Page 85 of Fallout

King Basilicus levels Parker with a look. The rest of the wolf shifters back away, but not Parker. He stands his ground.

“Parker, take a walk with me while your father and the rest of the alphas prepare the weapon,” King Basilicus says.

It’s not a request, but a demand. One that I’m not sure Parker can refuse.

Parker, still clasping my hand, pulls me along with him. King Basilicus eyes me for a moment, then looks at Parker. Parker tugs me closer to his side and the dragon king nods.

“Fine, your mate may come with us.” King Basilicus opens the front door, motioning for us to walk outside first.

King Basilicus, Parker, and I take a walk down a familiar path. It’s a path I’ve been on several times, though not lately. It hasn’t exactly been safe for me to take a walk as of late. Hopefully, after today, that won’t be a problem anymore.

We walk for about five minutes before anybody says anything. At that point, King Basilicus stops and turns to face us.

“What I am about to tell you does not go any further than right here,” King Basilicus says, his eyes intensely focused on Parker’s face. “You do not tell your alpha. You do not tell your friends. I don’t even want you to discuss it with your mate. I need you to vow it.”

Parker nods. “As long as it’s not information that could hurt my family, pack, or mate, I vow I will keep your secret.”

King Basilicus nods, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “Last year, when my daughter-in-law met her family, it was revealed to us that an oracle is alive.”

Parker’s eyes bulge. “An oracle?”

“Yes.” The dragon king takes a deep breath. “She has chosen to remain hidden. The elves know of her existence, as they are the ones who have helped hide her. She also chose to reveal herself to my family. But nobody else knows—until now. She came to me a few days ago with the information I would need to help you and your mate.”

I look between King Basilicus and Parker, wondering why Parker is so shocked.

I know what an oracle is—they can see the future. Maybe they’re rare or something and that’s why Parker is acting so shocked about their existence.

“No harm will come to you or your mate,” King Basilicus continues. “But for us to get to this phoenix, we need your mate to teleport us. If not, we’ll never catch him. Ever. But he will eventually catch you.”

His words settle between us and Parker falls silent. I can feel the internal war he’s fighting. He wants to keep me away from the battle, but he also wants to end this. He is fighting his own basic instincts.

King Basilicus puts a hand on Parker’s shoulder. “Your mate is a phoenix. She is the strongest supernatural that’s ever existed—she’s even stronger than a dragon shifter. You do not need to worry over her, Alpha Parker. You’ve got yourself a warrior mate, even if she doesn’t know it yet.”

Me?

A warrior?

I nearly snort at the idea of being a warrior. This is me we’re talking about here. I frequently pass out if there are too many humans around. I’m no warrior.

But Parker glances at me, his eyebrows furrowed, and then he nods. “You’re right. She is a warrior. And she can handle this.”

King Basilicus smiles widely. “Excellent.”

But I keep my eyes on Parker, my heart swelling.

Parker believes in me—that means more than anything the dragon king says. And the way Parker looks at me… it’s everything.

I love him.

And soon, he will be safe. We all will be.

If I learned anything from Blaze killing Parker, it’s that I will do anything to protect my mate. I almost lost him once. I don’t think I could handle it if anything happened again, especially not if it were permanent.

Blaze is going to regret the day he decided to come after me, my mate, and our pack.

“Let’s go kill a phoenix,” I say.

Parker’s grin widens.