And there was asomebody with wingsright in front of me offering his assistance. Even though everything about Cloud set off my danger alarms, and even though I deeply despised the idea of being helped by an alpha, I would be a fool to refuse.
I shut my eyes and exhaled a long breath.
"Fine," I muttered quietly.
Cloud grinned. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."
"I said fine!" I shouted loud enough to rustle the leaves by his head.
"Awesome!" Cloud extended his talons for a handshake, then withdrew them. "Oops, sorry. I wanted to shake on it but I keep forgetting—"
I cut him off with a groan. I wasn't some fucking whimpering baby. Even if I was instinctively afraid, he didn't need to know that. To prove it, I shifted into my human form so I could shake his hand without my paw being crushed in his grip.
Avoiding the long talons, I took his hand without hesitation, glared into his eyes and shook his hand.
4
Cloud
Meeko shifted so fastthat I didn't realize what he was doing until he stood before me in human form and grasped my hand. The sudden forcefulness of it took me off guard. His grip was firm yet warm, and I couldn't help but notice that his hand was noticeably smaller than mine. And, of course, his skin wasn't covered in birdlike scales.
As I met his gaze, I forgot to breathe for a few seconds. Meeko was glaring at me with the same glittering black irises that he had in his mouse form, except now they were attached to a handsome young omega instead of a little rodent. Mousy brown hair fell over his forehead in fluffy locks. His soft skin was much paler than mine. He was quite a bit shorter than me. I had to tilt my chin down to make eye contact with him, which I was sure he hated.
Trying to make a joke about it, I grinned and said, "Sorry. I'm taller than most people I know. It's the harpy feet."
Still glaring, Meeko glanced down at my legs. My thighs were coated in feathers, and just like my arms, my legs were covered in bird scales from the knee down. My black talons dug into the earth beneath me.
Meeko's gaze darted back up, like he was hesitant to lose focus for too long.
"Enough chit-chat," he said. "We don't have time to waste."
He yanked his hand out from mine. I felt the loss of its warmth immediately along with a strange twinge of disappointment.
"Okay. So what's the plan?" I asked.
Meeko ground his teeth. "We follow Mistral. Isn't it obvious?"
"And then what?"
"What do you mean?"
I gestured to the sky. "I mean, what are we going to do when we catch up with him? Interrogate him?"
Meeko blew out an exasperated breath from his adorably round cheeks. "First, I'm going to get my sword back. Second, I'm going to stab him with it."
My brows shot up to my hairline. "Oh. You were serious about the revenge thing?"
"I never joke about revenge," Meeko said, deadpan.
I didn't voice it, because I was sure Meeko would've clawed my eyes out, but there was something adorable about this soft, sweet-looking omega insisting on vengeance. Even if he was dead set on it, it was hard to take him seriously when he was so dang cute.
"What are you smiling about?" Meeko snapped. His voice was a little high-pitched in human form, just like his mouse form.
"Nothing. Anyway, I guess we can brainstorm the plan on the way—"
Meeko cut me off. "There's nothing to brainstorm. That's my plan."
"Okay... Well, I don't know how feasible it is tostaba spirit, but—"
