience or annoyance. “This is all to get Moira back?” Jess whispered.
With worry and pride Napoleon responded, “This is to make what she has worked for a reality, not just to bring back Moira. We are uniting to aid all of Fualth’s victims. Moira has been fighting the rogue organization that took your mother for years. We have wanted to raid these nests many times, but much to Moira’s frustration, the Oracles have repeatedly blocked the requests, saying the time wasn’t right. Now they are behind this operation.”
Jess found herself looking at a giant world map that covered one full side of the tent wall. All of the continents were shown, but instead of being seven, the way she had learned in school, the continents had one of four colors. Greenland, North and South America, and Hawaii were shown under the color Green, denoted as “The Americas.” All of Europe and Asia were Red, denoted as “Eurasia.” Africa alone was Brown and simply “Africa.” Australia and Antarctica were blue and denoted as “Austraartica.”
Sitting at a table was a male and female Aquatie. The female was sitting, while the male was standing beside her, bent over a smaller map with his hands planted on the table. He was staring at Jess appreciatively. His marine-colored eyes dropped down to her body and then rose slowly to meet her gaze. The intensity she saw left her feeling exposed.
The female spoke to him, and when he didn’t respond she followed his line of sight. She glanced from Jess to Shane, her eyes narrowed. They were the same shade as the males. She was exquisite. Shane stiffened beside her.
The female turned back to the male. He tipped his head to hear what the female said; never taking his eyes off Jess, and gave a single nod. The female rose, patted the male on the shoulder, and sashayed toward them. A mischievous grin lit her face, and her long hair shimmered in shades of blue. She was nearly as tall as Shane.
“Well, if it isn’t Shane Einar, my favorite one-hit wonder,” her voice purred suggestively. “Thought you said you hated bureaucratic bullshit, or was that just pillow talk?” Her voice rich with nuance, flowed musically from her lips, the kind of voice you could listen to forever, even if the words she was saying made Jess want to kick her teeth in.
“Greycia,” Shane acknowledged.
Jess looked back toward the male. He hadn’t moved, still focusing on her. What was the deal with these two? They acted like swingers. Shane drew her against him, bringing her attention back to the conversation.
“I’d like to introduce you to Jess, my mate.” He corrected, “My bloodmate … if she’ll have me.”
Greycia looked between them. A smile spread across her face, and instantly her demeanor changed. “Really?” she asked Jess, and her expression became open and happy. Jess nodded, even more confused. “That is wonderful.” Jess could tell the female was truly excited for them. The switch from jilted lover to ecstatic supporter was bizarre.
“We think so,” Jess mumbled, really not sure what to think. The male had stood and was walking over to join them, too. He was a giant, easily six-seven. He too had shimmering blue hair. He casually placed his arm over the female’s shoulders while he continued to stare at Jess. Jess shifted her gaze from Shane to Greycia to the male. Truth be known, she was freaked at the idea that she was eye level with the male’s barely contained package. He grinned down at her like he knew what she was thinking.
“Please tell me I didn’t hear you correctly, Shane?” The male’s voice was a melody. Jess felt a shiver run through her, and goose bumps lifted on her arms.
Shane clutched her tighter. “It is what it is. Jess, this is Greycia’s paired sibling, Greyton.”
These two were brother and sister? Shut the front door. She should have figured that they did have striking similarities. “Are you twins?” Jess asked.
Greyton laughed. “Damn, man. If you two didn’t represent the hope for your species, I’d be inclined to challenge you for her.” Challenge him? What was she some sort a booby prize? Greyton’s face lit with friendliness. The speed these two changed emotional gears was unsettling.
Greycia answered Jess’s question. “We’re not twins. A true Aquatie mating is even more rare than Volaticus has become. We are inclined to multiple births. Though Greyton and I were born of the same mother at the same time, we have different fathers.”
“Oh.” What? That didn’t make any sense at all. How could they have two different fathers and be born at the same time? She opened her mouth to inundate them with questions, then thought better of it and snapped it closed again. Now was not the time.
Greycia giggled. “I like your mate, Shane.” She leaned down to Jess and whispered suggestively, “If you and Shane ever want to liven things up, give us a shout.” With that they walked back over to the table.
Jess turned to Shane. “So. Greycia, huh?”
Shane looked at her blankly. “Once,” he answered, his expression unchanged. Did he think she was going to have a come-apart over this?
“Yeah, I picked up on the one-hit-wonder comment,” Jess teased.
Shane continued to stare at her. She schooled her features to match his, leaving him on the fence as to whether she was upset and going to lose it. “Is that all you have to say on the subject?” Shane finally asked.