Chapter 6

Six

“My pack is just over this horizon.” Lazuri warns me.

We’ve been quick and fast all the way here, straight out of the fae lands where we said goodbye to Maize. We each thanked her for the help, especially Laz, and she claimed their debts were even. I didn’t quite believe her as the way she looked at Laz hadn’t been convincing. I’d probably feel constantly indebted to him too, if he saved my child. If someone saved Kris. I would have done anything for that, but no one saved her.

Not even me.

I was powerless until it was too late. I never want to feel that way again.

My mates keep me firmly planted between them as we tread through the thick forest, daring even the shadows to attack me. I love being with him and the safety they help me feel. But I don’t want to always rely on them. When it matters most, I need to be able to rely on myself.

“I want to train,” I tell them. “I want to know how to fight with my wolf and my fae side.”

Laz drops his eyes to me. “I cannot help with fae magic, but the wolf inside you? I can train her easily.”

Elias touches the small of my back. “And I can help in your normal form. I know you’re well trained with a bow and arrow, but perhaps a dagger or light sword would be more effective in close combat.” He looks over me to Laz. “We will take turns training our mate in Laz’ pack.”

The way he says ourmate, with no disdain or anger in his voice, warms me inside. It just feels so…right.

They fall into discussion about training regimes. Mera joins in then as we climb the last part of the forest hill. At the top, Lazuri’s pack stretches over the landscape. It’s as huge as Elias’ but somehow different from what I expected it to be. It’s...taller. The pack seems to be built on endless rows of towers interconnected with bridges, and everything is made of shining white stone. The towers stretch so high they almost kiss the sky, the very tips of them dancing with the clouds. Thick, snow-covered trees line the ground in the centre, forming the shape of an eye, making it impossible to see if anyone even lives down there.

The borders of the pack itself are protected by giant stone walls and many defensive towers; each one built around a crystal chime far bigger than any I have ever seen. The sweet chiming fills my ears as I stare at the pack, sensing Laz waiting for my reaction. I used to find those chimes soothing. Now it will only ever be the sound of nightmares. Even as I try to do what Mera said, and remember Kris for the beautiful person she was, those chimes will forever haunt me.

“Well? What d’ya think?” Laz presses me.

“It’s like a giant treehouse,” is my first reply. “It’s incredible.”

Lazuri laughs, the sound deep and sexy. “That’s not what I was expecting, but then again, you never were either.” He winks at me, and I grin back. His eyes trace over the borders, pausing on the left where there are marks in the snow and on the wall. From here, it looks like blood. “We’ve been attacked on the left side by looks of it,” Laz growls. “It’s safe now. I’ve been talking with my pack beta, and it’s been handled.” He waves a hand towards his pack. “Would you like to come explore my treehouse?”

He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, and I laugh. “You always manage to make things sound so dirty.”

“I know,” he says with another cheeky wink. “Gift from the gods. It’s hard being me, you know.”

Mera watches our exchange with a hint of amusement on her face. “In the short time I’ve known you, Alpha Lazuri, you’ve made about fifty innuendos.”

He shrugs at her. “They just keep comin’.”

Mera laughs, and that’s a sound I love to hear. I never thought I’d get to hear it again.

I laugh with her, stepping forward, only for Laz to wrap his thick arm around my waist before I get too far. I shake my head at him before he leads me down the stoned road towards the gates. Mera and Elias follow suit. I glance over my shoulder, once more searching the sky for Rune. In a weird way, I find myself wishing he was here with us. I want him to be a part of this, but somehow, I doubt that will ever happen. I don’t think Rune is capable of letting go of his hatred for wolf kind.

Lazuri keeps his arm around me as he steers us past deserted food carts. The horses tied up beside them look up, their tails flicking snowdrops around them. It’s clear everything has been abandoned in a hurry, no doubt when the alarm was made. I feel bad for the horses. Hopefully now things are back under control again, their owners will return to take them to shelter. I make a mental note to check on them later.

