Free Barely Winging It by Tigertalez

for
flight. The color and the pattern of the chest and throat are the best
indicators. But if you know about the falcon, then why did you ask?”
    Enzo shrugged. “Just checking to see
if you really knew.”
    The sound of a “Hail to the Chief” sounded in the room
and grabbed their attention. Nix knew it was Enzo’s ringtone for Alphy . Enzo reached in his pocket and drew out the
melodious device. Swiping his thumb along the screen, he put it to his ear. “Yeah.”
    With his enhanced hearing, Nix could make out both
sides of the conversation. “Enzo, Ryker just got a ping on that missing beta,
and the pride alpha. The beta, Damon, is in town. He used a card to fill up at
a gas station about two miles from your position a few hours ago.”
    “Fuck, man, his timing sucks shit.” Enzo rubbed his
eyes. Nix stood up and walked to the window, pulling the curtain ever so
slightly aside looking out into the thickly darkened and wet night.
    “Yeah, well, the pride alpha, Tony Smith, was just
spotted in Toronto. Our toothy friends are keeping an eye on him down there, so
your biggest concern right now is the beta.”
    “Any idea if he’s alone?”
    “Ryker can’t pull up surveillance, so we can’t tell
for sure, but he’s not someone fearless enough to do anything without help so
don’t expect him to be acting alone. I’ve sent Slate and Matteo into town to
investigate. They may or may not stop by.”
    “What of Gates? Any news on his
whereabouts?”
    “He’s still AWOL. Ryker is still trying to bring up
some other information I have requested on a few other matters that I feel take
precedence, so he hasn’t gotten around to studying his background and finances
yet. He printed some stuff up for you, so I take it you either haven’t read
them yet or you didn’t find anything relevant.”
    “Didn’t want to spoil my appetite before having
some of Connie’s cooking. We were just finishing up
when you called. We’ll be cautious who we open the door to. Thanks, Alphy .” Shutting off the phone, Enzo went around the room
shutting off the lights then stopped next to Nix. “Nothing?” he asked too low
for Bronya to hear.
    Nix shook his head, knowing Enzo would be able to
still see him in the unlit room.
    “Uh, guys, wanna tell me
what’s going on?” Both men turned to look at Bronya ,
who was sitting on the edge of the bed leaning forward on both her hands. “I
may have agreed to come with you guys, but I’m not a shrinking violet. I can
handle it, whatever it is.”
    Nix felt a mix of both pride and doubt. There was no
way, no matter what she claimed, that he would believe she would take the
paranormal part of the news so well, but he was proud she was so strong. He
could scent that she wasn’t afraid. He looked to his beta for help how to
answer her.
    Enzo acknowledged him and answered her. “We have made
some enemies recently.” He paused as if he was struggling on what else to say,
but Bronya took on a look that said she understood.
    “So now what?” she asked.
    “Well, let’s talk safety and exit strategies, and we
have papers on Gates we can go over after that.”

Chapter Eight
     
    First hours of Saturday morning
     
    In spite of his thick skin, Dultyn could feel the cold rain splatter against his flesh and stream across it. That was,
now that he had some time to calm down. The rivers of droplets washed over his
agonized form. Flying through the clouds was dangerous, but of course, so was
being outside at all in his form. He was still confused and needed a place to
clear his head. When he’d initially walked in on Alphy ,
he heard Enzo mention where they were staying with Nix’s mate, so after he flew
around a bit, releasing excess energy, he carefully flew to the small hotel
that was mentioned. He knew about the place. It was mentioned several times in
the stories about when Alphy met his mate.
    Heavy water droplets exploded around him as he flapped
his wings to land on the roof of the