Autumn was ready to defend not only herself but her mate from the approaching Guards when a strange sensation traveled over her skin. It felt a little like a static electricity charge but didn't shock her. But it did seem to halt the Guards who turned to look at the Council.

"Kirall?" she asked, never taking her eyes off the Guards in case they turned back toward them.

"It is the power of the Black Elder," he told her.

"Your father?"

"Yes," he turned his head to find his father staring down at them in shock. Not understanding why until he followed his father's gaze and realized Autumn had extended her claws to defend him, just as she had done for her brother. "Autumn, sheath your claws."

"Not until they return to their posts," she growled. "I'm not losing another person I love to an attack."

"Return to your posts," Kirall ordered in a low voice that carried even more power than his father's. To the surprise of everyone, including the Elders, the Guards obeyed. "They will not attack now, Autumn. You can retract your claws."

Slowly she did, straightening from the slightly crouched position she'd hadn't realized she'd gone into. Turning back to Kirall, she found herself pulled deep into his arms.

Kirall was enraged that she'd felt so threatened that she felt the need to extend her claws. That should never happen. He was her mate no matter what Tove was attempting to make others believe. It was his duty and honor to protect her. Always.

Autumn let her head rest on Kirall's heaving chest for a moment, letting the security of his embrace surround and soothe her. She felt her nearness did the same for him. After a moment she looked up and muttered, "Well that was fun."

Kissing her forehead he gave a mirthless laugh. "That's not exactly the word I'd choose."

"No, I guess not. So are you ready to blow this popsicle stand?"

"What?" he asked frowning down at her in confusion.

"Sorry, it’s something my mom would say to my dad. It means are you ready to go yet? I don't think we're going to convince anyone here that I'm a Supreme or that we are mated. At least not today. And honestly, I'm tired of trying."

"If leaving is what you wish then that is what we shall do."

"Kirall." Hearing Kiran, they both turned to face the Council, still in each other’s arms. "There appear to be some things that still need to be explained. You will need to remain."

"I need to see to my mate. Her needs take precedence over the needs of this Council. Elder Tove convened it believing he had the power to summon us here. That we would be forced to obey. He was wrong." His gaze burned into Tove's. "We appeared before this Council only as a courtesy. My mate knew that her presence on Mondu would be shocking. She hoped that by coming here today when we haven't even completed the first month of our Mating," he ignored the surprised gasps that filled the air, "that it would help ease some of that concern."

"Kirall, while I have no doubt that Lady Autumn is a Supreme and that you are mated, making you a Supreme now too, there are still questions that must be answered."

"You can't declare that!" Tove exclaimed. "It is a decision for this Council."

"Of which I am a member and allowed to express my opinion just as you do," Kiran fired back. "I have had the opportunity to speak to Lady Autumn, in both our Lair and theirs. I have no doubt that she is a Supreme."

"Their Lair? You mean your son's Lair," Tove corrected.

"I mean Kruba," Kiran informed him.

"You've been there?" This question was asked by the Elder Pele of the Yellow Primes, who sat on the other side of Kiran.

"Yes, and it is as Autumn has stated," Kiran told Pele. "The tapestries there show Kruba's past Keepers with dual colored hair."

"That's not proof!" Tove exclaimed.

"Is not the fact that Kruba granted them entrance proof enough?" Prime Elder Jeor questioned.

"Not when we all know Kruba is but a shell of what it used to be. A Lair nearly completely depleted of power. Is it any wonder it would allow someone like her entrance?" Tove shouted to the crowd.

"And yet you have never been granted access." Autumn didn’t raise her voice, but it still overpowered Tove's, easily filling the chamber. She was tired of Tove with his purist ideas and bigotry. "Someone who claims to be from a pure bloodline."

"I am from a pure bloodline!"

"And yet, Kruba has never considered you worthy enough of passing through its boundary," Autumn reminded everyone.

"As I've said..."

"And soon it will force you out of the Lair you've attempted to claim in its territory," she cut him off. When Kirall had first told her this was possible, she had felt bad, wondering if there might be something she could do to prevent it. Now after meeting Tove, she wanted him nowhere near her home.

"That's impossible! Kruba doesn't have the power..."

"It does since its Keeper has returned and re-empowered it," Kirall announced, his head tipping toward her.

"Keepers," Autumn corrected shocking all, as a Lair normally only recognized one Keeper, the original Dragoon. If Kruba actually recognized both of them, it would set a new precedent. "Kruba is our Lair, not just mine."

"That can be explored later." Kiran hadn't wanted it to become known right away that Autumn could partially shift. He hadn't actually believed it was true, even though Kirall had told him it was. They had enough to deal with, without it being known that Autumn was different from every other female Dragoon. But as everyone had just seen her claws, there was nothing else but to confront it head-on. "What needs to be discussed right now is Autumn's ability to partially shift."

