I relied heavily on Verando to help me through the process of orchestrating such a large gathering. I could not be in multiple places at once so this limited us to making gathering forces on the go. Screens, monitors, phone calls, rallies projected on massive prompters, the message was delivered far and wide that we were about to begin the official call to action. 

We no longer held the luxury of dragging feet and hoping that the world would saddle up behind it when it was time. At the official call to action, I was proud of our French ambassadors who declared right behind us that it was ready to go to arms. 

Lotta, much as she had not been on my side in the beginning, rallied behind me as the mortar that held together our French forces. She's been a bigger asset than I ever imagined, without hesitation she'd jumped into the fray of being in constant communications with our allies, building up our friendships, and securing borders. 

Humans were more realistic, in a sense, when compared to magic users. Their lives could not be artificially extended, they were much more aware of the here and now. 

At Verando's request, I stoked the fire. I put a hit out on Johnathan Campbell, declaring him a public enemy of the cause and a terrorist. I instructed our generals to shoot him on sight, we were past the point of allowing such people so detrimental to the cause to live. I put in place service orders that required countries to participate with their armies should they wish for our protection. 

The export process of sending our more experienced counterparts to different providences had begun as it became painfully clear how little the military mattered to a dying world. Some countries, much as they wished to help, didn't even have an army, and my own home country was one of them. 

When the call was made to Romania to request their permission to enter, no response was made. They might have been overthrown or overrun, but Gabriel seemed unwilling to go into any of the politics involved. He played dumb and I knew I wasn't the only one to see that there was a hesitation in him. I couldn't afford to focus on that, keeping it in the back of my mind, I would rely on Verando to see what I could not.

I never imagined I'd be grateful for the absurd amount of suspicion the wolf carried but free of his bonds to the pack, he could devote the extra energy to doing what his wolf did best. 

Protecting me. 

The following day, I glued myself to my husband in a way that was foreign and yet comfortable to me. He was a true military mind, coupled with our most major players we devised battle tactics that would create the most effect and keep Caspian on his toes. The goal was not to necessarily win battles but to stir the pot enough to keep them irritated and on the move.

 Caspian would not be able to watch every move we made, we could resume the plan to slip through the cracks. 

Kestrel revealed the high level of training the soldiers of the anarchist army had received but with great experience came multiple squabbles and disorder. There were holes that inexperienced but well-guided soldiers could take advantage of and Verando aided our generals in helping to explore those avenues.

Instructing from afar, he was in his element. I recall Kestrel's accusation, that Verando was the embodiment of greed and it was greed that helped him successfully lay claim to whatever land he so desired. Like a machine, it was as if we'd fallen right back into those early days of his constant attendance and battle tactics scribbled on any available surface.

I marveled at him, a skill of his that I had not often utilized, I was able to see just what had waited for me if our paths had gone differently. If I had stood against him, as I had planned to, I hesitate to think anyone in our time could have prepared for what was coming.

 Like the maestro of an orchestra, he coordinated a full-blown assault that would have the least amount of damage on the human forces and posed little threat while focusing on the elementals, of which there were many. 

"Magic forces go in first, humans follow behind. Humans target magical users with guns while our 'special' forces use their abilities to provide cover fire. These dead zones are all badlands, we need to place any sort of nature mage we have at our disposal at those points to provide cover through foliage. Water mages can assist in providing necessary water to the plant cover and soldiers, with the massive subway system under the majority of the badlands, there are a lot of sinkholes covered by the sand.

 Water mages and anyone with the ability to control the earth should prepare traps of quicksand where human patrols can wait in the subways to pick off survivors. These tunnel systems should be cleaned, maintained, and used for transportation to prevent aerial attacks which are sure to follow." 

In unison, humans and magic users would fight side by side to rid the world of the man who wished to destroy everything we had built. 

The intolerance of today's world astounded me considering the willingness of humans to fight alongside what they considered freaks. Perhaps the relationships had been formed when humans had begun to treat their people just as poorly as we had been treated. 

As the screen flickers from city to city, a new face added to our masses by the passing moment, the cities were in various states of disrepair. Nobody was better off, nobody was thriving as we had been in New York. 

With little for provisions, the concern of feeding these people ached at my inner workings. It was my original calling, the master of the weather to bring bountiful crops. My mind drifted to Tyler, among any other Solomonari that lurked in the masses undiscovered. 

It had not escaped me that he had not been at our briefing, it was as if he'd vanished. I run my hand through my hair as we finish the briefing, missing our baby already as the screen goes dark. I'd seen hints of him in our rankings, he was in the masses, refusing to bring attention because he did not want to be found. Wherever he was, he was helping people, and I would have to be content with that.

