Barely Winging It (7 page)

“Actually, Yes, just a little northeast of here,
why?”

Enzo gave him another grin.
“
’Cause
we see him all the time.
His territory is on
our land. You’re right. He is a pretty little thing.”

Nearly choking on his food, Nix grabbed the cup of
juice he had in front of him and tried wetting his irritated throat while his
falcon mentally clicked his beak at their beta for calling him little.
Damn Enzo!
Only Enzo wasn’t done. “In
fact, the cute little fella just found a mate to woo. It’s interesting to
watch.”

Bronya
perked up. “Oh, are you a bird watcher like me?”

“W-well … maybe not quite like you.”

Nix froze and held his breath, as he watched Enzo
color just a bit.

Bronya
smirked at Enzo. “Your mind just dumped itself into the urban term, did it?”

“Well, my mind did go there, yes,” he sheepishly
admitted. “You know about that?”

Nix quietly observed his mate. He grew up around Enzo,
so he knew the term referred to men who try to view other men’s dicks in public
restrooms. Since he had several friends who were gay, he really wanted to know what
she thought of gays.
Although, her knowing about the term,
and catching Enzo in it was priceless.
Trying to keep from laughing was
a bitch right now.

“You did remember seeing Zeke, right?
Flamboyant out and proud.
He taught me the term one time
when I mentioned my love for bird-watching. He stated he did, too, so I asked
him about certain birds and, well,”
Bronya
was
clearly holding her own laugh back, “he told me.”

At that point, Nix couldn’t stop his laughing fit any
longer. Enzo and
Bronya
joined in, and they finished
their dinner with lighthearted conversations.

After cleaning up, she made herself comfortable on her
bed, leaning back against the headboard. Enzo did the same on the other bed, so
Nix took a seat in a chair. “Seriously though, did you two actually see the
falcon? You two come across like you have, but what I don’t get is the
underlying secret you have about him. The look you two gave each other was …
hinky
.”

Nix decided to answer that before Enzo could make a
mess of it. “Yes. Enzo is just teasing about his size.”

Enzo couldn’t seem to stop poking the bear, so to
speak. “You seem to keep calling the falcon a ‘him’. How did you know it wasn’t
a she?”

“Bird watching is my hobby. We share the same love for
flight. The color and the pattern of the chest and throat are the best
indicators. But if you know about the falcon, then why did you ask?”

Enzo shrugged.
“Just checking to see
if you really knew.”

The sound of a “Hail to the Chief” sounded in the room
and grabbed their attention. Nix knew it was Enzo’s ringtone for
Alphy
. Enzo reached in his pocket and drew out the
melodious device. Swiping his thumb along the screen, he put it to his ear.
“Yeah.”

With his enhanced hearing, Nix could make out both
sides of the conversation. “Enzo, Ryker just got a ping on that missing beta,
and the pride alpha. The beta, Damon, is in town. He used a card to fill up at
a gas station about two miles from your position a few hours ago.”

“Fuck, man, his timing sucks shit.” Enzo rubbed his
eyes. Nix stood up and walked to the window, pulling the curtain ever so
slightly aside looking out into the thickly darkened and wet night.

“Yeah, well, the pride alpha, Tony Smith, was just
spotted in Toronto. Our toothy friends are keeping an eye on him down there, so
your biggest concern right now is the beta.”

“Any idea if he’s alone?”

“Ryker can’t pull up surveillance, so we can’t tell
for sure, but he’s not someone fearless enough to do anything without help so
don’t expect him to be acting alone. I’ve sent Slate and Matteo into town to
investigate. They may or may not stop by.”

“What of Gates?
Any news on his
whereabouts?”

“He’s still AWOL. Ryker is still trying to bring up
some other information I have requested on a few other matters that I feel take
precedence, so he hasn’t gotten around to studying his background and finances
yet. He printed some stuff up for you, so I take it you either haven’t read
them yet or you didn’t find anything relevant.”

