Chapter 44

44

T he party had lasted into the early morning hours, more and more allies of the pack trickling in. Remy and Gabe introduced me, but all the names and faces started to blur together. Tate and Dante showed up late, their clothes and hair a barely tamed mess, cheeks flushed with happiness.

I had forgotten half the people who smiled and wished me a happy birthday, but their platitudes were icing on the I-finally-had-a-home cake. I had taken a million pictures with my phone, excited to share them with Mom when I got home to Blackwater.

Remy and I had tumbled into bed after the party, our hands and mouths moving restlessly on each other, until he surged inside of me, reminding me with his body that I was home.

I rolled over the next morning, ready to pick up where we had left off, but Remy’s side of the bed was empty. I smoothed a hand over the cool sheets, propping myself up on one elbow, looking around the room for him.

The bathroom door was halfway open, and the shower was running.

I grinned, tossing the sheets off my legs and planning to join my mate in the shower.

Which was when my phone rang.

I picked it up, thinking it was Mom. We’d been playing phone tag the last few days, and I missed hearing her voice, especially on my birthday. She had left a voicemail, her sweet voice singing me happy birthday while I was tangled up in bed with Remy.

I flinched. I was the worst daughter. Then again, maybe if I could convince the Council that Mom belonged in Blackwater with me, away from Long Mesa, I could make up for it.

But it wasn’t Mom calling; it was Larkin.

I glanced at the clock. It was barely seven, which meant it was even earlier in Washington. I swiped my thumb across the screen of my phone.

“Hey, Lark,” I greeted, sitting back down on the bed and tugging the sheets around my naked body. “Everything okay?”

“I don’t … Jesus, I don’t even know how to say this,” Larkin stammered, her voice shaking.

“What’s wrong?” I stood up, the sheets fluttering back to the bed. I glanced at the shower. “Do you want me to get Remy?”

“Yes. Wait, no . Oh, my God.”

“Larkin, you’re scaring me,” I said softly. “Talk to me.”

“No, Skye, it’s good . It’s …” She trailed off with a sniffle.

“You’re crying!”

“I’m happy !” she replied with a laugh.

Panic swirled with impatience. “Dammit, Larkin—”

“Rhodes and I bonded last night.”

Those four words shook me, rocked me like a capsizing boat in a stormy sea.

“You what ?” I didn’t mean to half-shout the words, but they came out way more high pitched than I had intended.

The water shut off in the shower a second before Remy called out, “Babe?”

“I’m good,” I yelled to him absently, turning my back on the bathroom and focusing on the giggles coming from Larkin.

“Lark, what do you mean you bonded with Rhodes?” I demanded. I looked around the room. Shit, I need clothes on for this conversation. I jerked on a pair of pajamas I had set out the night before but never used.

“The pack went out for a run last night,” Larkin said softly. “Rhodes and I decided to take a detour and .... Skye, it was like magic. Everything in my world went upside down, and I knew. Rhodes is my mate. He’s my … He’s mine . We spent the night together, and … Holy shit. I can’t believe this is real.”

The door to the bathroom kicked open, and Remy appeared, a towel wrapped low around his dripping body. He came around to where I was standing, his expression worried as he looked at me.

I couldn’t even appreciate all the hard, wet muscles on display like a damn buffet because my head was spinning with Larkin’s announcement.

“Larkin …” Tears filled my eyes. I was beyond happy for her, for both of them.

“Skye,” Remy whispered urgently, his dark eyes narrowed with concern. He was seconds from pulling my phone away from my ear. “What’s wrong?”

“Lark, hang on.” I laughed and wiped my eyes. “Remy’s here, and I need to explain why I’m crying.”

“You go. I know you have a lot to do. I know Rhodes was going to call Remy in a few hours, but I couldn’t wait to talk to you. Call me later,” Larkin said quickly, and then hung up.

I stared at the phone in my hand for a long beat before looking at Remy.

“Larkin and Rhodes bonded.”

He looked just as thunderstruck as I had felt.

“What?” His voice was barely above a whisper and full of stunned awe. “They did?”

I nodded. “She’s so happy, Rem.”

A laugh burst out of him before he grinned, rubbing his jaw. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, my laughter joining his.

He pulled me against him, the front of my shirt absorbing the lingering water from his shower. “Jesus, what are the odds?”

“Larkin’s even younger than we are,” I added, pushing aside that small fact to lick a rivulet of water from between his pecs that caught my attention. I loved this taste of his skin on my lips.

All thoughts of my best friend and her new mate flew out of my brain as I focused on my mate.

A low groan rumbled out of him. “Skye …”

I grinned up at him through my lashes, my hand reaching for the front of his towel. “Yes?” My tongue licked up another trail of water before swirling around a nipple.

“Remy, Skye! Get down here!” Gabe yelled from the floor below.

I jumped away, the backs of my legs hitting the edge of the bed. I looked at the door with guilt, half expecting Gabe to open it even though I knew Remy locked it the night before, plus Gabe gave us all the privacy we could want.

“God fucking dammit,” Remy hissed, his eyes squeezing shut. “My dad is the worst cock-blocker ever.”

