My feathers ruffled in frustration. What was I supposed to do? There might be other shifter alphas in the area, but I trusted them as far as I could throw them with my tiny wings. Which was to say, not at all.
I was stuck, both figuratively and literally.
Well, there is one more option…
I turned back in the direction Quinn had gone. He was still walking up the mountain, for gods knew what reason. Didn't he say something about wanting to find a spirit? I had no idea what he was talking about. Fuck, I don't know, maybe he was crazy.
But during our conversation, he seemed decidedly normal. Could he be normal enough to help me out of my bind?
I didn't know what it was, but something in my gut told me to follow him. I trusted my instincts.
I bit the bullet and flew after Quinn. It didn't take long to find him. I flew faster than he walked. Besides, his red hair was like a bright sign among the stretches of earthy grey and brown.
"Quinn," I called out.
He stopped and looked up, then shot me a wry smile. "Hey, it's you again. You're not going to attack my head again, are you?"
"No. I–"
Fuck. Wait. What the hell was I supposed to say to him? That I needed his help? No way. I'd rather die than admit to an alpha that I needed his help, even if I did.
What I needed was time. Quinn might have seemed decent, but he was still an alpha. To trust him with such a fragile task when I barely knew him was stupid. The last time I'd foolishly accepted an alpha's help was at the Society, and that ended up being the worst fuck-up of my life. No way in hell was I going to make that naive mistake again.
So I had to twist the narrative. Make him think that I was the one helping him instead of the other way around. That way I could spy on him to make sure he was trustworthy before I let him touch my leg band, all while having a decent cover story. And if he did slip up and make me feel uncomfortable, I could simply fly away.
"You said you were looking for the air spirit, right?" I asked.
Quinn's eyes widened. "Yeah. But I thought you didn't know anything about him."
That was true, but he didn't have to know that.
"I was lying," I lied. "I know exactly where he is. I just didn't know if I could trust you."
"What made you change your mind?" Quinn asked, tilting his head.
Should I say 'he's been waiting for you’? What if, on the off chance we actually did find this spirit, he called me on my bullshit? Then Quinn would know I was lying and the whole thing would fall apart. Unless I got him to take the leg band off before then, but would I trust him enough to let him get that close?
I remembered what Quinn said about me protecting my family. That took me off guard. If only that was the truth. At this point, I didn't think I'd ever find a mate and start a family. I despised alphas too much. I just despised Quinn a little bit less than the rest of them.
"You seem like a good person," I said, only half-lying now. "It would be rude of me to send you on a wild goose chase when I could help you instead."
Quinn brightened, a grin lighting up his whole face. "Farley, you have no idea how much I appreciate this."
Fuck. I hated how cute he was when he smiled.
"Don't mention it," I said gruffly.
"Wow, I can't believe you actually know Mistral," he murmured in excitement. "Makes sense, since you're a bird shifter and all."
I didn't respond. I glanced at the path Quinn had been taking. It was the easier route, an animal footpath that wound gently up the mountain. To be honest, I had no idea what awaited at the peak. In my hurry to escape from the Society, the last thing on my mind was soaking in my surroundings. I regretted not doing so now. What if I was leading him into a dead end?
Does it matter?I asked myself.I'm only doing this to get my leg band off.
Right. Quinn's journey, whatever it was, wasn't important. The only thing that mattered was ridding myself of this fucking shift-blocker and getting my freedom back.
I looked at the other route. It was far more difficult, a steeper vertical climb. It would take longer – at least for Quinn – to reach the peak, therefore buying me precious time.
"This way," I said.
