Chapter One
Daryn West slowed his beat-up F-250 to a slug’s crawl as he pulled up to the entrance of the United States Coast Guard Kodiak station. He peered out the window and up at the graying Alaska sky just as a gust of wind whipped his truck. A storm was brewing. But that wasn’t what gave him the familiar sense of dread in the pit of his gut.
He locked eyes with the cold stone statue of an eagle that flanked the entrance of the station like a sentinel. There was one at every Coast Guard station in Alaska, and every time he slowed to pay his respect, the damn things ruffled his inner Raven’s feathers. Creeped his bird right out.
And he wasn’t the only one. His best friend, Kai, said the same thing. Even Justice, the quietest of them all, had mentioned it. Talon, their commander, hadn’t. But Daryn didn’t miss the shiver the older man got when they rode by it the other day.
Civilians thought the eagles represented America. And yeah, shiften had done a lot to push that belief. But it really stood for those first flight beasts that the goddess Rhen gifted the ability to turn human.
His ancestors.
Sort of.
It was by happenstance that a raven was among the flock who helped her track down the demon Khain that night lifetimes ago. Otherwise, he’d be bald like Talon. And have a name like Talon. Who the hell wanted to be named after their foot anyway? Humans didn’t go around with names like Toe or Sole or Heel.
Daryn sped up once past the eagle and turned into a muddy parking spot. It was work time. The only thing he really looked forward to these days. The only thing that settled his inner beast and its drive to mate. Something that until recently had been an impossibility for all shiften.
Many years ago, their greatest enemy, the demon Khain, went through species by species, killing off all the females of their kind in an attempt to wipe out future shiften generations. With shiften the only thing standing between him and humanity, who he was intent on destroying, Khain thought he’d won.
Daryn smirked to himself. Not so, asshole.
A few months ago, his flock had gotten word that there was hope for shiften kind after all. That out there somewhere, there were One True Mates that a avien like him could mate with, start a family with, have a future with.
The story was, twenty-five years ago, an angel in love with Rhen heard her cries to save humanity. He came to earth for forty days and put as many human women with child as he could, so that one day these half-human half-angel females could be strong enough to mate with shiften. Now they were come of age, and developing their powers. They were ready to meet their mates.
Daryn didn’t know if he believed it. But Talon had been talking to some wolfen from Idaho, where the first female was found, and seemed convinced.
Even if it was true. It would seem unlikely that he or anyone in his flock would find their one true mates soon. Not deep in Alaska, on the cusp of winter, away from most other shiften.
They could take off for Serenity, Idaho where so many were finding their matches. But they had an obligation to protect the humans of the last frontier. Rhen had chosen them to watch from the sky, like the avien before them. Guard the humans from Khain’s brutal schemes. And that was what they would always do.
“Semper Paratus,” Daryn sighed, pulling his parka hood up before stepping from his truck. Always ready. It was the Coast Guard motto, and it fit just fine. But he couldn’t deny the way his gut churned at the thought of never finding a woman to spend his life with. To protect with all his might. Never feeling soft touches or hearing soft words whispered in his ear.
Then again, maybe it was for the best.
When Khain demolished the females, Daryn had lost his own mother. He was only three, but he remembered the way it drove his father insane to lose such an integral part of himself. Before his fourth birthday, Daryn had lost them both, and was taken in by Talon.
The eagle shiften was only sixteen years his senior but he’d been a father to him. The best one he could ask for.
Was it too late for Talon? Daryn wondered as he tromped around the back of his truck and pulled his gear out of the bed. Was there still a chance the eagle could find a one true mate too? If so, maybe he should go to Serenity. The crew could take care of things here while he sought out happiness.
The bastard was tough, but he deserved the chance more than any of them. He’d sacrificed more than was expected. Given until it hurt. Even Rhen must think so.
Daryn would bring it up later. When the time was right. If he could get Kai in on the idea maybe the old man would listen.
As Daryn approached the side door of the building, the metal burst open, nearly swinging off its hinges. Out poured a crew of four guardsmen with Talon bringing up the rear.
“Oh, good,” he rumbled, coming face to face with Daryn. “You’re here. How fast can you suit up?” Through the open doorway, Daryn could hear the SAR alarm sounding, telling him a Search And Rescue was underway.
Adrenaline surged under his skin, his inner raven ready to feather up. “Ten minutes. Less.”
Talon nodded and turned to the crew. “Change of plans. Justice, you shift and fly ahead. Scout for us.” The young avien nodded and jogged around behind the building. Seconds later, a large eagle with a white capped head soared into the murky Alaska air, disappearing into the cloud cover. Talon continued, “I’ll pilot the helo, Kole will fly co. Kai, you and Daryn take the inside with Daryn as swimmer.”
“I was supposed to jump tonight,” Kai argued, and Daryn tried not to snicker at his friend’s competitive side. The urge to be the best in the crew bled through them all, and sometimes caused Talon to grow extra wrinkles around his eyes.
“Daryn’s better with land drops and you’re the best one on communication.”
Land. This was a land rescue? They hadn’t been called in on one of those in a while. And it was true, Kai could outswim him most days, but Daryn was the one with the most success landing on solid ground. And the one with more hours of medic training. By twenty minutes. But who was counting?
“Yes, captain.” Kai nodded a hard move of his head.
“You update lieutenant Daryn on our mission and meet us at the helo in ten.”
With that Talon and Kole jogged off toward the helopad while Daryn and Kai ran for the locker rooms. It was go time.
Semper Paratus.