Chapter 60
The group of them were camped in the kitchen drinking coffee and making calls. Jamie heard a screech of tires and several doors banging shut. He reached out with his wolf’s hearing. May, Beau and his sisters, Bree and Bailey, were running up the driveway. Deacon was still about five minutes out, having had to stay on with Finn at the station longer than he anticipated.
Jamie’s stomach was in knots. Aiden had been pacing back and forth as Heath usually did. What did he sense? Could he tell where his father was? No. He would have told them all.
“Beast is probably on high alert,” Jamie’s wolf suggested.
“Hmmm, you’re probably right.”
May burst into the kitchen, white-blond hair wild and free, her icy blue wolf’s eyes wide. Bree and Bailey followed, as if they had just woken up, their dark hair in giant puff-ball buns on top of their heads, slippers on their feet. May shepherded the college-age girls into seats at the kitchen island. “It’s started. My wolf’s going crazy. There’re all these noises in the woods. It sounds like an army.” She had a phoenix fire gun tucked into a shoulder holster. “We need to let everyone know.”
“An Army?” a panicked Bailey squeaked.
May placed a protective hand on her back. “Well, no. Not really. There were just more sounds than I expected, that’s all.” She winced at Jamie.
“We had to haul ass to get here,” Bree said. “I’ve never seen Beau drive that fast.”
Beau walked into the kitchen looking somber. He took a seat next to his sisters. “Shit’s about to hit the fan.”
May’s eyes went wide, and she pointed to Heath’s chest. “Wait a minute. What is that in your baby backpack?” May asked. “Oh, is it the fake baby?”
Heath nodded. “Yes.” He took off the carrier and handed it to his sister. “There. Get it all out of your system. I need to put it back on and make it seem like I’m trying to protect it.”
May and Beau’s sisters ooh’ed and aah’ed over Piper’s skills.
“Heath?” Jamie asked. He needed to know if it was time to alert the wolves.
Heath shared a glance with Jasper.
Slam! Bang!
“There’s Deacon,” Iris said.
Deacon hurried into the kitchen, face grim. He looked at Heath. “The sky. It’s dark orange. There are flight shifters up there, heading into town. Not our flight shifters. They have green eyes.”
Heath nodded to Jamie. “Tell everyone you can reach that it’s time. All the wolves you can reach, I mean.” He then addressed Beau. “Can you handle the bears?”
“Sure thing,” Beau said. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and started typing.
“I’ll call Mac. She’ll spread the word among the flight shifters,” Heath said.
Jamie sat down on one of the high-back chairs at the island. He felt Aiden at his side. He reached out with his mind and focused on the wolf shifters in town. He’d easily been able to speak to the Guardians, but he hadn’t tried to speak to others in years. The last time he tried was when he was locked in that cage. His powers failed him then, but he knew they’d work now. They had to.
“It is time. We’re under attack. Those assigned to fight, get to your positions. Everyone else, stay hidden until you hear from me. Make sure everyone close to you knows.” He repeated this over and over until he was sure everyone who was able to hear him could do so.
He felt someone shaking him. He forced his eyes open. Aiden held both his shoulders. His mouth was moving, but Jamie couldn’t make out what he was saying.
“What?” Jamie asked.
“Are you OK? You zoned out after you sent out your emergency broadcast alert.”
Jamie nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I got the message to everyone I could. How long was I out of it?”
“About fifteen minutes. Good job,” Aiden said. He kissed him on the lips.
Jamie sighed. It was a sweet kiss that would have to do for now.
“Nice work,” Heath agreed.
Ring, ring, ring!
Heath glanced at his cell and accepted the call. “Finn?”
“Thanks. OK. OK. Hang tight. Bye.”
Everyone looked at Heath.
“Sam called from the forest outpost to report a phoenix sighting. Williamson’s in the sky, heading toward Grey Lake,” he said. He clenched his hands into fists.
“Iris, text Leah. We need either her or Quinn here now. We’ve got to get Piper over to the hospital to be ready with her spell.”
“Got it.” Iris began typing on her phone.
“Pipe, once you’re there, set up your spell and then do whatever you can to keep the actual damage away from the patients.”
“Will do.”
Pop!
Leah appeared in front of them.
“Quinn’s moving the last of the patients that we can move to the safe location right now,” she said. “What am I doing after I bring Piper to the hospital?”
“Bring Mac here. She’ll complain about leaving the patients, but she needs to go up with him. There’re other good doctors there to care for them.” Heath pointed to Aiden. “He needs a wingman, and there’s no one better in the sky than my mate.”
“She’s the only one with magic healing. She should stay with the patients, don’t you think?” Jamie asked. “I can go with Aiden.”
Heath shook his head. “Not yet. I need you here for comms. You’re the best way we have for getting messages out simultaneously to large groups of people right now. If Aiden needs you, you’re going to call for Leah or Quinn. They’ll teleport you to him.”
Jamie swallowed thickly. Teleport onto a flying phoenix? Oh, God! He nodded.
Heath added, “The other doctors will do what they can. Mac’ll do what she can with the patients afterwards.”
“Is Mac going to come with me willingly?” Leah asked, making a face. “Cause I’ve seen her mad, and I don’t want to mess with her.”
Heath gave a small grin and nodded. “We discussed this. She’s not happy about it, but she understands my reasoning.”
Leah shrugged. She looked at Piper. “You ready to go?”
“Wait a minute.” She grabbed her satchel and ran up to Jasper. He wrapped her up in a hug and kissed her. Once he released her, she walked back to Leah and held out her hand. “Now, I’m ready.”
Pop!
“How are you feeling about this?” Heath asked Aiden.
“I just want it over.”
Heath nodded. “Get ready to fly. As soon as Mac’s back, you guys are up.”
As soon as Mac appeared with Leah, she and Aiden headed out to the back deck. Heath and Jamie followed. The sky was an unnatural orange-yellow. Shrieks and growls echoed in the distance. He followed Aiden away from the deck to give Mac and Heath some privacy until she shifted.
“He’s going to freak out when he sees you in your beast form,” Jamie said. “Whoa, wait. Did Piper break her spell so he can see you?”
“Yes. I confirmed with her this morning,” Aiden said. “My father will probably freak out. Hopefully, I can get some good shots off while he’s flustered.” He undressed and handed Jamie his clothes.
“So, you’re just going to attack?” Jamie asked. “With fire?”
“Yeah. My fire should hurt him as much as his can hurt me. Once I get close, I can use my talons,” he said. “My beast is really pushing to get close.”
Jamie shuddered. “Be careful.” He opened his arms and threw them around his best friend, his everything. “Don’t let him get you. Call me, and I’ll come.”
Aiden hugged him and then leaned back to look at him with a smirk. “You know I really want to see you teleport onto my back.”
Jamie groaned. “I’ll only do it for you this one time.”
Aiden laughed, but then sobered. He nodded toward the house. “Keep an eye on my sister.”
“I will.”
“Stay safe,” he said. He kissed him and then walked out into the open back yard. The air shimmered around him, and he transformed.