Barely Winging It (21 page)

Enzo sat down on a nearby seat, and Slate did the same
and next to him, dressed only in a pair of sweats, was the elk shifter. He was
now clean of blood. Enzo introduced him. “I don’t know if you know, but this is
Henry, Katie’s dad.” Turning back to her, he was solemn, and no doubt worried
about someone he had known for much longer than she had, but she knew he needed
answers. “Can you tell us what happened?” Enzo asked.

“We had just gotten to the airstrip when Gates shot
Nix.” She focused hard on keeping her voice steady and strong.

Enzo looked over at her parents. “Henry says he
shifted in front of you to help Nix. Is that correct?”

Her mother nodded, but her father said, “Yes. You
don’t need to worry about us telling anyone of your secret. We wondered, but
didn’t know for sure if you were all shifters. Della and I have known about
shifters most of our lives.”

That caught
Bronya’s
attention. “You knew about shifters?”

“Yes. We never told you because we thought it would be
unlikely you would ever need to know, and we hadn’t seen any in so long, we
didn’t even know where any would be. So it wouldn’t be likely you would ever
believe us anyway. It is a special secret,
Bronya
.”

“
Bronny
.”
Her mother’s voice was small but in the quiet room,
still carried. “Is Nix your destined mate?”

Slightly stunned with her parents, she was a little
slow at processing, but came around quickly enough, eager to tell them things
she wanted to share but didn’t believe she would have ever been able to. “Yes.
He’s the falcon, Father. He and I sealed our bond just yesterday.”

Her parents’ faces lit up, but Enzo interrupted them.
“How much do you know about shifters?”

Her father answered. “Della’s best friend was a
shifter. She didn’t know about them until she was a teen and her friend shifted
to save her life.”

“I know about mates and the mating bond,” her mother
said. “I know about extended life and rapid healing and even about the pack
hierarchy, mostly. I don’t know how much there is to know, but I know quite a
bit.
At least the basics and then some.”
Her mother
directed her answer mostly towards
Bronya
.

Her father continued. “I was distantly related to
them. My great-grandfather was a wolf. His mate was human. My line was all
human from there. I don’t have enough in me to have any benefits except a
slightly raised gut instinct about things. I do have a question, if you don’t
mind.”

“No, go ahead,” Enzo answered.

“I do not understand, is this a herd? Henry is an elk,
but Nix is a falcon. I remember great-grandfather was lenient about humans, but
not about other shifters. And I believe he was only lenient about humans
because of his mate. It was sort of a touchy subject with him.”

Enzo looked down at his hands as he leaned down on his
elbows. “Many shifters don’t believe in mixing, including with humans.” Enzo
leaned up and spoke directly at her father. “They discriminate against many
things. Some are starting to come around and change, but we live for so long,
change is slow, so many haven’t. There’s a large need out there, so
Alphy
has opened his doors to all
paranormals
in need.”

“Good. The world needs more leaders like that. I don’t
stand for intolerance.” Her father chatted for a while with the men while they
continued to wait. She vaguely heard some of the work crew, who had been pulled
from their duties, reporting they had informed local law enforcement of a fatal
animal attack, so the body was taken care of. That was a large weight lifted
from her shoulders. The psycho wasn’t out there any longer, stalking her, and
no one would be looking for them as suspects. She didn’t feel the least bit
sorry for Gates.

Bronya
turned down offers of food around lunch time. She felt sick until Reese
arrived.

“
Bronya
?”
At the sound of her name, her head whipped up. The
young teen smiled warmly. “Sea thinks he’ll be all right. I’m sure you want to
see him. I’ll take you up there. Sea wants to talk to you some more.”

Bronya
nodded and stood then stopped and looked at her parents. Her mother used a hand
to shoo her away. “Go on,
Bronny
,
go be with your mate. We’ll be all right. We can talk
more, later.”

Bronya
didn’t hesitate any longer and eagerly followed the young teen to the medical
wing. When they arrived, Nix was still out. Seamus was writing something down
on a clipboard, and Katie was adjusting the IV. They both glanced up with she
arrived, but Katie went back to fussing over the equipment while Seamus
strolled over to her.

“Thank you, Reese. Go get yourself something to eat.”

“Cool, thanks. Do you want me to get either of you
anything?”

