Chapter 22 - Freya

Chapter 22

Freya

I woke up feeling grumpy, hot, and itchy, as though I’d fallen asleep in a big puppy pile. Which had basically happened after Rowan and I came back from the woods. Flint had given me a bath, dried me off, and pulled me into bed with him. Rowan had slipped in to cuddle me from behind as I laid on Flint’s chest, and all had felt right in the world. When Rowan left in the middle of the night, unable to sleep in a human bed, I knew it didn’t diminish his feelings for me.

But now, waking up alone but hot as an oven? I growled as I pulled on pants, hating the feel against my skin.

“Flint?” I called across the mate bond.

“Kitchen,” he answered with a distracted thought.

With a snarl, I ripped them back off and put on shorts instead. Even the scent of cooking meat in the air didn’t soothe my temper as I made my way into the kitchen. Without a word, Flint set a plate of eggs, steak, and potatoes in front of me.

“Steak for breakfast?” I asked.

“You’ll need your strength, moonbeam,” he said, giving me a meaningful look as he also set down the mug of contraceptive brew beside my plate.

The heat from the food only irritated me more, even as I scarfed it down. “It’s today, isn’t it?” I asked around my mouthful.

“Today or tomorrow,” Flint agreed. “The alphas from the outer towns have arrived, and Heath is dealing with them now. Gage is ready for when Astrid and the Midnight Path show up.”

“And Rowan?”

“He’s been pacing around outside this morning. I think your irritability is riding him hard through the mate bond.”

“I was asleep until just now.”

Flint nodded. “You were tossing and turning in your sleep, unable to stay comfortable. And… maybe he’s a little nervous about your heat.”

I chugged the contraceptive brew, hating how hot it was. My skin felt like it was on fire — I didn’t want to guzzle down a hot beverage and make myself feel hotter, but today I needed it more than ever. Taking it for the past few weeks ensured I wouldn’t have to worry about getting pregnant during this surprise second heat. So, I appreciated Flint making sure I drank it.

But that didn’t mean I had to like it.

“I should’ve bitten Gage already,” I groaned, wishing I could dive into an ice bath. “I think it’s today, not tomorrow.”

“Then bite him today,” Flint suggested, his hands going to my neck and finding all the knots that had formed from my restless sleep.

Suddenly the thought of Gage waiting for Astrid without my bite mark on him made me bolt out of the chair. My wolf snarled inside of me, desperate to ensure the other pack alpha didn’t try anything.

“He’s yours, Freya,” Flint assured me, no doubt sensing my jealousy flooding the mate bond. “He already wears your rune mark.”

He pointed to his cheekbone, the same place the rune had appeared on all four of my mates.

“Don’t care,” I growled. “I can’t sense him without the mate bond. I don’t like it.”

With my breakfast only half-eaten, I prowled out of the den. The cold, late November air welcomed my feverish skin. But the sight of the crowd in front of the pack house made me rethink my plan. Shifters’ nostrils flared as heads turned my way.

“Come on,” Flint said. “They won’t bother you when they smell who your mates are.”

“What’s going on?” I grumbled.

“Everyone wants to know what the plan is and why we’re taking all the alphas and leaving,” Flint explained.

But it wasn’t long before I could hear it for myself. Shifters grumbled about leaving their families around Thanksgiving. Conversely, the alphas I noticed in the crowd seemed excited.

Then Flint raised his voice. “Make way for Freya of the alpha pair.”

Shifters fell back, averting their eyes as I passed.

“I hate being called that,” I grumbled to Flint across our silent connection.

“Better get used to it,” he chuckled.

“Being Gage’s mate automatically made me part of the alpha pair, even though I’m not an alpha. But you are, and you’re also my mate, so what does that make you?”

“Not sure, moonbeam, but we’ll have to figure that out after your heat.”

We came into the throne room from the side, where I was surprised to find Heath up on the throne without Gage. Flint and I climbed up the side stairs, and Heath’s eyes widened when he caught my scent. The entire audience hall went silent, making me feel oddly nervous.

“Is it time?” Heath asked me privately.

“Seems like it’s today, not tomorrow,” I grumbled.

“I’ll send everyone away then.”

“Is it something you could wrap up soon? I promise I won’t jump your bones in front of everyone.”

