The words meant a lot to Althea. Her entire life, all she wanted to know was that she was doing the right thing for the shifters. She had only just started her position as high Alpha, but she hoped that she could be as successful with everything she did in her new life, as she had been at catching the clan Alphas. “I’ve had great teachers, and I have very strong people at my back.”
The Crow Alpha glanced up at the guys nodding his head. He reached out and shook each one of their hands. “Thank you so much. You’ve found your place in the shifter world and we couldn’t be more thankful that Althea has you and you have her to protect each other. Anything that you need, you have an ally in me.”
The guys all dotted in return, standing with their hands clutched in front of them. The Crow Alpha turned back to Althea. “You have found your mates, and you’ve accomplished even more than what your mother had sent you out to do. Now, the real work begins. A helicopter is on its way to take you and the guys back to the castle. But don’t worry, I doubt you’ll be there for long. I’m sure something will tear you away in no time, and you’ll be saving the shifters all over again”
Althea puffed out her cheeks, making her eyes wide. “I think I’m done doing the saving for a while, but it sure would be nice to have that salmon that Chef Topper makes me. I’m starving.”
The Crow Alpha bellowed loudly, putting his arm over Althea shoulders as they walked back toward the Settlement. Billy huffed walking behind next to his brothers. “But a doughnut is just so crazy.”
Minco and Yansa chuckled, nudging Billy as they followed behind. There were a lot of wild adventures in front of them, but they were sure Billy would get his doughnut.
Two Weeks Later
Althea stood at the window inside of her castle chambers. She watched the large snowflakes flutter down from the sky, piling higher and higher on the ground. She loved this time of year, the chill of the snow beneath her paws, the flicker of candlelight decorated throughout the castle, and the warmth that settled over everyone.
Billy walked up behind Althea and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her cheek. Althea smiled and leaned into him. “How do you like the snow?”
Billy wrinkled his nose. “It’s interesting. I’m definitely not a fan of it in my human form, but in my bear, it’s not so bad.”
Althea turned, putting her hands around Billy’s waist and leaning back. “I’m sure that you’ll head back to your Settlement very soon.”
Billy’s eyes shifted out the window. “I’m not so sure about that, something tells me that there’s a chance I may never see the Settlement again, but that’s okay. Home is wherever you are.”
Yansa chuckled behind them, and Althea looked over smiling. He stood up, now wearing clothes more fit for the modern world. His long hair was tied back at the base of his neck, and his eyes sparkled with joy. “Billy, you sound like a Shaman. I wouldn’t pay too much attention to your gut instinct, you’re terrible at it.”
Billy gasped, turning toward the guys. “I am not!”
Minco glanced up at him and wrinkled his face. “Sorry brother, but he’s kind of right.”
Althea laughed, heading toward the door as a knock sounded out. When she opened it, Redmond stood pleasantly smiling at her. “The Council is waiting for you, you and your mates.”
Althea nodded and glanced back at the guys motioning for them to follow her. They headed through the castle, and down to the meeting room where the Council of Shifters had collected, all sitting around the same table where everything had started just a couple months before. They all stood as she entered the room, waiting for her to be seated before taking their own seats. The guys stood behind her, tall and strong, their hands clutched in front of them.
At the other end of the table was the Crow Alpha who slid back his chair and stood up, his hands on the table in front of him. “Thank you for joining us, Althea. We are pleased to let you know that the tiger, the Dryad, and the bull have all arrived at their different locations where they will be held captive, unable to shift for the rest of their lives. While some of the Alphas within our Council were not happy about your choice to withhold the option for execution, we all stand behind you and your choice nonetheless.”
Althea, a pleasant look on her face, glanced around at the other Alphas. “I understand the need for revenge. I myself have felt it stronger than anything I had felt before in my life. Watching those that you love face brutal deaths at the hands of people like these Clan Alphas is more than difficult. But what you must remember is that the anger that drives them is the same anger that drives revenge. If we want to grow and prosper as a community, we must step away from the violence as an answer to violence. The road ahead will be full of hard decisions, but I am sure that those of you who sit here today, with the best interest of all of the sigils at heart, you will be able to move forward not just with power and strength, but with empathy and love as well. And you will not be alone, me and my sisters will be here to support you every step of the way.”
All of the council members nodded their head, glancing back and forth at each other. Althea could tell that not everyone was on board, but her hope was that one day they would get there. They definitely were closer, especially after her return to the castle. They had been able to witness firsthand just how strong her powers were as she practiced and trained in the field every morning with her mates. She had thought that when she left the cave after healing Minco, her powers were at full capacity, but she was wrong. She continued to grow stronger and more powerful as the days passed, and she was determined to use that energy for the good of all shifters.
“Speaking of your sisters,” the Crow Alpha replied. “There’s been no word from any of them, but after sending out some of our more reliable feathered eyes in the sky, they ran into Iris, finding her journey to be coming along quite nicely.”
Althea’s eyes brightened. “Wonderful. I can’t wait for the return of my sisters. Hopefully they’re having a bit easier time than I did. As long as they’re safe, I’m happy.”
