Chaz (VLG #15)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Shoni released Chaz’s hand, wanting to kiss the ground outside as the plane came to a stop. The engine died seconds later. The bush pilot turned in his seat, grinning. “We didn’t crash. That was wild!”

She had other descriptive words to use. Terrifying was the one that topped her list. The pilot had circled the area once to make sure the road was long enough for them to make a safe landing. Shoni had made the mistake of looking out the small window when he had. Below had been a scenic view of tall trees, a few large buildings, and one long road that looked like it had seen better days. She wouldn’t have even wanted to drive a car on it.

“I told you it would be fine.” Chaz leaned into her and kissed her forehead. “I’d never let anything happen to you.”

She made eye contact with Lenore. Fray was almost wrapped around her still, holding her tight. The other woman looked just as relieved that they’d survived. She checked on Ember last. Her cousin was grinning big and winked.

“There’s something seriously wrong with you,” Shoni accused her.

“That was exciting!” Ember unstrapped her belt and stood. “I liked the bounce when we first touched down and the way it was a little bumpy until we came to a stop.”

The pilot left his seat in the front to go to the side door. He popped it open and pushed the built-in stairs down. “Don’t forget you promised to pay me extra for dropping you here at the last minute. I’m probably going to need new tires after that.”

Chaz unbelted and stood. “You’ll be paid well.”

The pilot peered out of the plane, frowning. “There’s a group of men coming this way. Should I be alarmed?”

Chaz walked next to him. “They work at the resort,” he lied smoothly. “I told you it’s about to re-open.”

The pilot nodded. “I haven’t even heard of this place. What kind of resort is it?”

“You should talk to the guy in the blue shirt. He’ll get you free passes. He’s the manager.” Chaz turned. “Come here, Shoni.”

She stood on unsteady feet and made her way to his side. It gave her the ability to see the men the pilot had mentioned. There were six of them. All were tall and muscular, and she had a feeling they weren’t human.

“They really need to repave their landing strip and put some lighting up if they plan to fly their resort guests in.” The pilot left the plane, taking the stairs first. “I’ll talk to the manager about it.”

The long-haired guy wearing the blue shirt smiled, looking friendly. He went right up to the pilot, and his eyes began to glow. Chaz suddenly moved, blocking Shoni’s view of them. “Don’t look. We are too far away to hear what Lake is saying, but you’re not immune to his eyes. He can still accidentally put you in a trance.”

She lifted her chin, staring at his dark sunglasses. “They are going to mess with the pilot’s mind, right?”

“Yes. They’ll make him forget our faces, anything he learned about us, and where he dropped us off. He’ll also be paid well.”

“Don’t you think that’s going to bother him? The not remembering much?”

Fray and Lenore came up to them. He spoke. “No. They’ll tell him he had a headache and wasn’t feeling well, that maybe he was running a slight fever from having a cold. This fuzzy memory routine is perfectly normal when we deal with humans.”

“What if he hadn’t been immune to mind control?”

“The VampLycans share which pilots they’ve used in the past, and we try to always hire someone on their list. That way, we minimize the risk.”

“Oh.” Shoni nodded. “That makes sense.”

“We never want to hurt humans.” Chaz glanced back. “Let’s go.” He started down the stairs next. Then, he helped her get out of the plane until she stood on the ground.

“What about our stuff?” Shoni didn’t want to forget their belongings strapped inside the plane.

“Don’t worry about it.” Fray took off his sunglasses, meeting her gaze. “Five out of the six out there are from our clan. They came to fly our things home.”

“How are we going to get there?” Ember made her way to where they stood. “Oh, Wow. All those guys certainly look large enough to carry our bags. Do any of your kind come in smaller sizes, Chaz?”

“Only when we’re younglings,” Fray answered her as he exited the plane. He reached the bottom of the stairs and turned, helping Lenore down.

Shoni noticed that the pilot took a seat on the pavement. He closed his eyes, seeming to be resting. Her gaze returned to Chaz. He had shoved his sunglasses upward, revealing his eyes.

“The pilot will stay there until we’re done. Lake will release him and send him on his way afterward.”