“No, thank you. Katie will be down soon.” The teen
didn’t wait any longer and seemed happy to disappear down the stairs. Seamus
ushered
Bronya
closer to her mate. He looked so pale
to her. Her heart ached in her chest.

“I believe he’ll be all right, barring any further
complications.”

“Further? Were there already complications?”
Bronya
looked at all the tubes and wires webbing from her
mate to the machines. IV fluids, blood, and something else dripped down tubing,
while another helped him breathe. Monitors displayed his vitals, and she even
noticed the catheter filling with bloody urine.

“The shot missed his heart and arteries, but he
suffered a collapsed lung. Even with shifter healing, he’ll be in here for
several days.”
Bronya
moved closer and tentatively
reached down and laid her hand over his as the doctor continued. “He’ll be in a
lot of pain when he wakes. I’ve been working on a pain medication for shifters,
but I still don’t have adequate facilities so I’m afraid what we have is still
insufficient, but it should at least help marginally. All in all, he will be
all right. How are you doing?”

Bronya
turned heavy eyes on the doctor. Now that the adrenaline and worry were gone,
she felt so very tired.
“Tired.
I’m just tired.”

Katie showed up beside her, pulling a chair close.
“Here, go ahead and sit down and stay a while.”
Bronya
took the offered seat. “I’m going to go get something to eat. Seamus will be
just in the other room if you need him.”

The door quietly latched as they closed it behind
them.
Bronya
sat there, with her mate’s hand in hers,
listening to the beep-beeps and whoosh of the machines fill the silence. She
closed her eyes and began sifting through her thoughts. There was another large
load of information and events to assimilate … again. Now was a good time to do
that. Not the least was the knowledge her parents already knew about
paranormals
. That actually eased a huge load off her
shoulders.

Epilogue

Seamus felt fatigue clear to his bones. Even his fangs
ached. So much had happened in just a few weeks. After watching Nix the rest of
the afternoon, he was grateful when he was given a reprieve for supper. He
hadn’t felt hungry for food at lunchtime, opting to privately drink a bag of
blood instead, but he spit it out as soon as it hit his mouth. The taste was so
repulsive, and just the little bit in his mouth, threatened to turn his stomach
inside out. It had been about a week since he’d had blood, and he would need to
drink soon or he would get sick, and eventually die.
If the mystery girl is my mate, I’ll only be able to drink from her.
Perhaps scenting
her
has started the change in my body
to accept only her blood.

After Nix woke and was settled enough, Seamus finally
gave in to his need for food. He would use this time to have a chat with
Alphy
that he had been meaning to have.
If the change has already started, I’ll need
to find her sooner, rather than later. I believe I will need help.
With the
knowledge Nix was now awake and on the mend, and a full meal in Seamus’s belly,
he approached the door to
Alphy’s
room.

He paused outside their door when he heard the throes of
lovemaking commencing. Leaning against the wall, Seamus sighed and decided to
wait until they were done. He was going to give
Alphy
a checkup while he was here, so he might as well do it after possibly
reinjuring himself.

While the rhythmic thumps and thuds, moans and grunts,
sounded through the door, Seamus thought about why he wanted to have a private
talk with
Alphy
and how best to word it. Just
thinking about it, with the sounds coming from the room, had his dick hardening
in his slacks.

With the shouts of pleasures rising, he drew out of
his musing. Reaching down, he thumped his dick a few times to get it to deflate
enough not to embarrass himself. After it quieted down, he knocked on the door.

After a brief rustling of fabric, which he assumed was
them covering up, he heard
Alphy’s
deep voice. “Come
in.”

The room reeked of sex even a human could scent. Seamus
kept his face neutral and stood at the end of the bed. “I came to check you
over,
and there was something I wanted to talk to you
about.”

Alphy
gave him a considering
look
before turning to Gale.
“Go get some supper, Honey-bear. Bring me some once the doc is done.”

“All right.”
Turning to Seamus, she gave an impish smirk. “At
least you waited until we were done.” He chuckled and watched Gale lean over
and
give
her mate a kiss. Seamus turned around to let
Gale dress and turned back around when she passed him. Not waiting for the door
to close, Seamus walked around and started looking and poking around the fast
healing wound in his alpha’s stomach.

