She almost nodded. It was true—the League talked big but rarely went after a group, let alone an entire clan of dragons. They preferred picking their targets off alone or in couples, drugging them unconscious, and smuggling them across borders.
It seemed ridiculous on the surface since a dragon could just fly back. However, things got a hell of a lot trickier once a dragon-shifter crossed international borders without permission. In recent years, the US Government hadn't allowed them back in at all due to the anti-dragon faction having a majority in Congress.
Which made her think the League had grown more powerful in recent years and had influence beyond what ADDA could've imagined possible.
Still, running wasn't exactly her style. "I think what you're saying is that you want me to stay with you, but I can't."
Wes raised his brows. "Why not?"
The way he stated it, so matter-of-factly, made her blink. "You can't be serious, Wes. I'm not a researcher and don't do long-term observations. If I stay on your clan—especially if word got out that I'm your true mate—I won't merely be demoted, I'll be fired."
"So you'd rather keep your job but lose your life?"
She narrowed her eyes. "It's not that simple."
Wes glanced at her, his pupils flashing. "For once I agree with my dragon—humans can be illogical sometimes."
Ashley leaned forward a little. "Look, maybe some women go all gaga for your alpha attitude and desire to protect. But I've been on my own a long time, Wes. And I've worked my ass off to get where I am. Just walking away would be like losing half of who I am. Not to mention it would hurt all the dragon clans near Tahoe for the foreseeable future since most ADDA employees don't care about your kind as much as I do. How would that sit on your conscience?"
If she thought to knock him back with that, she was mistaken. Wes grunted. "How about staying
for a few days then? Tori just had her baby anyway, and checking in on her is one of your duties. It's not unusual for an ADDA employee to stay a short while to watch a new human parent on a dragon's lands. Maybe if you're lucky, Gaby will have her kid a little early, and then you could stay even longer."
She opened her mouth but quickly closed it. He was right—it was pretty much par for the course to observe new human parents of baby dragon-shifters. True, she'd briefly checked on the human woman named Victoria Santos recently, but Ashley hadn't filed the report yet. Also, Gaby was a dragon-shifter mated to a human and was due soon. Both fell under her jurisdiction.
Could a few days really buy her enough time to think of a better plan?
Probably. Especially if she could bounce ideas off Wes and his clan's chief of security, Cristina Juarez.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I could manage to stay for a few days, but only with some ground rules."
A smile danced on his lips. "Of course you'd have rules. Let's hear them."
She raised a finger. "First and foremost, I won't be staying with you specifically."
He raised his brows. "Did I ever say you would be?"
"No, but given how you revealed I'm your true mate tonight, it had to have crossed your mind."
His voice was even as he replied, "What I want and what I do are two very different things."
The last traces of any alcohol-related haziness cleared her brain as she realized something that had been in front of her all along. Wes also gave up a lot to keep his position and fight for his clan.
Just how hard was it for him to resist her this long? They'd known each other for years.
She already respected him for his work, but that respect ticked up a few notches.
Softening her voice, she said, "I'm sorry. I don't intentionally try to be such a pain in the ass. My guard and defensiveness just go up after so many years of dealing with assholes who think I can't do anything simply because I have a vagina."
Even in the dim light, she saw his pupils flash. "Considering my head of security is female, and I respect the hell out of Cris, you should know by now that I'd never dismiss a female's capabilities."
"I do, Wes. It's just…habit. Probably like you using your dominance on me. So how about a sort of truce? Let's be equals. Agree to that, and I'll stay a few days on PineRock, and we can bounce strategies off one another."
She motioned for him to turn into the apartment complex and told him where to park. Once he did, Wes finally angled his torso toward her. His pupils flashed quickly as he answered, "Equals, but only once we reach PineRock. I'm going to be an overprotective bastard until we do."
She snorted. "I wouldn't expect anything less." Ashley gestured toward her apartment on the second floor. "I'll go pack some things right now, and we can head to PineRock tonight provided you promise to do the driving."
He grunted his approval before exiting the car. She followed suit.