by Ovidia Pike
“Thought I’d try,” he said.
“No kissing,” I breathed.
“No kissing,” he agreed, putting his hands up. “I promise.”
“Okay,” I said, though a big part of me regretted rejecting him. My eyes were locked on him as the girls swam up to us, kicking their legs in the water.
“Come on, Mr. Gabriel!”
“I think I’m good, ladies, but thank you for the invitation.”
“Sophie!” Jane said. “Please?”
I smiled at them and stood up, stripping out of my clothes until I was in nothing but my underwear. I glanced over my shoulder at Gabriel, who looked me over with that dark, penetrating gaze.
“This afternoon just got so much brighter,” he said with a wink. “Have fun.”
“I will. Don’t look at my butt,” I said back.
“Too damn late for that, angel,” he said, dragging his teeth over his bottom lip. I shook my head and laughed before jumping into the water to join the girls. It was warmer than I had expected, comfortable against my flushed skin. I sank under the water, opening my eyes and looking up to see a blanket of blackness descend on the pond. I broke to the surface to the sound of screams and the feeling of wings fluttering all over my body. I couldn’t see anything through the crows, but I reached out blindly for the girls. I managed to grab one by the arm but there was another scream again, and I looked up to see the crows darting into the sky, a tornado of them carrying a dangling Chelsey in the air, who kicked and screamed and tried to writhe away.
Chapter 5: Gabriel
It was too late by the time I dove into the pond, swimming as fast as I could into the swarm of crows that had descended into the water. They were already gone by the time I got there, carrying Chelsey away as she kicked to fight free. Jane let out a scream and climbed out of the water, then started running as fast as she could on bare feet through the trees.
“Jane!” I shouted, climbing out after her. Sophie was already ahead of me, running after the little girl, who sobbed as she ran until she could no longer push herself forward. She bent over and tried to catch her breath and I went to her, lifting her up and holding her in my arms, stroking her hair as she cried into my shoulder. I looked over at Sophie, who gave me a panicked look.
“What—what do we do?” she asked, her voice shaking.
“We’re going to find her,” I said resolutely as I quickly started carrying Jane back to the village. She clung to me as I hurried with Sophie at my heels. We passed into the village and I pounded on Lily’s door, setting Jane down, who was still crying. There was a sour feeling in my stomach and I felt on the verge of panic myself, but forced myself to keep breathing steadily for Jane’s sake as much as my own.
“What’s wrong?” Lily asked when she opened the door.
“Chelsey is gone. Taken. We’re going to find her right now. Come on, Sophie.”
“What do you mean—”
“No time to explain,” I said, rushing away, beginning to jog to the woods. Sophie ran to catch up with me.
“Gabriel, where are we going?”
“To the birds,” I said.
“Where are they?”
“Across the park. Probably four hours away.”
“The sun is going to go down soon. Have you been there before?”
“No, but we’ll find them,” I said, my whole body tense and nervous. I could hear Chelsey’s screams in my head over and over as I began to pick up speed.
“Wait!” Sophie called, running toward me, putting her hand on my shoulder.
“We’re not going to be able to find a bunch of birds in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night,” she said. “I know you want to get to her, but—”
“I’m not slowing down, Sophie. Period,” I said as I turned away.
“Wait,” she said, taking my hand, meeting my eye. She must have seen something there because she gave me a determined look, squeezing my hand.
“Let’s go, then,” she said, letting go of my hand. “But slow down, we can’t run four hours. We’ll get there.”
“Okay,” I said begrudgingly, beginning to walk quickly beside her rather than jogging. She looked up at my face with a deep frown.
“Why exactly are we going to the birds?”
“I don’t know where else to go,” I said, running my hand through my hair nervously. “I don’t know where to start. Maybe they took her. Who else?”
“Harley does that crow thing,” she said. “Maybe it was her.”
“It might have been. I don’t know how to find Harley right now. I know how to find the birds. It’s a starting point and it gives me something to do.”
“I understand,” she said in a soft voice. “I know this is hard for you. You love those girls.”
I didn’t respond to her—the knot in my throat felt too tight for speech. I didn’t know how long I’d been walking when I heard Sophie yawn beside me. I turned to look at her in the dark to see that her eyelids were heavy and drooping, that she was dragging her feet along the ground.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“Yeah,” she said with another yawn. “I’m fine.”
“You look like you can barely walk,” I said to her, sighing. “We’ll stop.”
“No, really,” she said. “It’s okay, I just need a minute to sit down.”
“Okay,” I replied as she sank to the ground, sitting on a log, her shoulders slumped. I sat next to her and she rested her head on my shoulder, sinking into me.
“Just a couple minutes,” she mumbled, but a moment later she was breathing deeply, and when I glanced down I could see that she was asleep.
“Shit,” I muttered, realizing only then that we hadn’t brought anything with us but a half-empty canteen of water, which we had sipped carefully as we walked.
“Sophie,” I said to her, shaking her slightly. “Do you think you can sit up for a few minutes while I build us something to sleep under?”
