Page 40 of Savage Prince

“Which it won’t be,” Ford mutters softly enough that Chase can pretend not to hear him.

“Thank you, I appreciate that,” I say, ignoring Ford until Chase excuses himself to use the restroom before we leave.

Only when the bathroom door shuts behind him do I turn to Ford and widen my eyes. I intend to mouth a warning for him to play nice, but my frustration is washed away by a wave of affection when he whispers, “I can’t help it. I just got you back, Growly, and I’m feeling possessive.”

I sigh, moving into his arms as he draws me in for a hug. “It’s okay. If our positions were reversed, I’d probably be marking my territory, too.”

He kisses the top of my head. “Good. You can mark me any day. Except tomorrow. I don’t want you on the boat, Jules. You should stay behind with Chase and the rest of the support team.”

I lift my chin, catching his gaze. “But you know that’s not going to happen, right? Not unless you tie me to the bed and sneak out in the middle of the night?”

“And then you’d just burn through the ropes and come after me,” Ford says, affection mixing with the regret in his words. “Would it make a difference if I told you I’d fight with a clearer head if I knew you were out of the line of fire?”

“Would it help if I reminded you that you’d be dead if I’d left you alone the last time you told me to?”

His lips press into a thin line. “You’re annoying.”

“And right,” I insist.

“And right,” he admits with a sigh. “At least promise me you’ll go in as a phoenix and stay a phoenix. I know you’re good with a gun, but you’re half the size of most of the men we’ll be fighting. If they disarm you in your human form, your chances of walking away in one piece aren’t good.”

“You have a shifted form now?” Chase asks from the now open bathroom door. “That’s amazing news.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty great,” I agree, stepping out of Ford’s embrace. “Except for forgetting all my memories after I went full burn.”

Chase winces. “Ouch. Yeah, I knew that was always a concern for you. I did some research on phoenix shifters after you were gone, just to see if there was anything there to hint at what might have happened to you. It mentioned that the full burn mind wipe isn’t always permanent.” He glances Ford’s way. “Connecting with someone important to you afterward can help bring old memories back online.”

“Interesting,” Ford says in a suggestive tone. “It did seem like…connecting did the trick.”

This time I don’t try to hide my eye roll as I slap his arm. “Stop.”

“What?” he asks, as Chase chuckles, thankfully seeming more amused than jealous of the “connection” Ford was obviously referring to.

“Stop being crass,” I mutter.

“I wasn’t being crass,” Ford shoots back. “I was confirming Chase’s intel on phoenix shifters.”

“I’m just glad you remembered me,” Chase says as he opens the door to the room, motioning us out into the hall in front of him. “That would have been a mind bender to walk up to a girl I’d thought was dead for years only for her to have no idea who I was.”

“Me, too,” I say, moving past him. “I’m so glad to see you again. And so grateful for your help.”

“Same,” Ford says behind me. “You made this so much easier, and we appreciate it.”

“My pleasure. Truly.” Chase closes the door behind him. “I’m just so glad to know you’re alive. And for what it’s worth, I agree with Ford about you staying with the support team. You promised Maxim you two were ready to lead Zion in Hammer’s absence. That’ll be hard to do if you’re both killed in the fighting tomorrow.”

Ford jabs a thumb at him as we walk down the hall toward the elevators. “I’m starting to see what you liked about this guy. He’s smart.”

“Gang up on me all you want,” I say peacefully. “I’m still going to be in the air tomorrow with a mouthful of fire for the man who thought he could throw his children away.”

“Not all his children,” Chase says. “Apparently, he had a secret family he kept hidden in the parallel until after you mysteriously disappeared. Now, he’s determined to marry his teenage daughter to the Alpha of San Diego, a man nearly twice her age. Everyone on the West Coast is gossiping about it and what it could mean if two extreme, anti-Maxim packs form an alliance.”

“I want more of that gossip,” I say, hitting the button to call the elevator. “Everything about Ophelia and the Zion pack that you can remember from the past two years. The more we know, the better prepared we’ll be when we head home to rule.”

Even with the danger we’re facing in the morning in front of my mind, I truly believe we’ll be taking over Zion sooner than later. It’s not the naïve optimism I experienced in my memory-less state, however. It’s just logic.

Now that we have Maxim, Quebec City, Montreal, and whoever else Maxim gets to join the fight on our side, we’re going to vastly outnumber the insurgents currently occupying the Lost Moon campus.

Even when we arrive at the abandoned air strip outside the city where our allies are assembling early the next morning to learn Quebec City has pulled out at the last minute, I’m not too worried. Maxim’s forces are intimidating—well-organized and impressively armed—and the Alpha of Montreal has thrown everything his pack has at the fight. He’s supplied three soldiers for every one of Maxim’s as well as a small fleet of ships for the water attack.

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