When James woke, it wasn't Luna's arms that were around him. In fact, his wife had her back to him and didn't even have her tail draped over his stomach. She was awake, he could tell that much. That made him wonder who exactly was attached to him. A second later, he realized he didn't have to think that hard about it.

"Amber?" he questioned.

Humming, the cat rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.

"Get up, Amber." Shaking her, he watched her spring awake and away from him.

"Sorry!" she squeaked as she wiped her eyes. "It happened again, didn't it?"

Luna laughed from his other side. "It did."

James felt both of their souls as gently as he could. Amber was practically vibrating with happiness and lust. While Luna's felt distant, and filled with hesitation.

"Is everyone else awake?" Luna asked, changing subjects and pulling his attention to the others.

Each of them were awake in the dawn light, and even the dragons were filled with the readiness to move out. The night flares had come to an end, and his party were full of mixed feelings. Jamie was excited to craft with him again. She felt nerdy and full of vigor. He didn't have to wait long to realize she had a pipe in her hands.

Mender was full of intrigue as he stared at James. Linda was full of bloodlust and disappointment. Bronson was scared of Linda. The other two Elson brothers were contemplative. He didn't know what about, but everyone was gathering near the entrance.

Getting to his feet, James helped Luna and Amber up. The latter started sniffing him, earning laughter from everyone.

"Dammit!" Amber cursed as she backed away. "Go away, James!"

Luna took his hand. She still felt hesitant and conflicted as she yawned. "Let's say goodbye to the dragons."

Amber ran past everyone to hunt down Everest. James followed, pulling Luna with. "Is everything okay this morning?" he asked.

Luna scanned the area before settling her gaze on him. "Everything's fine. Why?"

He didn't want to push, so he dropped the subject. "Are you ready to get back to civilization?"

"No," she stated right away. "I still don't like cities. Everyone is going to gather around me like flies."

Chuckling, he turned and found Amber leading Everest over. The little dragon was filled with sorrow.

"No go…" Everest whined.

"We have to," James told her. "We won't be apart for long. Just a few months."

Whimpering, Everest pressed her face into Amber's stomach. "I'm sad…"

Amber rubbed her head. "I'll come find you as soon as I can, Everest. I promise. I might even bring James."

"Hey!" he protested.

Giggling, Everest started rubbing her face against Amber. "Games again?"

"Yes." James rubbed her back. "We might even let you win some of them."

"Meanie!"

Laughing, James stepped back. "I'm going to say goodbye to Mother."

Amber waved him off while Luna joined him. He didn't have to go far to find the large dragon. She was waiting for him with her head lowered to the ground.

"Will you be okay with your family?" he asked.

A soft chuckle filled the air. "We are dragons, James. We will be fine. We won't be apart for long, I promise you that."

"Good. Because I have more questions about the Valiant."

Luna turned to him with a frown.

"I'll explain more later," he whispered.

"Ah, yes, I figured you might. I will teach you what I can but know that traveling to the Underworld will give you the most answers."

Wincing, he shook his head. "I'll think about it. For now, I need to find answers on Earth about what happened. Starting with Africa."

"Stay a moment, Luna. I would like your thoughts on something." Turning to James, Mother blew a warm breath that pushed him back. "Go away, James."

Rolling his eyes, he patted her nose. "Fine, but don't take too long."

Luna stepped closer to the dragon as James walked away. When he returned to Amber, he found her giggling with Everest and briefly heard the cat whispering that she wasn't his mate.

Sighing, he realized that Everest still hadn't given up on that front. Reaching the rest of the party, he found Jamie waving him over. Stepping up to her side, she held out her pipe.

"I figured it out!" she exclaimed.

Taking the pipe, he ran his fingers over the runes. With a simple push, he started the heating rune and felt the pipe heat up, but the outside wasn't bad. It was the inside that would heat the water rather quickly.

"Nice!" Handing her back the pipe, he gave her his best smile. "Tonight, we'll work on my portion. How hard do you think it'll be to combine them?"

