It will be worth it,I reassured myself.This needs tohappen.
With another throb of guilt, I realized there wasn’t enough time to fly back down and explain my thinking. Every second I wasted was precious time lost. I needed togonow.
Spiralling around in the air, I faced the direction of the looming mountains - deep blue, calm,powerful.
I flew towards IndigoMountainpack.
* * *
By the time I arrived,deep into the territory boundary, my muscles ached and I was weary. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d physically pushed myself so hard. But time was of the essence, and there wasn’t any towaste.
I was grateful to know the layout of the territory already. Easily maneuvering through the treetops, I soared until I was above the town. The beautiful architecture and clean streets were a far cry from the state of Scarlet Ridge. Just one more reason we had to win thefight.
As a raven, my sense of smell wasn’t as intricate as my wolf - but my eyesight was much better than either my wolf or human form. It didn’t take long to find mytarget.
There.
My heart rate sped up. Iswoopeddown.
The big, burly alpha was carrying an armful of groceries as I sped towards him. He staggered back as I flapped my wings to a halt and landed on the street in front of him. At first, he looked surprised and irritated, about to shoomeaway.
“Whatthe- “
Then his eyes flashed with recognition. Hegasped.
“Virgil!?”
I materialized into my human form in frontofhim.
“Yes, David,” I said. “It’sme.”
David’s jaw dropped. “Why are you here?” he asked. He sounded concerned, almost curious, instead of accusatory. He had changed since I firstmethim.
“I need your help. I needallof your help,” I told him. “There isn’t much time to explain. We’re overthrowing Gunner tonight. We have only one hundred shifters, maximum, to launch the attack. But I’m afraid it won’t be enough.” I held his gaze seriously, hoping he heard the desperation behind my plea. “I need you, and anyone else you canspare.”
David digested my words and a firm expression crossed his strong features. Without saying anything to me, he put the groceries down and picked up his phone. He spoke in quick, curt words as he called hisfriends.
“They’ll be here soon,”Davidsaid.
“Thankyou.”
David’s lips were tight. “I can’t promise anything. I owe you my life, so I’ll join you. But I don’t know if the others will be as eager to leap intodanger.”
I nodded. “Iunderstand.”
His eyes softened as he said, “I have a child now,youknow.”
“That’s wonderful,” I said gently. “I’m glad you and Niko are happy and safe. Boy or girl? What isthename?”
An unusual warmth crossed David’s face as he smiled and said, “Her name is Raven.Afteryou.”
My heart clenched with affection. At a loss for words, I quickly gave David a hug, which he returned with a heavy thump on my back. We didn’t need to speak further; our bond was close enough that we could spend this time withoutwords.
Soon, the others arrived. I recognized a few of them - the alphas Jericho and Flint, and their omega mates Mason and Charlie. Hector had explained to me how he helped Mason escape after Gunner’s tyrannical crackdown on omegas began. I had spied on Jericho and Mason and even delivered a note to them, warning of a Scarlet Ridge beta was traitorously plotting against them. I recognized them, but I didn’t think they recognized me. I was a raven at that time, ofcourse.
There were two others I didn’t know. A smart-looking alpha and a wary omega, glaring at me withuneasyeyes.
“Hello,” I said tothemall.