“Didn’t want to spoil my appetite before having
some of Connie’s cooking.
We were just finishing up
when you called. We’ll be cautious who we open the door to. Thanks,
Alphy
.” Shutting off the phone, Enzo went around the room
shutting off the lights then stopped next to Nix. “Nothing?” he asked too low
for
Bronya
to hear.

Nix shook his head, knowing Enzo would be able to
still see him in the unlit room.

“Uh, guys,
wanna
tell me
what’s going on?” Both men turned to look at
Bronya
,
who was sitting on the edge of the bed leaning forward on both her hands. “I
may have agreed to come with you guys, but I’m not a shrinking violet. I can
handle it, whatever it is.”

Nix felt a mix of both pride and doubt. There was no
way, no matter what she claimed, that he would believe she would take the
paranormal part of the news so well, but he was proud she was so strong. He
could scent that she wasn’t afraid. He looked to his beta for help how to
answer her.

Enzo acknowledged him and answered her. “We have made
some enemies recently.” He paused as if he was struggling on what else to say,
but
Bronya
took on a look that said she understood.

“So now what?” she asked.

“Well, let’s talk safety and exit strategies, and we
have papers on Gates we can go over after that.”

Chapter Eight

First hours of Saturday morning

In spite of his thick skin,
Dultyn
could feel the cold rain splatter against his flesh and stream across it. That was,
now that he had some time to calm down. The rivers of droplets washed over his
agonized form. Flying through the clouds was dangerous, but of course, so was
being outside at all in his form. He was still confused and needed a place to
clear his head. When he’d initially walked in on
Alphy
,
he heard Enzo mention where they were staying with Nix’s mate, so after he flew
around a bit, releasing excess energy, he carefully flew to the small hotel
that was mentioned. He knew about the place. It was mentioned several times in
the stories about when
Alphy
met his mate.

Heavy water droplets exploded around him as he flapped
his wings to land on the roof of the building. Making sure to take a position
that, however unlikely, if anyone looked up, would ensure he would be mistaken as
a statue … he hoped. He surveyed the area and took note which room was theirs,
then settled
himself
, mulling over his situation with
his mate.

 
If she would
have talked to him, he would have worked things out. What
Alphy
had said to him last night, after she’d stormed off, made complete sense as
well as what she had said, or yelled really, before she stormed off. If she
would have talked to him, he would have worked things out, but she didn’t
return before he roosted. On the other hand, he hadn’t given her any reason to
believe he was willing to talk about it. They hadn’t talked at all since he
arrived, and he had shut her down, quite publicly.
At her birthday celebration of all places.
He groaned as he realized just how much he had hurt her. It had hurt him deeply
what she thought of him.
A
failure
.

Alphy’s
words wouldn’t leave his head as he mentally pictured his mate. He really did
more harm to her under the illusion he was trying to protect her, than he would
if he had just opened up to her. But after decades of being the strong one, it
wasn’t so easy to let anyone in.

Only she isn’t just anyone.
She is my destined
. Fate didn’t bring them
together later in their lives. She’d brought them together now, and fate’s
timing was always right. She was very immature about things, as proven by her
actions to
his own
wrongdoing, but maybe that was what
made them perfect. She needed his serious side to temper her, and he needed her
passion for life to help revitalize his. But with her believing he was a
failure, should he let her go?
No.
It
was unreasonable to
think,
as there was no way he
could
ever
let her go. That only left
one other option: claim her.

I won’t fail her. I’ll
fight for her.
His resolve set in, and he
abruptly felt a tickle of excitement zing through his chest, replacing the
grief that was killing them both. And admitting
that
,
caused him to realize just
how wrong he had been. He would feel regrets later for the harm he caused her,
but first, he was going to head back to the house and claim his mate.
Yes,
his thoughts played in his mind.
I will have her forgive me by causing her to
screech my name in undisputed jubilation.
Smirking to himself as he played
out his detailed plan what he would do to her, he was about to take off to
carry out his task of ecstasy and claiming, but movement caught his attention.

