16
Gabriel
Flyingover Stoneheart pack was a surreal experience. From so high above, the stone walls seemed tiny. I recalled the first time I saw this same sight on the night that Dante rescued me - and changed my lifeforever.
Now, everything was different. I wasn’t the small, scared omega that escaped the walls. I was independent, trained in magic, and carrying a new life inside of me, courtesy of mysexymate.
Who, I tried not to dwell on sadly, wasn’t herewithme.
“Is that it?” Lorenzo asked, although judging by the somber tone in his voice, he already knew theanswer.
“Yes,” Ireplied.
“What do you wanttodo?”
I’d been running through possibilities in my head the entire journey. But now that we had actually arrived, I was at a loss. Part of me wanted to rush in, get things done, and get out without looking back. Was that what I truly wanted, though? To never see Otis or any of my old packmates again? Would I even be doing them a real favor if I didn’t explain thesituation?
“I think we should go inside the walls. I’ll tell the elders what the plan is,”Isaid.
Lorenzo nodded. “And if they don’tagree?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I mean, it’s for their own good,right?”
Lorenzo said nothing. Both of us knew that wasn’t a simple question toanswer.
“Okay. Let’s go lower,” I said, gesturing to a patch of farmland used for raising livestock. “There’s a good place to land. The streets are built pretty narrow, so that might be the only place you can go without crushingsomething.”
“Alright,” Lorenzo said. “Hang ontight.”
Lorenzo tucked his wings in and dove towards the pack. Wind rushed in my ears. The town drew closer and closer until Lorenzo spread his wings wide, braking against the fall, and landing gracefully at the last moment. I let out ashakysigh.
The smell of hay and grass hit my nose. Other familiar scents filled the air and for a moment it felt like I had never left. For a moment, I shut my eyes and took it all in. I was back in myfirsthome.
Then the yellingstarted.
Behind me, Lorenzo hissed. He grabbed my shoulder protectively and pulled me towards him. “Becareful.”
“What?”
I followed the voices and gasped. Stoneheart pack members had surrounded us. Some were already shifted, snarling with bared teeth. Others stood back and braced themselves with weak-looking weapons - rusty swords and hayforks.
“Stay back!” a woman shouted. She brandished ashovel.
“Begone,demon!”
“Killit!”
Lorenzo seemed startled but not afraid. I grimaced, knowing he was more powerful than this whole mob combined - and they could do nothing against him if he was really a threat. Just another reason I felt pity towards my old pack. Besides the walls, they were utterlydefenseless.
“Stop, he’s not a demon!” I called, walking out in front of Lorenzo and wavingmyarms.
“Whoisthat?”
Gasps spread among the crowd. “That’s him! The lostomega!”
“The one that ran away? I thought hewasdead!”
They could at least not talk about me as if I’m not standing right here,I thought bitterly. I raised my voice toaddressthem.
