Corrus walked down the road to the base with his chin dipping down as he grimaced. Jamie had asked him why he cared so much and all he could come up with was some lame lie about it being his job. Then he held her hand like a ten-year-old boy. No. Scratch that. He did it like a ten-year-old boy with an itch.

"Damn it!" Corrus turned back and saw that Jamie had retreated into the house. He was attracted to her, very much so, and Ethan was growing on him. But he just wasn't right for them. His work with the Shadow Squad meant he would keep odd hours and could very likely die on a mission, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Narchis and Cimmeris had made things work with their mates, but none of them had children, and, as far as he knew, all planned on having them once they were done with the Shadow Squad. Corrus couldn't ask Jamie and Ethan to let him into their lives so intimately when there was a good chance they could lose him.

Corrus stopped abruptly. "Slow down. There's no future to think about because you're not right for anyone, remember?"

"Talking to yourself again," Penum called from the bottom of the driveway.

"No. Just thinking some plans through," Corrus responded. "Is everyone inside?"

"Yup." Penum followed him up the driveway. "We're all just waiting for instructions from our new boss. He's a little short to command so many large dragons, don't you think?"

Corrus rolled his eyes. "Lay off the short jokes, Penum. You've used about a hundred of them on me over the years, and they don't affect me. All you're doing is distracting me from my mission. Keep that up, and I'll bench you."

Penum gasped and turned a "you would never" look onto Corrus.

"That's right," Corrus said as they walked up the steps to the house. "There's a new boss in town."

Penum shoved him, and they laughed. Corrus looped an arm around Penum's shoulder. "Come on. You know you're my favorite."

Penum scoffed. "I’d better be, after all we've been through."

Corrus smiled sadly. "Yeah. You're the only one who knows about all of that."

"Let's focus on the mission. There's no use reliving things we can't change." Penum opened the door and Corrus followed him in. He found Cimmeris and Narchis sitting on the living room couches waiting for him with a smile.

"Hi, Corrus," Cimmeris said. "I wasn't sure how you like to carry out your meetings, but I thought the living room would be fine."

The glint in Cimmeris' blue eyes told Corrus that everyone was having far too much fun with him taking the lead on the case. He decided to let the jokes keep coming. The team hadn't had a mission in a long time and if stirring things up a little kept them sane, then so be it.

"That's very funny, Cimmeris. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like us to get started."

"What a hard-ass," Cimmeris whispered to Narchis and both men chuckled under their breaths. Corrus pretended that he didn't hear them, but it pleased him to see Narchis so relaxed and part of the group. Now that Corrus was the leader, he saw things from a different perspective. Getting people to focus and take things seriously without being an asshole was hard.

"Okay, let's start with Narchis. Did any of your contacts give you any information?"

Narchis scooted forward and shook his head, resting his elbows on his knees. "It looks like I've been out of the game too long. One of them wouldn't even respond to my email."

Penum whistled. "That's rough."

"So what are you going to do?" Cimmeris asked.

Narchis drew in a sharp breath. "Call in some favors. There's a lot of people who owe me, and they need to remember that I helped them get to where they are."

"Thanks for doing that," Corrus said. "That kind of intel will help us find the dragon faster. Although there is the possibility that he could be working alone."

"What makes you say that?" Cimmeris asked.

"I spoke to both Jamie and Ethan, and they mentioned him having a weird accent. Nothing they could place. That was the first clue."

Penum rolled his eyes. "Gleonites are always so damn prideful. They choose to learn enough to get by, but not enough to blend in. No wonder they suck so much."

Cimmeris burst out laughing. "Dude, it's been a while since you let one of those insensitive comments rip."

"I'm glad to be of service." Penum took a mock bow, before sitting back down.

"What else did Jamie and Ethan tell you?" Narchis asked, refocusing the conversation.

"That he kept asking questions about Ethan's father. As a dragon, he could already sense that Ethan is a half-breed. That means that he probably has a deeper interest in the boy. Gleonites are not known for their soft-handed tactics. Heck, they use suicide bombers."

Narchis nodded. "You're right. There's a good chance he could be rogue. But soldiers are soldiers. They always have each other's backs. He must have confided in someone, somewhere. If you check out the Earth shifter communities, I'll work on getting a location for a Gleonite base."

"A hangout spot would do at this point, especially if he's rogue," Cimmeris said.

"Good thinking. If he's been scouting Jamie and Ethan, then he's been here a while, and even he will want to do some socializing," Narchis said. "All right, we have our orders, let's move out."

Penum stood and raised a hand toward Narchis. "Now wait a minute. Corrus is the lead. I think it's his right to close the meeting."

