Jamie stood outside the office at the base and wrung her hands. She had never spoken to an army colonel, let alone one who had the power to affect her mate's career. Although Corrus had reassured her that Colonel Soros wouldn't make Jamie do anything, or punish Corrus, she still couldn't help but worry that something she might say could change all of that.

Corrus took Jamie's hands into his. "Come on. I already told you I'm not in any trouble."

"Then why does she want to see me?"

"I have no idea, but it doesn't matter. The main thing is that the three of us are a family. Nothing can get in the way of that."

Jamie sighed. It all sounded well and good, but she still worried that Corrus might wake up and have regrets about what his career may or may not have been because of her and Ethan's presence in his life.

Corrus tilted Jamie's chin. "What's this really about?"

"How important is your career to you?"

"What do you mean?" Corrus tilted his head.

"Do you have aspirations that Ethan and I could get in the way of?"

Corrus chuckled and pulled Jamie to him. Now that he wasn't wearing wolf scent, Jamie loved burying her nose into his chest, just to get that sexy whiff of all that was Corrus. It wasn't that she hated how he’d smelled before. It's that it had covered his delicious aroma.

Jamie looked up at Corrus. "Be honest."

"No." His green eyes were clear and focused. "I am more than happy to put my career second for you and Ethan. I love my job because I get to help people, but there are other ways I can do that. If the moment comes where I have to walk away from it, I will do so with a smile. Does that answer your question?"

Jamie nodded, then tiptoed to peck Corrus. She lay her head on his chest once more and let his natural body heat soothe her. A minute later, the office door opened and Narchis walked out with a smile.

"Jamie, Colonel Soros will see you now."

Corrus took Jamie's hand and led her to the door, but Narchis placed a hand on his chest and shook his head. Jamie swallowed thickly. It looked like she wouldn't have the support she was counting on, but Corrus had just reassured her that his job wasn't his number one priority. So, in a way, she couldn't mess things up too badly.

Jamie smiled at Corrus, then walked into the office. A charismatic redhead smiled at her from a large computer screen, and Jamie thought that she looked too young to have seen as much war as Corrus said she had.

"Hello, Jamie. I'm Colonel Soros." Her alto voice was warm and rich. Jamie could see how compelling the woman could be when she wanted to be.

"Uh, hi. You wanted to see me?"

The redhead laughed. "Straight to the point. I like that."

"Oh, I didn't mean to be rude." Jamie felt her cheeks flush.

Colonel Soros shook her head. "Don't backtrack. Ever. Say what you mean and then deal with the consequences."

"I'll, uh, remember that."

"I'm coming off like a drill sergeant, aren't I?" Colonel Soros smiled. "It's late here, and I've been up for the last thirty-six hours. Sorry."

Jamie shook her head. "I get it. I don't work as hard as you, but, when Ethan was a baby, I didn't have the patience for a lot of things."

"How old is Ethan?" Colonel Soros asked.

Jamie beamed. "Five."

"And how is he dealing with everything that happened. From the reports I received, he may be traumatized."

"I thought he would be, too." Jamie shook her head. "Your team is amazing. Veilios explained everything to him and satisfied all his curiosity before he ever got home. When I next saw him, he was calm, and now he's interested in what else the dragons can do."

Colonel Soros smiled. "That's good to hear. My worry with how Corrus and his team handled this issue is that it could have led to a lot of blowbacks. My job is to act as a detached third party and make the best decisions for everyone involved. I hate to say this, Jamie, but what Corrus and his team did was very dangerous for you and your son."

Jamie froze, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Colonel Soros had made her feel at ease by talking about Ethan then pounced on Corrus when she least expected it. Jamie would not allow her to blame Corrus for doing the best he could under the circumstances.

"How did he endanger us?'" Jamie asked, folding her arms.

"Firstly, by not telling me. We have a powerful intelligence network, and we could have figured out the Gleonite's motivations, if not his location, within a matter of hours. Instead, Corrus allowed him to roam for days, gaining help to fight back and gathering intelligence on my team."

Jamie shook her head. "That may be true, but he was worried you'd try to put me in a protection program of some sort."

"I may have." Colonel Soros shrugged. "But the point is that he endangered you. Then, every time he went into town searching for the Gleonite, he risked catching a tail who would follow him back straight to you and Ethan. Can't you see how dangerous that was?"

"I can, but I honestly don't care." Jamie drew a sharp breath and forced her anger down. While Corrus said that he didn't care if he lost his job, she wouldn't be the one to take it away from him with an outburst. Colonel Soros seemed kind enough in the beginning, but now she was blaming Corrus.

"Look," Jamie said, leveling her voice. "Corrus may have made mistakes, but they were calculated mistakes. I don't know all the precautions he took, but I know he took them. The most important thing is that he saw a dragon sitting outside of a candy store, realized he might have nefarious motives, and stepped in to help me. All without knowing me. If he hadn't stepped in, I would have lost my son. As it stands, he rescued us both. Did he make mistakes? Absolutely. Has he learned from them? I believe he has. So please stop doing whatever it is you're trying to do here by blaming him."

Colonel Soros was quiet as she looked down, no doubt weighing Jamie's words. Two minutes later, she looked up and smiled.

"Great! You have just proven that you trust Corrus and the team with your safety. There's no reason for me to step in."

Jamie's mouth fell open. "You mean you were testing me?"