“I will open the pack doors to let them collect their supplies,” Laz says, as if he sensed my train of thought. “When we sound an alarm, they have a short amount of time to get inside before the doors magically lock and ward themselves.”

“Barbaric,” Mera murmurs in disgust, stepping next to Laz’s other side. “What if people are left outside? What about their livestock?”

Although Mera used to be a hunter, her regard for animals has always been high. She respected their purpose in the world. But she did grow a soft spot for them when she became a healer.

“My great-grandfather used the last days of his life to ward the city gates with powerful magic spells,” Laz gently explains, his tone and expression telling me he’s not offended by Mera’s comment. “Since then, the alarms and wards have merged into one and there is no undoing them. My pack is trained to scale the walls quickly with ropes should anyone be left outside. I would not leave a single member of my pack out here and that’s why I’ve spent years building an army of the best trained wolves you will ever see.”

“One of the best,” Elias counters, though he nods his approval. “Your army may prove very useful if this fae prince, Rune, comes for our mate after all.”

Rune. His name makes my skin feel like it’s aflame, and I struggle to hide my reaction to him. He isn’t far, my wolf tells me as much, but he would be foolish to try to take me from them. I wouldn’t go, and I’m not sure where that leaves us. Both my guys hate Rune but therein lies my problem. Deep down, I don’t hate him. I just want him to be a part of this.

There’s blood on the road leading up to the gate, and one sniff tells me it’s fae. There are also scorch marks where they must have tried to attack, leaving only ash and strange pieces of armour behind. I don’t recognise them from Rune’s court which surely leaves only one explanation.

“It wasn’t Rune who attacked,” I say. “It was the fae king.”

They already know everything Rune told me about his father, what I learnt in his court, and how he won’t give up. The king wants the wolves gone, and this attack is just the start. He’ll already be planning his next move with Darcia.

Elias stops in front of one of the carts, where a female soldier slumps lifelessly against, her wide eyes staring up at the sky. The clean-up must have missed the fae or she died coming back, perhaps. Elias leans down to close her eyes. I think I love him more for that mark of respect, even for an enemy.

“It’s about time the fae king is stopped. I do not want to go to war after just finding my mate, but war is on our doorsteps,” Elias says. “This attack was a test on your defence, Lazuri, along with mine. We should send word to all the packs that attacks are likely now.” He straightens, turning away from the dead warrior, and faces the alpha. “Once the king has worked out which of our packs are the strongest and weakest, he will have all the knowledge he needs to initiate his plan of war.”

My heart pounds. “How do we stop him?”

I’m painfully clueless about war, and I don’t feel like the Wolves Army is going to be enough to stop the fae. Maybe they know that too. Being united is the best chance that we’ll have going forward. But wolves rarely play well together, especially not the alphas.

Lazuri stares at the dead woman a second longer, like he can imagine it’s me there. I’m half fae. These are my people too. His eyes cut back to Elias. “We will send word, join our armies, and make sure we are ready. I feel war brewing too. We will make plans.” He looks over at me. “Come, my mate. Let me show you your new pack.” Then to Elias, he says, “This invite extends to you too. I do not feel like I’m threatened by you as an alpha, nor do I need to make you submit. We both know where we stand.”

“With our mate,” Elias says. “The mate bond will be quelling our instincts.”

Lazuri huffs. “I did wonder why I no longer wanted to bite your head off.”

I look between them, these two powerful alphas, and straighten my shoulders before walking through the gates alongside them. Mera follows slightly behind. Two alpha wolves bonded to one female in peace. As far as I know, this has never happened before. I still don’t know if it’s possible to keep that peace. What happens when I have a child? It will be one of theirs, not both, and wouldn’t that cause a massive argument?

