There’s been quite a bit of chatter on the channels over the disappearance of two mercenaries from a larger team who went to perform reconnaissance,” Mary reported before flashing one of her wry smiles. She sat in front of a bulletin board covered with maps, as she always did, and the push pins stuck here and there represented the concerns she oversaw around the world.

I lost count. How did she manage it? I’d often wondered, watching her as she worked, admiring her lightning-fast intellect and her ability to juggle so many projects at once.

“And? What will the rest of their team do as a result?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“I wouldn’t worry about them. They tipped their hand, thanks to you. Once we located them based on their transmissions, we cleaned house.” Her smile widened. “Mission accomplished.”

“Who was it?” Alan asked, leaning forward.

“We’re still uncertain, that’s the only head-scratcher. A wealthy group, perhaps connected to the pharmaceutical industry but certainly an underground offshoot. It wouldn’t do to approach a major company and announce the plan to hunt and imprison dragon shifters for the purpose of stealing their blood. One might just as well write their ticket to a mental hospital,” she snorted. “At any rate, their base of communication has been destroyed, along with all records. I feel safe in reporting the mission a success.”

“That’s good news.” Alan clapped me on the back before shaking my hand. “We most certainly couldn’t have kept things status quo here without you.”

“I was just doing my job,” I said with a shrug. As though it were as simple as that.

“I suppose this means you’ll be joining up with us now,” Mary suggested, one eyebrow quirking up over her glasses. “Since there’s nothing left for you to do there.”

Nothing left for me to do. I knew the time would come when I would run out of reasons to stay. I didn’t know it would come so soon, was all.

How was I supposed to leave her?

I opened my mouth with the intention of speaking, but Alan beat me to it.

“Unless you would rather stay for a while. Sort things out.” It was clear how hard Alan struggled to contain the knowing smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

Mary sighed. “I suppose I could spare you, if you really felt you needed to—what did you call it, Alan? Sort things out?”

The two of them chuckled.

I looked at Mary, who returned my frank gaze from across thousands of miles. “Yes?” I asked.

She sighed, and in that sigh, I heard many things. Resignation, acceptance, the knowing that things had changed the moment she’d asked me to accompany the clan to Scotland. That after decades of working side-by-side, the time had come for us to go our separate ways.

I’d finally found something worth living for.

Then, she smiled. “Yes. And if you want to come back—whether or not you’re alone when you do—you know there’s always room for you. Just say the word.”

“And you’re all right with this?” I turned to Alan.

He clapped me on the back again. “Aye. At least I know I never need worry over my sister while you’re around. You’ve already gotten yourself shot for her sake. I hope it never has to go beyond that.”

* * *

I found her where I knew I’d find her, in the circle of stones, walking among them, touching them as she passed.

Having possessed her, I saw her through different eyes. Loving eyes. She was mine to protect and also to serve, to guard and to pleasure. Just the thought of that stirred me, even though we’d already exhausted ourselves twice that morning prior to my call with Mary. She was insatiable, which only brought insatiability out in me.

She looked so solemn as she progressed, her brow furrowed in thought. It seemed wrong to interrupt her, as though I’d be walking in on something sacred I wasn’t supposed to be aware of.

But she’d sensed me already, and she would, since we’d joined ourselves as we had. “I never knew until we were gone from this place how much this circle means to me. Even if it isn’t used for its original purpose any longer.”

“What does it mean?” I asked, coming closer but not stepping inside. Giving her space.

“Continuity. It’s a circle, after all, never-ending. And these stones have stood here all this time, looking down on us and out at the changing world. They may have worn down over the centuries, but they’re still here while so much has come and gone.”

“You’re here, too,” I reminded her.

She smiled. “Yes, I am. But for how much longer?”

“What does that mean? Did you plan on going somewhere?”

She stopped, her eyes finding mine. “Oh. I had assumed…”

“Assumed what?”

“Assumed that you would want to leave, now that everything’s settled here and all is back as it was.” Her hands dropped to her sides. “I assumed I was going with you. Don’t you want me to?”

“You would leave this for me?” I gestured all around myself, to the loch and the woods and the mountain. Her home as long as she’d lived.

She pulled a face, as though I had suddenly lapsed into another language. “Of course.” The simplest, easiest thing in the world.

“You realize I would never ask you to, don’t you?” I went to her, stepping into the circle and taking her hands. “I’d never ask you to leave this behind. I know what it means to you. I know how strong the ties are which bind you to your clan. It would be tantamount to asking you to change who you are, and I would certainly never do that.”

She bit down on her lip, frowning. “What, then? What other option is there?”

“You don’t see it?” I asked, chuckling. “Really? It never occurred to you that I would stay?”

Her eyes widened, her face lighting up. “You would?”

“I would, and I am.” I drew her into my arms, still chuckling, as she rested her head on my chest. The glorious weight of it, the way she nestled in and fit perfectly under my chin. “I would rather lose my life than ever leave you, Ainsley. Life wouldn’t be worth living without you. I would never have guessed I’d long so for a dragon to drive me crazy.”

“I prefer to think of it as challenging you,” she pointed out.

“It’s a challenge to keep from going crazy. Is that a fair enough compromise for now?”

She leaned back, looking up at me with laughter in her eyes. “Yes. I think that’s a good start.”