20. Zion

CHAPTER 20

ZION

Lizard Dick: Has anyone seen Baltasar?

Go Go Gadget: There's still time to delete this, bro…

Go Go Gadget: Before everyone sees you lost your inventus. [Grimacing face emoji]

Lizard Dick: I didn't LOSE him, Meeks. He was here when I went out with Wolfy, but he disappeared.

The Mouthy One: OMG ZION!!!

Lizard Dick: ???

The Mouthy One: Did Wolfy SAY you could call him Wolfy, Zion? Because that's a crime punishable by death for outsiders. [Eyes emoji]

Clan Daddy: I did.

The Mouthy One: WOLFY HAS A FRAND! [Party popper emoji]

Lizard Dick: HAS ANYONE SEEN BALTASAR?!

The Mafia Queen: No.

The Mafia Queen: Perhaps you should put a bell on him.

Rock crumbled beneath my claws to fall over two thousand feet to the turquoise lagoon below. With a growl, I dug into a different spot and continued my climb up the steepest slope of the island's extinct volcano, uncaring whether any tourists or locals saw me in my shifted state.

Welcome to Jurassic Park, bitches.

Hold onto your butts.

The only ass I cared about at the moment belonged to my missing mate. Baltasar had slipped out of the bungalow while I was interrogating guests with Wolfy—and the note he'd left said nothing useful, except that Daisy had been dropped off with Simon.

Even with whatever he's going through, B's still the best second daddy to our girl.

Something was going on with him, and it was killing me not knowing what it was. It didn't help that little shit Andre had implied I was the reason Baltasar was so upset.

My dick specifically.

He hadn't elaborated before leaving the clan leader meeting he didn't need to be at in the first place, and trying to get the rest of Baltasar's siblings to help was a losing game. The sole member of this villainous family who'd shown a lick of concern was Gabriel—which I only knew because the cat videos he sent alerted me to the fact B's phone was still charging on the nightstand.

Why the hell would he leave his phone behind?

The only reason I wasn't panicking was that I could still feel my inventus through our bond, and from what I could tell, he wasn't freaking out .

At least, no more than usual.

Even so, something was off about our connection. It was like he was there but… not. It reminded me of a phone call cutting out mid-conversation, and all these split seconds of dead air were adding up to one massive miscommunication.

Just tell me what's going on, B.

The only silver lining was that with no one offering to join the search party, I was free to let out my beast and climb to the highest point on the island for a better vantage point. Guided tours were offered by the resort, but with the tropical cyclone edging closer, any activity deemed moderate to advanced had been postponed, so the normies could hunker down.

But a little weather never stopped me.

Even with how resilient I was in this form, I felt the effects of the approaching storm. The higher I climbed, the more the wind buffeted against my scaly skin, while the low-hanging clouds beneath the summit covered me with a thin mist, obstructing my view.

Must keep going.

Adding to my growing frustration was my mother having such an uncharacteristically difficult time controlling this storm. She'd diverted deadlier hurricanes before, and only once had she needed to recruit Isaiah to invoke a tidal wave to assist. Granted, the aftermath of his "assistance" meant she never asked again, but that was what you got with an unpredictable supe named Nuke Drop.

Where Izzy goes, destruction follows.

A blast of something unfamiliar shot through the inventus bond, almost causing me to lose my grip, but I made that peak my bitch and double-timed it to the top. Once there, I peered around, relying on my super sight to spot anything unusual through the breaks in the clouds.

Or… anything not unusual.

Because, of course, there was Izzy, surfing off the coast far below—whooping wildly as he no doubt combined his Earth's core-shaking powers with the natural disaster headed our way to catch the biggest waves.

I just need a fucking break, for real.

Once again, I questioned how fit I was for this clan leader position. Wolfy made it look so effortless—and Simon made it look fun— while I was just flailing my way from one fire to the next. My parents were still around, despite everyone knowing they should have been killed, and the majority of my siblings were only here on the island because they assumed something was in it for them.

Maybe I should retire.

Hand the crown to Meeks and call it a day.

I knew that would be impossible. Micah was far enough down the line that he wasn't expected to rule, and he had his own shit going on now anyway. Daisy was technically next in line, but—despite her "training sessions" with Simon—was nowhere near equipped to deal with the realities of clan leadership.

Not least of all because she doesn't have any powers.

Dahlia would be the one to take over were I to step down, but she'd made it clear she was even less interested in that than this wedding. Next was Izzy, but if I was to announce him as my successor, the entire Salah clan would implode.

