Dan sighed and threw a stick into the fire. A tired exasperation had come over him. “So, what do we do with this information?”
The question was directed at my parents and the other pack leaders.
“I don’t know,” Mom admitted. “We just thought it would be best to share the news.”
“So, you just wanted to flaunt your new wealth?” Gabrielle sneered.
Mom narrowed her eyes. “We’re not flaunting anything. And please don’t refer to my son that way.”
“Well, how else are we supposed to take it?” Dan asked, standing up now. “You just said your pack harbors the only omega around the lake.”
“Yes,” Victor added coldly. “That’s a resource that the rest of us don’t have access to.”
Neil growled and muttered under his breath, “This is why I said we should keep it a secret. We never should have brought him here.”
“Matheson is not a resource,” Dad said. “He’s a person, just like the rest of us. Being an omega doesn’t make him any more special.”
“It certainly does!” Gabrielle snapped. “He’s the first omega in a century! That does make himspecial, whether you like it or not.”
I didn’t like the way Gabrielle was glaring at me now. A few other shifters from the other packs joined in, staring at me in a weird way--both like I was a piece of meat, and with incredible jealousy. A cold chill ran down my spine.
“I don’t want this,” I mumbled.
“First we have to deal with the humans, and now this?” Dan growled. “We never should’ve come to this Meeting tonight.”
Unease gripped me as Dan spoke. I’d never heard him get so riled up. Usually he was easygoing and calm. But as soon as tension sparked in the air, it caught quickly. Gabrielle and Victor, along with the rest of the North Pack wolves they brought with them, seemed upset, if not flat-out angry. In response, Neil and the other East Pack guards flanked closer to me and my parents.
My heart sank. I didn’t want a heated argument to break out, but that was inching closer to becoming a reality.
This isn’t going the way I wanted it to!
“Please stop!” I called. “I don’t want a fight.”
But nobody seemed to hear me. The pack leaders and their guards growled, edging closer to each other. Nobody was listening. They all spoke over one another, not caring about anyone’s opinions but their own. It quickly devolved into shouting matches and total madness.
“Stop!” I cried.
I ran towards the chaos, waving my arms, trying to get everyone to quiet down and just talk. Maybe it was stupid of me to think that was even an option. I couldn’t have predicted what exactly would have happened here on the island tonight, but I should have known better--my existence as an omega was basically a lit match in a room full of gasoline.
I gasped as Gabrielle grabbed Mom’s arm and snarled like she was halfway into her wolf transformation.
But before I could reach the two women and pry them apart, a piercing cry split the air.
Everyone stopped and snapped their heads up towards the sky. A huge pair of wings beat the air above us, followed by another sharp cry. The beast circled lower, snapping its beak and lashing its tail.
A gryphon.
The air left my lungs. I stumbled backwards with a cry, thinking I was going to fall on my ass, but someone caught me. I didn’t know who it was until Eric’s voice barked out angrily behind me.
“Stay away!”
Everyone backed off. Half the shifters turned into their wolf forms, snarling at the gryphon as it landed with a heavy thud. It beat its wings with a shriek, fanning the flames of the bonfire high into the air.
“You’re trespassing on wolf shifter lands!” Eric snapped, still holding me. I flinched as the intensity of his voice made his chest rumble behind me.
“State your purpose or leave now!” Victor growled. He looked like he was a split second away from shifting into his wolf. I didn’t know if gryphons could understand telepathic wolf speech, but I guessed they didn’t want to risk it if they were threatening the beast.
The gryphon let out a shrill cry. My heart raced. Could it even talk to us? Or was it really just a mindless beast?
