The clouds hanging in the sky part, letting bright sunshine warm the field. We all lift our faces to the sky.
“It’s a sign,” someone whispers.
“The sky gives its blessing,” another says.
“The prince is free,” another person says.
“No!” Mother yells. Apparently, she had hoped the sky would reject my request. “He needs to secure our future. Without him?—”
“Be quiet!” father shouts. “You don’t want everyone to know the truth.”
Without me, what? “I hope Hawk Ridge rots around you.”
“You little shit,” father lifts his hand as if to strike me, but one of the wolves grabs his other hand instead and doesn’t let go. Father screams as the ground shakes for only a moment.
“What the fuck is happening?” Buckle asks.
“Something the hawks forgot about apparently,” an older woman says as she steps close. She seems vaguely familiar, but I can’t place her.
The crystal bowl on the altar shatters. Mother screams and rushes to it. She tries to put it back together and fails. “This is your fault.” She lunges at me, but the wolves keep her from reaching me. In her anger, she must forget she can shift because she stays behind the furry barrier.
The woman unknown to me nods to the wolf pack and places a hand on my shoulder. “You grew up to be so handsome, Abel.” She cups my cheek, and she’s so warm. “I was your nanny.”
“Pyra,” I whisper a name I hadn’t said in so long.
“Yes, sweet hawkling. I’ve missed you.”
“Get away from him, you old hag,” father says. He’s still wrestling with the wolf.
“Release him, please,” I say. Reluctantly, the wolf does and gives me serious side-eye as he does. Red stains his white fur and I’m not sure which wolf it is.
Pyra leads us to the benches by the altar. “Your family forgot the important of Betas. Especially Beta hawks. You have a protective magic Alphas and Omegas don’t possess. It helps balance the power. No one designation should have it all. Withouteveryone’stalents, everything crumbles.”
I look around. The crowd. Innocents that don’t deserve to have their world crumble. “What will happen here?” I ask.
Pyra shrugs. “Your parents are still in charge, unless...” she looks around at the angry faces of the crowd. “Unless they abdicate. Or we push them out. They’ve held on to power this long because of you. You may have been gone, but your protection was still tied to Hawk Ridge. Now that you’ve declared your freedom, your parents can’t keep their claim. They threw away the one thing they needed to stay in power.”
“Lies!” father shouts. “You always did like to fill him up with lies.”
I ball my hands. My heart aches for the life that could have been, but I never want to think about the past again. Not if I can help it. No. My future is bright and shiny with two mates I adore.
“Go home, love,” Pyra says. “We’re resilient people. You need to rest and enjoy your mates. Six months goes in a flash and then you’ll have three babies to look after.”
I blink up at her and Perry presses his hands to his flat stomach. “Three?”
“Yep, one for each of you.” Pyra boops me on the nose. “I’m so proud of the man you’ve become. You’re brave and strong. Fate and the sky smiles on you.”
“Thank you.” I open my arms and we hug, lingering in the familiar love radiating from her.
“I’m glad you’re not trapped anymore. Go, fly free hawkling.”
She turns to hug Perry and whispers some advice I can’t hear. Then she hugs Buckle and does the same. The crowd parts, so many talk about leadership and changing the old ways, removing the old magic. I wish them luck.
The wolves escort us back to the truck and my legs won’t stop shaking. I collapse right as we get to the truck and laugh. “I need to fly. Meet you at the gas station.” And with that, I’m a hawk.
