Cris's brusque manner might seem disrespectful to some, but Ashley knew the dragonwoman had to keep up appearances for the sake of her clan. There weren't many female head Protectors in the US—at least that Ashley knew about—which meant Cris had to be extra careful about how she acted, or she'd be challenged by her male colleagues.
Maybe not from within the clan itself since they were loyal to Cris, but it wasn't completely unheard of for a nearby clan to try and apply for the head Protector position in the greater Tahoe area. There were four clans, and at one point, they'd changed hands repeatedly through constant challenges until an agreement had been reached a number of years ago.
Now, only extremely dire situations or a provable lack in abilities meant a challenge could be issued.
As Ashley thought of how she and Cris both had to put on acts to fit in with their male colleagues, they soon reached the main Protector building.
She barely paid attention to the tall, concrete building, having seen it hundreds of times before. As soon as Cris shut the door to her office on the second floor, the dragonwoman dropped Ashley's hand and said without preamble, "One of my Protectors noticed some unusual activity on the main road leading to PineRock. The short version is that some League assholes were snooping around a few of the trails nearby, almost as if they were trying to find a way to get here on foot."
So it seemed the confrontation the night before—had it only been then?—had already come back to bite her in the ass. "They'll be looking for me, no doubt."
Cris nodded. "My guy Andre overheard some of their conversation. The League guys were determined to find a less-obvious way to PineRock so they could rescue the humans here and make sure you didn't let any others come to stay."
Ashley raised her brows. "Well, considering how they didn't think you'd have sentries, or even try to monitor for threats, they seem low-risk to me, right?"
"Perhaps. But it's the first time League dumbasses have come within ten miles of PineRock in over a decade. Since you're our ADDA contact, not to mention you have a vested interest in this place since you're friendly with Wes, I figured you needed to know ASAP. That way, you can work some of your magic and help the problem go away."
Considering Cris was excellent at keeping PineRock safe, it had to kill her to admit she needed Ashley's help. But it was true—ADDA dealt with the human enemy side of things. It was bureaucracy at its worst, considering how the dragons should be able to protect themselves.
But now wasn't the time to challenge the idea and rock the boat. Not if she wanted to mate Wes and still work with ADDA.
Ashley replied, "I need to talk with Wes first before I make any sort of call."
Crossing her arms in front of her, Cris pinned Ashley with a hard stare. "Tell me you aren't yanking him around, Swift. Only Troy and I know the full extent—that you're true mates—but Wes is more than my leader, he's my friend. And I won't let him be hurt, not even by the likes of someone I don't usually hate."
Anger flared in her chest. "Have I ever given you reason to think I'd hurt Wes, even before things changed? No. So I'll keep on trying to protect your clan, just as I've been doing for years."
After a beat, Cris smiled. "Good. I had to test you. I'm glad someone doesn't cower under the patented Juarez stare down."
Her mood lightened, and the corner of her mouth kicked up. "You only have to deal with one clan leader—I've dealt with more than a half a dozen. A backbone is sort of required."
Cris laughed. "Good." She gestured toward the door. "Wes is in his office down the hall. Just make sure you talk first and do all the touchy-feely stuff later."
Unable to help herself, Ashley flipped off Cris. "I'll somehow manage."
The two shared one last smile—Ashley liked the head Protector even more now—before she left and headed toward Wes's office. She rang the doorbell and waited for him to unlock the door to more than just his room. No, they were going to get serious about planning their future, which included dealing with the League idiots.
Wes did his best to focus on his computer, but he kept glancing at the door, hoping Ashley would show up.
If he weren't clan leader and didn't have over a thousand sets of eyes on him, he might've gone to her training session and brought her back to his office straightaway.
But that would be unusual behavior for a clan leader when it came to an ADDA employee, especially when only a few knew where he'd been last night and with whom.
Clan leaders usually didn't go running after ADDA employees if they could help it.
His dragon yawned. It's just a few humans wandering in the woods. I wouldn't exactly call them huge threats.
They represent a much bigger problem, though. If a movement rises, calling for the League to "liberate" all humans from the dragon clans, it could spell out war.
His beast didn't answer. Probably because they both knew that lately, anti-dragon sentiment had been on the rise again.
A few strategic ad campaigns and accompanying actions could stoke that fire to unbearable levels.
Just as he tried to focus back on the new agreement in front of him between a new human farm partner and PineRock, a patterned chime echoed inside the room.
He crossed to the door in seconds and checked the peephole.
The sight of Ashley staring at him only made Wes crave her presence more. Not just for the physical, but her mental might, as well.