In silence, I move to flop down onto the bed and stretch as I squirm on the hard surface of hotel room furniture. "It's nice to finally be alone." I offer as he rubs his temples absently, the stress of managing so many people ate away at him more than he cared to admit. I was sure he hadn't slept the night before, a disappointment considering he had been sleeping quite well until this point. 

I was beginning to remember the pattern, his lack of eating, his frustrations, sleeping only in short stints, and on edge in his constant patrols of the small room. We'd reluctantly left Helen and Kestrel behind but had opted to take Pascal and Fadri with us. While I'd rather of taken Legardo, we had to leave someone behind to protect Xaiver and Legardo seemed quite capable of doing just that. 

The man was equally as paranoid as his father and was quite capable of seeing to the young boy's needs. We were traveling in a shabby van to Romania, trying to be as low profile as we could manage, in our wake we'd left a string of propaganda to play as if I'd been there giving the speeches in person. Keeta would return, disguised as me, to stand in during rallies and keep Caspian's interest. 

All the pieces are in motion, in just a few short days we will be back in my home country. 

"These walls are quite thin to consider us alone." He sighs, pulling off his shirt to fold and set it on top of the small dresser. The distance was noticeable though I couldn't quite put my finger on what had caused it, part of me wondered if he was upset with me for the reveal of my health but I couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with the strain of letting his guard down so close to Gabriel. "I'm going to shower."

"Want company?" I offer, rolling over onto my stomach to kick my shoes off. "We don't often get to shower together." I missed our baths, and most of all I missed the foot massages that were plentiful in those days. While he was always willing to oblige my requests, the opportunity didn't often strike. Earning a grimace, I know he's not prepared for the mental anguish of going through his hell with me to witness. "I'll be here when you come out." 

Getting up, I change into one of his t-shirts and a pair of shorter shorts I'd picked up from a store on one of my shopping trips with Helen. They were comfortable yet the style left much to be desired as far as coverage. I'll admit, my intentions were not savory as I slipped them on, turning to look over my shoulder in the mirror and wonder if he would even find it appealing. 

I was good at serving men, but I wasn't good at the whole flirting aspect. It didn't help that I was married to a dry English man who would oftentimes not even pick up on my intentions. Teenage boys, men in school, they were easy in their desires. My warlord was a much more complex creature, and in his willingness to please me, my desire to limit the blunt nature of my requests put me into a self-inflicted battle with myself. 

Taking the opportunity to make a quick dinner, I decided on something simple and Italian as we were limited in what the hotel could offer and hold. The tiny kitchen left much to be desired but it would have to do as takeout was not something either of us was impressed with. 

His stomach tended to be quite sensitive when it came to processed foods and I just wasn't a fan of the taste. 

As I brown the beef, I consider what I'm going to do when it comes time for me to leave this body behind and become a carnivore. Were there vegetarian lycans? Poking at the hamburger, I wrinkle my nose at the thought of the texture, while I wasn't a fan in the slightest of killing harmless animals I was even less a fan of the idea of consuming their flesh. 

I did on the rare occasion but my vegetarian diet had always served me well. 

I throw the pasta in the pot to boil, shifting awkwardly in the short shorts as exposure of my form was not in my comfort zone. "Get used to it..." I murmur to myself. In a few short weeks, I'd be too hot to want to wear clothes all the time. I would have to get used to running around as a wolf. The thought did bring me to shudder, I tasted the sauce and I'm grateful that my habits led me to grab a bottle of wine. 

Spying over my shoulder, I pop the cork and take a drink right out of the bottle. 

"Oh lord." He chastises me, I practically choke on my drink and put it down in mock embarrassment. Truthfully, he was stuck with me quirks and all. "A glass, perhaps?"

Shaking my head at the suggestion, I shift awkwardly as he lingers behind me. "What a waste of a glass, I have a perfectly good one right here." I move to take another swig and he quickly snags the bottle from my grasp, placing it high out of my reach. The firmness of his body pressing on my back makes me shiver, envisioning what lurks beneath those thin articles of clothing.

Shy, I shrink away from how his hands caress my hips, how his nose brushes my hair. "When I'm a lycan, will I become taller?"

Wrinkling his nose, Verando eyes my cooking as he leaves me to lean against the counter. With his thin pale shirt and boxer briefs, he was quite a sight. "No, it's not magic. Well, it is but you get what I mean. I wouldn't prefer you any taller. I quite like you exactly how you are." 

Swallowing at the compliment, I add the beef to the sauce and taste it off the spoon. 

"Why do you do that?" He asks curiously. 