She felt a little bad for the pilot. Chaz seemed to guess her thoughts.

“We’ll be quick,” he assured her. “He’s fine, and the money has already been transferred to his company account.”

“Okay.”

Chaz moved her away from the plane while five men walked by them. All hurried inside the plane, coming out with their suitcases and bags. It only took a few minutes before the one in the blue shirt had the pilot back on his feet and reentering the plane. They all backed away from the road as four of the GarLycans helped physically turn the plane around.

“Why are they doing that?”

“There’s not enough runway for the pilot to take off otherwise,” Chaz explained. “You should see how many of us it takes to maneuver the jet around.”

Shoni turned, staring at the large lodge. It was at least four floors high. The other building looked kind of like a long log cabin. It sat at the other end of the long road to the side. Trees obstructed most of her view of it.

Chaz followed her gaze. “That’s the hanger where the jet is kept when it’s here. We lend it out to the VampLycans sometimes. Our lord took possession of it from a bad guy.”

She faced the lodge. It looked nice, like a massive log hotel. “Who lives there?”

“No one. It’s been abandoned since the VampLycans took ownership of it.”

“I’ve seen that horror movie,” Ember muttered. “I’m glad we’re not going inside.”

“It must have cost the owner a fortune to have it built all the way out here. How many guests could stay there at once?” Shoni was curious about the place.

Chaz shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Any other conversation had to wait as the plane engine started. It was loud. Shoni watched as the pilot took off down the road, lifting from the ground before he reached the end. The plane rose over the trees and kept going until it was out of sight. Part of her was a little sad to see it go. It was the last link to her old life. She was a bit worried about what her future would hold.

The dark-haired guy in the blue shirt approached, smiling at Chaz. “Is this your mate?” He had blue eyes that nearly matched his bright blue shirt. “I’m Lake.”

“Shoni.” She didn’t offer her hand since he didn’t either.

“I’m Ember. Hello.”

Lake gave her cousin a tight smile before returning his full attention to Chaz. “Which one is yours?”

“Shoni is my mate. Thank you for the help with the pilot.”

“No problem.” Lake’s nose flared as he took a deep breath. “Do the females know the truth?”

“Yes.” Chaz wrapped his arm around Shoni’s waist. “They are the only three humans here.”

“I’ll be right back.” Ember left them to go to the pile of their stuff left on the ground.

Lake nodded at Chaz. “Good. I’ll let your males know they can bring out the harnesses and nets now. They hid them in case you waited until you got here to tell your females what they are.” He turned, walking away.

Shoni looked up at Chaz for clarification.

“You’re aware that we need to fly to the cliffs. Lake was making sure of that. You have to admit it would be frightening if we suddenly brought out flying equipment and you didn’t know what they were for.”

“Right. Are you sure it’s going to be safe to strap me to your body?”

“I’d never let anything happen to you,” Chaz assured Shoni.

“I know that.” She turned into him, reached up, and placed her hands on his chest. “I’m nervous.”

“Don’t be. You’re going to love the cliffs. We’ll be happy.”

“You already make me happy.”

He leaned down, kissing her.

Shoni was lost in that kiss until she heard her cousin’s outburst.

“No fucking way in hell! Nope!”

Chaz lifted his mouth away from hers, and she twisted her head, watching as Ember backed away from one of the GarLycans. He was a handsome man who now had what looked like a leather harness strapped to his chest. He’d removed his T-shirt, it hanging from his waist. Both of his arms were outstretched toward her cousin.

“Fuck no, buddy,” Ember spat. “I’m not a bird or into bondage. No way are you strapping me against your body. Put your shirt back on. The view is nice and all, but no means no.”

“I don’t think we told her how we’re getting to your home,” Shoni muttered.

The big male suddenly lunged, grabbed Ember, and spun her on her feet. He yanked her against him and held her tight. “Hold still, female. You don’t want to be dropped while we’re in the air. This is perfectly safe.”

Ember threw her elbow back, nailing him in the stomach. He grunted but didn’t let her go.

“Ember!” Shoni tore away from Chaz and approached the struggling couple. “Stop it. They have to fly us to where they live.”