“Save that for later,” Heath winked. Then he spoke out loud to Flint, jutting his chin down toward the crowd below. “Your littermate has some tough questions.”

Flint looked down, and his face lit up in a smile when his eyes caught on his sister, Fern. But she didn’t smile in return. Instead she gestured at the surrounding betas.

“Our pack alpha made his proclamation and then couldn’t be bothered to hear us out afterward,” Fern called up.

“Catch us up,” Flint said out of the side of his mouth to Heath.

As packmates, the pack bond let us communicate privately, but only in wolf form. Only mates could speak telepathically in human form, which meant no private conversations between the two of them in front of the crowd.

My other mate raised his voice for everyone below to hear. “Our pack alpha announced that all the alphas will travel with us as our guards during Freya’s heat. He also made it clear that we will not leave Frost Fang undefended during this time. Astrid of the Midnight Path and most of the alphas in her pack will be here to protect our packlands while we’re gone.”

“What I can’t understand,” Fern called up, “is why our pack alpha thinks we would trust foreigners to defend us?”

“The Howling Echo and the Midnight Path go way back,” Flint answered. “Gage and Astrid have an agreement. Both Gage and Heath are far more dominant than the Midnight Path alpha, and she has always struck us as a fair leader. And we’ll only be gone for five days.”

“So, Pack Alpha Gage thinks we can’t handle defending the packlands without any alphas for five short days?” Fern scoffed.

The surrounding betas murmured amongst themselves, seeming to agree with her indignation.

Heath’s anger ignited across the mate bond, while Flint also felt conflicted by his littermate’s challenge.

Heath snarled out an alpha command, “Kneel and show some respect for the leaders of your pack.”

His alpha dominance washed over the crowd below, forcing every single person in the room to kneel. As they went down to their knees, I caught sight of someone who easily evaded Heath’s command. Gage made his way along the edge of the wall, then slowly walked up the stairs of the dais to the throne, his footsteps echoing off the large chamber’s walls.

“And that,” Gage said, “is why we’ve asked our alpha friends from the Midnight Path to help defend our packlands while we’re gone. Now rise.”

As the crowd got back up to their feet, Heath jumped out of the throne like it had caught fire, dipping his head to Gage. My pack alpha stopped before me, and heat erupted from my body, pooling between my legs.

Seeing my alphas take charge like this? It made me hungry for them all.

Gage paused in front of me, his pupils dilating as his nostrils flared. Then he grabbed my chin, tilting my head back so he could plunder my mouth. I may not have bitten him yet, but he showed everyone who he had chosen as his mate. By the time he pulled back, I was breathless, and my panties were drenched.

“We’re ready, my mate,” he whispered to me. “Astrid will be here any moment.” I snarled at her name, and he grinned, his eyes scanning my face. “My jealous little mate.”

When he took his seat on the throne, he dragged me into his lap. Then he stared down at Fern and the other betas.

“Without alphas here, what’s to stop a cadre of alphas from another pack from coming in here and forcing you all to surrender?” Gage growled. “I will not return to find Frost Fang overrun and enslaved to Denraider or the like. It was not my intention to disrupt pack and family gatherings around Thanksgiving, but that’s how the timing worked out.”

“Then why do this at all?” someone in the crowd challenged.

“We’ve made no secret of the fact that my mate claims not only myself but our three most dominant wolves as her mates,” Gage said patiently. “During the mating season, the heat happens at the same time for all female wolves. Pack war almost never starts at that time of year. But now, in November, Freya’s heat will distract all of her mates, leaving us vulnerable. So, we need other alphas to protect the five of us. That leaves our packlands vulnerable to invasion, which means—”

“You’ll need us,” a powerful female voice boomed from outside.

“Make way for the Midnight Path alphas,” Bretton called, also outside.

The crowd parted, leaving standing room only at the sides of the throne room. The whole place felt claustrophobic to me, the air thick with body heat. Sweat poured from my skin, and I was all-too-aware of Gage’s hard thigh beneath me. I shifted my weight, wishing for relief for the ache beginning between my legs.

“Right on time!” Gage called down. “Frost Fang, allow me to introduce Pack Alpha Astrid of the Midnight Path and her alphas. They’re the only outsiders I trust enough not to steal my packlands out from under me while I’m gone.”

