Chapter Three
The ladies thanked Rayd and his sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and her friends from the Stronghold escape. It had been an entertaining flight to the coastal airport, where the Emerald Island private plane was waiting for them.
The Elite omega who was waiting for them in the charter area was their clue as to who their travel companion was going to be.
“Rache and Eden?” The woman smiled, her golden eyes bright.
“Yes. You are?”
“Moira. Moira Barnes.” She smiled. “Most folks call me Merry. If you have any trouble on the islands, call for me, and I will come at a run. For now, I have clothes for you, and you can change on the plane.”
Rache grinned. “Excellent. What size is your clothing?”
“I have either. It just depends on how comfortable you are flashing all kinds of midriff.”
Eden chuckled. “I am good. So, how long until we board?”
“Oh, shoot. This way. The ears didn’t drive off the ADHD.” She grinned and shrugged. “Follow me.”
She walked slowly, and they were able to keep up with her. They went up the steps and into the plane, where Joy was waiting for them.
“Ladies. Emery has already tucked her bags away, and your lawyer filled out your visitor visas.”
Moira settled and clicked into her seat. “I was born on the islands, so I am a citizen of Emerald Island. Less paperwork. More family drama when they see me like this.”
Eden asked, “They don’t know?”
“This is really recent. I probably bumped into my other half in the city, but my family deserves to see it face-to-face. They moved to the village on Wonder, so that is where I am heading.”
Eden and Rache sat across from Moira and buckled in.
Joy grinned. “I will just let the pilot know, and we will be on our way.”
Moira smiled. “Joy is also an elf omega.”
Joy cackled. “She’s not wrong.”
She spoke to the pilot and pulled up the steps, folding and locking them in. Joy did the cabin checks and went to speak with the captain. “All right, ladies. We are cleared for departure.”
Eden murmured, “That is fast.”
“Private airstrips pay for the access to the sky.”
Rache asked, “How much is this going to cost us?”
“Those hugs Penny gave you. That’s your cargo.”
“What?”
“Ven is the princess of the Emerald Island chain. She’s the beta of the ruling omega.
And the mate of his alpha. They are quite the tight triad from all accounts.
Anyway, she and Penny have a history. They are chosen sisters and have been through hell together.
So, Ven would enjoy the hug.” She smiled.
“But you haven’t met her.”
“No. Well, only a few times at the book club. I went with a friend who had been attacked.” She pointed to the white hair and pointed ears. “This happened about a month ago.”
Rache blinked. “You don’t know who?”
“Nope. I was at a tradeshow, and there were some dark elves there, and there was a crush. Hands picked me up and got me out of there, and that was all I knew. The next day, my skin got itchy, and my clothes felt too tight. I went out with friends, and something funny happened, and I started laughing, and poof. The downside is that I am stuck like this. No shrinking. I can’t get back into my normal clothes, but I can sew, so a friend sent me some size-friendly designs, and she and I decided to make a small shop on Wonder.
She draws them, and I make them. I have already sent her a few outfits, and she’s over the moon about them. ”
Eden smiled. “Do you need someone to do front-of-house?”
“Maybe. You definitely look like model material.”
Eden grinned. “I have quite the figure when I am not pregnant.”
“Yes, I can see that. Did you want to pursue secondary education?”
Eden paused. “Yes. I would.”
Moira grinned. “Coolcoolcool. I have unfettered access to a learning annex with accredited courses.”
Rache grinned. “I am already an electrician.”
“Nice. I am guessing Eden’s options have been limited.”
“Oh. True.”
Eden blinked slowly. “No more babies?”
“Not unless you want to have them. Not unless you get to keep them.”
Eden inhaled on a slow shudder. “I am going to cry now. Please have a document with my options available. I am interested.”
Eden started to cry with big, slow tears as they taxied down the runway, and then the jet accelerated for takeoff. The three omegas sat together as they lifted off the ground and left their stressors far away.
* * * *
REGIS SAT AND LOOKED at the two men who had come to speak to her. “So, you are saying that she’s gone?”
Xeti growled. “I am saying that I only know her name is Rache, and she likes to dance, and she flickered in my arms, but now my beast is freaking out, and Terus’s is doing the same. We need her, and she’s gone.”
Regis looked over at the other two, who had a similar complaint. “Did you do anything? Say anything?”
“No.”
Regis frowned, and then her phone rang. She picked it up and listened to the woman laughing on the other end of the call. “You are kidding. Going on speaker.”