"I had to." Colonel Soros grinned. "While I support my team in all matters, I have a responsibility to ensure the safety of every innocent my team rescues. For most of them, I negotiate safe travel back to their planets, and safe assimilation back to their regular lives. I'm not the type to gamble. You have chosen to stay with Corrus and the team. The fact that you know the risks involved and choose to trust them means I have nothing to worry about."

Jamie shook her head. If these were the type of mind games Emily played all day, then she could see why she would need some help. She'd only spoken to Colonel Soros for less than ten minutes, but she felt exhausted.

"How do you do this all day?" Jamie asked.

The older woman chuckled. "I don't know. Every report of a person rescued and integrated into a better life gives me a shot of energy. How I've managed to keep this going for so long, I couldn't tell you."

"You sound like a mother." Jamie smiled.

Colonel Soros titled her head. "I'd never thought of it that way, but I like it. That means I get to discipline the team in any way I see fit, right?"

"Uh...I guess?"

"I like you Jamie, and I like the fact that you're aware of the risks involved with staying with the team. Corrus told me you're his mate, and I'd like to extend two offers to you in light of that."

Jamie raised her eyebrows. What did Colonel Soros have to do with her and Corrus' relationship? She shrugged. "Okay."

"You already know that, as Corrus' mate, you have the right to become a Brevian citizen by legally proclaiming your relationship. I want you to know that I will send the paperwork whenever you're ready to sign. Also, Ethan will not have the right to serve in the Brevian army because he wasn't born here or registered as Brevian within three months. I want you to know that should he have an interest in serving our military, I will personally make that happen for him."

"Wow." Jamie hadn't given much thought to Corrus' home planet. Would he want to live there after he retired? Would she be okay with that? They may love each other, but there was a lot they needed to discuss.

Colonel Soros smiled kindly. "It looks like I jumped the gun on this. I thought that Corrus might have mentioned some of this before."

"It's still early days for us."

Colonel Soros nodded. "Feel free to take your time and discuss everything with Corrus."

"Okay." Jamie straightened her shoulders. Far too much had been going on. Of course, the topic of where they might live in the future hadn't come up. There would be plenty of time to discuss it later. For now, she just wanted to enjoy her new relationship.

Colonel Soros yawned. "I need some rest. Before I go, I want you to know I'm moving the base about an hour away from your present location. You and your family will have your own home nearby, of course. I can't promise that this will be a permanent base because there are far too many variables. Are you okay with that?"

Jamie tilted her head and thought about it. If she was considering going to Brevia for Corrus, then what was moving an hour away, or even to another country? Jamie and Corrus were in this together. Wherever he went, she would go. And now that she thought about it, she would feel a lot better the further away she got from their current town.

"I think it's a great idea. Some of the dragon’s friends are still in town."

Colonel Soros nodded somberly. "That's my reason for moving the base. While I'll make sure the new base is relatively close to a school for your son, I must warn you that it will be a lot more isolated. The only reason I let the team stay so close to a big town was that they'd spent far too long away from city life. I think they've had enough of a break."

"Thank you for thinking of Ethan," Jamie said with a smile.

"You're welcome. Now, I have to go to bed. Because you're here now, you get the privilege of passing on the news to the team. Good luck!"

Colonel Soros signed off without a goodbye, and Jamie stood in the office for a minute to gather her thoughts. Life with Corrus was already beginning, and she knew that it wouldn't be boring.

Thank god! She thought. I've had enough of that, and I'm sure Ethan will appreciate the adventure.

Jamie walked out of the office and into Corrus' waiting arms. "What did she ask you?"

"A bunch of questions that confirmed that I trust you."

Corrus smiled. "We could have told her that ourselves."

"I think she just wanted to hear it for herself so she could rest easy. Colonel Soros is a nice woman."

Corrus nodded. "I know, and I'm starting to realize just how much as the years go by. No other Colonel would allow a team to live as we do."

"Uh, speaking of living arrangements, I need to pass a message along to you all. Colonel Soros is moving our home and the base about an hour from here."

Corrus grinned. "I want to hear you say that again."

"Okay. Colonel Soros is moving—"

"No," Corrus interrupted. "The part about our home."

Jamie blushed. "Oh. I forgot. It's actually Emily's."

"To be honest, she's rarely there. She got it just to have an address here so that she could keep up appearances. Besides, Cimmeris has been working on clearing out one of the spare rooms for her to use as an office." Corrus chuckled. "He's going to be so mad we're moving. He almost had it done!"

Jaime smiled. "Well, we're moving for a good cause: our collective safety."

"I'm sure he'll get over it." Corrus took Jamie's hand and led her out of the house. They settled into a gentle stroll back to their home.

"How do you feel about moving so far away from your family?" Corrus asked.

Jamie shrugged. "They've become a nonfactor. They kicked me out and refused to be a part of Ethan's life. Moving further from them doesn't affect us."

"I'm sorry they haven't been good to you and Ethan."

"It's alright." Jamie wrapped an arm around Corrus. "I have a new family now. And I wouldn't trade them for anything."

Corrus kissed her forehead. "I feel the same. How do you feel about making tomorrow night our mating night? I have a feeling if we don't plan for it, then we'll never get the chance to have it."

"I think tomorrow sounds perfect."

"Are you sure?" Corrus asked, his voice full of concern. "I know it's been a while for you."

Jamie looked up at him. "I'm sure. I love you, and I want to fully be your mate."

Corrus grinned. "I can't wait."

Now I need to convince Emily to go into town for some new lingerie, she thought. If I'm going to have sex for the first time in almost six years, I need all the confidence boosters I can get.