Astrid’s booming laugh made the subordinate wolves nearest her avert their eyes. Although she was a bear shifter, her dominance was palpable to our packmates, which meant they would follow her orders while we were gone. They had no choice.

I only hoped we’d made the right choice in inviting her here. She hadn’t been part of my original vision, and no new visions arrived to tell me if we were on the right path to avoid the bloodshed I’d foreseen. But none of the unfamiliar faces in the crowd below had been part of the pile of bodies I’d foreseen, so I took solace in that fact.

As Astrid climbed the stairs, I wrapped my arms around Gage’s neck, growing more and more irritated as the unmated female approached me and the mate I had yet to claim.

Gage growled in my ear, “You’re mine, princess. And I’m yours.”

Astrid gave a mock curtsy when she reached the top of the stairs, then glanced around at each member of the Howling Echo.

“You’re sure about this?” she said in a low tone.

I hadn’t known her long, but even I could see the worry in her ice-blue eyes. Strangely, I found it reassuring.

“All our plans are in motion,” Gage agreed.

“Freya,” Astrid addressed me. “I sense your mark on these other two,” she motioned at Flint and Heath. “Gage isn’t keeping you from them, is he?”

“No,” I said. “I’ll need all four of my mates.”

“Attagirl.” Astrid gave me a crooked grin. “When you’ve had all the sausage you can handle, come to me if you want any honey for dessert.”

I laughed, and the movement made my sensitive clit grind against Gage’s leg. My laugh turned into a moan, and Gage gathered me in his arms and stood up.

“As you can see, we need to go,” he told Astrid. “Don’t let anyone steal my pack while we’re gone.”

“Choose your form for the heat wisely,” Astrid told me. “You’ll have to stay that way the whole time, remember. And your mates will match you.”

I didn’t remember, because for my first heat, I’d only had one form. But I didn’t mention that because all I could focus on was Gage’s striking, sky-blue gaze, so full of command and power. I glanced over at Heath, and grinned, imagining him commanding me to kneel in the same powerful voice he’d used to force an entire room to submit.

“Freya, focus,” Astrid growled, and Flint, Heath, and Gage growled right back.

She raised her hands and stepped back.

“Sorry, but it is an important decision that she should make sooner rather than later.”

Concentrating on the conversation challenged my human side.

“Human,” I sighed. “I don’t know my wolf form well enough yet.”

“We need to go now,” Flint warned, but I caught sight of Astrid’s furrowed brow as Gage carried me down from the throne.

She thought I was making the wrong decision, but being cradled in Gage’s muscular arms distracted me again. I ran a hand along his angular jaw and wished I could see his face between my thighs. Now.

I nuzzled into Gage’s chest, hungry for skin-to-skin contact.

“I need you,” I moaned.

“Alphas, there’s someone else here to see you,” Bretton called from the other end of the great hall.

I barely registered the beta’s words. Gage’s scent overwhelmed me, and my wolf paced inside me, hungry for the fun to begin.

“We don’t have time for any more audiences,” Heath called back, leaving Astrid to take the throne. “Pack Alpha Astrid can handle it.”

The crowd’s murmurs filled the hall, but I hardly noticed them, focused as I was on the three powerful bodies surrounding me as they hurried me away.

“Not this,” Bretton’s low voice sounded breathless as he caught up to us. “He says he’s here with news about Freya’s family.”

“It’ll have to wait,” Heath said. “We must arrive before Freya’s heat starts in earnest. Give the newcomers a place to stay and tell them we’ll be back in six days at the most.”

“Got it,” Bretton said. “Enjoy your time with her.”

Time seemed to skip ahead, and I found myself outside a line of vehicles.

“I sent the message,” Heath announced. “Brooke let me keep the phone just in case.”

“Then we’re right on schedule,” Flint answered.

My stomach clenched as I realized this was actually happening. We were following a plan I’d suggested based on nothing more than a vision. A vision I’d never shared with my mates. What if I was wrong? What if it had been nothing more than stress from the battle, and I led us into danger for nothing? My heat would leave us vulnerable, even my four mates, who wouldn’t be able to leave my side.

Gage grabbed my chin, turning me to face him. No doubt he’d felt my fear lancing into the mate bond, but that didn’t mean he understood what had me so scared.

“Before you’re too far gone, we need to hear you say it, princess. Tell us who you want, what you want, and what you don’t want.”

