Chapter 32 - Heath

The super moon hung huge and heavy in the sky, pregnant and full. Her light bathed the entire packlands. All but the evergreen trees had lost their foliage, leaving space for the light to reach us even in the forest.

I stood high upon a rocky outcropping, gazing down at the massive crowd of wolves gathering near the pack house, surrounding Gage and Freya. Flint and Rowan scouted the perimeter of the packlands nearby, making sure our run would be safe. Low-ranking Frost Fang wolves would take their place, protecting the packlands while the rest of us were distracted. They’d already drawn straws, and the unlucky ones would stand guard.

Tonight, Gage wanted all the alphas to run with us. He wanted to solidify Frost Fang’s unity.

But earlier today, Freya had confessed something to me.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever truly feel at home here,” she’d said.

And I admitted the same to her. “We may have grown up here, but Frost Fang doesn’t feel like home to me either anymore.”

And I knew Flint agreed. He’d always said wandering was in his bones, thanks to his ancestors being nomads. And as for Rowan… Freya had changed him, but nothing could change the fact that he preferred nature over civilization.

As a good pack alpha, though, Gage was making the best of the situation. He wanted to do right by Frost Fang, and by us. I just wasn’t sure how we would ever find a compromise that truly worked.

With an itchy feeling under my coat, I carefully picked my way down the rocky mountainside back to the pack. Wolves poured in from every side, but they let me through as word traveled through the pack bond that one of the five pack alphas wanted past.

As I approached, Freya’s soft words reached me along the Bonded link we five shared. “We’re all here now, Gage.”

“Flint?” Gage asked.

Flint projected his voice with his alpha power while also projecting it through the Frost Fang pack bond, so even more distant wolves would hear his words.

“We call December’s full moon the Long Nights Moon. It marks the time when night overtakes day as the more dominant force in nature. That it is also a super moon marks tonight as particularly portentous. Be alert, my packmates.”

“Thank you all for joining us on the pack run,” Gage said next. “We have packmates here from every town in the pack. When you return to your towns, please let those who could not travel know they were here with us, in spirit. Tonight, we run as one pack!”

Gage howled, and my voice rose right along with him, along with Freya’s, Rowan’s, and Flint’s. A split second later came the rest of the Frost Fang alphas, and then the rest of the pack. The crowd split as Gage and Freya ran forward, leading the way. I went next, with Flint and Rowan on my tail. The crowd made way for us, and the other alphas cut through the crowd to follow. As Gage curved us around, we watched Bretton join the procession. He led the betas with Fern bringing up the rear, and the rest of the pack followed the betas.

Together, we poured over the hills with the moonlight on our backs. All of my earlier doubts fled. This was what it meant to be a wolf shifter. Over time, we would reshape Frost Fang into the pack we’d always hoped it could be.

“How you doing, Rowan?” I asked privately after a few minutes.

“I’d rather run solo… or with Freya at my side,” he admitted. “But it’s good to see Frost Fang united.”

As the run continued, Flint and I broke rank to fall back among the betas, then even among the lower-ranking wolves. As the pack alpha, Gage needed to lead the run, and as the alpha pair, Gage and Freya needed to do it together. Rowan felt uncomfortable enough around so many shifters. That left Flint and me to show the rest of the pack that they were not forgotten.

Fern fell back with us among the lower-ranking wolves. “What are you doing?” she hissed in our minds.

“Showing our packmates we see them,” I broadcast so those nearby could hear me.

“Is this what you meant by portentous?” a subordinate wolf dared ask through the pack bond.

“We can shape fate just as it shapes us,” Flint answered. “But no. Our mate senses that something fateful approaches… and I agree. The Long Nights Moon marks a time of change, and as the last moon of the year, it can reveal the seeds of a new beginning.”

“Alphas…” another subordinate wolf dared speak up.

“Yes?” I prompted her.

“We all saw something strange last night…”

“I knew Gage should have addressed this before the run,” I grumbled privately to Flint before answering more broadly, “We saw it, too.”