Narchis sat back down and looked sheepish. "Sorry."

"You’d better be. Corrus, please go ahead," Penum said in a posh British accent, and everyone burst out laughing.

Cimmeris wiped a stray tear from his cheek. "I swear, having Corrus as lead has been the most fun I've had in days."

"I'm happy for you, but the meeting isn't over. I need you guys to rework the guard rotations so that Cimmeris can come with me as I look for the dragon. I'd like to have an extra pair of ears and eyes."

Penum turned sharply to Corrus. "What about me?"

Corrus shook his head. "Sorry, but you'd draw too much attention. I want us to pass as wolves; you're too big for that."

"But Cimmeris and I are the same height!" Penum whined.

"Yeah, but my hair and coloring are a lot less noticeable," Cimmeris said. "That, and you're built freakishly large. Only Veilios rivals you in that department, and that's saying something."

Penum folded his arms. "Whatever."

"I promise to bring you along the moment I can." Corrus patted his cousin's arm and walked out to the car. Cimmeris got into the driver's seat and buckled himself in, humming as he did so.

"Does Emily make you that happy?" Corrus asked.

Cimmeris grinned. "She always has. And now, with sex thrown in, everything is that much better."

"Eww." Corrus backed out of the driveway, grimacing. "Emily's like a sister to me. Keep that happiness to yourself, huh?"

"Okay," Cimmeris said, his excitement unaffected. "So, how was your first night with Jamie?"

"What?" Corrus asked, gripping the steering wheel so hard he worried he might break it.

"I asked how your first night with Jamie and Ethan was. What did you think I was asking?"

Corrus could hear the teasing tone in Cimmeris’ voice, and he mentally rolled his eyes. He should have played it cool. The goal was not to have everyone realize he liked Jamie.

Cimmeris snickered. "You like her, don't you?"

Corrus turned sharply to him, darting his eyes between Cimmeris' smug expression and the road. "Did you just read my mind?"

Cimmeris pointed to the road. "Focus. I need to make it home in one piece. And no, I wasn't reading your mind. Your mental shield is pretty strong. It's just obvious. You're always so calm and collected, and your voice went up like three octaves when I asked how your night was."

Corrus sighed. "Well, my night was fine. Jamie and Ethan are fine, as well, thanks for asking. Ethan got a little spooked about sleeping by himself and ended up sleeping with Jamie."

"That's cute, but stop trying to change the conversation. You like Jamie. Why don't you want to admit that?"

"I've admitted it to myself, but that's as far as it's going. Jamie's not my mate."

Cimmeris was quiet for a full minute, and Corrus was glad he'd shut the conversation down. That's what it came down to, wasn't it? If Jamie were his mate, his dragon would have spoken up, but he hadn't, just like he hadn't through most of his life.

As his father's abuse of him and Penum grew, Corrus' dragon had retreated more and more into himself, leaving Corrus to deal with the worst of it. He still saw everything, but he chose to distance himself, and Corrus was glad he had. His dragon always wanted to fight back, but Corrus' father made sure there were a lot of serious consequences for such actions.

Corrus didn't fear his father, per se. That had faded with age. But he did hate him. His father had kept the abuse secret, acting the perfect gentleman when Corrus' mother was around. But once she left to go lecture in the capital, he'd revert to the monster he was.

And so Corrus' dragon had remained quiet, except when in dire conditions. Recognizing one's mate wasn't a dire situation, but Corrus knew how important it was. If Jamie were his mate, his dragon would have said something, but he hadn't, and that was that.

"How do you know she isn't your mate?" Cimmeris asked.

"Because my dragon hasn't said anything."

"Hmm. Well, mine didn't say anything for a long time, and I've known Emily for most of my life. It can take time, but you need to be open to the possibility. My dragon's pretty bullish, but even he knows not to bring something up when it's clear I'm not ready to hear it."

Corrus clenched his jaw. "Can we talk about something else?" Cimmeris meant well, but he knew nothing of Corrus' relationship with his dragon. If his dragon had something to say, then he'd say it.

Cimmeris raised his hands defensively. "Okay, but I would like to meet this mystery woman. Penum is always going on about how cool Ethan finds him, so I want to meet him to make sure it's not all lies."

Corrus smiled. "Believe it or not, Ethan likes Penum. It's nice to see the softer side of him when he's around a child."

"Our Penum has come a long way, hasn't he?" Cimmeris said.

"That he has."

"And it's all thanks to my Emily."

