“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 foryourfemales? 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.”