I left it at that, because what was I supposed to say? “Yes, we’re all fated mates with Freya, and we think two others might be as well… Oh, and by the way, one of them is a mage.”

No.

Frost Fang had always been a pack of wolf shifters — only wolf shifters. Letting Astrid bring her coyotes and bears and everyone else onto packlands had been controversial enough.

Gage wanted to see if Freya’s vision was right before starting unnecessary panic about a mage.

“At first I thought it might be moonbeams from Grandmother Moon,” another subordinate male spoke up.

“But tonight is the full moon,” a small female protested. “Not last night.”

“And moon beams only fall for two fated mates, not… seven,” someone else added.

“It came from the stars, not the moon.”

As the other subordinate wolves argued amongst themselves, I secretly asked Flint, “You think one of Freya’s other starlit mates is on his way?”

“Possibly. Though both seemed so distant. The nearest one would have needed to leave straightaway to reach us only twenty-four hours later.”

I laughed across the bond between us. “If a starbeam fell on you out of the blue, and you saw a cluster of five others close by, you wouldn’t drop everything to go see what the hell was going on?”

“I suppose that depends on whether my pack alpha gave his blessing,” Flint pointed out.

“But if Freya’s vision already revealed their identities… She said one of them wasn’t a wolf shifter. And the other is an Odinswolf… who knows if he even has a pack.”

“Freya is half Odinswolf, and she has a pack. But yes, I hope you’re right. I hope they’re both unencumbered and can make their way to us.”

“Why?”

I’d already sworn to myself that if Freya needed more mates, I wouldn’t stand in their way. Whatever my mate needed, I would be sure she got. But I wanted Flint’s opinion.

“Because I have a feeling we’re going to need them. And they can help Freya learn more about herself.”

Flint’s words sent a shiver all the way to my tail. “What makes you think that we’ll need them?”

“Her vision made it sound like we were in trouble when they showed up.”

“Or that trouble was on the horizon,” I mused, remembering how she’d described the darkness closing in from all sides.

“Alphas, did you see what the starlight revealed?”

“Ah shit,” I murmured to Flint.

Lying through the pack bond was nearly impossible, and wolf shifters could scent lies.

“The closest beams landed on us,” Flint answered, keeping it simple. “We’re not sure about the more distant ones.”

“Let’s go catch up with Gage,” I suggested, not wanting to get into speculation with the rest of the pack.

“As soon as we know more, we’ll let the pack know,” Flint said with conviction.

I wasn’t convinced we wouldn’t try to keep some of it from the pack, though. We needed a plan. Though we’d finally rooted out the remaining dissidents, this would open up new fissures in the pack.

Flint and I put on a burst of speed to catch back up to the other alphas, but as we passed the betas, Fern loped alongside Flint. “Is it true? The starlight fell on you?”

“Yes, sister. It revealed what we already knew — we are Freya’s fated mates.”

“But then—”

“We don’t know more than that,” I snapped. “Until we do, there’s no use guessing.”

Flint growled at me, so I shut my trap and raced ahead to catch up with Gage. All this talk was making me feel antsy. It reminded me of my conversation with Freya, and made me feel like an outsider even among the pack we’d grown up in. And running alongside this many of them… Feeling like one of the odd men out made my wolf feel threatened.

“When we know more, I’ll let you know,” Flint promised his littermate.

“I’m sure you will.” Her sarcastic words echoed in our minds as we ran ahead.

Flint took a spot beside Freya, so I loped up alongside Gage as we reached an open clearing.

“The pack is curious about the starlight,” I announced across the Howling Echo pack bond.

“We knew they would be,” Gage said. “I’ll address it at the end of the pack run.”

His confidence relieved me. Gage always seemed in control, even when chaos struck. One of many reasons he’d gained Frost Fang’s respect in such a short time.

But as the moon moved through the sky and the run ended, fresh runners came alongside us who weren’t winded from running half the night.