"What about it?" Autumn demanded.

"Female Dragoons only have two forms: Other and Dragon. There is no in-between," Kiran told her.

"For Minors and Primes that is true," Autumn spoke loudly enough for all to hear. "But female Supremes have always been able to partially shift. It's an extra layer of protection that was kept a closely guarded secret."

"That's a lie!" Tove exclaimed.

"How did you learn of this?" Elder Gal, the Gold Minor Elder, asked.

"It's not a lie," she fired at Tove before letting her gaze move to the Elder asking the question. In his eyes, she didn't see the same condemnation as she did in Tove's. Surprising, since they were the same color. He was simply asking a question. Calming herself, she answered. "I learned of it when the Varana attacked and killed my family twelve years ago."

The word Varana had everyone in the assembly moving nervously. Although it had been years since Varana had been sighted anywhere near Mondu, it didn't mean it wasn't still possible.

"And you survived?" Tove huffed out in disbelief. "You really expect us to believe that a female could survive an attack from the Varana?"

"I don't really care what you believe." She glared at him, her eyes starting to elongate as her Dragon tried to rise up so she could incinerate the arrogant Elder. But Autumn knew she couldn't allow it, not if she wanted to prove she was a mature Dragoon. That didn't mean she couldn't vent a little rage on them. "Any of you! General Terron attacked, and we both have the scars to prove it." Pulling her hair to the front, she ignored the gasps coming from those behind her and spun around so the Elders could see the crisscrossing network of scars her dress revealed.

"Praise Kur!" Niccele gasped in horror, a sentiment repeated by many others.

"General Terron murdered my family, he scarred my back, and left me for dead, but not before I took his eye and left my mark on his face."

More gasps followed her statement, the biggest one coming from Tove, whose golden skin tone seemed to turn a pale yellow.

"Why didn't your Dragon heal you?" one of the Elders asked.

"Because I was still too young to shift," she said spinning back around.

"But you said it was only twelve years ago," Lando reminded her.

"It was." She looked up at Kirall and realized that in her rage, she had revealed something they'd both hoped they wouldn't have to. He gave her a small understanding smile and a nod of support.

“It's okay. Tell them,” he whispered in her mind.

"But that isn't possible," Lando pressed.

"Maybe not for you, but it is for me."

"You will explain," Lando ordered.

"I don't have to explain anything to you," she told Lando, hoping she could still salvage this without revealing her age. "Elder Tove has gotten only one thing right so far today. I am not fully Dragoon. I am not pure as he believes all Dragoons should be. I descend from Razeth, a Red Supreme, who left this world in search of his mate. He found her on Earth. That, if you believe as Elder Tove does, makes me less of a Dragoon. Someone not... worthy of mating a Black Prime. But he'd be wrong because what Elder Tove doesn't realize... What none of you realize, including my mate..." She looked to Kirall who was frowning at her. "Is that Razeth didn't just happen upon Earth by chance. Didn't just happen to find a compatible species he could mate with. He knew exactly where he was going because he was returning to the ancestral home of all Dragoons. The place where all Dragoons originated from and the species they once claimed their mates from."

"That can't be true," Tove gasped.

"It is, and I know this because Kruba told me how it was the Lair for all Dragoons when they first arrived on Mondu. That all the Originals lived there. Working together they carved it out, just as they carved out where you sit now. Every Dragoon, regardless of their status, also empowered a chamber in it." She glanced at her mate and saw he now realized why there were so many jewel-filled chambers beneath Kruba. "That's why it was able to retain its power for so long because it came from all Dragoons."

"If that were true, then Kruba's power should never have diminished because we have grown even more powerful since Razeth abandoned us."

"Abandoned?" Autumn hissed. "Abandoned! Razeth left because it was the only way to save his people from the sickness that was infecting them."

"Sickness? Yes, that's exactly what it is! It's a sickness that makes a Dragoon claim an Other as a mate," Tove proclaimed.

"No," she denied angrily. "The sickness I speak of is that of a Dragoon refusing to claim a mate because they are an Other. Dragoons have always drawn their power from the diversity in their bloodline. It strengthens them, giving them the ability to adapt and evolve. Something pure bloodlines can't do because they've become stagnant and breed jealousy and discontent. That is what happened here, isn't it?" She turned away to address those in the stands. "Those that weren't content with what Kur had blessed them with plotted against those that had what they felt they deserved. Power. Lifespan. Mates. Dragoon and Other alike. It ended the lives of many Supremes and caused the others to leave Mondu in the hopes of discovering a better life. Until only Razeth remained. He prayed to Kur to help him save the people he so loved, and Kur responded by telling him that the only way he could save them was to leave and never return. So he did. He willingly sacrificed himself for the betterment of his people and seeing this, Kur showed him the way to Earth and his mate. It was only later, after Razeth and his mate, Jaclyn, had offspring that Kur informed him that while he would never return to Mondu, one day his descendants would. Descendants. There was supposed to be more than just me. But somehow the Varana discovered there were Supremes on Earth, and they have been hunting us ever since."

