Chapter 24
Aiden walked back out into the middle of the fenced-in yard and turned to face his mate and their friends. They watched him with various degrees of anticipation, or perhaps unease, on their faces. Well, except for Jamie. The look he gave Aiden could only be described as heated.
“Mate’s staring at you like you’re the main course at dinner,” his phoenix growled.
“Not now. We need to practice so we can protect him, remember? Are you ready?”
“Yes, yes. Let’s get on with it,” the phoenix answered.
“Aiden,” Jamie called. “You forgot something.”
Forgot something? What? He looked up at Jamie.
Jamie smiled and tugged at his own shirt. “Your clothes,” he mouthed.
Aiden glanced down at himself. He shook his head. What kind of a shifter was he?
“It’s OK. You’re not used to shifting,” Jamie telepathically reassured him.
Aiden tugged his shirt up over his head and tossed it to the side. He kicked his sneakers off and yanked his pants down and off. He pulled the band of his underwear and tilted his head in question.
“Yeah, those too. Otherwise, they’ll get shredded or incinerated,” Jamie answered. “I can make them turn around if you want.” He nodded toward the three women next to him.
“It’s fine,” he mumbled and finished undressing. He tossed his boxer briefs onto the lawn.
Aiden stood there completely nude with his arms hanging down at his sides and his head lowered. He shook his limbs out, trying to disperse any remaining tension he carried. He closed his eyes and willed his breathing to even out. He forced cool, soothing thoughts into his mind. He needed to be so relaxed that his phoenix would emerge without pain or destruction. He felt the beast rattling around his body, his mind. He felt his eagerness, his excitement. He wanted to come out to see the world again. Aiden just needed the beast to stay calm. An enthusiastic, rambunctious flying flame-thrower could do a lot of damage. He didn’t want to cause more trouble.
Aiden lifted his head and sought Jamie’s gaze. He stared into those blue eyes and felt like he was home. He felt safe, secure, like someone had his back no matter what happened. He continued staring even as Jamie mouthed “good luck,” and then… his body wobbled, and between one heartbeat and the next, he morphed into his glowing, feathered other self.
“Now, that’s better,” his beast spoke deep and strong within his mind. He lifted his wings up and out, spreading them wide, raising them and lowering them. “I needed that.”
“Do you feel like trying to catch some air?” Aiden asked.
“Hmpf, give me a minute, human.” He strode around the grass, feeling the soft, cool earth beneath his clawed feet. He peered around the yard. Everything was sharper through these phoenix eyes. The colors were more brilliant. Aiden marveled at the sights viewed through his other half’s vision.
“Sorry to rush you. I’m just so worried,” Aiden answered.
“I know. You worry enough for both of us. It’ll be as it’s meant to be,” the beast said. “Besides, I want to get closer to our mate first.” He stalked over slowly to the deck and stopped right in front of it.
His friends stood on the deck, close to the house. Jamie was nearer to him, his hands on the railing, his head raised. Mac, Leah, and Piper were studying him with varying degrees of awe, while Jamie was smiling broadly.
“Hi there,” Jamie said within the beast and Aiden’s minds. “Nice to see you again. Is Aiden alright in there?”
“Hmpf, you worry more than he does. Yes, yes, he’s fine,” the beast answered telepathically while Aiden let out a silent laugh.
“Just a few minutes ago, he told me I worried too much,” Aiden said to Jamie.
“You both do,” the beast insisted. He lowered his head so it was positioned right in front of Jamie. “Can you?” the phoenix asked his mate. He bobbed his head twice.
“Um,” Jamie said out loud. “I’m not sure what…” His voice trailed off.
Aiden wasn’t exactly sure, but he felt the beast was in need of something. He was yearning for… touch? Yes! “I think he wants a scratch,” Aiden telepathically said to Jamie.
“Oh!” Jamie exclaimed. He slowly reached out and ran his right hand over the silky-smooth feathers.