Dultyn
squinted
his eyes to see through the soupy weather. Gargoyle
night vision was better than even most shifters’ so, in spite of the night’s increasing
rain, he easily made out four men slowly making their way in the direction of
the hotel room his
packmates
were staying in. The men
looked around as if making sure there were no witnesses. Holding in his growl,
Dultyn
tightened his clawed feet and hands on the roof that
he perched. Once they were under the eave, he moved closer, careful not to
slide on the slick roofing. The sound of a door crashing open caused a jolt of
surprise to punch through him.

Rain poured hard and heavy, drowning out the sounds of
the skirmish within. Just before he was about to swing down, he looked around
to make sure the coast was clear. Another man shot around the building heading
towards the back.
Dultyn
leaped up and glided to the
back of the building, in time to see the man running into the woods, chasing a
dark skinned woman he guessed was the woman his
packmates
were protecting. Jumping into the air, he spread his wings and gave a heavy
beat, speeding him towards them. The woman was pretty fast. She raced across
the road and into the tree line on the other side, but the shifter following
her easily caught up, hanging back only enough to let her reach the privacy of
the trees before catching up with her.

Dultyn
landed with his weight thundering through the ground at his impact. He flung his
arm out and around, and the water coating his arm splattered into the shifter
as
Dultyn
backhanded him. Before the shifter could
finish sliding across the muddy ground,
Dultyn
was
standing over him. Pulling his fist back, he let it fly forward and pummeled
the downed shifter into unconsciousness.

Whipping around, he quickly spotted the woman sitting
on the ground. Water soaked into her ebony curls and ran down past her widened
eyes, into and around her opened mouth. She was leaning back against her hands
and her knees were bent, ready to crab walk backwards away from him. He had to
hand it to her. She wasn’t running away screaming in panic. That was a common
reaction.

“I am
Dultyn
. I am friends
with Nix and Enzo. I will not hurt you.”

The shocked human slowly nodded, then placed
herself
in a slightly more comfortable position. He could
scent she was exceptionally leery of him, but not quite afraid, like she didn’t
know what to make of him.

The rain started to let up just a little bit, and he
soon heard a falcon screeching through the air and paws beating the earth
drawing near. Enzo’s wolf came into view and slowed down. His wet and muddy
paws splashed against the soggy earth while he trotted towards
Dultyn
. His fur was smeared with blood. It ran off his coat
and dripped onto the ground.

Dultyn
motioned to the shifter. “This is Enzo. He won’t hurt you. Nix is here, too.”
He looked up, and the woman followed his eyes to a falcon landing on a low
branch.

He heard her draw in her breath. “The falcon I saw.”

Nix spread his wings and glided to the ground. Enzo
trotted over and sniffed the unconscious attacker and stood guard over him. Nix
shifted in front of the woman. Once he was fully formed, kneeling on the soggy
ground, he held his hands up. “I’m not going to hurt you. I am so terribly
sorry you had to find out about us like this. I wanted to wait for a better
time when I felt you would be more ready for me to show you.” Nix inched
forward, but
Dultyn
could see her eyes roam Nix’s naked
flesh and after viewing what was in between his legs, her brows drew up. He
couldn’t help chuckle. Just about all shifters were bigger … everywhere.

Her eyes darted to him, then Enzo’s wolf, then back to
Nix, who stopped advancing after he was right in front of her with his hands
held out to her. “Let me hold you, please. I promise we aren’t going to hurt
you, especially me. You are very special to me.”

“You were the one in the field that day?” Her voice
was tentative.

“Yes. I’ll explain everything to you, but right now I
would really appreciate it if you would let me hold you. I promise not to do
anything else. I just need to hold you to assure myself and my falcon that you
are all right.”

After a moment of thought, she nodded. Nix’s relief
was noticeable.
Dultyn
saw his chest heave in a
relieved sigh, and his shoulders relaxed. The woman placed her hands in Nix’s,
and he drew her to him. Both on their knees, he held her securely.
Dultyn
could see Nix’s eyes were closed as he slightly
relaxed, and a fully relieved look passed over his features.
Dultyn’s
heart ached. He wanted that with his mate. They’d
both made mistakes, but he wasn’t going to focus on who did what. He was
determined just to fix them. It was well past midnight though, and with this
new mess, he wasn’t sure if he could fix his mistake tonight, but if not, he
vowed he would tomorrow. Even if he had to fly through hell and face the beast,
he would.