"But you should have been able to protect yourself against them," Tove said.

"Human lifespans are shorter than those of the Others here on Mondu. And over time Razeth's descendants adapted to it."

"In what way?" Kiran asked glaring at Tove.

"The speed in which we mature for one."

"Would you please explain further," Kiran asked.

"A Dragoon is considered a youngster until they complete their first shift and mature when they've gone through their first Heat. Is that right?" she asked Kiran.

"That is correct," Kiran confirmed.

"On Earth, one is considered a child or youngster until they reach their adolescent years. Once those years are completed, a human is considered fully mature. An adult. They can then live on their own and can fend for themselves."

"That doesn't sound so different than Dragoons," Jeor commented.

"What are you not saying?" Tove demanded, glaring at Jeor who just ignored him.

"Adolescence for humans begins at the age of thirteen. Maturity is reached at eighteen."

Gasps were heard throughout the chamber.

"How old are you?" asked Pele.

"I'm twenty-two."

"You are a youngster!" Tove exclaimed.

"No. I was a youngster when General Terron attacked and killed my family."

"Why didn't your father shift to protect you?" Pele asked. "Your mother?"

"Because he couldn't. He didn't know he was Dragoon. Neither did my mother."

"That's not possible," Pele whispered.

"It is." Kirall tucked a loose strand of Autumn's hair behind her ear, his fingers gently caressing her cheek before he told the Council what she had told him. "After Varana killed Jaclyn, Razeth soon followed his mate to the White world, and their offspring were left to fend for themselves. For a time they lived as we do, not mating until their first Heat. But over time, their offspring began finding their mates at a younger and younger age and having offspring before their first shift. Some of them died before knowing what they were and from whom they descended was passed on. Until it was forgotten. My Autumn's parents did everything they could to protect her and her brother from the three Varana that attacked them, but we all know how vulnerable any of us are before our first shift. My Autumn survived only because she was able to partially shift and injure General Terron."

"She's the one that took his eye?" Lando gasped.

"Yes, at the age of ten," Kirall said glaring at Lando.

"None of that matters!" Tove jumped to his feet shouting. "What matters is that you have mated a youngster! That is against Dragoon Law! Your life must be forfeited!"

"Touch my mate, and I will incinerate you," Autumn growled.

"You have to be able to shift to do that," Tove sneered.

"And what? You don't think I can?"

"You are a youngster, partial shift or not. You are not mature under Dragoon Law."

"So then what does make one mature under Dragoon Law?" she demanded.

"Being able to completely shift into your Dragon form," Tove told her, "and to go into Heat so you can conceive offspring."

"That's it?" She looked to Kiran for confirmation because he hadn't said anything about being able to conceive, only that she had to go through a Heat. When he gave her a small nod, she began to laugh.

"That's it?" Tove sputtered.

"Autumn, why are you laughing?" Kirall asked turning her to face him.

"Because," she reached up to gently caress his cheek. "If that's all it takes then I've been a mature Dragoon since Bonn stormed into our room on Earth."

"Impossible," Tove scoffed.

"Silence, Tove," Kiran ordered the Elder who was still standing. "The rest of us would like to know what Lady Autumn is talking about."

"Autumn?" Kirall encouraged.

"While we seem to have similar beliefs and use the same terminology, they seem to have vastly different definitions."

"Please explain further, Lady Autumn," Kiran encouraged hoping that somehow it would get them out of this mess.

"If I understand Elder Tove correctly, a female Dragoon becomes an adolescent after her first full shift and is then considered mature once she is able to reproduce, goes into Heat as you call it." She glared at Tove. "And her age has absolutely nothing to do with it."

"Females must be at least..." Tove began.

"That is correct, Autumn," Kirall cut Tove off. "There is no set age for a female or a male for that matter. The Heat dictates when we are mature."

"Then by Dragoon Law, I've been mature since I was thirteen." She let that hang there knowing how shocking that would be for all of them.

"Autumn, you didn't shift when you were thirteen," Kirall reminded her. "You didn't even know you were Dragoon."

"No, but that was when I was first able to reproduce," she told him.

"But... you said humans don't go into Heat and I..."

"Breached my barrier," she said quietly. "Yes, you were my first because I chose not to Join with anyone, but my body was perfectly capable of reproducing."

"You expect us to just take your word for this?" Tove demanded.

"My mate doesn't lie, Elder Tove," Kirall rounded on the Elder, and Tove's eyes widened as he found himself flung back into his chair by the wave of power Kirall hit him with.

