Chapter Twenty

Harley

They'd decided to leave Bree's pack out of their plans for tonight. They already had enough to contend with. And though he'd hesitated, Harley at the last minute had messaged Gabai, needing one other to be aware of what they were doing. If they were unfortunate enough to encounter a situation that ended them, someone needed to know.

Harley was a pragmatist when it came to going into situations like this. They never knew what the outcome would be, despite their training, someone could get past their defenses.

Witnessing how easily they'd attacked Nomad had given Harley a big enough fright that he was wary about the next steps. Especially when it put Cosmo in the direct line of fire .

Daddy, I'll be careful, Cosmo murmured in his mind as they slinked silently through the forest, alive with the sounds of the night creatures.

I know, precious, that doesn't make me worry any less.

He purred in Harley's mind, and he skipped alongside him with an agility that many would envy.

Here, Daddy Nomad, you need to head for those trees. Can you smell them? Hear them?

Nomad's large head lifted to scent the air, and Harley did the same. The bird scat laced the earthy fragrance of the trees. The hooting wasn't loud with the thickness of the foliage above them, but distinct enough to know they were heading in the right direction. Cosmo accurately recalled where he'd hunted the other owl, not that Harley had doubted him for a second.

They won't be able to smell us coming, but with ears asymmetrical, they can pinpoint the location of sounds in multiple dimensions. It makes them really hard to hunt. Silence is the key, along with camouflage because of their night vision and eye position.

Cosmo reiterated once more, having run through this before they'd left the apartment. He'd shared everything he'd learned from hunting the owl before. Harley understood this wasn't going to be easy. Their only advantage was the element of surprise, if they could maintain it.

Nomad unusually quiet, nodded and slinked off in the direction of a huge tree, seconds later, he climbed up the trunk. His large, dark furry body rippling with the effort to make no noise as he reached branches that would hold his weight and hid him.

So used to tracking his mate, Harley's cat preened when their mate blended so well with the darkness and the thick leaves, they couldn't track his movements .

One butt of Cosmo's head against his front paw and he was off, disappearing up a tree directly in front of Harley, and seconds later, disappeared.

Amazing.

The chuckle lifted Harley's fur on his scruff. You haven't seen anything yet, Daddy.

Be careful. Nomad's command came with a snap.

Yes Daddy.

Cosmo didn't sound in the least contrite, making it hard for Harley not to snigger at their boy's sassiness.

Harley slinked off in the direction they'd discussed. His cat loved tree climbing, and as it didn't happen often enough in his cat's opinion, it flexed its claws. Stealth was key, and he warned his animal now as it reached the highest part of the tree that would safely hold their bulk with effortless ease.

I know how to be quiet.

It was snippy enough to amuse Harley when it pushed for full dominance. Something Harley wanted to give him but resisted.

We will keep them safe.

His cat's assurance came with a heavy kick to his gut and, having used the knowledge his gut was never wrong, he went with it. Harley's awareness receded, and his cat acknowledged the gift. Then it was off, springing from tree to tree, moving like a ghost. Listening to the hoots and occasional squawks that came from the unsuspecting owls.

Nomad

Nomad had known it would only be a matter of time before Harley sank away to let his animal have free rein. Harley and his animal side had an affinity that came from his other abilities to sense things that Nomad couldn't. So, Nomad didn't bother sighing when he felt the moment Harley's cognizance faded.

What happened to Daddy Harley?

Don't worry, it's something he does. His cat is in charge, fully. He'll keep him safe and us. Nomad reassured when he got a dose of Cosmo's anxiety.

It was hard to contain his own. He wasn't worried about himself. He'd healed. His cat wanted this fight after the attack. What terrified him was losing Cosmo in this fight. Weeks, they'd had with him. Not the years he'd had with Harley. Years of working alongside each other, learning how the other worked. They'd seen their kitty in action, yes, but would he keep his promise to them? It was a test that Nomad felt was coming too early in their relationship. What if they failed?

Okay, Daddy. I'm close.