I try to push down my insecurities, drowning them in the tide of my mind, so I can focus on the here and now. Lazuri pack. From what I saw above, it looked like a blanket of thick snowy trees, but it’s not. The branches, leaves and rope are all entwined above like a canopy, stretched over a marketplace straight down the middle of the city. It’s busy, already bustling with people, but the minute they see us they spread to the side and lower their heads. Everybody we pass bows, clearly happy to see their alpha. Wolves all but roll on their backs. Most of them are a deep midnight black like Laz’s wolf, but some are a soft brown, almost auburn when the light hits them.

As we walk further into the pack, people begin shouting out to their alpha with joy. Children run around excitedly as they welcome him home. He waves at each of them, smiles at some of the bowing wolves, and speaks softly to others that come up. Just like Elias does. My heart swells so much I wonder if it might explore. This massive, viking-looking alpha, who looks like he could eat you up for dinner, is actually very warm when it comes to his pack, and I find it beyond attractive.

Two children come up to him and he grabs them both, throwing them on his shoulders. He spins around, making them giggle, before putting them down to return to my side again. Now I’m worried it’s my ovaries that are going to explode.

All of his pack they dress just like him too, rough but casual clothing. It all makes sense now given the climate. The stalls lining the marketplace are filled with thick portions of meat, rich herbs and various ingredients in abundance. They’re not starving here either. They look so healthy, and it never gets old to see kids with full stomachs and boundless energy running about like children should be doing. I try not to think about the kids from my old pack who died of starvation, or during the attack. They’re gone now. At least they’re not suffering anymore.

There is so much to look at as we go past the towers. I noticed on the edge of the towers even more crystal chimes hanging from them, slowing ever so softly in the wind. These ones sound slightly different to the ones in Elias’ pack and even my old one. Their chimes are softer, almost like a melody.

Lazuri guides us straight through to the city. It’s a good half hour walk before we reach a tower sitting on the edge, nestled in thick cherry blossoms. The petals are covered in a thin coating of snow, the pink colour of them just barely peeking through. The same snow covers the ground and pathway leading up to the entrance. A few loose petals cling to the glass doors where several wolves stand guard. Each of them step aside and bow their heads very low. One of them shifts back into a man and I swiftly look away from his naked body. He must be freezing his butt off.

“Alpha, we welcome your return and the arrival of your guests. Beta Daphne is waiting for you in your suite.”

“Thank you. Now shift back before my mate sees your cock,” he gently snarls, and the man shifts immediately, making both Mera and I chuckle. We enter into what Laz announces to be the lobby, yet it feels more like a greenhouse with all the plants and flowers. The space has been designed to curve around a path leading towards the back of the room. The floral scent from a red flower nearby tickles my senses as I glance at Lazuri.

“Do you like gardening?” I ask, trying hard to hide my surprise.

He nods. “My mother was an avid gardener. Strictly indoor plants and she taught me. Most of the plants here were planted by her before she died in childbirth.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, squeezing his hand which has never left my waist.

He nods once and his eyes trace over the plants like he can see her here, tending to them. “She would have loved you.”

For some reason, it warms me to hear that. I’d like to think she would have.

“How did you make these towers?” Elias asks to change the subject once we are halfway through the room.

“They were here before the pack lands were built,” Laz replies. “These huge spiralling towers were made of stone that withstood all elements. Accepted them. Some of them were ruined, taken over by nature and too derelict to live in, so my ancestors knocked down those and used the stone to build the borders. I think they once had people occupying them, according to my ancestors’ diaries. He believed they once housed another, extinct race.” He clears his throat, and I almost think I catch his eyes watering. He clearly has great pride when it comes to his pack, his family. “We overtook the towers, rebuilt them stronger, and added the chimes outside for protection. We weaved the trees together to make our pack unseeable from the outside world as well as offering great protection against her elements.”

Elias is still looking around and he is definitely impressed. So am I. “I may have to steal your canopy invention for my pack when our heavy snow comes.”