His words triggered desire and need, and my inner walls clenched, achingly empty. Around me, Heath and Flint closed in around me, and over Heath’s shoulder I saw Rowan in his wolf form come racing toward us.

“All four of you,” I answered without hesitation. “My four mates.”

I met each man’s eyes, making sure he knew I meant him. Even Rowan’s golden gaze made me feel hungry in a way that would’ve been difficult to describe to regular humans. The heat consumed me, making me dig my nails into my palms to prevent myself from jumping any of my mates right now.

“And same answer as last time,” I added impatiently.

Their answering longing echoed mine through the mate bond — three mate bonds. It wasn’t overwhelming at all. Instead, it didn’t feel like enough. My eyes widened, and I looked up at Gage. He was the one missing.

“I need to bite you, too, before—”

“We need to get you to the cabin before you’re too far gone,” he answered. “We’ll worry about it then.”

“Gage… I want you as my mate,” I said, pushing the words out while I still could.

My heat was coming, and I didn’t know how much longer I would stay lucid for. Already I was clenching my thighs together with desire, and my skin burned with the need to remove my clothes. But I wouldn’t, not here in front of everyone. I wouldn’t dishonor my mates like that.

“I know, princess,” he smirked.

Then he leaned in and gave me a long, hard kiss. I melted into pure need, my hands reaching for him.

Time slipped away again, and I found myself in the backseat of a vehicle with Heath this time.

I was plastered to his body, and he smiled down at me. “We’ve got you, little wolf, don’t worry.”

“Please tell me we’re almost there,” I moaned, grinding my body against him. “I’m already losing track of time.”

“Your heat’s coming on fast this time, moonbeam,” Flint said from the driver’s seat.

I could sense Rowan riding in the back of a truck bed in front of us. Fear jolted me when I realized the only one of my mates I couldn’t sense was Gage.

“Where’s—”

“He’s in a different vehicle, talking strategy with the other alphas while he still has his wits about him,” Heath reassured me. “Don’t worry about Gage.”

But I did worry, because I caught the faintest trace of sorrow in Heath’s mate bond, and a look of uncertainty behind his eyes.

“What happened?”

But when Flint went over a bump in the road, it jostled me against Heath, making me grind against him again. I moaned, forgetting what I’d been asking about as I nuzzled my face into his neck.

“I want all four of you,” I demanded.

“You’ll have us,” Heath promised.

“Don’t worry, moonbeam. We’ll make sure Rowan and Gage are on the same page.”

“All four of us at once,” Heath growled. “Repeatedly. For days on end. Giving you everything you want.”

I moaned at the thought, wanting that more than anything in the world. My whole body felt primed and ready. The sheer need of it nearly overcame me, and I dropped my hands to Heath’s belt buckle and started to undo it.

I nibbled at Heath’s earlobe. “I liked seeing you boss the pack around.”

“Oh yeah?” he gave me his crooked, playful grin. “You miss the days when we owned your body, little warrior wolf?”

“I want you all to take me and use me however you want,” I whispered along his lips before kissing him. “I want you to make me scream that I belong to you again.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Heath asked, reaching for the hem of my shirt.

“And I want to claim Gage,” I whispered as Heath began undressing me, giving my burning skin relief.

“You will,” Flint answered from up front as Heath began peppering me with kisses all over. “None of us will stop you.”

Heath sucked one of my nipples into his mouth, and wetness flooded my panties.

“I love you both,” I moaned.

“We love you, too, moonbeam,” Flint said. “And don’t be worried. Brielle sent us some magical wards that will warn us when Ironwood shows up. They won’t get the drop on us.”

“We love you so much,” Heath said as he moved toward my other nipple. “We’re going to protect you and take care of you.”

Through the mate bond, I felt how much they truly loved and cherished me. When I reached down my mate bond to Rowan, I felt his answer just as strongly.

“I’m yours,” his gruff voice echoed in my mind as Heath began playing my body like an instrument.

“Promise me you won’t let Rowan feel left out,” I demanded of Heath and Flint.

“We won’t,” Flint answered.

“And trust me, Rowan is ready for this,” Heath said. “He was ready for it the night of your first date. Nothing will keep you apart now that you’re mated and in heat.”

After that final reassurance, his fingers gently brushed along my clit, and I gave into my body’s needs.