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“Where’s Farren?” I asked, glancing around the lobby and dining room as we went to join the others. She was nowhere in sight, and from Niko’s report, she was back to normal.
“You won’t see her today,” West said as he walked past us into the dining room. His schedule had apparently been forgotten in light of Farren’s attack. “She never sticks around on her days off. Goes hiking.”
“Alone?” Niko asked. West chuckled at the alpha’s concern. “She was still recovering!”
“She knows these mountains better than anyone else. She’s fine. If she went, then she felt better,” he promised, rushing off before we could ask anything else. Niko didn't look pleased, and the moment the televisions in the dining hall went off with an emergency alert, I wasn’t either.
“It looks bad,” Levi noted, stepping up to us. “Everything okay?”
“What looks bad?” I asked, ignoring his second question.
“The storm rolling in. He says they get about one a week this time of year,” Levi explained, heading for the table. Niko and I exchanged a look, forgoing the food to follow him instead. “Why do you look so freaked out?” Hearing Levi’s alarm, Kane’s head snapped away from the TV to see what was going on.
“Farren’s hiking,” Niko said, glancing nervously at the screen again. “It says it shouldn’t hit for a few hours though, so I’m sure she’ll be back by then.” I wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince, but it certainly wasn’t working on me. His panic was nearly suffocating as it engulfed the air around us.
“Kylan’s moving to town,” Levi told Kane. It was an obvious subject change, but Kane took the bait.
“They attacked after all?” he asked. “Fucking egotistical woman.” The High Priestess had been threatening to attack when we had come through town, so the fact that it had escalated wasn’t a big shock. Disappointing, yes, because I had hoped their leadership wouldn’t stoop to such levels. Surprising, no.
“She is,” I agreed. “But it’s over, and they’re moving somewhere they won’t constantly be reminded of how unprecedented their relationship is. Hell, look at Farren. She landed two alphas.”
“But we’re all witches,” Levi reminded me. “Or at least it appears that way.” The last part was mumbled so quietly that no one would hear it outside of our group. It was the fact that she had three alphas, all different species. In theory, their relationship should never work. Alphas rarely shared covens, and when they did, it was like Niko and Kane, two alphas of the same species, with very different demeanors that complemented each other. Quinn, Kylan’s omega, had a strong-willed witch, vampire, and a wolf. It went against alphas’ natures and the traditionalist view most supernaturals clung to for dear life.
“They’ve got betas,” I said. “They’ll keep them balanced. And you saw how well they fit, it’s like Kane and Niko, different alphas who work easily because their strengths are different.”
“True,” Levi said. “Either way I’m glad to have more allies in town.”
“There’s actually a lot of supes here, we just haven’t got out much,” I laughed. “The sheriff was a wolf.”
“And the guy running the grocery store is fae,” Kane added. He’d done our supply run a few days ago. “Once this fucking snow slows down we can actually get around a bit easier.”
“The snow doesn’t relent here,” I countered. “We’re in the mountains.”
“That’s bullshit,” he growled, standing up and going back to the buffet for seconds. Just as he sat back down, West was crawling onto a table, zapping his voice with a bit of magic to amplify it.
“The storm has been upgraded to emergency levels. If you want to check out early, you have about two hours before it really hits,” he warned. “I’ll do refunds for those wishing to take that route. The hotel is more than stocked to keep us safe here, and we can offer discounted rates for extended stays. Either way, if you need anything in town, go now andhurry.The mayor is already calling for a one-hour ‘get to safety order,’ so don’t be on the streets after that.”
“Fuck,” Niko cursed, standing up and stalking toward West. The two alphas began arguing, and when Niko turned back around, he was fuming.
“Should we gear up?” Kane asked. Even he was on edge, his muscles tense and fists clenched, ready to storm a mountain to find his omega. I trusted that she was safe, but I also wasn’t going to risk the potential that she wasn’t. That wasn’t in our nature, not even for betas. The humans were right about one thing; we ran on instincts far more than they did. Our instinct to protect our own, to find safety in our alphas, to worship and keep our omegas safe. The idea of her lost in a snowstorm, magically inclined or not, did not sit well with any of us.
“Yes. I don’t care what that old witch says,” Niko growled. “He promised she was fine, said we should trust our mate. But it’s not my mate I don’t trust. It’s the storm.”
“Come on,” Kane said before storming off to our rooms. We all put on as much snow gear as we could. Thankfully, we’d bought proper clothes and boots in town, so we would make it out there. I just hoped they had a plan because outside of sending Levi’s dragon, I was certain that we’d never find her in this. Snow was already falling at an astronomical pace, and this wasn’t even its full strength yet.
“What’s the plan?” Levi asked nervously. His mind had likely jumped to where mine had, but I wasn’t sure they would risk him for Farren. He was just as important to us as she was. Sure, he was strong, but the idea of having both of our omegas out of sight might be enough to send our alphas over the edge.
“I can do a tracking spell,” Kane said, which just about shocked us all. They were nearly impossible to master, and I’d never even seen him use one before. He relied on instincts and destruction rather than the finer details of magic like that. “Fuck off. Don’t act surprised that the brawn of this group has some fucking brains. Assholes.”
“What do you need for it?” Niko asked, not skipping a beat. Kane walked to his room and came back out with a small glowing crystal orb. The inside swirled with energy, and he stopped in front of us.
“Something of hers,” he said, glancing at Niko. He let out a triumphant laugh and snagged a long, auburn strand off of the other alpha’s shirt. “Guess fucking her first has its advantages.” There was an edge of jealousy there, but he was keeping it light enough that we knew he wasn’t starting a fight. He slowly wrapped the strand around the ball, closing his eyes and muttering something to himself. Most magic we performed was silent, with simple intentions guiding it, not words. But he must have known what he was doing because the orb glowed the same green as her eyes before a beam of light shot out toward the mountain.
Kane silently rushed out of our room and through the back door of the hotel. It took all of our concentration to wade through the snow that was over five feet deep at this point. Niko tried to use fire to forge us a path, but the water it left behind quickly turned to ice, making the walk even more treacherous, so he gave up after a few attempts.
“We’ll never find her in this,” I yelled over the roar of the wind. Visibility was low enough that I couldn’t even see the hotel any longer. Although we’d been walking for a good forty minutes at this point, I knew we hadn’t truly gottenthatfar. They heard me, all three of the others tensing for a moment before continuing ahead.
“Holy shit!” Levi yelled out, pointing at the sky. We were all so stunned we couldn’t move. A gorgeous midnight purple dragon flew above us. She would have been impossible to spot for most people, the noise of those beating wings concealed by the roar of the wind. The snow was thick enough that even we had to strain to see her properly. Dark obsidian ridges lined her back and tail. Her horns were the same shining black, glinting in the sun as they curled over her head. Her wings faltered as striking magenta eyes found us, then moments later, she disappeared from sight.