“Yes, of course,” she said in her soft, sleepy voice, and I kept an eye on her as I wove together a curtain of vines and supple branches, my hands moving quickly until it was big enough to lay under. I did my best to tie one end to a tree, propping the other two corners up with sticks.
“Okay,” I said to her, turning to see that she was wobbling with her eyes closed, as if she had fallen asleep sitting up. I went to her and picked her up, then ducked under the shelter and lay with my back on the ground, pulling her on top of me. I let go of her and lowered my arms to the ground so that I wasn’t holding her, just letting her rest there.
“Oh,” she said in a tiny voice.
“Is this okay? Just so you don’t have to lay on the ground. It’s damp.”
“Okay,” she said, lowering her face down onto my chest, her cheek pressed against my skin. I thought she was sleeping until she lifted her face to look at mine.
“I’m cold,” she said, taking my arms and wrapping them around her shoulders. “Will you keep me warm?” she whispered.
“Always,” I promised her, beginning to rub her back with my hand. For a moment, I was able to forget about Chelsey. I couldn’t help but smile as I stroked her spine and she cuddled against me, and I realized then that despite the circumstances, it was the best moment of my life so far.
“I love you,” I said to her quietly, but she was already asleep. I stayed awake for the next few hours as my mind drifted back to Chelsey and panic consumed me again. I didn’t want to imagine what it would feel like to lose her for good. Just thinking about it made something twist in my stomach so hard that it was almost physically painful. My whole body felt tense under Sophie, but I continued to hold her, not wanting to give her up for anything. I was slightly disappointed when she stirred on top of me just as the sun was starting to come up, and she lifted her face to look at mine, blinking sleepily in the morning light.
“Hi,” she said. “Did I...fall asleep last night?”
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“Oh, my
god,” she said, scrambling up, combing through her hair with her fingers. “Let’s go. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. You were right—we shouldn’t have left. But now we’re closer. Just a couple of hours.”
“Okay,” she said. “I really am sorry. I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I told her, knocking down the shelter as we started to walk away. I handed her the canteen and she took a long drink, then passed it to me.
“So what do we do when we get to that area?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I have no idea.”
“Do they live in a village or anything? Where exactly are they?”
“They live as birds most of the time and rarely shift. That’s really all I know about them.”
“So you don’t know if they have a leader?”
“No idea,” I said.
“Gabriel, I don’t have my guns. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”
“I’m stronger with you. I can protect you,” I promised. “They’re just birds.”
“A lot of birds,” she said, and I could hear nervousness in her voice.
“Hold my hand,” I said, reaching for hers. She slipped her palm against mine, her gaze travelling up to my eyeline.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said when she saw the tense expression on my face.
“If anything happens to her—” I growled. “I gonna rip every last fucking wing off of those assholes.”
“We don’t know if they did it. You can’t go in accusing strangers and expecting them to help you. They don’t know you.”
“I don’t...have any idea what to do,” I said.
“Let me talk. I’ll talk, okay? You’re not the greatest with people.”
“No?” I asked.
“Not exactly,” she said, flashing me a small smile as she squeezed my hand.
“So how will we know when we’re—”
She cut herself off with a small scream as a naked man dropped from the trees in front of us, landing so close that Sophie took a step back and stumbled, falling on the ground. I stepped in front of her and helped her stand as the man assessed me with a blank look on his face.
“Who are you?” he asked in a flat voice. “Why are you here?”
“My name is Gabriel Alarick. I am the Alpha of the wolf pack in the village west of here,” I said. Sophie stepped in front of me.
“I’m a ranger in the park. We’re here looking for someone.”
“Who?” the man asked, head cocked to one side.
“A little girl. A witch named Chelsey,” Sophie said. “She was taken by birds—we were wondering if you knew anything about that.”
“Don’t know about any little girl,” the man said. “You shouldn’t be here. This is our part of the forest.”
“Do you have shelter nearby?” I asked him, peering closely at the man. “I’d like to check it out.”
“We live in the trees. We have nests,” the man said.
“You live as animals,” Sophie said.
“It is the natural way of our kind. The wolves and their lion allies live in a way that is unnatural and wrong. It’s why we do not associate with your species.”
“I’m a human,” Sophie said.
“Even worse,” said the man, coolness in his tone. “I suggest you get out of here, human. Take your mate with you.”
“We’re not leaving until we get some answers,” I said. “You know something about the girl. I can see it in your face.”
“I know nothing,” the man said, though a smirk came over his lips that told me the truth. I stepped toward him, towering over him, not flinching as people began to drop from the trees all around us, stepping closer. I took Sophie’s hand and pulled her close to my side.
“Back up,” I growled at them. “Now.”
“Not if you insist on being belligerent,” the man said.
“You think I won’t kill your people on your land?” I asked. “Tell me what you know about the girl or I’ll rip your throat out.”
“Gabriel,” Sophie said in a chiding voice. She gave the man and apologetic smile.