“No, I am not kidding, the white wizard, the web dancer, and the forced mother are all out of the city and heading for the islands.”
“Why?” Regis frowned.
“The wizard has family there and wants to show herself to them in person. For some reason, she is stuck on the ON position. The forced mother needs to get away from her sibling before he forces her to carry for yet another couple, and the web dancer was saving for a holiday, so now she gets one. Luna, Nora, and Penny know all about them.”
“So, they are all heading for the islands?”
The two men leaning against the wall got their phones out and nodded to Regis.
“Yeah. Moira has family there and wants to set up a small shop. She had to quit her job because everything stopped when she walked into the room. She’s stuck in elf mode.”
The taller of the two men against the wall smiled slightly.
Their phones pinged, and they both grinned. The larger of the two lifted his head. “They are going to Wonder. Narro confirms it.”
Regis smiled. “Good. Xeti, Terus, now you know where they are. You, too, Krossos.” She nodded toward the shadow. The red eyes in the shadows blinked slowly.
A deep, soft voice came from the shadows. “When do they arrive?”
The mage on the other end of the call said, “Twelve hours. You have time to get your shit together.”
“Thanks, Wren. That has been very helpful.”
The call ended.
Krossos stepped out of the shadows. “I will go and arrange a home base, so we are able to settle before they arrive.”
Xeti nodded. “I will get the managers in line so they can take over for a few weeks.”
Terus nodded. “I’ll help. We were supposed to get that electrical upgrade this week. I’ll postpone it.”
Xeti nodded and walked away on his phone. Terus did the same.
Regis watched the two primals, who were comparing notes on their phones. She asked them, “Dare I ask what you are looking at?”
The one with golden eyes smiled. “Security feeds from the airport. The ladies are together and in good spirits. The plane took off without problems and is over open ocean right now.”
The other one held up his phone. “The weather is clear. They should not have any issue getting to Emerald.”
Regis smiled. “You two worked at the airport?”
The one with golden eyes smiled and grunted. “We needed work. Security systems were fun. He went for weather prediction.” He jerked a long thumb toward his companion.
Regis chuckled. “And both of you are giant nerds.”
Both alphas looked up and grinned, their human seeming looking predatory but pleasant.
She laughed and sighed. “So many of you guys in the tech and security industries.”
They shrugged, and the smaller one said, “The threat of violence is familiar, and the absolute nature of data is comforting.”
She nodded. “Right. I am noticing a trend. You guys like to own businesses.”
He grinned and let out a soft huff of sound.
“Right, well, if the girls need to relax and unwind, you might want to give them a day or two to settle in before you pounce. How did you meet her?”
He smiled. “She was working for our accounting department and brought up the trays with the deli courier. She elbowed me in the chest and apologized profusely, but she started to flicker. I froze, and she stared at me for a minute before saying, sorry, gotta go.” He sighed.
“That was her last day at work. I didn’t realize she got stuck.
I just thought she was embarrassed and would come back. ”
Regis sighed. “Right. I am really curious as to how she can be a wizard.”
“Wizards move with the energy of the Earth and shape it to their will. No tomes or study required.” He grinned. “She just needs focus, which will be hard for her. She has ADHD, and it is obvious.”
Regis blinked. “An elf with ADHD?”
He let out a deep chuffing laugh. “It will be interesting to get her to concentrate, but I believe we are up to the task.”
She snorted. Ira bolted into the audience hall. “Mom! I need to pick a project for the science fair.”
Regis opened her arms and hugged her little girl. “Maybe you should do something about evolution.”
Ira looked around at the dark elves she didn’t know yet. “Naw. That’s boring. I want to learn how to build an app that runs a plant-watering system.”
The two primals laughed. The larger nodded. “That is very sensible.”
Avor came in and said, “Did she tell you about the science fair?” He was beaming.
Regis grinned. Amiraith was the smartest person she knew, and it seemed that her father was beginning to appreciate it.
Avor looked over at the four alphas who were in deep relationships with their phones. “What’s with them?”
“Three omegas got on a plane and headed for the islands before contact had properly or improperly been made. One of them has been used as a surrogate by the Elite no less than five times. Her brother has been selling her services. So, he’s branched out into the alpha and beta surrogacy, and she just had a baby.
Today. And she made a run for it with the help from some friends. ”
“The two other omegas.”