I tried not to laugh as I shrugged. “To be continued?”

His dark eyes snapped open, glaring at me. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

I hid my smile as I turned and stripped, pulling on actual clothes instead of jammies. I didn’t dare look at Remy as I did it, but I felt his eyes on my ass as I pulled on my underwear. I might have given my hips an extra shimmy as I pulled my jeans on, silently laughing as he groaned again.

We got dressed in record time and headed downstairs.

Gabe was pacing, on the phone, at the landing with his back to us.

My hand drifted along the rail as I paused. “Gabe?”

He looked up, his blue eyes wide and incredulous. “Mal, let me talk to the kids. I’ll call Elias and see if he’s ever heard of something like this.” He smiled into the receiver. “I will. Love you, too, sweetheart.”

“She says hi,” Gabe said offhandedly, turning and sitting down in one of the chairs.

Remy and I sat on the couch in front of him.

“What’s going on?” I asked softly. “Is it about the meeting later?”

“No.” Gabe exhaled hard. “Something strange happened last night. There was a pack run in Blackwater.”

Remy and I exchanged looks, grinning.

“We know, Dad,” Remy said with a laugh. “It’s pretty cool.”

“Pretty cool?” Gabe echoed, confused.

“Rhodes and Larkin bonding,” I added.

His eyes went huge. “Rhodes DeWitt and Larkin Dawes bonded ?”

Remy shot me a look. “Yeah. Isn’t that what you were talking about.”

“Jesus Christ,” Gabe muttered, dropping his head and rubbing his temples. “That makes twelve.”

“Twelve what?” Remy leaned forward.

Gabe looked up at us, completely baffled. “Twelve pairs that bonded in Blackwater last night during the pack run.”

“Is that … normal?” I asked softly when no one spoke. I knew there were bonded mates in Blackwater, it was how I had first heard of it, but I wasn’t sure if bonding was something that happened sporadically or in batches.

Babies were often born in batches in a pack as fertility cycles linked up. It could have made sense that bonds happened in groupings, too.

“It’s definitely not normal,” Remy said quietly. “Before you and I bonded, it had been over a year since a pair bonded in our pack.”

“Closer to two years,” Gabe confirmed.

“So, twenty four shifters bonded to their mates last night,” I said, needing to say it so I could wrap my mind around it.

“What are the odds of that?” Remy mused.

Gabe scoffed lightly, leaning back in his chair. “We’d have better odds if the twenty four pack members got struck by lighting at the same time.” He shook his head again in amazement. “I’m going to call Elias. This is his field of expertise.”

“Sounds like the best idea,” Remy agreed. “What time is our meeting with the Council?”

My stomach swooped, ice water flooded my veins.

Oh, yeah.

That .

My fate may have been decided, but I still needed to make sure the Council didn’t send my family back to Long Mesa. And I needed to do whatever I could to stop Linden once and for all.

“Not until one,” Gabe replied. “I’ll see if Elias is free to join us. Remy, why don’t you order something for us to eat?”

“I’m going to take a shower,” I said, standing up.

I was beyond happy for my friends and my pack, but the sobering reality was I wasn’t done fighting yet.

I had to convince a room full of Alphas that my mom, aunt, and cousin deserved the same freedom I had been given by baring my darkest secrets. All while the guy that I loved more than life itself listened.

It was going to be a long day.

***

My damp hair hung in a long ponytail as I left the bedroom to go back downstairs. I paused at the landing, my eyes going wide.

Elias had come, along with Daniel and Tate, Luke, and Dante. The shifters were all talking loudly, throwing out different ideas.

“But it’s happening here, too!” Dante said, his voice catching a lull in the conversations.

“What’s happening here?” I asked, coming down the stairs.

Tate turned, her face bright, excited. “Dante and I were having breakfast in the lodge and we overheard some Alphas talking. One of them bonded with his mate last night! He brought her here for the Summit. They were out running, and bam !” She clapped her hands together.

“Allie and Nero,” I said. “They told me at the party.”

“No,” Tate said, shaking her head. “ Not Allie and Nero. Another pair.”

My jaw dropped. I swung my gaze to Remy on instinct, but he could only shrug. He was just as mystified as I was.

“This is very exciting,” Elias agreed, his voice vibrating with enthusiasm. “Something must have triggered such a monumental change in the balance of our world.”

“Are we sure they’re all actually bonded?” Luke asked from where he sat. “I mean, maybe they all ate a bad patch of berries on their run last night, Gabe.”

“But that wouldn’t explain pairs bonding here,” Tate argued pointedly. “Also? I don’t think that’s how it works, Dad.”

I moved around the group towards the food Remy had ordered, snagging a piece of bacon and popping it into my mouth.

“There’s only one common denominator,” Elias said slowly. “One factor that connects both Blackwater and the Summit, as well as the timing of events.”

Curious, I turned and gave him my full attention.

Elias smiled, his eyes catching mine with interest. “Skye and Remington consummated their bond.”

I choked on the bacon.

“Fucking hell,” Daniel muttered, standing closest to me. He splashed water into a glass from the pitcher and thrust it at me. “Tact, Elias. Try it before someone dies.”

