I stood there is silence, taking in the horrible scene. Death was such an ugly thing. I finally turned back to the fire pit. Beyond that, there looked to be a clearing roughly the size of a professional sports field. Everything else was wooded. I could see hills in the distance. Oh, yes, I was going to fly.

"Naomi, I don't think you should fly right now," Damien said, interrupting my fantasy.

"Why?" I asked, shocked. It took all my wisdom not to pretend that I didn't hear him and launch into the sky.

He set a hand on my shoulder. "You are still healing. What if you have an...episode... in the sky?"

I turned to face him, moving his hand off my shoulder. "Fine. I won't," I promised. I took a step back.

He nodded and then tilted his head as I took another step. "Wait. You won't what?"

"I won't have an episode," I said giddily. With that, I turned and stepped up on the bricks of the fire pit. I pushed down hard and pulled my wings down hard to propel myself into the sky.

"Naomi!" Damien yelled angrily. I glanced down, suddenly a bit fearful of how he was reacting. His beautiful face had been covered in rage. I brushed it off. I couldn't change that.

After a few seconds, I was above the castle and grinning like an idiot. The pounding in my chest had lifted. I could breathe. I hovered for a few seconds. I didn't feel nauseous or tired. In fact, the tension and stress in my back seemed to fall away with each stroke of my wing. I glance down at Damien, who had shifted into his golden wolf.

"I'm okay, Damien!" I called. "Give me five minutes!"

With that, I turned and began to swoop down toward the heads of the trees. Flying near trees was different than the dunes; far more of them jutted up higher, forcing me to pay attention to my height. There was a wooded mountain in the distance. It was not nearly as large as Redwood's mountains, but it was beautiful, nevertheless. I soared higher and higher until the trees blurred into a swirl of green. I blinked a few times, magnifying my vision. I could peer between trees, catching sight of a golden streak running through the forest behind me.

Let's see him try to catch up.

I dove down, gaining speed and flying as fast as I could away from the castle. The castle was perched on one of the tall hills, the spires peeking out over the tops of the trees.

I sped faster and faster until even my magnified vision lost sight of the golden wolf. Finally, I relaxed in the air.

The air was cool and smooth against my skin. My wings had been aching for this, I realized. They had been shut in for too long. I spun in the air, rejoicing at the exhilaration in my stomach.

Suddenly, golden sparks jumped to my fingers. I fell a few feet in shock before staring at the buzzing, hot energy at my fingertips. I turned my hands over, marveling at the sight. I touched my hands together and they sizzled. They weren't hot. They felt energetic, dramatic, and fierce. They felt good.

As quickly as they arrived, they sparkled out.

Strange. I turned back and realized that I was very far away. I had promised Damien five minutes and I had already been flying for far longer than that. On top of that, my stomach rumbled. I sighed and swung around, flying back.

When I landed near the fire pit, Damien was sat angrily in one of the metal chairs. He stood up, half frustrated, half relieved. "Naomi! That was half an hour," he said.

I smiled. "Sorry," I said honestly. "I didn't intend for it to last that long. I just hadn't been out for so long. It felt...so good."

He walked up to me, and the frustration faded into a soft concern. "I didn't know flying meant that much to you."

"Well, I learned how to do it at the Joshua pack. I did it every day for hours. I don't know what transforming into a werewolf feels like, but it is incredible to fly."

Damien's concern morphed into a smile. "Your enthusiasm is contagious. I didn't mean to say you shouldn't fly, but I didn't want you to get hurt. You collapsed only a bit before launching into the sky."

I nodded. "I know. But some things are worth the risk."

He smiled and nodded knowingly. "You are absolutely correct," he said and pulled me close to him. I stared up at him, the gold in his hair glinting in the overhead sun. His presence was warm; safe. Almost as nice as being in the air. Almost.

Suddenly, I felt the reckless urge to kiss him. Why the heck not?