Shrugging, she deactivated the rune and put the pipe in her storage ring. "I don't know, but I don't think it will be that hard now that I know how to do the connecting rune. I'll walk you through it tonight."

Mender clapped his shoulder. "I've never seen her so excited before."

Huffing, Jamie turned away. "That was mean…"

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Chuckling, James turned to Mender. "We won't be fighting in the forest this time. We should make really good time to the city. Only a couple of days of travel."

"You know what I want?" Linda asked. Once she had everyone's attention she added, "a real bath. Soaking in steaming water, with my feet kicked up and a glass of wine."

"Yes!" Jamie chirped. "Maybe some candles and a novel."

Linda high-fived the woman. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"What about the men?" Bronson asked.

"What about you?" Linda questioned. "You aren't sharing a bath with me. You'll take up all the room. You'd also spend the entire time trying pamper me while I'm trying to melt into the warm embrace of the bath."

Jamie giggled. "You tell him!"

Bronson grumbled something under his breath that made Linda narrow her eyes at him.

"Don't you start with me," she growled.

James clapped his hands together. "That's enough you two." Looking over his shoulder, he called out. "We have to get going! Finish your goodbyes!"

Amber and Luna joined them a minute later. Luna's soul didn't feel any different, while Amber was depressed. Taking the lead, James guided them out of the wasteland and dead city. His vultures were already waiting above the forest, while his panther fell in next to him. The five kittens stayed with Mother and would be traveling to their new home in safety.

***

A few minutes prior.

Luna stood with Mother as the dragon hummed. "What's wrong? What couldn't you say in front of James?"

"You already know what I want to say. You feel it in your soul. That hesitation."

"I feel no hesitation," Luna argued.

Lifting her head, Mother regarded her. "You cannot fool me, Fenrir. You hesitated when you first learned of his power, and you hesitate now. Your soul may mingle with his, but there is a divide."

Tutting, Luna crossed her arms. "And what if there is? I still love him."

"Do you? Would you still love him if he killed an entire city? Will you still follow him if he leaves this world?"

Luna didn't answer right away, and that was her downfall.

"I thought as much. You know in your heart that you aren't meant for him. You may be one of his followers, but for how long? When will you turn away from him?"

"I'll never turn away from him!" she hissed.

"Yet you will not stand by his side either. There will come a time when he needs love the most. Who will be the one to embrace him?"

Closing her eyes, Luna shook her head. "I don't know what you want from me…"

"You know what you must do, Fenrir."

Sighing, Luna opened her eyes and nodded. "I need time. I need to think."

Mother turned away. "Go. I have said what was needed."

Pursing her lips, Luna walked away just as James yelled out that they needed to leave. When she passed Amber, she found the cat crying over leaving Everest. Luna knew the dragon was right, but wasn't ready to accept it. James scared her once again. With his new soul and power, she couldn't think of him as mortal, nor human anymore. He was something else. Something that if released, would kill everything. Eat everything. She didn't know what to do.

***

James stopped counting the miles as Mender led the way to Running River. Without Bo, they only knew the general direction to head, but after climbing a tree, they found the mountain in the distance. They also found a grand river running through the forest, coming from the direction of the mountains.

"We just follow this?" James questioned.

"Yup." Mender kept their pace steady. "We should be able to reach the city tomorrow at our pace. If not camp outside it tonight."

Rubbing his panther's head, James nodded. Spreading out his soul, he felt for miles. The Forsaken that he brushed up against calmed and turned their attention toward him, but didn't move to follow. His companions had mixed reactions. Mender, Jamie, and Amber seemed to be pulled to him, warmth in their souls. The others grew distant. It hurt him knowing that they felt fear, especially Luna.

He wanted to pull Luna aside and talk with her, but every time he tried, she shook her head and stated that he needed to be with the main party as the leader. That they would talk when they settled in the city.

Amber seemed to notice and inched closer to him, until they were at the edge of the group.

"How bad?" Amber whispered.

"Bad enough that it hurts," he admitted.

Sighing, she rubbed his arm. "I have a bottle of rum with your name on it. We can share it tonight and talk."

Smiling, he felt himself relax. "I'd like that. But why rum?"

