I knew my team would go with me, but I didn’t want to gyp them out of a normal life. “Do you think we have to live somewhere special once I take a seat on the Coalition?” I asked. “Like a remote castle built on an impenetrable fjord?”
Rourke tilted his head back and laughed. “No, I think with modern technology the remote castle on the fjord is no longer a requirement. Though the members do need solid protection. But I think this rebirth will be different. There’s no way to keep the identity of the new members a secret. Times have changed too much for that, and I think it’s for the best. That will allow us to rally around you openly and use your Pack for position and power. Every Sect will know where you belong, and if they mess with you, they mess with all of us. That will erase many threats before they even develop.”
“You make it sound easy, like taking a corporate job at a firm. It’s not going to be that smooth and you know it.” I leaned up to nip his chin. “You’re just trying to make sure I don’t implode or have some serious PTSD once things get rolling.”
“There might be some of that,” he admitted, “but I don’t think it’s going to be harder than what we’ve gone through thus far. Think of it like this. You’ve been in a Coalition boot camp, so to speak, and once you take your official seat, you’ll be ready. We’ll look at this like a new job. We’ll be together, you’ll have your friends and family around you, and each step will bring us closer to our main goal—”
“Which is peace, I hope?” I asked. “That’s what I want. I want the supernatural race to take a few minutes and breathe.” I knew there would be trouble at the start with supernatural challenges to the new reign of power, but after a few years I was hoping that the Coalition would use their power to quell the unrest and create some kind of peaceful state—at least for a while.
“I think that’s an achievable goal,” he said. “Once the dust settles, I’m hoping, like you, that there will be a period of calm for us.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep that peace once we have it,” I said. “I can almost taste the victory, and it’s delicious.” I snuggled into his chest.
“You have to remember, it’s in the nature of supernaturals to fight.” His chest rumbled in his low bass. “I’m certain it won’t be calm forever, but my guess is this new Coalition will be the most powerful one to date. That will give us a decided advantage and likely buy us big chunks of peace.”
“Why do you think it will be the most powerful?” I asked, bringing my hand up to stroke his face, loving the feel of stubble under my fingertips.
“Because you’re on it,” he said simply. “I can feel the swell of magic inside you. You have tremendous power. Not to mention Eudoxia, who is not only a powerful vampire, but also fae. I see the Coalition members coming in with their root abilities and having a mix of power—almost like hybrids. And once you all share your magic, you will be unstoppable.”
“Do you think I have more power than you now?” I teased.
“Much more. And it’s raw. Jessica, you vibrate with strength. It’s amazing. It’s unbelievable to me that you have no idea how strong you are.” He grinned as he slanted his lips over mine.
I took his kiss greedily.
I broke from him, panting lightly. He tasted wonderful. “I know I have power, I can feel the concentrated magic in my body, but my wolf is in control of it. Now that I know she’s her own being, I trust her to deal with it, and because of that—and that alone—it allows me to feel more normal. Even after all of this. Without her, I don’t think I could do this. I really don’t.”
Rourke lay back and brought me with him, rolling me on top of him, his arms crushing me in their grasp. “You are perfect, you know that? You are handling this,” he murmured, “with your wolf. You’re a team, like we’re a team. I’ve never heard of a shifter and their beast being separate, sharing one body. Mine is very much a part of me—an extension of myself. I have feelings and lots of animal instincts that rear up inside me without warning, but it’s still just me. It makes us decidedly different, but I like that. I think having your wolf separate will keep you levelheaded and able to make good, solid decisions in a stressful time. That’s an asset.”