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“Zion has been trying to figure out how to give the raptors better access to potential mates ever since the alliance was finalized,” Jon mused.

“If we pass on this rescue to the birds, it will accomplish two things. They will prove that they’re serious about the alliance, and they will have direct access to human females. ”

“Direct access to court or to claim?” Tara thought of Dawn and shuddered. She had always seemed so sweet and innocent. Was she now the mate of two ruthless wolves? “Will my friends be allowed some say in who they bond with, or will the raptors simply take what they want?”

“We would never ally ourselves to rapists,” Isaac insisted. “A few of the raptors have flown down here so they can participate in the gatherings. I thought you knew that.”

Tara sighed. She wanted her friends to be safe more than anything, but it would have been nice to have them in the same village. The raptor village was so far away. And worse, the trek up there involved hours and hours of grueling hiking.

“I’ll see if one of the eagle brothers is available for a quick conversation,” Jon said as he walked over to the communications center.

Tara watched him intently, curious about their avian neighbors. She’d heard all sorts of stories about the eagle hybrids, had even witnessed one transform, but she’d never interacted with any of them.

Jon sat down at the workstation and activated the system with a series of voice commands. After a long pause, the image of a dark-haired male was displayed on the wall in front of Jon.

“Your boss just left,” the raptor said. “Or weren’t you trying to contact Diego?”

“You’re the one I needed to speak with,” Jon told him. “Well, you or your brother.”

Jon had referred to them as the eagle brothers. It was likely he’d meant Raphael and Gabriel, co-leaders of the raptor village. Her mates had mentioned the brothers numerous times over the past few weeks, but Tara had no idea if this was Raphael or Gabriel.

“Gabe hasn’t left his lab for almost a month. What can I do for you?”

Okay, so this was Raphael, the more agreeable of the two.

There were golden streaks woven through his long, dark hair.

His features were angular, and his eyes were bright orange.

As if sensing her perusal, his gaze shifted over Jon’s left shoulder and connected with hers.

Raphael grinned, the expression making him look rakish.

“Well, hello, beautiful. Please tell me you’re a blood relation.”

She laughed, put at ease by his silliness. “Sorry. Jon is one of my mates.”

“She is not the reason I contacted you,” Jon growled out. “We need your help, but I don’t think you’ll mind this mission.”

Raphael dragged his gaze away from Tara as he asked, “What do you need?”

Jon told him about Riverside pack’s coup and the mountain stronghold. “We don’t know for a fact that the females are there, but it will be worth your while to find out.”

“How many females do the wolves have?” Raphael asked, eyes narrowed speculatively.

“Twenty-two,” Jon admitted with obvious reluctance. “We started with three hundred, but fifty-one have been claimed. Twenty-two is roughly ten percent of the remaining females.”

“Meaning we wouldn’t be able to keep them all?” Raphael crossed his arms over his chest and his expression hardened.

Tara moved closer to the workstation, not wanting the deal to fall apart. The raptors were in the best position to quickly rescue her friends. She couldn’t let anything disrupt this negotiation, and that included Jon’s temper.

“We’ll have to work out the details once the females are safe,” Jon insisted, dark eyes reflecting his frustration. “Ten percent is a big number. I’m not sure Zion is willing to be that generous.”

“You expect us to risk our lives for your females? I’m not sure I’m that generous.” Raphael sounded less enthusiastic than Tara had hoped he would.

“You would keep some of the females. I’m just not sure how we would divide them.”

“How about letting the females decide?” Tara suggested firmly. “We’ll give your raptors a month to convince the females to stay, or you’ll agree to escort them back to the feline village.”

Jon shot her an annoyed look, but didn’t argue.

Raphael uncrossed his arms and released a sigh. “This is still a lot to expect.”

“I don’t ‘expect’ anything,” Jon insisted.

“I’m asking you to do a flyover and assess the situation.

