Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Rhene had been uneasy from the second Erwan had left. Letting him go had been the right choice. No way was Rhene depriving his mate of the opportunity to say goodbye to his mom. At least, that was Rhene’s guess of what was going on. Somehow, Erwan’s clan had been able to get a message to him, which proved how urgent it had been. Rhene could think of only one thing that could be that pressing and didn’t involve Rhene himself.

So no, Rhene wasn’t going to let his apprehensions about the trouble brewing get the better of him and prevent his mate from leaving. If nothing else, not having to worry about Erwan was a load off his mind. He was always far more concerned about Erwan’s safety than his own. Now, he could focus on the situation at hand, namely the omegas led by Zacharias.

After Erwan had teleported away—and what a freaking surreal experience to see his mate disappear from one second to the next—Gregor had suspended the meeting. He’d had little choice because no one had known what to do after all the turmoil, Gregor included. How could they continue the meeting when two of the clans had been disbanded? The True Doyle clan had now become the only Doyle clan, but its king was absent. And the Murphy clan had ceased to exist. That left the O’Connors, who seemed to be in shock, and the Fitzgeralds.

Fergal had ordered extra tents to be pitched in his quarter of the camp, and all the omegas who wanted to join the Doyle clan had gathered there. Rhene shouldn’t have been surprised they’d brought no personal possessions with them, yet it hit him hard. Some of them had been with their clans for over a hundred years, but they walked away with empty hands. How heartbreaking was that?

“The Murphys are still here,” Gregor said early the next day, after a night in which no one had slept much. How could they, when they’d experienced the hateful stares of the Murphys and Erwan’s father and uncle?

“Do you have cause to remove them from the camp?” Rhene asked.

“Cause? Absolutely. But the problem is carrying it out. We’re dealing with some powerful alphas, and I don’t know how they’ll react when we tell them to leave. If they decide to fight, I’m not sure we stand a chance.”

That confirmed what Rhene had already suspected. “You’re not sure your clan members will have your back.”

“Most of the alphas are not happy with the course Fergal is taking, so no, I’m not expecting much support from our clan. Right now, I only trust two people other than myself, and that’s Fergal and you.”

“I’m honored by your faith in me.”

“Right back atcha. You and I are going to have to work together if we want to get everybody out of here safely. I have no idea how to pull that off.”

That made two of them. While lying awake, Rhene had pondered that same question. How would he get a group of omegas that size to their home, which was thousands of miles away and with a massive ocean in between? Hell, how would they even get out of Sweden? Rhene wasn’t sure where the nearest airport was where a decent-sized plane could land, but it probably wasn’t close.

“Is teleporting an option?” he asked.

“For shorter distances, yes. We have a few people who could pull that off. But not all the way to where you live. Not even close. I’m surprised Cedric managed it. I had no idea his magic was that strong.”

Gregor had the decency to look embarrassed. When would the dragon alphas realize the omegas had as much magic and strong gifts as the alphas?

“So maybe we could at least teleport to an airport?”

“They don’t have passports. The problem isn’t getting them to an airport. The problem is that they can’t fly anywhere because they don’t own passports.”

Shit. Of course they didn’t. The alphas would never have allowed them any independence, let alone having such a crucially important document. That did complicate matters, though. “Okay, so planes are out. What does that leave us?”

“Within the European Union, you can travel freely by car because border checks are not that common. But I don’t know how to cross the ocean.”

“By ship? Would we be able to find a ship that would take them?”

Gregor whistled between his teeth. “Holy crap, that would be a hellish journey this time of year with the rough seas. It would take a week or two at least, but maybe more. I’m not even sure. But yeah, that might be our best shot. We’d probably have to bribe someone. Or multiple people. We can’t board a cruise ship or anything like that. It would have to be some kind of cargo ship where they don’t look at paperwork too closely. And even then, the group is too big to travel on the same ship.”

“If we split them up, their safety becomes a real concern. Others may not realize they’re dragons, but they sure as hell will read them as omegas, so how do we keep them safe from alphas? Even if we send an alpha with each group, it still might not be enough.”

Gregor let out a long sigh. “Agreed. We’ll have to give this some thought.”

Fergal stepped out of the tent he and Gregor shared, yawning as he stretched his arms above his head. “Worst night of sleep ever. Zero out of ten, do not recommend.”

Despite everything, Rhene chuckled. He appreciated Fergal’s dry sense of humor. “Yeah, no kidding. I didn’t sleep either, too scared to even close my eyes. It’s hard to relax when you feel like you could have a knife stuck between your shoulder blades at any point.”

“Oh, it’s not the knife between your shoulder blades you should be worried about. It’s the one they will stab into your heart and then twist,” Fergal said in a somewhat forced lighthearted tone. “I wonder who is first on the Murphys’ hit list. My guess is it’s a close race between Zacharias, King Ennis, you and your mate, and me. Maybe even Gregor.”

Rhene shrugged. “They’re furious with the entire world right now, so does it matter? The bottom line is that we know they’re out for our blood, so how do we prevent them from getting to us?”

Fergal’s casual attitude evaporated. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”

“You must be glad your mate is safe,” Gregor said. “Because if you ask me, the White Dragon is at the top of their most-wanted list.”

Rhene nodded. “He’s with his clan and our pack, and every one of my pack members will defend him to their dying breath.”

“That’s a testament to your leadership,” Fergal said.

“Not really. It’s who we are at the core. It’s what we stand for. Above all, it’s how Lidon and his forefathers built the pack.”

Gregor smiled at him. “Your forefathers too. The Hightower pack has always been a close ally of the Hayes pack.”

Rhene quirked an eyebrow. “You know our history?”