"Rum is the best drink for those in my line of work. We steal, we kill, and we control. Whisky just doesn't cut it when you have so many wonderful coins jangling in your pocket."

"That makes zero sense. I'm pretty sure you just like rum and are trying to make excuses."

Frowning, she poked his side. "Don't make fun of me, mister. The moment we get into Running River, I'll be breaking down the demi-human district for you. You should praise me and pet me."

Raising his brows, he looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. When they weren't, he leaned in. "You want me to pet you?"

Eyes growing wide, she quickly shook her head. "Nope! Not at all!"

"I'll think about it. But do you know what happened to my shirt from yesterday? I feel like someone stole it."

For just a moment, she winced. Quickly schooling her expression, she shrugged. "I didn't do laundry, so I wouldn't know."

"Right…" Not believing her for a moment, he changed subjects. "Why have you been rubbing all over my scent lately? You weren't like this when we first met."

Letting out a slow breath, she stepped away. "It's a nekorian thing. I don't want to explain it. You'll just judge me."

"I'm judging you either way," he stated. "Also, since when could you change your legs into more feline design? You have feet claws."

Groaning, she shook her head. "Please don't judge me…"

"Luna turns into a wolf. Kind of hard to judge you after seeing that."

Frowning, she conceded the point. "As a nekorian, we have limited changes we can make to our bodies to help with fighting. We grow faster with the change and have more claws. That's also why I fight with my claws. I spent years on the streets, learning how to kill. It wasn't enough to simply win a fight. I had to remove the threat."

"And now you control the demi-human district and slums?" he questioned.

"Growing up on the streets, I had to take control. I had no family, no shelter, and no food. Learning to read and write took making deals and trades with shady people. Math was even worse. I don't regret the things I've done, and wouldn't change any of it, because you can use me now."

"I think I understand." Nodding, he bumped his shoulder against hers. "You're a control freak."

Her expression fell to a blank mask. "That's what you took away from that?"

Smirking, he asked, "would you rather me talk to you about my scent?"

"God no!" Sighing, she bumped him back. "Just don't be surprised if you wake up and I'm on you again. It's getting pretty bad, but it should pass."

"Nekorian thing?"

"Nekorian thing," she confirmed. "Don't worry about it. Luna won't have to worry about me mounting your hips in your sleep, or forcing a kiss. I'll control myself."

He didn't want to think about Luna at the moment and it showed. Amber slowed as she eyed him, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"I'm sorry, James. You keep changing, and the world isn't changing with you. How much did you grow this time?"

Mender sidled over to them. "His body is tougher than anything I've seen before. I don't think any of the elders will be able to hurt him."

Rubbing his arm, James frowned. "Turning into a monster will do that."

Amber took his hand. "You're not a monster, James."

"I have to agree with the cat," Mender said. "Your aura is still just as warm and welcoming as before, but there's power to it." Rubbing his chin, he added, "it's hard to explain. Before, it was as though I knew you would protect me. Now it feels as if you would make the world bow in order to defend me."

"I don't want to make the world bow," James argued. "I just want to find out what happened to my people and why the world is dying."

"We will," Amber assured him. "But first, you need to enchant with Jamie and make hot baths for all of us."

Despite the mood, James laughed. "What is with the women all thinking about baths?"

To his surprise, Luna walked over. "I know why Amber wants a bath."

"Why's that?" Amber asked with narrow eyes.

Smirking, Luna grabbed her own tail. "You want to feel his fingers running along your tail and fluffing your fur. You want the steam to make him sweat and release that wonderful scent that is a drug to you."

Frowning, Amber glared at her. Instead of responding, she walked off, putting distance between her and the group.

"Really, Luna?" James asked.

"Sorry…" Luna muttered. "I didn't think she would take it badly."

Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. "I still have plenty of your shampoo left. Want me to fluff your tail tonight?"

Humming, she nodded. "Yes. Yes, I do."

For the first time that day, her soul wasn't hesitating. She felt comfortable next to him and elated that they were talking. She even took his hand and brushed her tail against him. Things felt normal.

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