The Crow Alpha lifted an eyebrow and smiled, tilting his head to the side. While Althea’s journey was arduous, Iris was also out there, creating her own path. But then again, griffins always skipped to the beat of their own drum.
THE END
Iris
“Son of a…” Iris growled as an oddly large black bird clipped the wings of her Griffin, sending her spiraling down toward the rocky cliffs below.
Her wings tilted from side to side, the edge of her right one folding back in injury. She tried to steady herself, but just as it was when she flew planes, her bird was out of control. Approaching a narrow passage through the rocks toward the cliffs, Iris turned her body and flattened her wings, putting her head straight down. She shot through the crevice, bouncing slightly from side to side against the smooth stone walls. As she emerged, her eyes focused in on a plateau just slightly to her right.
If she was going to make a crash landing, she figured it was better to do it there than to plummet down to the barren cavern beneath her. “Oh man, this is going to hurt.”
Iris quickly tucked her legs up under her Griffin body and rolled her head down. Right before hitting the surface of the plateau, she folded her wings and pushed her momentum forward. As her back slammed into the rocky surface, she rolled head over tail, finally coming to a sliding stop against the mountainside. Her large Griffin body tilted right and then left, her wings finally relaxing on to the ground. With a sniffle, she turned her head to the left, her eyes shifting around the sky looking for the return of the blackbird.
When she saw no sign of it, she turned her head in the other direction, staring at her backpack and all of her things strewn across the surface of the plateau. She strained her neck, looking at her back, finding the leather and metal brace she had created mangled and twisted, barely hanging on to her body. With a groan she let her head fall back down, and took in a deep breath as she shifted back into her human.
Once her bones ha
d reset, and her delicate flesh began to sting from the scrapes and cuts she incurred with her graceful landing, Iris put both of her palms down and slowly lifted herself to her feet. As she stepped forward, she tripped over the remnants of her brace, cursing loudly and grabbing her toe as she hopped forward. Her wavy blonde hair blew wildly around her, the purple tips slowly fading out.
Iris stood on the edge of the plateau, glancing around curiously. She had never known Lordone to have such enormous birds. She had spent years there, flying in and out of the caverns, hunting, and letting her Griffin free, but never had she been approached by such a violent winged creature. The tingle in the pit of her stomach made her think there was something more to it than just happenstance.
In the pile of her things spread out across the plateau, her phone began to ring. Iris glanced over and hurried along, pushing random items back and forth, trying to find it. She grabbed her bag, and unzipped the front pouch, the only thing that didn’t seem to burst open upon landing. Smiling, she gripped her phone and tugged, ripping it from the pouch, seeing Milly’s face on the screen.
“Do you know if there’s a random species of blackbird, roughly the size of a small hog, flying around the caverns?”
Milly sighed in frustration. “I’ve never heard of anything like that. Are you sure it wasn’t a hawk or maybe an eagle?”
Iris rolled her eyes, putting her hand on her hip. “Did you forget that I’m actually one of them? I’m pretty sure I know the difference between a hawk, an eagle, and a freakishly huge blackbird with its little beady eyes.”
“Was it one of your Shifter friends?” Milly asked.
Iris glanced back at the sky. “I don’t think so. I can sense other Shifters. I didn’t sense anything in this bird. And it seemed wild, natural in its habitat. But at the same time, it came right for me. I’m, of course, way larger than it, but the beak on that thing tore a hole in my wing. It healed fast enough that when I changed back into my human it was half the size, so I don’t think I’ll need stitches.”
Milly groaned. “Good, because I think I’m almost out of supplies. I feel like I should be paid as a nurse. I’ve sewn you up more times in the last four years than most nurses do in a lifetime at the ER.”
Iris grinned. “You are paid. You’re my best friend and you know my big secret. I just wanted to get in one last flight before heading out. I knew I had to come back here and take care of the business and let you know what was going on before I go in search of these magical noblemen that apparently are the key to my powers.”
Milly scoffed. “Leave it to history to make three men the key to a woman’s power.”
Iris laughed. “Calm down fembot, I’m sure it will all work itself out.”
Milly started to talk, filling Iris in on what she had missed at the airport since she was about three hours late returning. But Iris wasn’t paying attention to her, having pulled the phone away from her ear at the sound of a barrage of squawking echoing through the cavern. A shadow fell over her on the plateau and Iris furled her brow, glancing back and forth. Very slowly, knowing she was in for it, she turned around and stared up at the sky above. Instead of the bright blue shimmering canopy, it was jet black and moving fast toward her. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of birds cut down through the gorge, their eyes staring right at her.
Iris pulled the phone back to her mouth. “Uh, I’m gonna have to call you back.”
She clicked the phone off and dropped it to the ground, her eyes wide. As the birds shifted, Iris put up her arms, blocking her face as she prepared for the attack. She screamed out in a battle cry as the sea of birds enveloped her, pulling her deep into the tunnel of feathers and claws.
COMING JANUARY 2020!
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Meg Ripley is an author of sizzling shifter romances. A Seattle native, Meg can often be found curled up in a local coffee house with her laptop.
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