Lucas looked around the room, observing all the people he’d probably never see again— all the people he’d been putting off informing that he’d never see again. Fiona, the snow leopard, whose cool reserve was almost fit for royalty. Rafa, who had soon joined with Destiny in dragging Lucas to strange places like sports bars and barbecue joints, trying in his own way to make him feel like he belonged.
Shane, who had done his terrifying best to intimidate Lucas, but who had respected him when Lucas had passed his test of courage. Nick, the former gangster, whose rough street background made him dislike people born into wealth, but who had backed Lucas up like a brother when they’d worked together.
Hal, who had invited him to join the team in the first place. Ellie, Hal’s sweet and brave mate. Now that Ellie had finished doctoring Hal to her satisfaction, she leaned so close into him that she was practically sitting in his lap, her head against his shoulder and his arm around her back. That was the mate bond: comfort and companionship, passion and love.
A pang of loneliness pierced Lucas to the heart. He’d run out of time, and now he’d never experience that bond. And he couldn’t bring himself to tell his teammates h
e’d have to leave forever— not when there was still a chance of a miracle.
He remembered a story his old nanny Vasilica had told him. Once there was a horse trainer who had been sentenced to death by the king.
“Wait!” the horse trainer had cried. “If you postpone my execution for one year, I can teach your horse to fly.”
The king (who must have been very gullible, Lucas had always thought) had agreed to postpone the execution, but told the horse trainer that if he failed to teach his horse to fly by the end of it, he’d not only be executed, he’d be tortured to death.
The horse trainer’s best friend approached him afterward and said, “What was the point of that bargain? You only bought yourself a year, and then you’ll be tortured to death!”
The horse trainer replied, “Many things can happen in a year. In a year, I could die, or the horse could die, or the king could die. And who knows? In a year, maybe I really can teach a horse to fly!”
“Lucas?” Hal asked, frowning. “Are you all right? Did something happen that you’re not telling us?”
Lucas glanced at the clock. Twelve hours. Maybe in twelve hours, he’d die, or the princess would die, or Brandusa would be invaded and no one would care about the arrangement. Or maybe in twelve hours, he’d find his mate.
“Nothing of note,” Lucas replied, and recounted his latest job in more detail. He had been trained from childhood to speak in public, and he let his training take over.
After the meeting, the group had lunch. Lucas didn’t notice what he was eating, intent only on finishing so he could leave and go... somewhere his mate might be.
Ellie stepped aside to text on her phone. Lucas watched her absently, wondering if she was talking to her brother Ethan, a Recon Marine who was off on another mission. Then he decided from her giggles that she was chatting with her best friend, Catalina Mendez, a paramedic like herself. No one in Protection, Inc. had ever met her. Catalina, who was even more adventurous than Ellie, belonged to an organization similar to Doctors Without Borders. Soon after Ellie had met Hal, Catalina had been called away to help with an earthquake in another country.
Could she be his mate?
“Ellie?” Lucas called. “When is Catalina coming back?”
Ellie’s eyebrows rose; Lucas had never been curious about Catalina before. “Hard to say. Whenever the emergency services in Loredana get back on their feet.”
That caught Lucas’s attention. “Is that where she is? That’s near my country, Brandusa.”
Everyone stared at him. Again.
“Didn’t you know about the earthquake in Loredana?” Fiona inquired. “If it’s near your country...”
Her words stung Lucas far more than she’d probably intended. He detested the implication that he was neglecting his duties to the land he’d left. He straightened his back and inquired, “Why should I pay special attention to a region to which I will never return?”
His tone would have made most people back off, but Ellie didn’t scare easily. She asked, “Why’d you leave?”
Lucas said stiffly, “I had my reasons.”
Destiny slapped Ellie’s shoulder. “Don’t bother. We’ve all asked, but he won’t say. Even Hal doesn’t know.”
Lucas felt an arrogant expression form on his face, like a mask. He was no more than a couple meters from the farthest of them, but he felt a million kilometers away. And he felt even more distant when he realized that after all this time, he still thought in meters and kilometers instead of American feet and miles.
He’d fled Brandusa partly to escape the feeling that he was always alone, even in company. But nothing had changed. He was still in company, and he was still alone.
Everyone was still looking at him. Ellie seemed puzzled, Rafa and Destiny frowned in exasperation, Nick’s glare was outright angry, and Fiona and Shane had applied their best “too cool to care” expressions. Lucas could deal with all that. But Hal looked concerned, and that was the one thing Lucas couldn’t face.
“Lucas—” Hal began.
Lucas pushed back his chair and stood up. “I have work to do.”