“There was something you wanted to talk to me about?”
Alphy
grunted when Seamus pushed on a tender spot.

“Yes.” Appeased that he was healing well and no
further damage was done, Seamus grabbed a chair and sat down next to the bed.
“I’m not sure how to start, so please bear with me, no pun intended.”

Alphy
grunted but indicated for him to continue.

“I’ve been catching whiffs of a smell that has an
acute effect on me.”

“What sort of effect?”

Seamus paused a brief moment. This was embarrassing.
“I get hard and driven to find the source.”

“Sounds like it might be your beloved. So what’s the
problem? Why haven’t you looked for the source?”

“I only get whiffs of it sporadically. It’s not any of
the pack. It’s strongest in the morning, but I can’t even track it to the tree
line. It’s spotty. I can’t figure it out. I’m a vampire, not a shifter. I need
help finding the scent.”

Alphy
rubbed the neatly trimmed whiskers on his chin as he stared at the wall ahead.
“Sounds like we get to put together a posse.”

Seamus barely contained his urge to roll his eyes, but
Alphy
saw through his restraint. He grinned. “Don’t
like that, huh? You’re
right,
‘fox hunt’ is a much
better euphemism.”

This time Seamus couldn’t stop from rolling his eyes,
but he joined his friend’s laughter. He was relieved to be getting help.

“How’s Nix?”

“He should make a full recovery.
Bronya
hasn’t left his side, which is a big and positive
influence on his healing and pain levels. If he continues to improve at his
current rate, I’m convinced he will be flying, or at least stretching his
wings, by Friday.”

“That’s great news. I’ll let the
guys know at the ranked meeting in the morning. And I’ll have them keep an eye
and nose out for your potential beloved. Stop by tomorrow after the meeting.”

“I will, and thank you,
Alphy
.”

Alphy
gave him a thoughtful smile. “I
know I had dreams of being an alpha someday, but I couldn’t ever have achieved
it without you and the others. We’re a pack now, Sea. A family brought
together. We stand beside you and behind you.”

Seamus cleared his through to
dislodge the lump forming there. “That means a lot to me.”

“I know it does. I remember how
difficult things were for you and Ryker with regarding your parents. They’re
not bad people, just wrong. I think I have always known what you and Ryker
needed. It was always the same thing I needed: a place to belong.
A place to be accepted.
You can come to me about anything,
even if it is just to talk. I really hope this is your beloved you scented. You
deserve to be as happy and complete as I now am.”

Seamus sighed and looked down.
“I’m torn about it. Every other part of me wants it to be her, but one part of
me feels guilty about it.”

“You’re worried about Ryker?”
Seamus nodded and looked up. “I know I’ve heard how strong connections can be
for twins, and I know you two are close. Maybe you should keep him involved
with this. Perhaps talk to him and confide in him about this. I’m your alpha,
so you can get away with coming to me first, but maybe make sure you show him
that you still rely on him. And if the woman you scent is your beloved, you
will be stronger. Use that to keep him strong until his mate is found.”

“You’re right,” Seamus said. “I
can still be there for him, better than before, even. And he can still be there
for me while I hunt for her. Thank you,
Alphy
.”
Seamus stood.
“If you’ll excuse me?”

Alphy
nodded his head, and Seamus
hurried out of the room, eager to find his twin and share his news with him
. Hopefully it’s my beloved, but if not, I
still have Ryker, and a whole pack family.

****

Alphy
sat up in his bed, propped
against his pillows, and surrounded by most of his ranking members. It was
their morning meeting, and it felt lacking without Nix. Added to his inner
circle were the six unsuspecting pack-members, who were about to get offered
the new rank of sentry.
That’s going to
be fun. I think I’ll save the best for last
.
Alphy
raised his hands, and everyone quieted.
“Good morning,
everyone.
I’m going to try and keep this relatively short this morning.
First, I’m happy to report that Seamus is confident that Nix is going to make a
complete recovery. He hopes he’ll be flying by next week. Also, he has caught
sporadic whiffs of a scent on the breeze that he can’t identify. It isn’t
anyone in the pack, and as I said, it’s sporadic, so keep your eyes open and
noses on alert looking for her. Handle this with delicacy as he thinks this
woman is possibly his beloved.”

