Page 22 of Smoke and Flame

Yeongi nodded and headed toward the door.He had a smaller office on the other side of the second floor.Previous Mckennas had their aides set up at a desk in their office, but Aodh believed everyone had a right to privacy, no matter their position in the Thunder.It also helped his aide communicated on the radio without Aodh being disturbed by all the chatter through the device.Before the Great Catastrophe, communication between people and countries was more accessible.It could be accomplished through several avenues—cell phones, computers, gaming systems—but once all those technologies had failed, destroyed by natural disasters, human missiles, and vengeful hackers, it had been a unanimous decision of the PM to outlaw it.

Once humankind had locked and buried itself underground, things changed drastically, and all seven continents were left to shifters, and the world righted itself.

Aodh crossed to the maps mounted on the wall across from his desk.A replica of those on the long table downstairs.He stood before the one that displayed the North American continent.In the file closet within Yeongi’s office were old maps of the world and how each continent used to be formed.Things were different now.If anyone who had seen the previous one looked at the map before him, they would not know what it was.Everything had changed.

Reaching out, Aodh traced along the borders of his territory.His responsibility.Outside of the markings for bodies of water, it was simple.Bear Territory, Dragon Territory, Wolf Territory, Fae Territory, Vampire Territory.Similarly, the other six continents had sectioned off with other shifters and the like, who were allowed to rule and live as they wanted.Managing conflicts that usually stemmed from territory infringement had been easy without human interference and fear of mass hysteria.Shifters handled those situations without battles or bloodshed.Sometimes.Occasionally, even weres and shifters had to test the limits and let off some steam.In those moments, individuals walked away bloody or maimed, never dead.It was unlawful unless ordered by the magistrate for severe violations.

Most of those violations were ruled on by the PM, but the Alpha or Leader over the individual handled the execution of the verdict.

Aodh continued to trace the areas under his domain.It was the largest territory.As they were dragons, and with all the dragon-shifters across the globe now living in one region, they needed the space to fly without being in another’s area and appearing as a threat.When a dragon’s shadow crossed over man or beast, it caused trepidation.Aodh felt the warmth of his dragon’s joy and grin inside of him.Aodh chuckled.

Shaking his head, he dropped his hand.He had to admit to agreeing with his beast.The smell and vibrations of the unease of others under their shadow always felt good.As dragon-shifters, they learned at their first pubescent shift to be proud of their coloring, beauty, and mass.

The only thing better than their superbia was the pride in the heart and eyes of their mate.

Mate.

Kai.

Aodh felt the cloak of that weighted blanket on his shoulders again.His beast rose and stretched against his confines.Kai’s possible reaction concerned him.Yes, he worried that his beast might not accept her as a true mate, but there was just as much anxiety around Kai meeting his dragon.

“Mckenna, the team is gathered in the conference room,” Yeongi called behind him.

Shifting away from the map, Aodh started across the room.Usually, his movements were soundless, but the thumping of his steps was a testament to the heaviness he felt inside.“Let’s get the meeting started.”

Aodh quickly walked the stairs out his office door with his aide behind him.He retraced the path he had made not too long ago.Once the instructions had gone out of the various radio channels, Aodh knew it would not take long for his leadership council to arrive.They would have all flown from their areas of the territory.The higher a dragon flew, the more land it could cross.It was considered urgent when Mckenna called a meeting outside the regular bi-weekly schedule.

Aodh hated making his Thunder’s leadership members believe there was an emergency or a pending one.However, he needed to ensure he addressed a few things to keep the rumors among his kind unfiltered.Nothing added that like ensuring his leaders were abreast of everything so they could trickle it down to everyone under their division.Secrets were dangerous and led to misunderstandings and possibly someone’s accident.

“Leaders.Thanks for your quick response.”Aodh strutted into the room and greeted everyone occupying the seats where their predecessors just sat.“I know I’ve taken more than a few of you away from your jobs and others’ rest.But there are things we need to discuss and keep on our radar.”

Once again, he claimed his seat at the head of the table.Everyone sat silent, observing him, and waited.

With a nod, Aodh said, “Hugo, I hear there’s chatter across one of the Great Heaths.”The Great Heaths were large areas formerly known as the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.Those large bodies of water were still around.However, they had shifted during the multiple earthquakes and tsunamis, glaciers melting, and formations in obscure places.Yes, the topography of Earth had changed.

“Correct,” Hugo confirmed.

“Why don’t you brief us all on what is happening.”

Hugo stood, dressed in their kind’s standard male apparel, in a light-blue cotton vest with dark-gray pants.His hair was a deep brown, a few shades lighter than his skin, not covered by the markings of his dragon.His strands were thick with coils intertwined in a multiple rope-like fashion that hung down his back.“In the early hours, we received a communication report from Europe.They stated that the Asian Council has been tracking unlawful activity.It seems Asia’s request that the inter-preternatural magistrates, IPM, discuss rising issues with the humans.”

A murmuring began around the table.

“What kind of issue?”Aodh wondered if there had been other incidents of lone humans beyond the perimeters humans had built.Was it as he had suspected?Were Kai and Morlie the start of a human uprising?

“It has been discovered that groups of humans have not only ventured outside their territories but have been cutting down trees.”

A loud gasp and more than a few groans and growls filled the conference room.

Damn it.Aodh’s hands fisted, and he felt the deep punctures of his dragon’s claws into his flesh.Like most of his kind, humans and their selfish, short-sighted behavior aggravated the fuck out of him.It was as septic as the saliva of a Komodo dragon—distant relatives to their beasts.Taking a deep breath, he uncurled his hands.His palms tingled as his skin healed.He would have needed to shift for more significant wounds to heal, but small ones corrected themselves in seconds.

“How long has this been going on?”Liekki, his brother, sat on his right, second in command to the Mckenna.

“I reached out to Asia directly,” Hugo announced.“They shared that it appears to have been going on for months in the Siberian Forest.”

“Isn’t that area the tiger-shifter territory?Why were they not aware?”Edjer asked.

Aodh was a breath away from asking the same question.It was the reason the IPM had set up specific territories.Not only to allow each entity freedom but also to have transparent governance to maintain the laws and treaties in their area.

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