“Pack alphas,” the female runner called.

I vaguely remembered her as being from one of the border towns. Her use of the title proved word had spread that they should collectively refer to the five of us as pack alphas, since alpha pair made little sense for more than two.

“There’s a lone man at the border seeking entry to packlands,” she said, broadcasting only to the alphas.

In a surreal moment, I imagined Dryden showing up here. Fear bloomed so strongly in me that I couldn’t believe it could be anyone else but him. I hadn’t heard a peep from him since he disappeared into mage territory. Why would he come here? Why now on the full moon?

“Heath?” Freya asked.

“Is it my father?” I asked the patrol.

“No, alpha,” she answered.

Her answer gave me instant relief. Most everyone in Frost Fang knew of my famous politician father and his dramatic exit from Frost Fang when I’d followed Gage into exile.

The other runner spoke up. “Alphas… He carries the scent of magic. He’s a witch.”

A mental growl accompanied the word, and the alphas behind us answered in kind, fortunately keeping their reaction silent across the bond.

“Let’s go end him,” Varden growled.

“He’s alone?” Gage asked.

“Yes.”

“Send scouts into the wildlands. Make sure his coven isn’t hiding in wait.”

“Yes, alpha,” the two messengers said.

“Varden, go with them,” Gage ordered.

He called out the names of two other alphas to accompany them. I noticed they were all alphas who hated witches. He was sending them away while we would handle things with this lone witch… or mage.

I suspected this stranger might have had a starbeam fall on him last night.

Freya’s excitement flooded the mate bond as we turned to follow the two patrol wolves. Gage called out three more names.

“Finish the pack run and let the pack know we’ll handle this. We have nothing to fear from one lone mage.”

The five of us spoke privately along our Howling Echo pack bond as we followed along behind the two subordinate wolves.

“It’s gotta be the mage from my vision, don’t you think? Here to teach me magic.”

“I hope you’re right, moonbeam,” Flint said, a thread of worry in his voice.

“Shouldn’t you start calling her starbeam, now?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Something inside of me tugged me forward, and my wolf wanted to gallop ahead to see where this sensation led. Instead, I kept pace with the rest of the Howling Echo, following along behind the two messengers.

“If a mage turns out to be Freya’s fifth mate… How will Frost Fang react?” Rowan voiced what we’d all been wondering.

And of course, I wondered how Rowan would react, too. He’d spent most of his life hating witches. Even Freya’s love hadn’t instantly changed his mind.

“I’ll admit it’s low on my list of concerns at the moment,” Gage growled, and I imagined him gritting his teeth.

How would Gage react — that was the real question.

Some distance from the border, Gage dismissed the two messengers who’d summoned us. We shifted back and got dressed so we could properly communicate with this non-shifter. When we reached the border and found two sentries growling in wolf form at the intruder, he wasn’t anything like I’d expected.

In my mind, witches were weaklings. Their magic made them strong, but they couldn’t physically overpower an alpha wolf shifter. Most witches I’d met were scrawny, not brawny.

But this guy… If it weren’t for the powerful scent of magic wafting off him, I might have thought he was an alpha wolf shifter. He carried a similar confident, unconcerned bearing, despite the two wolves still growling at him.

His shoulders were as broad as mine, though he was about four inches shorter, more of a height with Flint and Rowan. His deep black skin held a cool undertone in the moonlight. He’d cropped his hair so short it was barely visible, and his chin seemed freshly shaved. The lack of hair made all his ear piercings stand out more, probably a dozen in total, all studs and loops.

The mage’s long, heavy pea coat set him apart from shifters, though. Our kind didn’t need to ward off the cold so much.

And as soon as his gaze landed on Freya, his eyes lit up with recognition.

“Freya…” he whispered, and we all bristled in shock.

Gage and Rowan instantly placed themselves in front of her, both of them snarling. Freya didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes locked on the newcomer.

“Zack?” she asked.

