Because I could already feel him moving in that direction, using the Veil.

“You aren’t going to beat me there, motherfucker.” I put my finger on the tip of the mountain Ophelia rested on and twisted the armband.

No, Orion wasn’t going to beat me there.

Not this time.

CHAPTER 24

ALEX

I BURIED MY HANDS deep into Eve’s feathers, hanging onto her as we swept through the sky. The wind ruffled my hair and I breathed it in.

To have my mind back, to have woken up from the dream of being trapped as a submissive, was hard to believe.

“Eve, how long before we make it to the farmhouse do you think?”

She clacked her beak three times. “A day if we push hard.”

A day. That would give them plenty of time to do what I was considering. I swallowed hard, the submissive part of me all but whimpering with the thoughts rushing through my mind. I pushed back that part of me. Right now, Rylee needed me to be stronger. The loss of Blaz was too much, and she needed all the support we could give her.

“We need to make a couple of stops when we hit Bismarck.”

Eve looked at me over her shoulder. “Why?”

Clearing my throat first, the words still sounded funny to me without any ‘yuppy doody’ attached. “I think we can bring more help for Rylee.”

Bobbing her head, Eve squawked her agreement. “Good idea, Alex. What about the wolves along the way? We could stop and ask them to help.”

The idea of talking to other wolves, really, and shifters for that matter, twisted my guts. But for Rylee, I would do it. I straightened my back.

“Yes. If you see any sign of wolves, take us down.”

Without another word, she tucked her wings into her body and dropped out of the sky. “Then here’s your first chance.”

Seconds later, we landed and I slid off Eve’s back. Marco gave me an encouraging bob of his head. Right. I could do this. I wiped my hands on my shirt, but they sweated right back up again.

We were in a valley with the sun rising over the horizon. Day two in the countdown to the final battle.

“How close are they, Eve?” I asked, slowly stripping out of my clothes.

“Hiding around the copse of trees.” She flicked her beak at a cluster of evergreens.

Here and there, I could see the glimmer of watching eyes. Asking my body to shift was easy, though I was sure it was nowhere near as smooth as Liam’s shifts. Within seconds, I was on all fours and trotting forward. I sat about twenty feet from Eve and Marco, tipped my head back and howled.

Silence met my call.

A growl slipped out of me. I was not going to let them act like I was a submissive and ignore me.

I howled again, this time longer, deeper, and with as much authority as I could muster. Dropping my chin, I had to fight not to scramble backward. A male alpha the color of autumn leaves and easily as big as Liam stood in front of me. His pale amber eyes bored into mine.

I swallowed hard and shifted right in front of him. “I was a submissive, but I learned to be strong enough to shift.”

He shifted and slowly stood. His hair was the color of maple leaves in the fall and it brushed the tops of his shoulders. “We’ve heard of you. The Tracker did this?”

Maybe this wouldn’t be as hard as I thought. “Yes.”

Breathing in slowly, he held the air before releasing it. “Why would you call on us? Do you wish to become part of our pack? Not all my members would agree to have you join us.”

“No”—I shook my head—“I’m a part of a pack.”

“Then why are you here?” He didn’t seem angry, just confused. I stood a little straighter, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of having a serious conversation while standing buck naked with a guy who was also buck naked. And acting like the whole situation was normal. My lips twitched.

“The world is being threatened by demons. The Tracker is the only one who can stop them, but she needs all the help she can get,” I said. “You and your pack could make the difference between success and failure. And I tell you now, you do not want her to fail.”

He seemed to consider my words. “You want us to risk our lives for someone not a part of our pack?”

I barked out a laugh. “The world will die if she fails. The demons will rule us. So you can either fight for her, help her succeed, and possibly die in the battle. Or you can hide here like a bunch of untested poodles needing to go to their groomer and surely be killed as soon as the demons take over.”

His eyes glittered dangerously and I knew I’d gone too far. But I would not back down. A snarl ripped out of him and he launched himself at me, shifting in the air.

I spun and shifted, kicking the dirt out behind me with my clawed back feet. I met him head on, clawing and biting, going for his throat.

He was bigger and stronger, but I held my ground, even when he cut my leg open.

Even when the fear bit at me as hard as his teeth.

Eve screeched, but Marco yelled at her. “Stay out of it, Eve!”

Marco understood. I had to do this.

I had to prove I truly wasn’t submissive, if not to the other wolves, than at least to myself.

Growling, I grabbed the auburn-haired wolf and flipped him over onto his back, scrabbling against the ground for better purchase to pin him. I had more flexibility than him in my mixed-up form, an advantage I used fully. He flipped out from under me and side-stepped, panting as he caught his breath. Slowly, he nodded. He tipped his head back and let out a howl that echoed in the air.