I coughed down the liquid, a chunk of crispy bacon scraping my throat. I swallowed more water, my eyes watering.

“Are you okay?” Remy asked, concern filling his gaze.

I blinked away the tears in my eyes as I nodded. “Yeah. That just … caught me wrong.”

Daniel smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. “You mean you didn’t plan on discussing your sex life over breakfast? Weird.”

Elias sighed, waving a hand. “I apologize. That came out wrong.”

Daniel snorted. “You think?”

Elias glared at Daniel, who made a big show of eating a piece of bacon, chewing quietly.

“What would Remy and Skye have to do with any of this?” Gabe demanded.

“Forgive me” Elias murmured, slowly sitting down, “but we can all agree, nothing of their bonding has been normal. From their age, to their advanced levels of healing and awareness of one another. Even their recently discovered talent of experiencing the other’s memories.”

“How could that make a difference in our pack? Or packs here?” Remy frowned.

“I don’t know,” Elias admitted. “But I would like to be permitted to run some tests.”

“Tests?” I repeated, not sure I liked the sounds of that.

“I would like to test the limits of your bond,” Elias explained, waving a hand. “It’s unusual. I would be willing to wager that your bond is even stronger than you know.”

“No,” Remy said flatly, not taking his eyes off of me. “We’re not guinea pigs or circus animals.”

“No one said you are,” Luke interjected. “The doc’s just saying there might be more to your bond than meets the eye. That being said, if you ain’t up for pokin’ and proddin’ and studyin’, the answer’s no, Doc.”

Elias grimaced. “Our species is on the precipice of natural disaster, Alpha. The most promising leads we have found are from bonded pairs. Packs where females have been given position and influence instead of just relegated to a familial role. Skye is worth studying.”

My shoulders tensed, and Remy moved to angle his body in front of me.

“We said no,” he told Elias evenly.

Elias looked down, his features pinched with frustration. “Remington, I understand your need to protect your mate. But you and I have discussed this at length.”

That was news to me. They had talked about me at length ?

Remy glared down at the older man. “No, you and I discussed the value of women in the pack hierarchy. We talked about furthering women’s rights in the packs, and even setting aside positions inside the pack to foster and encourage female leadership. We never discussed my mate, and definitely not the way you’re making it sound.” He practically growled the last words, the meaning implied.

He didn’t like that Elias had insinuated something that would potentially drive a wedge between us.

Yeah, well, neither did I.

“Forgive me,” Elias stammered, shaking his head. “I didn't mean to imply that Remy was speaking about you behind your back.” He gave me an apologetic smile. “But can’t you see how remarkable you are, Skye? You are unlike any shifter I have come across in years.”

“I don’t want to be remarkable,” I said softly, wrapping my arms around my waist. “Right now all I want is to protect my family from a Council that would send them back into hell. I want people like my uncle to be held accountable for what they’ve done.”

Grimacing, Elias opened his mouth to argue.

I took a deep breath, my spine turning to steel as I held up a hand to cut him off. “I value your opinion, Elias. You’ve helped me in more ways than I can explain over the last year. But right now, I need to focus on myself. I get that Remy and I have this unique bond that you’re curious about, and so am I. Maybe in a few months, when things settle down, we can test our bond or whatever.”

“The time is now, ” Elias urged vehemently. “While things are still in motion.”

“In a few hours I have to convince a room full of people that an Alpha, a man some of them respect, is a monster. I have to recount the horrors I grew up with, what I saw and lived through every single day of my life.” I shook my head as Remy wrapped an arm around my waist. “I need to focus on that. I’m sorry, my answer is no.”

“Skye—”

“She said no, Elias,” Gabe said firmly. “Her mate said no, and she said no. As her Alpha, I’m saying no, too. We respect your opinion and appreciate the work you’ve done for all of us, but Skye has earned the right to live her own life, with her mate, as they choose.”

“You’re making a mistake,” Elias said softly, sadly. He got to his feet.

“I think it’s time for us to go,” Daniel said, his voice unusually even as he helped Elias collect the papers and briefcase he had spread out on the coffee table. He assisted Elias to the door and turned, flashing me a quick, grim smile.

I exhaled hard when the door shut, hating that I had disappointed someone I cared about. Elias had helped me find my wolf and bond with her, he had sat at my bedside with Remy when I was in a coma. He was the person I turned to when I needed help with anything shifter related.

“Maybe I should’ve said yes,” I murmured, absently rubbing my lips and walking towards the door.

“No,” Tate spoke up, shaking her head. “Skye, you’re pretty awesome, but you aren’t the savior of shifters everywhere. You’re allowed to live your life.”

I leaned back against the wall. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Remy moved in front of me, his hand skimming down my arm before holding my hand. “We have enough going on right now without this. Shifters bonding is a good thing. It’s okay to table that while we make sure the rest of our family is safe.”

Our family .

Not just us, but he was including my mom, aunt and cousin as part of his family. Remy accepted every part of me as part of him.

I nodded and hugged him, ready to do whatever it took to protect our family.