Aiden could feel the phoenix’s pleasure at his mate’s touch. It was as if Jamie was a beacon of light calling to not only him, but this mythical beast as well. Did he even know he held the leash on a creature that could burn Grey Lake to the ground?
Jamie laughed as the beast pushed his head into his hand. “OK, OK, you want more scratches. I get it,” he teased. He continued stroking and scratching the feathers.
“Can we talk to you?” Mac asked the beast.
“Yesssssss,” the phoenix answered telepathically into all of their minds as he leaned into a deeper scratch. “My mate is the conduit. He allows me to speak with you.”
“Did you hear our idea of having more of the shifters in town involved in our plans? The elders specifically?” she asked out loud.
The beast raised his head and leaned back from Jamie, apparently done with scratches for now. “Yes, good idea. I approve.”
“Do you want to meet them? The Lakers? I mean, more than just us?” Piper asked.
“Hmmmm, yes, but not yet. Soon,” he answered. He raised his wings up and down, up and down.
“What are you thinking?” Aiden asked.
“I want to try to fly,” he said into all of their minds.
“Then, let’s step away from the house and give it a go,” Aiden replied.
Aiden was surprised when, instead of responding with a bitingly sarcastic reply, the phoenix silently strode back out to the middle of the backyard.
“Is he going to try?” Jamie asked Aiden silently.
“Yes. I think he’s a little nervous.”
The beast straightened his spine at Aiden’s telepathic response. “Am not.”
“It’s alright. I believe in you. We all do,” said Jamie silently to both Aiden and the beast. “You’ve got this.”
The beast lowered his head and took a long, deep breath. He lifted and lowered each foot one at a time as if pumping himself up. Aiden felt his nervousness, but also his excitement. After years of hearing his father call him defective, Aiden never thought he’d get the chance to fly. Would it be like gliding? Would it feel as if he were going to fall? What if he did fall?
Before Aiden could make sense of the rapid-fire thoughts that flitted through his mind, the beast leapt straight into the air, flapped his enormous wings and was airborne.
Holy cow! He was flying.
“You did it,” Aiden mentally shouted to his beast.
The phoenix was ecstatic; Aiden could feel the pure joy running through the creature. His flapping wings propelled him through the sky, high above the village. As long as Piper’s spell held, no one but those Piper allowed should be able to see him. He climbed higher and higher, shooting through the white fluffy clouds. He flew in a wide circle, peering around as if he were waking from deep hibernation. Aiden couldn’t believe how clearly he could see from such a height.
“Little witch,” the phoenix called to Piper . “The spell?”
“It’s still intact,” she answered within his mind. “I can see the magic threads around you as you’re moving. Only those who I chose can see you now. How can you fly so well? With no training?”
“I have no idea,” the beast answered. “But this is phenomenal!”
His firebird’s enthusiasm was catchy. “This is awesome,” Aiden agreed.
“You’re doing amazing!” Jamie spoke to him telepathically. “I wish I could see you better.”
At Jamie’s silent words, the beast banked left. He flapped his wings harder, propelling his body back toward the farmhouse. He angled toward the ground, getting ever closer to his friends on the porch. He circled close enough to get good looks at them as they watched. The four of them were smiling, arms around each other’s shoulders. Aiden focused on Jamie’s face as he sped past. He was happy, that much was clear, but there was something else. Worry maybe?
“Friends are happy,” the beast said to Aiden.
“I think they’re mostly relieved. I know the feeling,” Aiden answered. “I don’t know how we’re doing what we’re doing, but I’m so happy we can fly. We need to stop him.”
“We will,” the phoenix answered. “Soon.”
Aiden noticed his beast slow. “Tired?”
The beast grunted in response. “Need to rest and refuel. Then, more flying.”
“Sounds good,” Aiden agreed.
“Of course, the flying comes after we bed our mate,” the phoenix added.
“What!”