“Sorry, he’s—”
“He’s unwelcome here. So are you.”
I rushed forward, grabbed the man by the neck and lifted him into the air, squeezing tight as I looked up at him. I glanced around at the others, who had frozen in their tracks.
“Someone answer me or I’ll kill him with one hand,” I snarled, squeezing tighter. The man squeaked in my hand, knowing that if he shifted he’d be even easier to kill.
“Three,” I counted. “Two.”
“She’s not here. Not here in the forest or the park,” a woman said, rushing forward and grabbing my arm. I dropped the man on the ground, where he gasped and choked dramatically, rolling around in the dirt.
“Where is she?” I yelled, facing the woman. Behind me, Sophie put her hand on my arm.
“Gabriel—” she began, but I cut her off by putting my hand up.
“No, I want to know where my little girl is,” I said sharply. “Now.”
“She’s...gone,” said the woman. “She’s not here.”
“What does that mean, she’s gone?”
“It means she was taken out of the park until she’s needed.”
“Where?” I snapped.
“I don’t know,” the woman said. I stepped toward her and she shrank back.
“Where is she?” I asked again.
“We don’t know!” she insisted with a wail.
“Who does?”
“Only the new Alpha.”
“Harley?”
“Yes. She told us to take her out of the park. The others haven’t even gotten back yet.”
“And you have no idea where they went?”
“No. Probably not far away. They’ll bring her back when it’s time.”
“Time for the invasion? For Harley to kill me?”
“I think so,” the woman said, sniffling as she looked at me in terror. The man I had choked climbed to his feet behind me and I could already tell that he was going to rush in my direction. I shifted and swiveled around to see him in bird form, leaping into the air and catching him in my jaws. I crushed him under my teeth, breaking his small body before spitting him out on the ground. Screams echoed through the air, and the cawing of birds came sharp and dangerous, but nobody else dared to move when I shifted and turned to them.
“I’m going to dispatch you all one by one until I find her,” I said.
“Gabriel, this is not the way,” Sophie said behind me, reaching for my arm. I glanced over at her face to see her eyes wide. “Don’t do this.”
“Sophie—”
“Don’t,” she repeated, taking my hand. She looked out at the birds again.
“Who took her? I want names,” she commanded, though her voice was softer than mine.
“There were hundreds of them.”
“Someone in charge, then,” I said.
“No one is in charge here. We’re not like you.”
I sighed, about to open my mouth when Sophie interrupted me.
“Thank you all,” she said. “I’m sorry that we disturbed you.”
They stared, saying nothing, slowly backing away from us. There were eyes on me from all over as we turned to go, my body tense, jaw tight as Sophie guided me away, pulling me forward gently with her hand. When we were far enough away, she turned to me, hands on her hips.
“You shouldn’t have killed that man, Gabriel,” she said.
“I want to find her. I need to find her.”
“Do you think they were telling the truth?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I have no idea,” I said in exasperation. “But I don’t care if I have to comb the whole city, we’re going to find her.”
“We don’t even know where to start,” she said, hurrying to walk beside me. I nearly howled in frustration, wanting to rip my hair out.
“Fucking Harley,”
I muttered, then raised my voice.
“Harley, I know you’re fucking watching us. I know you took her. Show yourself!”
“She’s not gonna—”
“You are such a dick,” came a voice behind me. I turned to see Harley there in her black robe, eyes rolled in disgust. I rushed toward her, went to grab her by the shoulders before she froze me and Sophie in place.
“This is actually a handy little trick,” she said as she circled around me.
“I’m pleased to see the two of you together. You’re doing well. Have you bonded?”
No one answered. No one could. I heard Sophie gasp as she was freed.
“We have,” Sophie said. “We’re bonded.”
Harley stared at both of us for a second, then leaned forward and sniffed at me.
“You smell like her,” she said in a satisfied voice. “I could totally kill you now if I wanted. We could fight—you’re at your strongest. You obviously want to.”
“No,” Sophie said firmly. “Harley, you don’t need to do this.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to do it right now. It’s not the right time.”
“When is it going to happen?”
“Soon. Gabriel will be executed in front of his village while they cheer me on and accept me as their leader.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Sophie said, and there was a stab of fear in her voice as Harley took a step toward her.
“It will. I’ve been working on this for a long time,” Harley said. “Years.”
“It’s betrayal,” Sophie said.
“You know how he is. You know who he is. He just killed a man in front of you for no reason. They’ll be better off.”
“That’s not true,” Sophie insisted. Harley shook her head.
“It is true, and you know it. He’s a monster. He’s going to get what he deserves... just not right now.”
As she spoke the words, I felt the ability to move again. I stepped toward her, towering over her, but she didn’t look afraid at all.
“Where is Chelsey?” I asked her.
“You won’t find her. She’s not in the park.”
“Harley, where the fuck is she?” I asked, nearly yelling the words.
“She’s gone. She’ll be back when we’re ready for her.”
“Please tell us where she is,” Sophie begged, near tears as she stood beside me.