Everyone gave positive sounds of
approval and smiles at the news. “Now for those of you who don’t know, this new
member is
Neto
Locklear. He’s a bison with a story. I
didn’t get to hear it yesterday, when I had planned, so we are going to hear it
today.”
Alphy
made a slight gesture to
Neto
to indicate he wanted him to start.

Neto
briefly looked around then room
then back at him before starting. “I’m from a large herd from Wyoming. My
father,
Hosa
Locklear, is the herd’s alpha. Over
twenty-five years ago, we had taken in a new member,
Guyapi
Daily. Guy is the son of American Shifter Councilman
Bidziil
Daily.

“I came across some documents
that incriminated my father, Guy, and Guy’s father in embezzling, money-laundering
as well as drug dealing, and alerted Shifter Councilman
Taima
Black. He told me because this investigation involved a councilman, it would
take time to put a case together properly. Later that same week, I walked in on
Guy trying to rape Isa, my sister. I attacked him, inflicting severe injuries
that Guy almost didn’t survive, and was permanently disfigured from. Our father
didn’t believe our accusations and allowed Guy recompense for the wrongful
attack against him. We were to be flogged and permanently scarred, but I had
already taken precautions for a hasty escape because of the other matter, so
before the sentence was carried out, Isa and I ran. I found out later that my
father disavowed us and named Guy his successor.”

“Ouch, that’s cold. And they call
me
a predator?
Just
dayum
!”
Kace
said.

“Against his
own kids?
Parental betrayal is one of the worst,” Enzo added with obvious bitterness.

Alphy
agreed. “Thank you for sharing
that with us. We have promised the councilman we would protect you and your
sister, and we stand by that promise. You and your sister are most welcome
here.”
Alphy
smiled to himself.
And he’ll know just how welcome here shortly.

“Okay, on to other matters. There
is a reason I have asked the rest of you to join us.”
Alphy
indicated all the non-officers, “We have created a new rank. Each tracker is
allowed to create a team consisting of two sentries. Each of you
have
been handpicked by one of the trackers to be their sentries.
This is a ranking position with pay and privileges, but it is optional, so if
you feel you need to decline, it will be fine to do so. Each tracker had to run
their choices by me first, so know that I have already approved all of their
choices. Nix chose Henry and Peter. Do you two accept the positions?”

“I accept, thank you,” Henry
said.
Alphy
noticed Peter paused for just moment from
shock before he agreed.

“Good, stop by the infirmary
after the meeting to let him know your answer,”
Alphy
instructed before continuing. “
Kace
, who did you
choose?”

“I chose Marley and Marek. I
would like both of you to be my sentries.”

Both men smiled at
Kace
and answered in unison. “I accept.”

“Good,”
Alphy
said with a smile.

Ryker was bouncing on the balls
of his feet, unmistakably excited.
Alphy
couldn’t
hold back his amused grin at his excitement. “And last, but not least, Ryker?”
He said.

“I chose Gavin and
Neto
.”

Gavin gave a quick smile and
accepted, but
Neto
looked positively confused. “Me?
But you only just met me yesterday. I don’t understand. Why would you trust me
with a rank?”

“Oh easy
peasy
.
You sacrificed your life and rank in a herd, and went against your own father,
to do what’s right. And you took care of your sister this whole time. And then,
without even knowing who the Webbers were,
and
still fresh from being chased by bad guys, you still stopped to help them when
you saw they were parked on the side of the road. In doing so, you recognized
another problem they had, saving them. You’re heaps worthy of, at the very
least, a chance. If you want it, that is.”

Neto
glanced his way.
Probably doesn’t believe that I approved it.
“Ryker is right in that you have gone above and beyond.”
Alphy
watched the play of emotions that
Neto
tried to hide. They were the same looks he imagined Enzo had had when he
offered him beta.
Neto
didn’t seem any less grateful
for a place to be accepted, and offered to be a part of protecting it. This was
what
Alphy
loved about what he was doing. He loved
that hope at a better life he gave others.

“Yes, I accept. Thank you.”
Neto’s
words were clearly heartfelt.

This brought a bright blush rush
over Ryker’s face. “You’re welcome,” he answered.

Alphy cleared his throat. “Ok,
everyone, I need some rest, so take off with your trackers. They’ll tell you
what your jobs and perks will be.”