I leaned in and suddenly, his lips came crashing down on mine. My hands roved to the back of his neck and ran through his golden hair. He was rough, but gentle. Finally, after a few second, he pulled back. He was grinning widely. "That was very forward of you," he said.

I blushed hard while the sweet endorphins rushed through my body. Gosh, that felt good.

Damien reached for my hand and pulled me close under his arm. "Naomi!" he suddenly said. "Your hands."

I looked down and saw that they were a normal color. I flexed them. No pain. I burst out laughing and tossed my arms around Damien's neck, kissing him again. "I should kiss you more often," I teased.

He growled and held me closely against him. "You will find no protest here." He grabbed my hips and pulled me closer to him. He dipped down and slowly began to trace his tongue along the inside of my neck. I jumped, but his grip on my hips tightened.

"Damien, we're in public," I blushed, glancing around.

"So?" he said, swirling his tongue on the mark on my neck. "You kissed me first." My body erupted in tingles, and I almost lost my balance.

"Damien," I protested again. "Stop."

He leaned his head back but didn't lose his grip on me. In fact, he readjusted to keep a firm grip. He slowly pulled my hips against his. "Look at me, dove," he said lowly.

I glanced up and saw his dark green eyes flickering gold. They were mesmerizing. Slowly, Damien maneuvered me against the stone wall of the castle. He pinned my hips against the wall with his own. My body flushed with pleasure as our eye contact deepened; we were locked in each other's stares.

Damien suddenly lurched forward and trapped my lips with his own. His hands went to my neck, and he cupped my face roughly. "I don't want you talking to Elijah," Damien said as he leaned back to take a breath. My head was swimming. All I wanted was more of Damien. "I don't want you alone with anyone except Berry."

"But why?" I asked, leaning in for more. His right hand moved from cupping my face lovingly to gripping my throat subtly. His eyes froze in anger and I stiffened.

"Because I don't trust a damn soul here," he said lowly into my ear. "And I am here to protect you. Understood?" he said. The pressure on his thumb began to increase. His eyes were demanding my submission.

I nodded partially in agreement and partially in fear. His grip relaxes and he began gently kissing the mark on my neck. I melted against him. The feeling was like my blood being replaced with syrup: slow and sweet. Finally, he pulled back and growled in annoyance.

I heard a flurry of apologies and the glass door slam shut.

"Naomi," Damien said. "Perhaps it is time you met my pack."

"Your pack?" I asked. Oh. If he was an alpha, he had a pack before he came to Redwood. A pack meant more than Eric.

"Come out, gammas."

Several men stepped out, each larger and more intimidating than the next. Several of them made Damien look small, and that was an unimaginable feat. They each made respectful eye contact and stepped to the side. Finally, I saw Eric exit, looking worn down and tired. His eyes had heavy bags.

"Naomi, these are my gammas. Thomas, Reid, Ironside, Smith, and Baker." Damien looked at me with suddenly serious eyes. Then, he looked at his pack. "Gammas, meet my mate and your Luna Naomi." Six heads bowed in respect. "Of course, you know Eric."

I nodded. "It is nice to meet you all."

"The pleasure is all ours," one of them said.

"Naomi, these men are my leaders and personal guards for this week. Until the official battle next Saturday, they will stay close at hand to guard you."

"The fight is in a week?"

Damien nodded. "We will talk more of it tomorrow."

"Why do I need guards?" I asked nervously.

"You are the winged one. There are many who desire you." Damien leaned in closer. "The king's castle is a dangerous place for a beautiful woman, wings or no wings. And you just so happen to be the most gorgeous woman to grace this planet," he whispered and kissed my ear.

I blushed and my stomach growled loudly, drawing glances from the gammas.

"To lunch, I suppose," Damien said.

"The Luna has spoken," the gamma on the end said. He was completely bald and looked like he could swallow a small watermelon if he wanted to. The guy was huge.

Damien walked through the door and Eric gestured for me to follow. The gammas were close behind him.

The freedom I felt flying suddenly felt very, very long ago.