It looks like we're headed there anyway, so ? —

Movement caught my eye, and I zeroed in on a spot of swaying jungle canopy about halfway down from my perilous perch.

A monkey?

No…

Thanks to cruise director Xander having everyone focused on the ecology, I'd learned that the island was formed from volcanic activity eons ago. This meant the only animals here were brought over domestically, stowed away on ships, or able to cross endless miles of open ocean from equally isolated islands.

So, no monkeys…

The trees swayed again, in the opposite direction from how the wind was blowing, and I realized that whatever was causing the disturbance was moving below the treeline.

And big.

We hadn't had time to visit any of the island's cultural centers, so I had no idea if there were any local legends associated with mythical beasts. All I could do was pray the island itself wasn't pissed at us.

Daisy might appreciate the Moana experience, but I am in no shape to battle Te Kā.

A deafening roar ripped me from my wandering thoughts, echoing off the cliff face, sending my instincts into high alert.

Danger.

I truly wasn't made for violence, despite how I looked in supe form. That being said, the instant I realized whatever had just made that primal sound was headed straight for the beach Izzy was surfing at, my lizard brain took over .

Must protect my family.

With a roar to match the mystery creature's, I leaped off the volcanic peak, fully shifted, and spread my arms and legs wide—like a flying squirrel aiming for the next limb.

Except there was no limb to catch me.

And I can't fucking fly.

My rational brain regained control from my lizard brain in time to realize I'd not only made a costly mistake, but that I wasn't falling as quickly as I'd expected.

I was gliding.

What the…?

"Brooooooo!" Izzy hollered, excitedly waving his arms, as if I didn't see him bobbing in the shallows. "Since when can you fly?!"

"The fuck if I know!" I shouted in reply, my jaw dropping as I glanced over my shoulder to find that actual wings had sprouted between my shoulder blades.

WHAT THE…?!

They were the same deep purple and indigo as the rest of me, ridged in scales, with the thin membrane stretched between the bones glowing mauve in the harsh sunlight.

"You are officially on beer run duty from now on, dude," my brother cackled, standing on his board to try and tag me as I descended. "Speedy delivery."

"Fuck off, Iz," I huffed as I swooped low—almost skimming the bleach off the ends of his short dreads. "I was speedy delivering some protection for your dumb ass. There's something stomping around the jungle that sounded like a T-Rex. "

Izzy dramatically leaped from his board to the beach, dropping down into an exaggerated superhero crouch before intently peering into the treeline. Knowing x-ray vision wasn't one of his powers, I hovered nearby, alternating between sneaking peeks at my new wings and watching my brother's back.

Lord knows, he's probably too stoned to look out for himself.

A full minute of silence followed before he exhaled and plopped down onto the sand. "I dunno, Z. Are you sure something's out there? All I smell is you."

I huffed and landed next to him before shifting back to human form. "Maybe you scared it away with your super cool Avengers pose."

Izzy chuckled humorlessly and sunk his fingers into the wet sand. "You know I pull my power from below. I just assumed the position in case I was actually gonna see some action."

I frowned. While my brother's powers were impressive, they were even more dangerous for how unpredictable they were. It didn't help that he'd clearly been more interested in fucking the staff than mastering himself over the years, but I'd always assumed he had no ambition to do otherwise.

Maybe I've underestimated him.

"Tell you what," I offered, keeping my tone light. "If a big scary monster emerges from the jungle, I'll let you take the first swing."

He brightened. "For real? You da best clan leader, bro."

I snorted. "I'm trying. It gets tricky when I have reckless siblings out surfing when a storm's coming."

A strange expression passed over Izzy's normally tranquil face. "Isn't Mom dealing with it? "

How would he know that?

I quickly tamped down my paranoia. Knowing our mother, she had probably announced to anyone within earshot about how she'd been entrusted to save the day.

No one's bragging now…

"She's supposed to be," I carefully replied. "But something is giving her trouble?—"

"You think someone else is involved?" he interrupted, eyeing me warily before swiping a hand down his face. "Fuck. I'm not high enough for this."

You and me both.

I hadn't touched anything besides alcohol in so long—thanks to Deathball—but it was mighty tempting at the moment to see what Izzy had brought with him.

The perks of private plane travel.

Before I could ask, a twig snapped at the treeline, and both my brother and I leaped to our feet, ready to face whatever had tried to sneak up on us.

Only to find my missing inventus, equally surprised and naked as the day he was born.