A smile quirked at his full, thick lips, and he bowed. When he straightened, his gaze moved from Freya to Gage and Rowan. He smirked, then glanced over at me. Something in his dark gaze struck me right in the gut, and my wolf screamed, Danger!

He might not carry any visible weapons, but he was a threat. When his gaze slid to Flint, he tilted his head in a slight nod.

“My full name is Zakaib, from Vancouver.”

He pronounced it more like Vang -couver, which made me believe him.

“I’m formerly of the Ravenscroft Coven, though I have renounced my membership recently. The five of you are welcome to call me Zak, with a k.”

I mentally rewrote his name in my head, surprised he’d come all the way from Vancouver. It also made me wonder where his vehicle was and if anyone else from the Ravenscroft Coven might lurk somewhere nearby.

“Why did you renounce your coven?” I demanded.

A flicker of uncertainty passed behind Zak’s gaze, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

“I knew it was time.”

“And why are you here asking entry to my packlands, Zak?” Gage growled.

The mage’s self-confident smirk returned.

“ Your packlands? That sounds very… possessive.” His gaze danced between the five of us. “Are you not Bonded equals, then?”

I snarled and stepped forward, unwilling to let him dictate the conversation. “We five are the pack alphas of Frost Fang, and you will answer our questions, not the other way around.”

That only made Zak’s smile grow into a full grin. He raised his hand and wiggled his fingers at me. “Feisty and dominant. I like it.”

He intentionally dropped his eyes like a subordinate wolf shifter, and his false submission sent blood rushing to parts of me it shouldn’t. Even my wolf sat up and took notice, and suddenly, he didn’t seem wary at all. More like… intrigued.

“I’ll help you master your magic, my dear.” Zak’s gaze rose to meet Freya’s. Then he raised an eyebrow at Gage. “But only if your mates accept me as part of the pack.”

“A mage in a wolf pack is unheard of,” Gage growled.

He was putting on a show for this outsider and our Frost Fang packmates, but his dismay filled the mate bond we now all shared as Freya’s Bonded.

We all knew who Zak was. Freya’s vision revealed him, and her heat showed he was her mate. I’d promised to welcome her fifth mate, so I needed to get over this weird sense of danger he provoked.

“Show us your mark,” Freya ordered. “Show us you’re meant to be with us.”

“I most certainly am.” Zak shrugged out of his long pea coat.

He glanced my way as if evaluating me, then tossed the coat to me.

“Keep that out of the dirt, will you?”

His scent hit me full-force, and my mouth watered as my balls tightened and my dick took notice. It had been years since I’d had such a powerful reaction to another man, and it left me feeling off-balance. But that wasn’t the only thing to catch my attention.

The scent of magic clung to this man’s coat, yes. But there was also something else there… a trace scent that seemed all-too familiar. Like a wolf shifter’s scent, but very muted. I suddenly wanted to uncover all of Zak’s secrets.

He unbuttoned the top few buttons of his Henley, then pulled the long sleeve down to reveal his bulging upper shoulder. Sure enough, a half moon decorated his black skin, making the white half brighter by comparison.

“Freya’s fifth fated mate,” Flint intoned. “The mage.”

Gage glared over at me, and I realized I’d been leering at Zak, my dick at half-mast thanks to his coat in my arms and his scent in my nostrils. My scent of arousal must have made its way to Gage, and I instantly let him feel my chagrin and confusion through the bond.

I’d already pissed off Gage by talking about variety, and here I was getting hard at the first scent of someone new. Someone who wasn’t part of the Howling Echo pack. I knew nothing about Zak, and I hated that my body had responded so obviously without knowing more about him first. It probably seemed to Gage that I was reverting to my old player ways, but I meant what I said before — Freya had me locked down.

“You called to me,” Zak said as he bowed toward Freya. “And now I’ve answered.”

Freya seemed at a loss for words, but all of us could smell the scent of her arousal faintly blooming as her attraction became evident. I only wished I could hide my own. I couldn’t let this betrayal stand.