The staircases are right at the back of the room, the door to them covered in a strange, orange-leafed plant that has twisted around the frame. We head up what must be twelve flights of decorated stairs before we come out to a room at the top.

Laz leans into me. “This building entirely is mine, and that means it also belongs to you. Like every part of me, including the best bits,” he adds with a wink. My cheeks burn with the intense look he gives me. “Every floor in this building has various rooms, including a swimming pool on the basement level. I will take you there at some point. You like water, don’t you?”

I nod, touched that he remembered such a small detail about me.

We step into a bright, warm room that smells like books. Lazuri’s scent swims among them as if he’s perused every page of them. I could spend all day here, curled up on one of those lovely blue armchairs pressed against the window. As we enter the room, a woman waits for us, dressed in thick, brown leather armour. She bows her head low before rising from her table. She is clearly a woman, a very, very muscular one, with short cropped red hair and a stern face covered in scars. Her crystal blue eyes meet mine and she inclines her head. “Alpha. When we got word, you were not returning, I was worried. The pack has been well other than the one attack by the fae and I proceed to follow your instruction on how to deal with the attack.”

Lazuri leads me towards one of many cream sofas, and I sit on it, looking around the room. A long glass window lines the main wall, showing off the pack lands for miles below and the high snowy mountains in the far distance. The sun pours through the window onto the green rugs, hardwood floors and rows of bookcases on each wall, with many doors hidden between them. There is a corridor to the left, with more doors, and the sharpness of Lazuri’s scent in here tells me this is his personal space.

“Tell me about this attack, but first…” He sits on the armchair next to me. Elias is looking out of the window at the pack while Mera hovers near the door, looking through a small bookcase. “This is Verena Redrook. She is the omega I was going to see who has turned out to be my mate.” He looks at me, his eyes turning soft. “Verena, this is my beta, a childhood friend of mine. The only beta I have after...” His eyes tighten as he remembers the beta who tried to kill me. The one I killed in defence. I know he isn’t mourning him, but he is angry that he was betrayed and that my life was threatened. “This is Beta Daphne.”

Daphne smiles, and it pulls on the scars on her cheeks. There are so many of them. Who did that to her? “The other omega arrived for you,” she says, “and has made residence in the room below. She has caused quite the stir, Alpha, even in her older age, among the other wolves.”

“The other Omega’s here?” I ask, excitement lacing my words.

Laz strokes my back. “I made sure to send word to get her here as soon as possible. With everything that happened at Elias’ pack, it was safer for her to be detoured here.”

“Thank you.” I whisper. Maybe she will finally have answers about being an omega. About what it truly means to be one and the many things I’ve been feeling.

Lazuri nods at Daphne who begins to go over the attack. “It was fae who attacked us, at least a hundred of them. It was a bloody fight in the middle of the day. We lost five of our wolves, but five to a hundred, I believe, is an acceptable loss. They battled well, even when we were taken off guard. None of our wards made a sound, and it was like they didn’t exist. I have set up round the clock watches on every wall and our fastest wolves are monitoring the forests.” I can tell even with all these changes, she isn’t happy. Laz doesn’t look happy either. How did the wards not let them know? “We have two fae as prisoners, but they will not speak. I know you do not like torturing them for information, so I have made sure they are well and alive until you came back to make the choice. Would you like to see them?”

“Yes.” Lazuri stands up and walks over to the glass windows, looking out around the pack at Elias’ side. It’s a snowy wonderland, with the trees here somehow melting away the snow above, leaving them covered in ice that is sheer.

Elias has his arms crossed, looking at Laz and Daphne as they speak about more of the pack dynamics. What funerals were held seems to be important to him, and she lists all the wolves that lost their lives. Laz claims he is going to personally visit each family tomorrow. Elias waits before he chimes in.

“I would like to see the fae,” he says. “If I am not intruding.”

“I would value your opinion,” Laz answers, waving him over. They both come over to me before going to the door. “Do you want to come?”