"Eh, partly. I've been laying the groundwork for years. I'd say it was a team effort. Speaking of teams, I'd like to organize a dinner for Jamie and Ethan to meet everyone. I don't want Ethan getting used to making friends with every random man he meets."

Cimmeris raised a hand in objection. "Uh, first of all, we're not random. Secondly, you must be channeling your dad. You sounded so fatherly just now."

Corrus drew a sharp breath and batted his eyes wildly as blood roared in his ears. The worst thing a person could do was compare him to his father in any way. The man was a lowlife monster, and any comparison to him meant that the hard work Corrus did to keep himself in check had failed if anyone saw even a trace of his father in him.

There was nothing he could do about his forest green eyes and dark hair that matched his father's. But he wore his hair long and grew a light mustache to help with that. On the personality end, he kept quiet and spoke when necessary, unlike his loud-mouthed father.

"Don't compare me to my father," Corrus growled.

Cimmeris flinched. "Oookay. Look, don't worry about the dinner. I'll get Veilios to help me organize it. All you have to do is show up with Jamie and Ethan in tow. I don't think we'll all fit at Emily's kitchen table."

Corrus took a deep breath and let his anger pass. Cimmeris knew nothing of his past, and he couldn't judge him for saying something that he didn't realize would upset him. And now he was offering to help Corrus with something that was his responsibility.

Corrus felt his face, neck, and ears grow impossibly hot. He had just popped off on a friend, and that wasn't who he was. At least, it wasn't the man he'd worked hard to build himself into.

"Sorry for snapping at you."

Cimmeris patted his arm. "It's okay. We all have off days."

"Yeah, but it was still wrong. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"And thanks for helping with dinner."

Cimmeris laughed. "All I'm doing is using my creativity and delegating, but I'll accept your thanks. Now, why don't you tell me where we're going?"

Corrus smiled. "To a football practice."

"What?" Cimmeris yelled.

"Wolves are the largest group of Earth shifters. They like charging into things. I'd say football suits them just fine. Make sure you put this on." Corrus reached into his pocket and handed Cimmeris a bottle of wolf scent that Veilios had made for them.

"Thanks. So, how do you know where the Earth shifters hang out?"

"Colonel Soros asked me to do some scouting during my first shopping trips."

Cimmeris whistled. "Wow. It's like you've lived a whole other life that I don't know about."

You don't even know the half of it, Corrus thought.

* * *

Later that evening, Corrus came home, tired from his day hunting for the Gleonite dragon. Cimmeris had been a great help, but if Corrus were honest, his enthusiasm was a little too much. His friendly personality got them a lot more leads as to where Earth shifters hung out, but Cimmeris also insisted on checking out as many places as possible.

So Corrus walked into the house exhausted, looking forward to a quiet night. Before he threw himself down on the couch, he walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of cold water, chugging it as fast as he could.

"Long day?" Jamie said, standing behind him.

Corrus turned, and his eyes scanned Jamie from top to bottom, taking in her beauty as he never had. From her delicate neck that was exposed by the sleek ponytail she wore, to the subtle cleavage that her v-neck shirt enhanced, and finally down to her gorgeous curves that her dark-wash skinny jeans displayed proudly.

Corrus' eyes slammed into Jamie's, and she smiled, making his pulse pound even harder, sending hot shivers through him. She was fucking gorgeous, and while he'd noticed it before, he'd never seen her like this. Not only as an attractive mother, but as a woman he'd pursue on a night out on any planet.

Mate, his dragon whispered, and Corrus gasped.

Jamie laughed. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me I look that good."

"You do," Corrus whispered before he shook his head. "I mean, you look nice. Like dressed up. Not that you don't look nice in your regular clothes, which I've never seen because I've only known you a day."

Corrus slammed his mouth shut. He had no idea where his verbal diarrhea had come from. Jamie was his mate, and his dragon had chosen the one moment when he was drooling over her like a teenager to tell him that.

See. I do speak up, his dragon said, with humor in his voice.

"Let me get changed and then we'll go." Corrus turned to leave, then stopped. "Oh, is Ethan ready?"

Jamie's cheeks were flushed as she nodded, trying to hold in her laughter.

"Okay, great." Corrus ran out of the kitchen before he embarrassed himself further.

Jamie is my mate, Corrus thought.

She is, his dragon said.

It's just a shame that I can't be with her. We would have been dynamite together.

And there you go again, his dragon said, before going quiet.

Corrus picked out fresh clothes from his closet before putting on some deodorant. You know as well as I do that we'd be no good for her.

Don't you think she's worth trying to become a better man for? His dragon asked.

And then it was Corrus' turn to go quiet.