Page 6 of Billionaire Wolf Needs a Pilot
“We’re doing our best, Mr.Roberts,” she replied without turning around.“The storm’s worse than expected.”
“Typical,” I muttered, letting my head fall back against the headrest.Nothing about this trip was going as planned.All I had wanted was to fly in, deal with the lawyers, sign whatever needed signing to mitigate the environmental disaster my father had left behind, and get out.Quick, clean, efficient.
Instead, I was trapped in a metal tube being tossed around by a freak blizzard with a pilot who believed in lucky charms.
The plane slammed down again, and I felt my canines lengthen slightly in response to the surge of adrenaline.I clenched my fists, forcing the wolf back down.The last thing I needed was to shift mid-flight because my animal side couldn’t handle a little turbulence.
My jaw clenched tight enough to crack teeth.Every alpha instinct in my body screamed to take control of the situation.But what could I do?I couldn’t fly the damn plane.I couldn’t clear the sky.I was as helpless as I’d been at six years old, watching my mother pack our bags while my father stood stone-faced in his study, not even bothering to say goodbye.
The engines roared as Felicity pushed the aircraft to its limits.The plane’s nose tilted sharply, and the turbulence worsened, rattling everything not bolted down.A pen rolled off the cockpit console, clattering to the floor.
“Systems check,” Felicity commanded.
“De-icing at maximum,” Bryce responded, his earlier nervousness replaced with focused professionalism.“Engines operating at ninety-two percent capacity.Altitude climbing at—” he hesitated.“Rate of climb decreasing, Captain.”
Felicity’s hands moved swiftly as she fought for control.“Almost there,” she murmured in a steady voice despite the chaos surrounding us.
Despite my irritation, I found myself watching her with appreciation.She was fighting the storm with every ounce of skill she possessed.I wasn’t accustomed to relying on others for my safety.Trust wasn’t a luxury I afforded many people.
“Captain, we’re not gaining altitude,” Bryce’s voice had risen an octave.“The ice—”
For the first time since we’d boarded, I saw her optimism falter.Her hands paused over the instrument panel.Something in her body language shifted.“We need to turn back,” she said decisively, her tone leaving no room for argument.
“Do it,” I replied immediately.As much as I dreaded returning to civilization with my business unfinished, dying in a plane crash hardly seemed like the better alternative.
Felicity began the maneuver, her movements precise despite the plane’s erratic bouncing.Bryce called out readings, his young face taut with concentration.
“Banking thirty-five degrees,” he announced.“Heading adjustment to—”
A sound like a giant’s hand slapping the fuselage drowned out his words.The plane lurched sideways, then dropped into a sickening spiral.Bryce yelped in alarm as warning lights flooded the cockpit in crimson.My heightened senses caught the acrid stench of fear filling the cabin, both human and my own.
“Hang on!”Felicity shouted as she wrestled with the controls.
My wolf instincts surged fully now, preparing for impact, for the fight to survive.The beast within me recognized what my human mind refused to acknowledge.We were going down.
The spinning sensation intensified, my stomach rebelling against the unnatural motion.Through the window, glimpses of white sky and darker ground alternated in a dizzying kaleidoscope.I caught sight of mountains.They were too close, much too close.
“Mayday, mayday!”Bryce’s voice cracked as he grabbed the radio.“This is Cessation Citation X-ray-Tango-Four-Seven declaring an emergency!”
Only static answered him.
Felicity’s fought the spiral with everything she had.“Come on,” she muttered through gritted teeth.“Not today.”
Despite my cynicism, I found myself hoping her stupid pendant had some magic after all.
“Can you regain control?”I demanded.
She didn’t look back.“Working on it,” she replied in a strained tone.
For a fleeting moment, the plane seemed to respond, as the spinning slowed.Felicity made a sound of triumph.Too soon.Another violent gust caught us, and the spin resumed with even greater ferocity.
The warning lights bathed the cockpit in an eerie red glow, turning Felicity’s determined profile into something otherworldly.My wolf senses heightened further.I could hear her heartbeat, rapid but steady, and I could smell the scent of her sweat mingling with coconut shampoo and the metallic odor of fear from Bryce.
“Engines still responding,” Bryce called out, his voice steadier than I’d expected from someone so young.“Hydraulics holding, but pressure’s still fluctuating in the starboard engine.”
Felicity nodded without taking her eyes off the instruments.“Radio?”
“Nothing but static.”Bryce adjusted frequencies frantically.“Weather’s blocking all transmission.We’re on our own.”
