Vivian Arend - Wolf Flight

Missy giggled. “You okay with this, Tad?”

His heart leapt. She was his and their mating was real, and Missy wanted to know if he was okay with it? Hell, yeah . “So far beyond ‘okay’ my head is spinning. I proposed to you. I meant it and now there’s no way that you’re ever getting away from me.” Missy stroked her fingers through his hair and Tad watched the golden flecks in her eyes sparkle. It had happened. He had a mate.

Holy crap, he was going to be able to turn into a wolf.

“Exciting, isn’t it Tad? You’re going to be a beautiful wolf.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?” While very cool this could become a trifle embarrassing if she read his every thought all the time. “And hang on, guys aren’t beautiful. We’re handsome or—”

“Tad. I have something I need to tell you.”

Tad rolled her on top of him, needing to feel her body weight. “Hmmm. Sounds serious.” He couldn’t stop touching her, connecting them skin to skin.

Something clicked in Missy. It was the weirdest feeling, almost like she’d flicked a switch. He sensed her emotions shift and change from being sated and contented with their lovemaking. Tad let her crawl off him to the foot of the bed where she stared back, her big blue eyes suddenly filled with fear. He reached out, not with his hand but with the strange new awareness he’d just attained. He stroked her skin and he knew.

Everything. Holy crap, Missy was running away from the bad guys.

He shook his head hard to get his thoughts to settle back into his brain. He left the bed and scrambled through Shaun’s dresser to find clothing. “Get dressed, Missy. We’re going to see Keil.”

Missy’s eyes were huge. “I’m sorry. I never realized the danger this would put us in. I thought that if I gave you FirstMate I might register a false connection and it would make me lose my Omega skills. I didn’t know we really were mates until the cabin, and afterward I was too sick to think it through.” Her voice trembled and she seemed uncertain how he would react to the whole mess.

Tad scooped her back into his arms and kissed her thoroughly, squeezing her tight. “I’m not mad at you, love. Not at all, but we could be in big trouble and we need help. Keil’s the strongest Alpha in the area and we’ve got an in, being family and all. Now since you don’t need any undies.” He handed her a warm sweatshirt, kissed her nose and turned away to dress.

“I think you’re an Omega as well,” Missy whispered.

“Wait until we get on the road. We’ll talk about it then,” Tad warned.

All hell was about to break loose and there was no way Tad could deal with it alone. It was time to call in the big guns. Being a werewolf would never be boring.

If he survived until his first shift.

Tad threw his cell phone into the backseat with the rest of their things. “That’s the last chance for reception around here. We’ll have to wait until we get over the pass to try again to reach Keil.”

He glanced at Missy, noting the tension in her body as she fidgeted with the seatbelt strap. “Hey.” He waited until she looked up at him. “We’ll be fine.”

Missy nodded but it lacked conviction.

He fought to control the wide range of emotions pouring through him, some hers, some his. “Catch me up on the werewolf lessons I need. You’re an Omega and you ran away because they were nasty assholes. Right?”

Missy snorted. “You have such a way with words.”

“Yeah. Elegant and verbose, that’s me. We’re mates, but you think some jerk plans to take you as a mate anyway?”

“My brother-in-law, the Alpha. Whistler pack has gotten into illegal activities because of him. He wants to use my Omega skills. He had something on my dad years ago, which is why I ended up married to his brother. I’ve been gathering evidence to use against him with the werewolf council, but it’s tricky. It will be dangerous to attempt to bring him down because he’ll stop at nothing. He’s a skilled liar, a bully and a killer. He killed his own brother, Tad. He’s…” She turned away to stare out the window.

Tad swore under his breath. This being connected thing was brutal. Fear rolled off her and he felt every nuance to the center of his being. His need to protect her surged to overload, making it really hard to concentrate.

“Sweetheart, you’ve got to stop. Every time you let the Big Bad Wolf scare you, I feel the need to rip limbs off trees. It’s tough enough to drive in the dark, let alone convince the border-crossing guards to allow us into Alaska, if I’m foaming at the mouth. Oh shit…”

The border. He had no ID and the Alaskan side closed at midnight. What the heck were they going to do? “So, this Omega thing? Does it give you the ability to make someone real peaceful and content so they won’t look in the trunk?” Tad asked.

Missy goggled at him.

“Just planning ahead. You get to drive us through customs, sweetie. I’m going to be hiding out.”

They drove in silence for a while, the dark mountains looming above the highway.

“I think you’re one too, Tad. An Omega.” Missy spoke quietly. She clasped his right hand, warming his fingers as she rubbed them like worry beads.

“Really?” He racked his brain for everything he knew about Omegas. Other than what Shaun had shared, it was very little. Except there was something very comfortable about the knowledge settling over him, very natural. A part of his brain he had always known was there but never used seemed newly available. “Isn’t it really weird we’d end up as mates? I thought Omegas were rare.”

“Mates complement each other, complete each other. There must be things that you’ll be able to do that I can’t, or that I can’t without your help. I’m still trying to figure out the extent of my skills. I know I can calm crowds and soothe someone when they’re angry. The last Omega I spoke to said he could locate pack members by their thoughts. He went through the pack each night and helped relax their burdens so they could sleep well.”

Tad grunted. “I don’t think being a night light is the kind of thing I’d enjoy. You really think I’m one?”

She nodded. “One of the minor skills all Omega’s have is the ability to hide our scent if we need to. You were doing that even before we…you know.”

“Made love? Had sex? Did the horizontal hoochie coochie? You realize we’re still not done, by the way. That was nowhere near long enough or enough times for a real FirstMate. From what I’ve been told,” Tad teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Missy kissed his knuckles. “Trust me, I’m looking forward to more as well.” She laughed. “I think ours is the strangest mating I’ve ever heard of. It’s taking the longest time to complete!”

Tad squeezed her fingers. “I love you, Missy. And everything will be fine.”

They would be at Robyn and Keil’s in an hour. Whether it was her ability as an Omega or his ability to bullshit, peace descended and Tad relaxed. It was going to work out. It had to.

He was in love and that made everything right.

All the house lights were blazing as they slowed on the approach to Keil’s log house on the outskirts of Haines, Alaska.

“Tad.” Missy’s eyes were huge in her face. “He’s here.”

Shit . “You sure?”

She gave him a dirty look.

“Sorry. You’re sure. Don’t worry. We’ll just go talk to him, explain we’re mates and that’s all there is to it.”

Missy turned away from him and Tad felt her fear rise again.

He, on the other hand, was getting royally pissed off. It sucked big time he’d caused so much trouble with their mating by his ignorance, but enough was enough. Werewolves or not, some things were the right thing to do. If the Alpha from Whistler didn’t understand, he could shove it up his ass.