Chapter 11

Jazz leaned on the rail and took in a deep breath, savoring the cool crisp air. Conner's home in Colorado was magnificent. Perched on the side of a mountain, the view was spectacular.

It was interesting seeing him in this environment. When they'd arrived he was met by more than two dozen people, all of whom were clearly devoted to him. He'd introduced each one with a fondness in his voice that told her the devotion ran both ways.

They were his family, so to speak. Shifters who lived in the territory he commanded. Conner was smart enough that he'd covered his tracks. The thousands of acres he owned could not be linked back to him directly.

No one had felt that it would be smart for him to stay in Florida. Mindleton might be sweating in a Federal prison, being questioned about all manner of illegal dealings, but Asha Iltani was still out there and she was bound to be unhappy at her plans being foiled.

The Seven leadership had been meeting here, at Conner's compound for the last three days. In that time, Jazz had seen little of Conner, but had gotten to known Layla, Augustus' wife.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Jazz turned at the sound of Conner's voice. "You done?"

He shook his head. "Just taking a break."

"Making progress?"

He shrugged. "Some. Your advice was well-founded, by the way. Giving my research to the government of this country earned us a lot of good will. There's a team of scientists going over it now and quite a bit of excitement. Seems the incumbent president would love to be able to use this as part of his re-election campaign. Free yourself from the evils of big oil and make the planet a cleaner and healthier place for you and all your descendants."

Jazz smiled. "Well, you gotta expect someone to capitalize on it but if it moves the project forward then it's a good thing."

"Yeah, it is."

"And it frees you up to work on your portal project."

"Which is more urgent than we realized."

"Oh?"

"You remember being told about Gabriel and the people who crossed over with him?"

"Yeah, at...wait, I have it...Ellie and Eldric Whitestone's place in Florida. There's a portal there."

"Yes. Well, Severin established a link with Nevaeh and while the link is not always stable, he is able to get information on what is happening there."

"And I take it things are not too good back on the homestead?"

"Not at all. The dark and light refuse to come to détente, each wanting superiority over the other. Gabriel claimed his rightful place as leader of his people and is doing all he can to sue for peace but it is not easy.

"To make matters worse, there is instability in the star system. Specifically, the sun."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It is dying."

"Okay, but it takes a really long time for a sun to die, right?"

"Normally, but in this case no. For lack of a better term, it has been poisoned."

"Poisoned? Is that possible?"

"By current technology and understanding, no. But according to Severin, the threat is from a race of beings from another galaxy. They are known as the Nyx."

"The Nicks? Sounds like a sports team."

"Far from it. They've sent envoys to the home world. Surrender and the sun will be saved. Refuse and die."

Jazz leaned back against the railing. "Well it just gets better and better doesn't it?"

"Seems that way."

"So?"

"So what?"

"So what are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do?"

"Yeah. If anyone can fix it, it's you."

Conner shook his head. "I'm afraid this one is too big for me, Jazz."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Right now I'm going to shift and run."

"Shift?"

"Yep."

"Into what?"

"A lion."

"A lion?"

"A mountain lion."

"Because?"

"Because I like to run the mountains as a lion, to climb and jump and look out over the valley and hear what we can't hear in human form."

She looked at him for a few moments. She'd never seen him shift and was curious about how it worked. "Can I watch?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not."

"Okay, but before you do, one more question. What are you going to do after you run?"

Conner took her in his arms. "Come home and make love to you until the sun rises then sleep in your arms, my fierce warrioress."

"Hmmm, I like the sound of that."

"The fierce part?"

"No, the make love and sleep in my arms."

"Then maybe while I'm gone you'd think about making it permanent. I've made a truly groundbreaking discovery, Jazz."

"Oh?"

"Oh yeah."

"And what might that be?"

"I've developed a real taste for Jazz. I think it might even be an addiction."

She chuckled. "I already told you that I won't leave you Conner."

"You told Stanzia."

"And you. It's not about what Stanzia asked me to do. It's about me wanting to be with you. I love you Conner."

"And I love you." The kiss he gave her was tender but filled with the promise of passion. When it ended, he stepped back and smiled.

She watched in amazement as he changed. Only second passed and where there was a man, was now a glorious mountain lion. It approached, gave her hand a lick and then turn and bounded across the deck and over the rail.

Jazz followed to the rail and watched as the lion raced over the land, sure of foot and at one with the land. She smiled and watched until he disappeared from sight.

It wasn't so long ago she thought she knew the path of her life. Now everything had changed. She'd found real purpose and more than that, she'd found love.

She didn't have a clue what the future would bring, but that didn't matter. She had Conner and he was, and always would be, her Rock.