Chapter 46

Chapter Forty-Six

Callum

T he beta Canis pack members are accepted into Gray's pack, and we set out on a journey, passing through lands and villages, gathering the scattered Ludstone pack members as we go—an opportunity to put events behind us and renew our bond.

I feel like I am caught up in a great wheel that carries me away to a place unknown—not the kind of place reached by the passage of hooves—or paws—but the kind of place that is found within.

The fastest shifters are sent ahead of us, taking the word far and wide.

With every village and family we meet, more lost pack members rejoin us.

With each iteration, I become more accepting of who I am.

They ask me questions.

Seek my guidance and want me to talk.

Me, who knows fuck all about anything save blacksmithing.

They do not seem to care. They are curious about Bleakness, where I lived, the Blighten, and my Ma and Pa. You would think my life was an adventure, the way they hang on to every word. The children particularly enjoy hearing about the sea adventure and me challenging Gray for Ada on the deck of a ship while surrounded by bloodthirsty pirates.

I have tried explaining that they were simple sailors and not pirates. They have selective hearing, and no matter how I protest, it will forever be remembered as a pirate horde.

And they want to see me shift.

I have not spent a great deal of time around children, but shifter pups are adorable, and I don't even care if they savage me with their small teeth and demand I take them for a ride.

I think about having pups with Ada—I think about it a lot.

My mind drifts to the night I rescued Ada, how I stood beside my pa and Tim outside the back of the tavern, listening attentively as Jacob told me what to do, how I should not be a hero, but to follow their lead, and when it was right, to plow my hammer into any bastard's head as got in my way.

I don't know when this change happened, when I stopped being a follower.

Nor when I became a man.

I only know that I am.

One day, I might have a purpose that brings peace among the shifter packs.

In that regard, I am a work-in-progress, striving to learn and do better every day.

Gray

Sometimes, I look at him and can still see the young lad I used to glare at across a tavern, but it is becoming overwritten by the royal shifter who, with time, might carry the hope of peace between the packs on his broad shoulders.

In him, I see the potential for all he will yet become. I don't know how this will play out. He is the rightful ruler of all, whether he claims his dues or not. He refers to me as the Ludstone pack leader... and seems embarrassed by the attention he garners, rather than seeking to carve out any claims.

Ada stands at my side, her head nestled under the crook of my arm. Drake, Lizbeth, and Arlo come and join us.

Drake nods toward Callum, who has gathered a crowd of pack children. "The whelp is a natural crowd-pleaser. Aren't you glad I coached you to listen to your wolf?"

I snort a laugh. "You did no such thing. You made many disparaging comments about how he had me beaten by a mile."

Ada giggles and turns to me in askance. "When was this?"

"In the tavern," I admit. "In case it was not obvious, my wolf was obsessed with you from the first meeting."

"Only your wolf?" she teases.

I tickle her ribs. "You know man and beast are both besotted with you. Every time I watched you sneak out the back with Callum, I swear I had murder on my mind."

"He was too pigheaded to admit it," Drake says, grinning. "I told him straight Callum was rutting you every chance he got, hoping it would rouse him to admit he wanted you and not Lizbeth." He glances down at Lizbeth and then across at Arlo. "Well, I dare say I had my own selfish reasons."

Ada suddenly blushes, drawing my eyes.

"What?" She looks up at me with fake innocence.

I pinch her ass. "What is that blush about, wench?"

"Well, I was likewise taken with you and very confused about it when Callum was…" she clears her throat, and her blush deepens, "pleasuring me so well. He did not, ah, rut me though. Not until the night of the fight. Matters got a little out of hand when I snuck down to see him." She lifts her little nose in the air. "Betsy told me other lasses sometimes approached the fighters, and I wasn't having that."

Gods, I love her possessiveness. I cannot fucking wait for her to go into heat so she can mark me—marks I will wear with pride.

My thoughts suddenly skip back. "He rutted you for the first time in some dark corridor behind the underground fight pit?!"

"It was a room… Fine, there was no door… and it was wildly exciting. He said he was going to breed me… It was the first time he knotted me… I didn't realize what it was at the time… We just sort of stuck together… and then he pulled it out!"

Drake chuckles, as does Arlo; even Lizbeth is smirking.

"Gods!" I mutter thickly. She will take well to the claiming ceremony even if she is a little nervous about what it entails… Also, I am now intimately acquainted with Callum and his breeding talk, but it still brings a surge of lust.

"We'll take our leave then," Drake says, scooping Lizbeth into his arms. "All this talk of breeding. Happen I have a mind to do some practicing of my own."

He strides off with Arlo at his side.

Ada

Some travel to collect mates and children from villages where they were kept safe. The rest travel with us. The shifters favor wolf form, keeping a close watch for trouble. But there are also horses for the surprising number of humans who call Ludstone home, along with wagons laden with supplies pillaged from the fallen Canis pack, which further makes for a slow precession.

We have lost some pack members but also gained new ones.

As we crest a slight rise, a valley spreads out before me, giving me a perfect view of the Ludstone lands. To the left of the river, the land rises sharply and is steep and rocky. To the right, the slope is gentler and lightly forested, leading to layers of dense forest that finally give way to high, snow-capped mountains.

My gaze sweeps back to the valley. I always imagined shifters living in caves underground, but far below, I see the distinct roofs of cottages. At least some of the pack is above ground, I presume.

Gray pauses beside me in wolf form, lifts his head, and howls.

Goosebumps spring across the surface of my skin as the other wolves take up the call. As long as I live, I shall always find it a hauntingly beautiful sound.

Their howls quieten down, and Gray looks up at me as though seeking approval, his head tilted and his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth in a comical way.

"It is beautiful," I say, grinning. My heart feels like it might burst with joy that this shall be my home.

We wind our way down through the forest until it opens into the valley. Here, I discover that although the Ludstone pack does have an extensive cave network, they also have wooden cottages clustered together in little pockets between the trees, which resemble a village with staked-out farming plots. Chickens are milling around in the path, but they scarper hearing our approach, clucking and flapping into coops and barns out of the way.

Callum remains in wolf form, padding at the side of my horse, but Gray shifts to human and, gloriously naked, walks beside me.

"I didn't expect to see chickens!" I say.

Gray chuckles. "We are a civilized pack," he says. "Not every pack member is a shifter, and sometimes those with human mates prefer the village, which benefits all when hunting is lean. Most packs form alliances with villages. We do, too, but we also have a village of our own."

Then and there, I fall in love with my new home.

A few of the former pack members are waiting at the entrance to the den and have already begun clearing up the mess left by Canis.

They greet us with cheers, and there is more howling as wolves and humans rush every which way.

With the aid of the supplies we brought from Canis, along with various caravans from new allies, we are a thriving community again within a matter of weeks.

I grew up with nothing. The future before me is so different from what I might have envisaged. I have two mates. Soon, I will go into heat and, Goddess willing, I will be with child.

I think about the children's book I hid under my bed, which Callum returned to me and is now lost again. The book makes me think of Betsy: her mischief, boldness, and resilience. Although she was part of my life for so short a time, she taught me much.

I lost a book I loved, but I will miss my dear friend more.

We can never have everything. That is not the way life works. I see now how little possessions matter.

I have gained two beautiful mates, a home, and a community—time to embrace my new life and make the very best of the blessings I have.