Page 68 of Dragon's Surprise
“I’m honored by your faith in me.”
“Right back atcha. You and I are going to have to work together if we want to get everybody out of here safely. I have no idea how to pull that off.”
That made two of them. While lying awake, Rhene had pondered that same question. How would he get a group of omegas that size to their home, which was thousands of miles away and with a massive ocean in between? Hell, how would they even get out of Sweden? Rhene wasn’t sure where the nearest airport was where a decent-sized plane could land, but it probably wasn’t close.
“Is teleporting an option?” he asked.
“For shorter distances, yes. We have a few people who could pull that off. But not all the way to where you live. Not even close. I’m surprised Cedric managed it. I had no idea his magic was that strong.”
Gregor had the decency to look embarrassed. When would the dragon alphas realize the omegas had as much magic and strong gifts as the alphas?
“So maybe we could at least teleport to an airport?”
“They don’t have passports. The problem isn’t getting them to an airport. The problem is that they can’t fly anywhere because they don’t own passports.”
Shit. Of course they didn’t. The alphas would never have allowed them any independence, let alone having such a crucially important document. That did complicate matters, though. “Okay, so planes are out. What does that leave us?”
“Within the European Union, you can travel freely by car because border checks are not that common. But I don’t know how to cross the ocean.”
“By ship? Would we be able to find a ship that would take them?”
Gregor whistled between his teeth. “Holy crap, that would be a hellish journey this time of year with the rough seas. It would take a week or two at least, but maybe more. I’m not even sure. But yeah, that might be our best shot. We’d probably have to bribe someone. Or multiple people. We can’t board a cruise ship or anything like that. It would have to be some kind of cargo ship where they don’t look at paperwork too closely. And even then, the group is too big to travel on the same ship.”
“If we split them up, their safety becomes a real concern. Others may not realize they’re dragons, but they sure as hell will read them as omegas, so how do we keep them safe from alphas? Even if we send an alpha with each group, it still might not be enough.”
Gregor let out a long sigh. “Agreed. We’ll have to give this some thought.”
Fergal stepped out of the tent he and Gregor shared, yawning as he stretched his arms above his head. “Worst night of sleep ever. Zero out of ten, do not recommend.”
Despite everything, Rhene chuckled. He appreciated Fergal’s dry sense of humor. “Yeah, no kidding. I didn’t sleep either, too scared to even close my eyes. It’s hard to relax when you feel like you could have a knife stuck between your shoulder blades at any point.”
“Oh, it’s not the knife between your shoulder blades you should be worried about. It’s the one they will stab into your heart and then twist,” Fergal said in a somewhat forced lighthearted tone. “I wonder who is first on the Murphys’ hit list. My guess is it’s a close race between Zacharias, King Ennis, you and your mate, and me. Maybe even Gregor.”
Rhene shrugged. “They’re furious with the entire world right now, so does it matter? The bottom line is that we know they’re out for our blood, so how do we prevent them from getting to us?”
Fergal’s casual attitude evaporated. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”
“You must be glad your mate is safe,” Gregor said. “Because if you ask me, the White Dragon is at the top of their most-wanted list.”
Rhene nodded. “He’s with his clan and our pack, and every one of my pack members will defend him to their dying breath.”
“That’s a testament to your leadership,” Fergal said.
“Not really. It’s who we are at the core. It’s what we stand for. Above all, it’s how Lidon and his forefathers built the pack.”
Gregor smiled at him. “Your forefathers too. The Hightower pack has always been a close ally of the Hayes pack.”
Rhene quirked an eyebrow. “You know our history?”
“Probably better than you do. I was alive for a lot of it, remember?”
Right. What a crazy idea that Gregor might’ve met Rhene’s great-great-grandfather. “Out of curiosity, did you ever meet Lidon’s grandfather?”
“Once, but we had a long conversation. Not only was he a powerful man, but also a good one. Ethical to his very bone. It broke his heart to see his son turn his back on the old ways.”
“If you met his grandfather, why didn’t Lidon know about your existence? Not you specifically, but dragons.”
“Because his grandfather was bound by an oath not to reveal anything. A spell was placed on his lips, as well as on those of his storyteller, as you call it.”