“Probably better than you do. I was alive for a lot of it, remember?”

Right. What a crazy idea that Gregor might’ve met Rhene’s great-great-grandfather. “Out of curiosity, did you ever meet Lidon’s grandfather?”

“Once, but we had a long conversation. Not only was he a powerful man, but also a good one. Ethical to his very bone. It broke his heart to see his son turn his back on the old ways.”

“If you met his grandfather, why didn’t Lidon know about your existence? Not you specifically, but dragons.”

“Because his grandfather was bound by an oath not to reveal anything. A spell was placed on his lips, as well as on those of his storyteller, as you call it.”

Rhene sighed. “Yeah, that sounds familiar. Grayson is a good guy, but it drives me mad that he always speaks in fucking riddles and never has any concrete information for us.”

“At the risk of sounding equally mysterious, we’re not supposed to have information about the future,” Fergal said. “We’re called to make the right decisions with the information we have. If we knew how things would turn out, it would be too easy to manipulate people.”

He might have a point, but that didn’t mean Rhene had to like it. “Back to our original discussion. How the hell do we all get out of here safely?”

“Can we get fake passports for the omegas?” Fergal asked.

Gregor pursed his lips. “Maybe, but that’s gonna take time with a group that size, and we don’t have time.”

Rhene sat up straight. “You can fly.”

“Not across the ocean. Omegas aren’t strong enough to fly that far,” Gregor said. “And I’m talking about physical strength, not their magical abilities. Hell, we didn’t even fly here. A trip like that would be too exhausting. We took a plane like everyone else.”

Rhene visualized a map. “What if you fly south first, to the Norwegian coast, and then make the jump to the Faroe Islands? From there, you could reach Iceland and then Greenland. Maybe?”

Fergal nodded. “That would be an option. It would be cold as balls, though. The average temperature in Greenland this time of year will probably be far below freezing point.”

“Can you guys handle that?”

Fergal harrumphed. “We live in Canada, dude. It’s not like it’s warm and toasty there in the winter. But it does affect our energy levels and how long we can fly. Plus, we’d only be able to travel at night, which is even colder than during the day. It would be a long journey, but I think it’s doable.” He looked at Gregor. “What do you think?”

“I agree it’s doable, but my primary concern is our safety. If you and I accompany them, that would mean eight omegas with two alphas to protect them…and only one of them with combat experience. I don’t like those odds. We wouldn’t be able to stave off any attacks.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Fergal asked.

Gregor’s shoulders dropped. “No. As much as I hate to admit it, this is our best shot.”

“We could stop by our home and let any of our omegas join us before we make our way down south,” Fergal said. “It may be easier for them to trust this is real if we show up with eight omegas in tow.”

Gregor put his hand on Fergal’s shoulder. “You realize this could mean we lose all our omegas, right?”

Fergal let out a sigh. “Yeah, but what else can I do? If I don’t give them a choice, I’m no better than my father, who forbade everyone from leaving. They should have a say in where they want to live and what clan they belong to. I refuse to hold them against their will, even if they wouldn’t know any better.”

“I’ve never been prouder of you.” Gregor leaned in and kissed Fergal hard, leaving the younger man a bit dazzled and shaken.

“Right.” Fergal cleared his throat. “That’s decided, then. We’ll need to leave as soon as possible.”

“What about you?” Gregor asked Rhene.

“I’ll shift and make it south as a wolf. If you tie a bag with some clothes to my back, I’ll be fine. I can grab a plane home from anywhere, and the less I plan, the harder it will be for the Murphys to find me.”

“Splitting up will also help with that,” Fergal said. “If we all stay together, they can attack us in force.”

“I’m not splitting up from you, just so we’re clear.” Gregor’s voice was firm.

“We could each take four omegas and⁠—”

“No. And that’s final.”

Fergal put his hands on his hips. “You do realize I’m the king, right? That technically, you work for me?”

Gregor took a step closer. “Are you sure you wanna play it that way? Because I can put you over my knee again and⁠—”

Fergal held up his hands, his cheeks reddening. “Nope, no need. Shutting up now.”

“Smart.”

Rhene slapped a hand over his mouth to hide his grin. He was rooting for those two to make it. What a perfect combination they made.

“Okay, let me talk to Zacharias and the other omegas and see if they’re on board with the plan,” Gregor said.

With a nod at Rhene, he left, and Fergal kept watching him until he was out of sight. When he caught Rhene observing him, he plucked a nonexistent piece of lint from his sweater. “He likes to be in charge.”

“I’m not saying a damn thing.”

“Good. ‘Cause if you did, I might have to fight you, and that wouldn’t be pretty.”

Rhene grinned. “Pretty sure I’m more scared of your bodyguard than I am of you.”

Fergal sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know. He’s pretty intimidating.”

“You’re lucky to have him in your corner.”

“Not as lucky as you are with your mate. The love between you is palpable.”

“I’m indeed the lucky one. He’s my everything.” Rhene checked his watch. “Speaking of which, I’m gonna make some preparations so I can sneak out. I’m eager to go home.”

“You haven’t heard from Erwan?”

Rhene shook his head. “No cell reception and no magic, remember?”

“I wouldn’t say you have no magic. It’s a different kind.”

“Sure, but it’s not enough to establish a long-distance connection with my mate, so yes, I am eager to go home.”

Fergal stuck out his hand. “Go whenever you have an opportunity. We’ll see you again when we deliver the omegas. You have my word that we’ll protect them with our lives.”

Rhene ignored his hand and pulled the king into his arms, hugging him fiercely. “Be safe.”

“You too, Rhene Hightower. May the gods protect you on your journey.”