A growl drew everyone’s attention to Enzo. The
unconscious attacker was coming to. When the offender opened his eyes, Enzo
placed a heavy paw on his chest and continued to growl in the man’s face. The
man tilted his head and bared his neck in submission to the more dominant
shifter.

Nix stood up, taking his mate with him, and led her to
stand by
Dultyn
. “
Bronya
,
this is
Dultyn
.
Dultyn
,
this is my mate,
Bronya
. Would you watch her while I
back up Enzo?”

Dultyn
nodded. He watched Nix place a slight kiss on the woman’s cheek then turned to
help the beta. Rain spattered off his naked shoulders creating cords of water
that streamed down his body, pulling stray droplets down with them as they
connected.

Dultyn
spread out a wing and held it over the woman, hoping to keep her sheltered and
slightly warmer.

Nix directed his
anger at the man. “Get on your feet!”

Before the man sat up, Slate, in his lion form, leaped
into the tiny clearing and slid in the mud to a stop.
Dultyn
heard
Bronya
gasp next to him. “Do not worry, that is
Slate. He is part of our pack and won’t hurt you or Nix. The shifter on the
ground, however, might get a little roughed up if he isn’t careful.”

Bronya
didn’t respond, but she slightly relaxed. She remained silent as they watched
the offending shifter slowly
rise,
keeping his neck
exposed the entire time. Popping joints and ligaments added to the sound of the
rain as Slate shifted.

Looking down at the wolf, Slate addressed the beta,
“Matteo stayed in the room waiting for us.” The wolf nodded his head,
then
nipped at their prisoner’s heels to get him moving.
“Why aren’t you shifting?” Slate asked.

“Because he knows how pissed off it would make me for
someone else to be naked in front of my mate,” Nix bit out irritably.
Dultyn
saw his jaw twitch as he clinched his jaw and the
look on his face mirrored what his own had when he had seen Havana undress and
stand naked on the porch the night before.

Slate looked around and nodded his head towards
Dultyn
and
Bronya
. Then looking
back, he raised a brow at the irritated falcon shifter. “I’m mated, thus I
don’t want her, so get over it.”

Enzo snorted his amusement, which sounded funny in his
wolf form. They started trekking back to the hotel.

Slate and Nix couldn’t walk bare footed on the pine
needle and rocky sod, so they were forced to shift back into their animal
forms.
Dultyn
walked beside
Bronya
,
continuing to shelter her as they made their way past the trees, across the
road, and then sprinted through the field behind the hotel.

The room was on the bottom floor on the far end of the
building. Since it didn’t have a back door, they were forced to have to enter
in the front.
Dultyn
guessed she had escaped out a
rear window. He ducked as he entered the room.

Matteo greeted them from the mess of blood and dead
bodies as Enzo, Slate, and Nix shifted and dressed. “I already called
Alphy
and reported. He’s organizing a clean-up crew for
this mess.” Matteo indicated the area amongst the strewn furniture, bedding,
and bodies.

Enzo dug around for his cell. “I’ll call him and give
him an update.” Finding his cell, his finger slid over the screen until he had
who he wanted, and he put the device to his ear.
“
Alphy
.
Yeah, we’re all right,
Dultyn
helped.
Although, now Nix needs to explain some things to
Bronya
.
Uh-uh. No. yeah, just one, where do you want
him?”

Dultyn
wasn’t paying attention to the phone call or he would have heard what was being
said on the other end. He had turned and faced out the door, watching for any
threat or witnesses even. Given the time of night it was, and with the sound of
the rain, he believed they were pretty secure.

After getting off the phone he heard Enzo speaking. “
Bronya
, the best place to keep you protected is at the pack
house. We would have had you there to begin with, but with our secret, well, I
think you may understand why we didn’t take you there. Now that you know, would
you allow us to take you there?”