But Len wasn’t convinced. I swear the guy had supernatural parental powers that told him when someone was lying about feeling good when they weren’t. He set Leveret down and urged him to go play with the others. The quiet boy took off with a curious glance at me over his shoulder.
When Len and I were alone, he searched my gaze. “Red,” he said quietly, “I know this can’t be easy.”
“Pfft. Watching the kids isn’t a walk in the park, but it’s not that bad.”
“I’m not talking about the babysitting. You’re the only alpha left in the pack without an omega.”
It took every ounce of strength not to look shocked at his comment. Not because he had hit the nail on the head, but because he was so far from the truth. Not that he could know. Nobody did.
“Forgive me if I’m being presumptuous,” Len said, “but I’d understand if it felt strange to watch Remington find his mate.”
Again I didn’t say anything, though this time he was closer to the truth. Remington was unrelated to the original group who’d discovered the grove, and wasn’t mated to any of them either. In that way, I felt a kinship with him. We were both outsiders, though I felt more deeply estranged in my heart because my acceptance into the pack was far rockier.
But now Remington had a fated mate and child. I was truly alone in a way nobody understood.
“I’m happy for him,” I said honestly.
Len tilted his head. “Do you not want to mate? Because that’s totally fine too.”
A lie would solve this whole issue. All I had to do was say yes and agree that I didn’t want to mate. But lying to Len would be like throwing a snowball in a bunny’s face. I just couldn’t do it.
I sighed heavily. “I do want one. But maybe later,” I added, trying to compromise a lie with the truth. “I’m a little busy at this point in my life.”
Before Len could dive into a therapy session, I decided to escape this conversation. “Hey, Starry and Zak! You two catch that bug yet?”
I ran in the direction of the two kids and their battered beetle. To my relief, Len didn’t follow me. I stopped feeling his sympathetic eyes on the back of my head and knew I was safe from further questioning. But now that the fox was out of the bag, I knew I’d have to make up a better excuse as to why I wasn’t going on some quest to find my fated mate.
Because that was never going to happen.
2
Orpheus
The warmthof the sun beat down on my back and the cool wind ruffled my feathers. I shut my eyes for a moment, inhaling the sweet scent of clean air and freedom. Nothing would beat this. There was nothing more magical than spreading my wings and taking to the sky. Nobody was around, just the way I liked it. It was just me, the sun and the vast space separating me from the earth.
When I opened my eyes, I spotted a few specks in the sky. They soared aimlessly, without a care in the world. That told me that they were birds, just like me, but probably not shifters. The only bird shifters I knew were the ones I’d left far behind, and I prayed I would never have to see any of them again.
I sighed contentedly. This was the life. No rules, no shackles, nothing stopping me from living my life the way I wanted to. The chains that had been dragging me down were gone for good. I could soar as freely as my heart desired, the way it should have been.
I didn’t even bother looking back over my shoulder. Confidence surged through me, lighting my blood on fire. In this moment it felt like nothing could stop me. If a bear materialized in the sky in front of me, I knew I’d have the strength to take him on. Hell, I could even fight three. Bring on the bears.
My feathers fluffed up with pride and I let out a victorious caw, a deep and raucous noise that alerted everyone around of my presence. I wanted every being down below on the ground to hear me—to hear that the alpha Orpheus had arrived.
How many flings awaited me? How many excited omegas would throw themselves at my talons? I only had to land and find out. But not yet. Right now I was glad to feel the wind under my wings, and I wouldn’t be stopping for any reason. I only obeyed my whims, and my whims were saying fly onward!
I flew for what must’ve been hours, soaring when the warm thermals rose from the earth and flapping when I wanted an extra burst of speed. I was no peregrine falcon or anything, but a raven wasn’t slow.
I was aimless in my flight. Without any responsibility or nagging people constantly pecking at my tailfeathers, I answered to nobody. I could fly for days on end if I wanted to, slowed down only by the limits of my own body. But flying for days on end wasn’t my goal. I wanted to meet some omegas, maybe stay with them for a couple days of fun before moving on. Of course, I didn’t want to trick any of them or make them believe I was looking for a long-term relationship. I would be upfront in my intentions, which were that I wanted fun. Nothing else. No commitment.
I’d had just about enough of that for one lifetime.
I tilted my wings, catching the air at just the right angle. I soared high above the grassy fields and trees thick with summer leaves. Sparkling streams and rivers crisscrossed land, and little dark specks of mute animals roamed like ants. I’d never gone so far out of my original territory before. It turned out there was a whole beautiful world just waiting for me to see it.
My old home was a dark pinewood forest to the north of this place. Actually, it was less of a home and more of a place where I simply lived. Nothing about it was homey at all. The fond memories were few and far between compared to everything that I purposely left behind.
A shudder ran through me, prickling my feathers and making them stand on end. I did a spin in midair to shake off the feeling. No more of that. That was the life I left behind. No use in thinking about it now. I only looked forward to the future.
The day had started out sunny and bright, but now dark clouds were looming ahead of me like a grey tide. No matter. I wouldn’t let a little weather bring down my mood. I adjusted my wings for the lack of thermals that the cold clouds brought with them and flapped forward with a surge of determination.