Nomad shut down the negative thoughts he'd suppressed and slinked from branch to branch, testing before he moved to the next, following the scent of the bird scat.

Careful. He felt Cosmo's concentration and held his tongue from saying more.

The strength of the smell increased along with the sounds of owls hooting until it was all he could scent and hear. Fuck. How many are there here?

Look for the dead trees, they're nesting in the hallows. I count forty or so.

He didn't have a chance to curse at the numbers when loud screeches rent the air, filling the night.

Chaos was everywhere he looked—he didn't immediately jump into the fray, and although that was what he wanted to do—he held back for Cosmo's signal .

In the darkness, white feathers floated towards the ground, like a feather pillow had exploded as yet more owls exited their nests, squawking and hooting like they were at some mad party.

Now.

The whip like command was all it took, Nomad leaped on the nearest unsuspecting bird, it was dead a second later, his clawing leaving its head dangling down its feathery back, before it dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Nomad had a second in his mouth crunching bone before he'd hit the branch of the dead tree where a group of owls poked out their heads.

He swiped at them, ripping and clawing at them, giving them no time to defend with their own beaks and claws. He heard Cosmo hissing and Harley's cat growling, but Nomad focused on emptying the nest.

His cat eyed the next nest, having dispatched the first in less than thirty seconds. Then he felt claws digging into the fur at the back of his neck.

He shook violently, working to dislodge the bird, ripping at his flesh and fur.

Motherfucker. Leave my Daddy alone, Cosmo cried in fury.

Cosmo

Leaping, Cosmo used the edge of a branch as both a springboard and a fulcrum, spinning as he launched himself in Daddy Nomad's direction, even while knowing there was plenty of ground to cover before he arrived. He hadn't shifted to his cat form yet, having barely fired the last blowgun dart before sensing his mate was in trouble. Even as he whirled through the air, he let fly two of his throwing stars, one ripping across an owl's throat, the other sinking into its side.

His feet touched down on another branch and he barely paused long enough to drag his blade across one bird's belly, then toss him out of his own damn tree. Gravity and momentum, coupled with the birds desperate flapping, widened the hole in its belly and Cosmo grinned with satisfaction as its intestines burst free, the coil getting caught in a branch on the bird's way down and ripping free of the body.

Regenerate that, bitch.

Hissing, Cosmo dispatched two more birds on the way to his mate only to spy Daddy Nomad using the corpse of a bird as a battering ram as he shook the owl he clutched in his teeth back and forth. Bits of bone and feathers splattered in an arc around him as he used the body to drive back the owl's former parliament mates.

With his mate safe, Cosmo eyed his primary target, the tallest of the trees and the one at the center of all the other nesting spots. That's where the leaders of their parliament would be, along with whatever it was that they were hiding.

An owl flew at him from his left and he leapt, shifting in mid-air and landing on its back, his claws digging into its feathered back and sides as he grabbed an ear in his teeth and jerked his head, spinning the owl in the direction he wanted it to go. He rode it like a bull right until the moment he forced it to slam into the base of the tree closest to Cosmo's target, then with catlike grace and malice intent, Cosmo raced along one of the branches, leaping off the end and stretching his body out to its full length, his momentum carrying him to the trunk of the huge oak that housed the parliament leaders.

Leader.

As in one .

Or at least, one was all that was left behind when Cosmo reached the top, not that he allowed it to lull him into a false sense of security. This owl would be difficult to bring down, Cosmo realized the moment he caught a glimpse of it. Not only did it stand over six feet in height from its feathered head to its boot clad feet, but it was no ordinary owl. Unlike the other shifters Cosmo had known in his lifetime, this one was not in human or shifted form, but some in-between place that resembled human and beast.

A hybrid. A mutant, Cosmo wasn't sure which, but the one thing he knew with every shred of instinct imbedded in him. He could not take on this particular target alone.

Daddies, I need you in the tallest tree. Come quietly. I think I've found their secret, and it's something I've never seen before.