Page 88 of Cats Never Fly

AsTeaguebacked away,VanandGageclosed in around me.

“Talkto me,”Vansaid. “Whathappened?”

Igroaned.Hadn’tIalready gone over all of this?Thenshame flashed through me.Ogdenwas missing.TheleastIcould do was tell anyone who’d listen what had happened.Ijust felt so weary.

Haydenpushed through the crowd of people surrounding me.Thenhe was crouching in front of me.Hescowled atVan. “He’sstill hurt.”

“HeaskedTeagueto stop.”

“Needto shift.”Itried to force my body to change, butIwas too weak.Ilooked atHayden. “Help.”

Haydensucked in a breath. “It’llhurt.”

“Ineed help,”Iargued.

Thealpha cupped the back of my small skull in hishand.Thepower of his touch washed through me.Thenhe leaned down until his mouth was right at my ear.

“Shift,” he commanded.

Mybody responded to my alpha’s wish.Igroaned through the pain.Okay.SomaybeIhadn’t healed as much asIhad thought.Iended up in my human form in a crouch position.Iswayed and landed on my ass.EventhoughIwas sitting,Iwas sureIwas still swaying.WasIdizzy?Icouldn’t even tell, but something wasn’t right with me.

Haydendropped to his knees and grabbed me beforeItoppled over.Heyanked me into his arms with one of his hands gripping the back of my neck again.

“Alpha,”Imurmured and pushed my face into his neck.Hisscent soothed me, even better than my mama’s would have—but don’t tell her that.

Hesmelled of grease and new tires and a strange bit like ash again, but under all that, he smelled of home and belonging.Hisgentle power wrapped around me, andIknew he would use that power to do anything and everything to protect me and my mate, becauseIwas one of his.Evenif he didn’t aspire to be an alpha, he was still my alpha.

“Igot you,”Haydensaid gruffly.

Irelaxed into his embrace.

Then, from the safety of my alpha’s arms,Itold everyone what had happened up on that rooftop.WhenIgot to the part about the demon,Gagecursed.WhenItold them aboutWesleybeing killed,Ashmuttered something about how he’d gotten what he deserved for betraying his friend like that.AndwhenIdescribed howI’djumpedfrom the roof to escape the bear,Haydenmade a strange gasping noise.

VanandGagehad a few questions, but my answers weren’t all that helpful.

“Okay, everyone,”Davina, the woman who’d come withGage, said as she clapped her hands. “Listenup.”

Shewas wearing a fitted red leather jacket that flared at her hips, showing off her curves, and she had on the tallest heelsI’dever seen in real life.Herhairstyle was big—not big and crazy like people wore in the ‘80s, whichIonly knew from seeing photos of my mama, but big, smooth, and helmet-like.Wasthat from the ‘60s?Somethinglike that.Atany rate, the style was not current, but she was rocking it.Andjust as every single bit of hair was controlled and in its place, she’d also taken complete control of everyone who’d gathered here.Amoment ago, she’d been listening to what’d happened, and now she was issuing commands.

“Okay, people.We’regoing to start our search here.You’rebeing divided into teams.Eachteam is responsible for searching their assigned area and reporting back.Ifyou notice anything or feel anything while you are walking around, let me know immediately.Idon’t care how small or inconsequential.Youwill report every damn thing.Suddenlyhave indigestion?Tellme.Theurge to sneeze?Tellme.Shiversgoing down your back?Thatone you definitely better tell me about.Youget the idea?Now, let’s go find these fuckers.”

Noone from either police department questioned her authority as she started pointing at people and assigningthem an area to search.Withher ease at wrangling all those supernatural beings into obeying her, she reminded me ofMama, exceptDavinacussed a lot more.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

SIMON

“Arethey gone?”Gageglanced atDavina.

“Whatdo you think?”Sheput her hands on her hips and tapped her foot on the gravel like she couldn’t believe he had to ask.

“Good.”Henodded, making the sunlight ricochet off his dark horns.

“Ihave the whistle,”Iwhispered toGage.Ihadn’t wanted to say anything in front of the other officers. “ShouldIuse it?”

“No.”Gage’sreply was loud and firm. “Youare already bound toOgden, so it won’t work on him again.Ifyou blow on it now, it’ll pull another unbound supe to you.Probablya dragon, but if none are within range, it’ll latch onto someone else.”

Asharp pain sliced through my chest. “Ithought…But…”