Her cousin stopped trying to hit the guy holding her, glaring at Shoni. “You forgot to mention this part of the plan.”

“Sorry. Chaz says it’s perfectly safe.”

“Oh. Well.” Ember rolled her eyes. “I have a half-naked dude trying to tie me to him. Don’t you think you should have warned this was going to happen?”

“Sorry. Just go with it,” Shoni urged.

“I wore my good hiking shoes. I say we walk.” Ember tried to wiggle away from the big GarLycan again.

“It’s too far, female,” the male grumbled. He had a deep voice. “You’d have to travel through two VampLycan territories before reaching ours. That would take you almost a week. Not that you’d survive. The wild animals would see you as food. Behave!”

“Behave?” Ember gaped up at him.

“Em,” Shoni pleaded. “Look at me.”

Ember whipped her head forward, glowering at her.

“We need to fly there. They have wings, remember? It’s going to be an adventure.”

“Great.” Ember took some rapid breaths, seeming to calm down. “He didn’t even introduce himself before grabbing me. It was rude.”

Chaz stepped next to Shoni. He had removed his shirt, tucking it into the back of his jeans. He also was securing leather straps to his chest. “That’s Drillon. He will get you to the cliffs safely.”

“Fine.” Ember clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. “Go ahead. Tie me to you. You better not drop me.”

“I would never,” Drillon swore.

“That’s a weird ass name,” Ember muttered. “Couldn’t your parents just name you Dillon? Were they miners or something, drill on?”

“I’m not a human,” Drillon growled. He secured two straps crisscrossed over Ember’s chest before crouching a little and putting one more around her waist. When he straightened up, it lifted her cousin right off her feet since he was much taller than her.

“Great.” Ember opened her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t look happy. “I feel like a freakin’ toddler strapped to a daddy’s chest. This is undignified.”

Shoni tried not to laugh. Her cousin did look ridiculous, just hanging there against the much bigger man she was strapped to.

Chaz got behind Shoni and pulled her tightly against his front. He strapped her to him the same way. The leather straps were a few inches thick and had padding on the inside. When he straightened, she hung from him, too. Her feet didn’t touch the ground anymore.

Chaz wrapped both of his arms around her waist. “Are you uncomfortable?”

“I’m good.” Shoni then noticed that Fray had strapped Lenore to him in the same way. The remaining three GarLycans were also shirtless, but they wore different kinds of harnesses. Those just had a clip in the front near their ribs. Their bags had been secured inside cargo nets. Those were attached by ropes to the clips on the harnesses.

Lake watched them all, looking highly amused. “I’m totally sticking around to watch this. I’ve seen you guys carry cargo before, but not women.”

Fray chuckled. “Some of your clan has flown with us.”

“That’s because they’re crazy.” Lake shrugged. “I’m good on the ground. Safe travels.”

“Hold onto my arms,” Chaz warned. “I’ve got you.”

He took a few deep breaths, and Shoni twisted her head, watching as his wings expanded out of his back. The sight of them never ceased to amaze her. She glanced at the other GarLycans, seeing they’d done the same.

Ember looked scared as she took in the sight of seven winged men about to take flight. Shoni sympathized, remembering her first time glimpsing Chaz’s other form in that warehouse.

“Don’t scream,” Shoni called out. “This is going to be fun.”

Ember met her gaze. “Fuck yo―”

Drillon leaped into the sky with her cousin, his black wings flapping fast and hard. Chaz’s arms tightened around her waist, and then they were off the ground, too. His breathing became a little erratic as they took flight. Shoni clung to his arms.

She saw the other men lift off from below. The ones with the cargo nets didn’t shoot upward but instead took off at more of an angle. The bags secured inside those nets dangled about seven feet below them. Shoni jerked her attention to where they were flying.

Chaz angled them as they soared higher and over the tall treetops. It was terrifying yet exhilarating at the same time. Shoni had to remember to breathe as they picked up speed and more height. Her legs just hung below her.

“Are you good?”

She managed to nod. The wind whipped her hair into her face, so she didn’t want to open her mouth to speak.

“It’s not a long flight. Walking to the cliffs from the resort would take us a week.”