Tilting my head, I glance down at the spoon. "If I don't taste it then I don't know what it needs...?" Dripping with sarcasm, I divert from the question. Unwilling to let me escape that easily, he crosses his arms over his chest only to purse his lips as he takes measure of me. "Why do you do that?" I retort firmly, gesturing to his posture. "I'm not that complex, some might find that expression intimidating, however."

Dimpling his cheek, he grins lightly in response, raising an eyebrow as he casually leans his body just the slightest in my direction. "Do I intimidate you?" he muses, bringing the slightest hint of color to my cheeks. He still elicited responses in me that I'd never felt, that never failed to stir my stomach and make me flush. 

Over time, one would believe I'd become accustomed to his unique charm and yet, it was still as potent as the day I realized I cared for him. "You incite intense responses but I wouldn't say you intimidate me, no." 

He waits patiently, never one to forget when it comes to his interest. The more he wished to learn about me, the more I backed off my intentions of invading the privacy of his inner workings. 

"I don't even know what you're asking." I taste the sauce again, extending my hand to call down the wine and dump a generous amount in. 

"You look like you don't believe anything complimentary. I want to know why that is." He says it so bluntly, that there's no room for guesswork in his evaluation. Clearing my throat, I take a swig of the wine which he promptly snatches from me once more to place it firmly on the counter with a warning glare.  

Sighing heavily, I reach to turn the sauce down to a simmer so as not to burn it. I cross my arms over my chest, uncomfortable with the assessment. "I think we have very different definitions of things. Sometimes I just struggle with the concept of your.. I don't know." Considering my words, I don't look at him as I scan the floor for answers. "Your attraction to me? I don't understand it." 

Expecting him to laugh, I put up my mental blocks but to my surprise, my libido stands front and center as if I'd missed the show before me entirely. The expression I'm met with is kinder than I'm accustomed to from him, perhaps he was finally learning me. "You don't think I find you attractive?" 

I shrug, plucking at the bottom of my shirt. "Like I said, we are very different. Maybe once I'm a lycan, I'll feel differently about it. We will be more alike then? I'm half your height.. covered in scars and marks, sometimes I feel too thin while other times I feel grotesque when I must wear all these damned layers just to stay warm. My nose, my skin, I look like a damned adolescent compared to all of this-" Gesturing to him, he's not giving anything away with his stone expression. "I suppose I just feel-"

Bearing my soul to him did, oddly, make me feel better if not embarrassed at the reveal. I was not a particularly feminine man as my companions could be. Stefan and Adriam both took it to the extremes, I much preferred to look like a man though I'd be lying if I didn't say I enjoyed the grandeur of the beautiful outfits my kingship came with. We didn't fit into the mold of what a couple, even of our sexuality, should be. 

Nobody looked like us, there was nobody to compare to.

Nothing fit me right in this world, everything hung too loose or clung too tight, it was too long or too bulky and my body fought to find its happy place in layers upon layers. I run a hand through my hair, the one thing I can control. 

Verando steps towards me, gathering my hand to place my palm on his chest so that my fingers may spread out. I feel his pulse, pounding away in the strong surge that lycans tended to possess. 

"Feel that?" He asks, brushing my cheek with his free hand. The backs of his fingers lightly follow my cheekbone to brush my hair out of my face. "That is entirely you. I think the only thing that could be a possible positive of your shift to a lycan would be that you could finally experience what I feel when I look at you."

Gathering my face in both hands, he bends to kiss me as I stretch on my toes. "I think you're quite appealing." He chuckles against my lips, kissing my forehead as I wrinkle my nose. "Despite your height."

I liked this Randy, witty, charming, affectionate. "Mmm, I've always wanted to be appealing." I retort dryly. 

He was trying to coax me out of my comfort zone, into his perspective where I could do little wrong. His hands move to my waist, pulling me closer to him as he meets my gaze. 

"Would you rather I tell you you're enchanting?" 

I groan in response, rolling my eyes in typical warlord fashion. 

"Intoxicating?" Pressing my hand to his face to cover his mouth, I lean away from him, he dives to kiss my neck, lifting me onto the very ends of my toes with his arm curled around my waist. His lips find my ear, dragging his teeth over the corner of my jaw. "Mouth-watering?" He exhales. 

Old habits were hard to break, but hearing the words stirred in me the confidence that occasionally ventured out. Spinning in his arms to finish the pasta, I attempt to hide the color in my cheeks with the steam from the food. Gripping my hips, he pulls me abruptly back into his pelvis to grind against my partially exposed ass with a sultry growl.

"Dinner is ready." I manage as he kisses my cheek with one slow press of his lips. 

"I think I'd like dessert first. Me and certain parts of you were having an in-depth conversation that I'd very much like to elaborate on."