From there, everything is up to you. You can provide us with accurate information, and we’ll organize another rescue, or you can rescue the females yourself.

The location of your village has made courting a challenge.

This could be the solution to that complication. ”

Raphael stroked his chin, gaze narrowed thoughtfully. “Gabriel will have to sanction an attack, but I can do the flyover. I’ll let you know what we’ve decided once I find out what we’re dealing with.” Without giving Jon the opportunity to respond, he ended the comm.

“They’ll take over the rescue,” Isaac predicted. “Raphael wants a mate badly.”

“Bad enough to defy his brother?” Kyle wanted to know. “Gabriel has worked hard to keep the birds out of our conflicts with the wolves. He has always insisted that the fighting has nothing to do with his village.”

“All that changed with the alliance,” Jon reminded.

“Does Gabriel see it that way?” Kyle persisted.

Jon shrugged as he deactivated the comm unit and stood up.

“Even if all Raphael does is the flyover, we’re ahead of where we are right now.

I’m hoping he can convince Gabe to do more.

The logistics of an attack are nearly impossible for us.

It makes much more sense to let them do it.

Besides, Zion’s new rules are going to sideline us no matter what the raptors do. ”

“Zion’s new rules?” Tara asked.

“Zion has decided that any coalition who claims a female cannot be directly involved in battle. We can gather intel and interrogate prisoners, but the actual fighting must be left to unmated soldiers.”

Tara tried to fight back her smile, but failed. “I like this new rule.”

Jon rolled his eyes. “We figured you would. Zion insists that mates, and eventually offspring, benefit the entire village. So any coalition that has succeeded in claiming a mate cannot be put at risk.”

“Will this apply to Lexie’s mates? They are part of Zion’s private guard.”

“Kane is the one who told us. He has accepted it because he has no choice, but he’s not any happier about it than we are.”

Tara tensed and searched their emotions, but they were so conflicted right now that she wasn’t sure what they were feeling. “If you had known about this yesterday, would you have claimed me?”

“God, yes,” Jon insisted.

“We don’t regret claiming you,” Kyle stressed from beside the window. “This was just another shock in a day full of them.”

Isaac walked to where she sat and drew her to her feet.

He brushed the hair back from her face, then traced her lips with his thumb.

“Today was a very bad day,” he admitted, then he opened his mind and let her feel his frustration, his sense of failure.

“I wanted to come out of that cave with my arm around your friend just to see the joy in your eyes. Instead, we found eight dead wolves and no sign of the females. Then we got back to the village and Elias killed himself. We were still reeling from that when we learned about our demotion. It’s been one hit after another all day. ”

“I’m sorry,” she said sincerely. “That’s a lot for anyone.”

He let out a heavy sigh and lowered his arms to his sides. “It’s never going to be easy to hear that you’re no longer a warrior, no longer allowed to fight for those you love.”

Her brows arched at that. “There is no way Zion will ever prevent you from protecting those you love. He just doesn’t want you risking your life unnecessarily.” Had she just defended Zion? This was a strange day indeed.

Isaac rewarded her with a lopsided grin. “You have to let me moan and groan for at least a day. Zion wants to take away my man card.”

The claim made her laugh as she boldly pressed her hand against the front of his pants. “You still feel like a man to me.”

He growled and rubbed against her hand. “You’re playing with fire, little girl.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m in the mood to get burned.” She held out her other hand toward Jon as she continued to stroke Isaac. “Ready to help us build a fire?”

“Always,” he promised as he stood up and took her hand.

“What about you, Kyle?” She licked her lips and smiled as he turned from the window. “We were interrupted last night. I’d like to see how hot we can make each other when we have an entire day to ourselves.”

Kyle closed the distance between them and kissed her mouth. “An entire day and night,” he countered. “I’m not answering any form of comm until tomorrow morning.”

“I love the sound of that.” Isaac picked her up and headed for the bedroom as Tara’s laughter, and the promised pleasure, finally lifted the gloom.

The End