Shoni stared down. They passed a sea of trees hundreds of feet below them. A few cabins were glimpsable in small clearings and some creeks. They even flew over a wide river. It was exciting when she spotted a big bear on the riverbank. One thing was certain: Alaska was beautiful.

Shoni turned her head, seeing the other GarLycans. Fray and Drillon were to their right. Her cousin and Lenore appeared to be enjoying the experience since they looked relaxed.

The four men flying their belongings kept a little farther back. She faced forward again, wishing she wore goggles as she repeatedly blinked from the wind. They crossed another river below them, and that’s when she spotted the huge mountain ahead. It was taller than the others.

“That’s home,” Chaz informed her. He released her waist with one arm to point forward before wrapping it back around her.

Now she understood why they called it the cliffs. The large mountain looked pretty sheer. Few trees grew on that side, as if it was too steep to hold any kind of vegetation. As they approached, she spotted two more flying men coming at them. Her heart raced, wondering who they were.

“You’re about to see some younglings with their flying instructors. Look for them lower,” Chaz called out.

Shoni watched the two big men as they flew closer. That’s when some smaller winged bodies shot up from the treetops below. She counted six of them as they rose higher into the air to join the two strangers. It left her in awe that kids could fly, too. She placed them between the ages of maybe seven to ten.

The closer they flew to the mountain, the more she was able to make out details. A few cave-like openings were there. One was the largest. Chaz banked to the left, taking them in that direction. She then noticed the cave wasn’t just an opening; a wide ledge was in front of it.

“Brace,” Chaz warned. “Don’t be frightened.”

That was impossible to do as he suddenly went into a sort of dive, aiming them right at that opening in the mountain. He did something that jerked her hard to the right as they reached it. They dropped suddenly, and Chaz landed on the ledge. He quickly folded his wings against his back and stalked inside the wide mouth of the cave. It was cavernous inside, and to her surprise, lights hung from about forty feet above.

Chaz walked to the right and then stopped and turned, and she watched as Fray landed next with Lenore. He dropped to the ground with her held against him before quickly following them inside. Drillon landed after that with Ember.

Shoni was glad when she heard Ember laughing. Her cousin always enjoyed anything adventurous. The big guy she was strapped to moved out of the way, entered the cave, and stopped across from them.

The four remaining GarLycans came into the cave, still flying. She watched as the cargo nets hit the ground, dragging. The men landed in crouches before straightening to their full height. Each of the four unclipped the ropes and began to remove their harnesses.

Chaz released her waist and began to unstrap her as he crouched until her feet touched the ground. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No.”

Once he got her free, he dropped the harnesses to the ground next to them. He cupped her face, leaned in, and kissed her. “Welcome home, Shoni. I’m going to introduce you to everyone later. Right now, I just want to get you into my bed and bond the hell out of you.”

She glanced at her cousin once more. Ember was chatting with Drillon, Fray, and Lenore. She looked happy. Shoni relaxed, no longer worried. All she wanted was to be alone with Chaz.

She smiled at him. “Let’s go.”

He chuckled. “Fray will take care of getting Ember settled in her new home. He promised to look out for her for the next few days so we can bond. Our bags will be delivered outside our door soon. We won’t be needing them for a while with what I have in mind, anyway.”

“That sounds perfect.” Shoni let Chaz lead her through the large cave to a tall tunnel. The walls were smooth rock. There were even carved-in stairs as they left that area, passed some heavy wooden doors that were closed, and went deeper inside the mountain. Lights were hung from the ceiling.

“You really do have electricity here.”

“Just because we live far from humans doesn’t mean we have to go without comforts.” Chaz suddenly stopped, scooped her into his arms, and walked faster. “You walk too slow. I’m impatient to make love to you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling. “I’m good with that, but can we shower first? We’ve been traveling for a while.”

“Of course. Much later, I plan to spend a lot of time with you in my tub, too. It’s large enough for the both of us.”

“You have a bathtub?”

Chaz grinned. “A large one that I believe you’ll enjoy being in with me.”

Shoni was excited over that. “I do love taking baths. It’s one thing I really missed about living in my condo.”