“Gage—”

“Don’t,” he cut me off across our private mental connection. “Let’s handle one thing at a time.”

He was right. After all, we couldn’t be sure Zak wouldn’t betray Freya’s trust, even if he was clearly meant to be her fifth mate. He was a mage, and aside from Freya and Brielle, who were both hybrids, I’d never met a mage I fully trusted. Sure, we’d done jobs with and for mages before, but we’d always treated them with the wary respect they deserved.

And yet, my wolf had the sudden urge to go sniff Zak. Gage had clearly taken an instant dislike to the mage, while I seemed to like him too much for having just met him. I wasn’t sure if I could handle being around Zak. Things between me, Freya, and Gage had been confusing enough, and this new dynamic would only shake them up even more. I’d hoped to sort ourselves out before any more of Freya’s mates arrived, but clearly I’d missed my chance.

Zak nonchalantly buttoned up his Henley again as though totally oblivious to the chaos he’d caused.

“Rowan,” I called across our bond. “Tell me if you smell anything strange.”

Then I tossed him Zak’s coat.

Of all of us, Rowan was most in touch with his wolf side, so I hoped he’d be able to sniff out the mystery in Zak’s scent. His nostrils flared, and his surprise hit us in the bond.

“I think… he smells like a hybrid. Like Freya. His wolf is very weak, for some reason.”

Gage sniffed as well, and his hard features softened when Zak’s scent reached him. I slapped down my jealousy before it reached the bond. Just because Gage liked the guy’s smell didn’t mean he would like Zak… did it? What if I’d awakened Gage’s bisexuality, only for him to fall for Zak instead of me?

I glared at the mage, whose expression revealed nothing.

“Mind passing me back my coat? It’s chilly.” Zak’s gaze raked over Rowan. “Unless you’d like to warm me up, hot stuff.”

He gaped at Zak like he’d said the one thing that could shock him. He tossed the coat to the mage like it had started to catch fire in his arms. Yet Rowan’s surprise and… curiosity?… filtered through the bond. Zak’s dark gaze heated as he glanced Rowan up and down.

“My, my, my,” Zak said in a low voice that sent shivers down my spine. He smiled at Freya as though they shared a secret. “Won’t this be fun?”

Gage glared and crossed his arms, but his mental words were for me. “Ask him.”

Out loud, Gage dismissed the two Frost Fang sentries, telling them we would handle this.

I waited until they were out of earshot. As second in command, I carried out my pack alpha’s wishes. “Zak… Are you a full-blooded mage?”

Zak’s expression changed so fast, I couldn’t register all the emotions that flickered there.

Then he smirked and met my gaze. “You know, I normally wait until the second date to bring up my parentage. If you want my life story, you’ll have to at least invite me in out of the cold.”

Spoken like a mage with thin blood. And yet, my animal side latched onto that faint wolf shifter scent I’d caught on his coat. My wolf paced around inside of me as though he wanted to run with a new friend. It was the full moon, after all.

He’s not one of us, I grumbled to my animal side.

He’s pack, came my wolf’s answer.

A new feeling tickled through the bond like a soft breeze on a calm day. With it came an unfamiliar sense of amusement, curiosity, and anticipation.

My jaw fell open as I realized what should have been obvious from the start.

“You’re already her Bonded?”

Zak winked, and a glowing rune mark on his cheek bone wavered and flickered into being — the same ansuz rune that marked all four of our faces. The rune matched the five now decorating Freya’s collarbones.

From Freya came an odd sense of relief… along with a heady concoction of excitement and uncertainty.

“I’ve been keeping it hidden for the past week, so my old coven didn’t ask questions I couldn’t answer.”

Freya pushed past Gage and Rowan to grab Zak’s hand. “Welcome, my fifth mate. Or should I say, my Bonded?”

Zak smiled at her, but his words echoed in all our minds across the Bonded link. “My guiding star, my sweet hybrid, my darling new pupil, I’ll answer to anything you wish to call me.”

— — —

To be continued…