Autumn had to admit she enjoyed seeing her mate handle Tove as if he were nothing but a small child. Enjoyed seeing the utter shock and disbelief that crossed Tove's face, along with a hint of fear. The Elder was nothing but a bigot and a bully, and he needed to be put in his place. She could also admit that it turned her on to watch her mate doing it. She loved when he got all growly and dominant. It made her wish they were back in their bed in Kruba... in their Lair... or any of the other rooms they had yet to make love in. Realizing there was no reason for them to be here as there were no more issues to be dealt with since all her secrets had been revealed, she started to turn to Kirall when Tove fell forward, released from Kirall's hold, and a relay jewel fell out of his robes catching the light.

She was instantly transported back to that horrible night of the attack. She was lying on that blood-soaked floor, her body shredded and broken, watching the light fade from her baby brother's innocent blue eyes. She was about to give up, her eyes closing, when a three-clawed lizard’s skinned hand came into view. It reached down and pried the smoky, quartz crystal out of the hand clutched to Jack's chest, taking the very last piece of Jack that she had.

Until now.

Now that crystal was around Tove's neck, and nothing would keep her from reclaiming it.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Kirall looked down at his mate, not understanding the range of emotions that suddenly bombarded him. Oh, he perfectly understood the satisfaction she felt when he'd slammed Tove back into his seat. Was in total agreement when he felt the desire that filled her and how she wished to return to their Lair so they could act on it. It was why he had released Tove. So they could leave. He wanted to respond to that desire as soon as they passed through Kruba's boundary.

Then suddenly, all that warmth and desire was replaced with nothing but pain, sorrow, and horror, before morphing into a rage so powerful that it had him gasping in shock.

At that moment, his mate did something that he wasn't sure even she knew she was capable of. She leaped from where they stood, twenty feet in front of the Council, up and over the wall built to contain their Dragons. She landed on the back of Lando's seat which was directly below Tove's.

The entire Assembly was still gasping at that move when she reached over Tove's mate and daughter, grabbed the still slouched down Elder around the neck, and threw him into the arena. She then launched herself into the air, did a high, graceful backflip and landed in a crouch facing Tove, who was still on his belly.

"Autumn! What are you doing?" Kirall demanded, instantly at her side.

"He has Jack's crystal around his neck," she growled.

"Crystal? What crystal?"

"One of the treasures I told you he hoarded. The one I found and gave to him the day the Varana attacked. The one General Terron ripped from his hands as he lay dying in my arms."

Kirall's eyes shot to the relay jewel that was swinging back and forth from Tove's neck as he pushed himself up onto all fours. It was a large, hexagonal crystal, as long and thick as one of Kirall's fingers, and the perfect color for Tove to covet. It was also unlike any other crystal he had ever seen. How had Tove obtained it?

"You are mistaken," Tove proclaimed struggling to his feet. "And you will pay for embarrassing me this way."

"Embarrassing you?" Kirall hissed. "You have a great deal more to worry about than being embarrassed, Elder Tove. You need to explain how a jewel from Earth, taken by General Terron, is around your neck."

"I don't need to explain anything," Tove denied. "She is mistaken."

"Really?" Kirall reached out and gripping the crystal pulled it from around Tove's neck. "This type of crystal isn't found on Mondu. Where did you get it?"

"That's none of your business."

"It is when my mate claims it was once hers."

"There's no way you can believe her." Tove spun around to face the rest of the Council. "Any of you!"

"When it comes to my mate, I believe her implicitly," Kirall snarled.

"I find that Lady Autumn has been very forthcoming with us, even when it hasn't been favorable for her." Kiran looked at the other Elders and asked, "Wouldn't you agree?"

While Lando didn't nod his head as the other Elders did, he didn't voice any support for Tove either.

"So it is, therefore, the will of this Council that you tell us where you obtained that crystal, Tove."

"Elder Tove," Tove corrected angrily. "And I don't remember where I got it."

"I find that hard to believe." Kirall started to rub the chain, that was wrapped around his hand, between his thumb and finger, the crystal twirling so that shards of light reflected around the room. "Because this is a very unique crystal. I have traveled to many worlds, seen many different jewels and crystals and never have I seen one like this."

"Then you obviously haven't been traveling to the right place," Tove sneered.

"And where is the right place?" Kirall fired back knowing he had caught Tove with his own arrogance.

"I... I'm not saying anything else. I am an Elder and..."

Tove found himself flat on his back this time, with Autumn's face inches from his as her claws dug into his neck and squeezed. "I don't give a fuck who you are," the softly growled words were easily heard throughout the chamber. "You are going to tell me how you got my brother's crystal from General Terron. You are going to tell me now, or I will end your life."

"Guards!" Tove gurgled knowing that they would have to obey him. After all, he was an Elder.

"Stay!" Autumn's gaze never left Tove's as she flung up her other hand. The Guards that had started to obey Tove’s order suddenly found themselves frozen.