1
KOIOS
“Hiding is not an option!”
Koios glared at the blinking red light above the security monitor. His sister Iris stood at the entrance to the warehouse Logan’s pack called home. Her bellow echoed, creating a ricochet effect throughout the large empty training room that took up the majority of the downstairs of the facility.
The screech then spread through the speakers and into his brain. The vein on his forehead throbbed, increasing the thump of the marching-band-sized headache that had taken up residence hours ago. A quick glance at a second monitor revealed his calendar and the hours-away reminder for his next dose of painkillers. It had been a hell of a few months to say the least.
“I can hide if I want to,” Koios huffed, returning his gaze to the HD version of his sister.
No way he’d say the words to her face. She may look like Barbie come to life, but Iris had a ferocious streak none of her younger siblings dared to challenge.
The high-resolution screen allowed Koios to count the scowl lines on Iris’s forehead—if he’d wanted to stare that long. His big sister had come prepared to do battle, and Koios would lose. After another glare at the camera, daring him without words to test her, she marched toward the steps leading to the pack’s security office, which also happened to be his new home.
Since the manticore’s attack had destroyed the building where Koios had spent the last sixteen years of his life, he’d had no choice but to accept Logan’s offer to move into the pack’s space.
Koios glanced longingly over his shoulder at the metal rack that held multiple computer systems. It also hid a secret door that led to the garage. With the click of a button, the door would swing open, and he could disappear.
He wouldn’t be trapped again.
Logan had made sure of it.
He absolutely did not consider using it now, no matter what Iris’s ferocious mood threatened. Koios ran a hand over his chest, trying to soothe the persistent ache he’d had for months.
Unfortunately, Iris stormed into the office and caught him in the act. She narrowed her gaze before sticking her hand into the huge tote bag she called a purse. When it emerged, she held a small bakery box, which she dropped onto Koios’s desk.
“Happy one hundred days of not getting killed anniversary.” Her tone certainly didn’t match the sentiment.
“Really?” Koios snarled at the cheerful cupcake. It had the 100 emoji emblazoned into the icing in bright red script.
“Hey, I’m celebrating it. You almost died, you stubborn ass. And don’t think I didn’t notice the chest thing. I totally did. How much pain are you in?”
“No more than usual.”
Luckily, it wasn’t a lie.
Koios had learned to live with pain. The weight of his wings had been a source of agony his entire life, although it had intensified over the past few months. Being attacked by a rogue manticore would do that to a guy.
He’d be fine.
His focus remained on catching the elusiveJim. It would help if they could learn the manticore’s actual name instead of using the ridiculous nickname Scout had given the asshole. Koios wanted nothing more than to hunt down the manticore and return the pain and suffering Jim had caused tenfold.
“Why are you so early?” Koios griped.
“One, I’m not even half an hour early, so shut up. Two, maybe because I missed you, asshole,” Iris snapped. “I don’t like us being separated like this. You’ve always been…home.”
Yet another “perk” of having a set of unretractable wings on his back. Koios had rarely left the basement since Dakota first hid them in an abandoned row of buildings after he rescued them. Sure, they’d snuck out a few times over the years, but the threat of exposure outweighed almost everything. They’d had a few memorable Halloween adventures during their teenage years, though.
His siblings had never been without him, however, and none of them were thrilled that he’d chosen the option to move into the warehouse. Koios didn’t think they’d realized how long it would take to repair the buildings they’d called home from the moment they’d escaped their kidnappers as children.
It had been them against the world from day one, and Koios had always managed to make sure they stayed safe. Until Jim the manticore showed up and destroyed everything they’d so carefully built. Well, technically, Coal had destroyed the building when he’d flown through it in his dragon form.
Semantics.
Jim carried the blame, not Coal. Koios had no delusions over where to place his desire for vengeance.
“Let’s go grab some lunch and you can tell me what our siblings are up to. I know they’re creating chaos without me there to rein them in.”
