Stunned, Ian stared at them, unsure of what to say. He’d thought Ty merely tolerated him, especially since he disapproved of the fights, and the rest couldn’t care less. And here they were, declaring that he was one of them?
“Some of us don’t know you well, myself included,” Jared said, the scar on his cheek gleaming in the late October sunlight. “That’s our own fault for not finding the time. But we know enough about you to know the kind of man, the kind of leader, you are. You’d be the first one to step up if the situation was reversed. Your fighters would, too. And there’s not a shifter in this clearing who doesn’t know that.”
“Besides, no one comes to our town and threatens our people,” Sam said. “Eagle Creek is ours to protect. And we’ll let nothing stand in the way of that.”
“The eagles agree as well,” Garret said with a nod to the sky.
Craning his head, his mouth dropped open as he saw the eagles flying high in the clearing. One, two, three—continuing to count, he realized there were seven eagles circling them. Glancing over, he looked to Jax, taking in his stunned expression. This clearly wasn’t something the eagle shifter set up. His kind were doing this on their own.
Overwhelmed, his throat tightened with emotion. Fuck. This was the absolute last thing he’d expected to happen. He’d gone into this this morning thinking it would be only him and three others against an army, and now they had a small army of their own. Hope started welling up inside him, and then he caught a glimpse of Adara peeking out from behind Jared, and worry washed over him again. He hadn’t wanted any of the women here, shifters or not.
Clearing his throat, he asked Jared, “Why did you bring your mate? Shouldn’t she have left with the others?”
Smirking, Jared replied, “You obviously don’t know what she is.” Glancing at his mate, he said, “Looks like we’re keeping the secret well.”
Adara smiled at Ian’s look of confusion. “I’m a dragon shifter.”
His eyebrows rose. He hadn’t known that. He’d thought Cammie and Alex were the only dragons around.
“We figured two dragons were better than one, right?” Jake said, eyes twinkling.
Hell yes, they were. And now that kernel of hope inside him grew bigger until he began thinking they actually had a shot at walking away from this.
“Thank you,” Ian said, voice gravelly. “Thank you all so much for being here. This means the world to me, to all of us at Rocky River.”
Jared opened his mouth to reply and then paused, all of them turning their heads as the sound of footsteps hit their ears. This time it was coming from the direction of the mountains, and the shifters in the clearing turned as one to face the coming threat.
Body humming with energy, Ian crossed his arms and forced his tiger back down. His cat wanted out in the worst way. Normally relaxed and easy going, the animal was hissing and spitting, clawing Ian’s chest in an attempt to break free.
The War Cats walked into the clearing, two in human form and the rest in animal form. Quickly counting, he saw twelve tigers, not counting the two still in their human form. Technically, the shifters of Eagle Creek outnumbered the tribe, but the War Cats didn’t come by their name lightly. Fierce warriors, they were renowned in the shifter world, known for their prowess in battle. They would be hard to beat.
But the Eagle Creek shifters had something the War Cats didn’t. Two dragon shifters. They could beat them if they needed to use the dragons, but it would be a risk to the whole of the shifter world if Alex and Adara let their animals free here.
Looking for Zane, Ian frowned as he realized he wasn’t one of the humans. That meant he was probably in shifter form, but Ian found that strange, since Zane was likely the reason they were here.
“How good of you to meet us,” one of the men said with a smirk. “Makes this easier. And you even brought friends. If you don’t mind all of the Eagle Creek shifters being wiped out in one go, then I guess we don’t mind doing it. It would rid the shifter world of the weak links here, at any rate.”
“Vynn,” the other said sharply. “We’re not here to antagonize. Besides, we don’t play with our food first. We just feast,” he said with a cold smile.
What the fuck. Ian saw his shifters exchange uneasy glances from the corner of his eye, but he didn’t take his gaze from the tigers. “Why are you here?”
“Do not play dumb,” Vynn replied. “Karis, let’s end this and do what we came to do. They’re too stupid to live.”
Ignoring him, Karis said, “No one has to get hurt here, tiger. Just give us our prince, and we will leave with but a warning.”
“What are you talking about?” Ian asked, f
rown turning puzzled. “Kian isn’t a prisoner here. He’s free to leave whenever he wants.”
“Lies,” Vynn spat. “We know differently, and you do yourself no favors lying to us.”
“He has not been heard from in days, and is not answering his phone,” Karis said calmly, though his light blue eyes were turning white with his animal as he spoke. “If he is not a prisoner, where is he? Kian is no fool, nor is he a coward. He would be here if he were able.”
“I know you hear the truth in my voice right now,” Ian replied, keeping his voice even. “Kian is not, nor has he ever been, a prisoner here. He was upset yesterday and took off. None of us have been able to get ahold of him, either. I’m not sure where you got your information, but it’s false.”
Vynn hissed, but Karis put up a hand, waiting for silence. “And why was our prince upset?”
Hesitating, Ian watched warily as the tigers in the front row moved restlessly. Karis seemed calm, but Ian knew that could change the second he told them what was going on. And Vynn was clearly looking for any excuse to start a war. One wrong word, and battle would break out. But he couldn’t lie to them. They’d hear it, so the truth it was. He’d just have to pray his words wouldn’t launch the war.