I blink at Lazuri’ question. “No, I... I think I’ve seen enough fae prisoners for now.”

Rune. His name dances silently over my lips.

They both seem to understand. Before they leave, Mera hesitates in the doorway, blocking their way. She looks up at them but slightly tilts her gaze as a mark of respect to their rank as alpha.

“I know much about the fae,” she says, “and what clans they are from and with whom they serve. I would like to offer my help.”

Both alphas nod and they leave together. Even with the guards left outside the room for me, I find it odd being alone again. I glance around the huge room. It’s like the walls are screaming at me. Maybe I should explore a little. I push up from the sofa and walk around the apartment, noting the five bedrooms, three bathrooms, the library and then three lounges and two game rooms adjacent to them, before I find the kitchen at the very back. The kitchen is nearly the size of the rest of the apartment. Definitely bigger than the whole of Mera’s house.

I open a few cupboards, finding shredded meats, cheeses and various other foods in jars and in ice boxes. My stomach grumbles. When did I last eat again? I prepare myself a tray of assorted food, and after eating, I wander back through the apartment. Laz has a whole room full of plants up here too and I can”t wait for us to have time for him to show me what each one is. I’ve always loved plants but never had a chance to have any myself. Kris had a few of her own, but they were mostly herbs that she’d managed to take from alpha’s supply.

A horrible feeling threatens to overcome me. Instead of picturing the herbs covered in blood, I recall how happy Kris had looked as she tended to them. It doesn’t take away the pain, but maybe Mera is right. Maybe it will help to remember Kris this way.

I stumble across Lazuri’s bedroom last. I know it’s his room just by his scent. However, the second I step inside, a strange burning sensation spreads through my chest, and instincts I don’t yet understand take over me. They propel me forward and I start pulling all the sheets, wrapping them in knots, unaware how I even know how to do it. I keep going until I’ve made almost a sphere around the edges of the mattress, and then I stand back, assessing my work.

“I need more sheets.”

“Ah, you’re nesting. I should come back.”

I jump out of my skin, turning with a growl echoing in the back of my throat. I cover my mouth. What the fuck did I just do? I can growl now.

I face the door, immediately recognising the old lady standing there as another Omega. Something deep in my chest just tells me she is, and it’s oddly comforting. The tips of my ears turn red. I can’t believe I growled at such a harmless looking old lady.

“No—don’t,” I quickly get out. “What’s nesting?”

She turns back to me before she leaves, waving a hand outside to the corridor. I follow her out, feeling less tense when she isn’t in the room for some reason my wolf seems to know but I don’t. Even in her extremely older years, the woman is exquisitely beautiful. There isn’t an inch of her skin that isn’t wrinkled and she’s so tiny, only coming up to my breasts, but her features are sharp and her eyes the brightest shade I’ve ever seen. Her long grey hair falls down to the floor in ropes of braids. As she sits on a stool outside the bedroom, under a painting of a sea, I notice a bite mark on her neck and three claw marks on her hand. She flicks her eyes to me.

“First, are you okay for me to sit out here so close to your nest? I am no threat, but your wolf might not agree.”

Something about the idea of her sitting in my... nest sends something primal, almost instinctual, through me. But outside here, it’s okay. At least I think so. This is all so new to me. What the heck is nesting?

I lean on the wall next to her. “My wolf is okay, I think.”

She smiles at me. “You’re not far from going into heat. Your instincts will be a lot stronger than they normally are. I’m sorry you’ve been alone in your upbringing. Omegas should never be clueless and alone.” She tucks her hands into her thick, dark blue dress. “You asked what a nest is? It’s a breeding den, made by you and your wolf, in preparation for what is to come. Your wolf knows it is time soon.”

My ears feel like they’re on fire. “Time for what?” I nervously ask.

“To breed.” The word sounds simple, but I have a feeling it is not. “When Omegas go into heat, they make nests like the one you made on your bed for her and her mates. You will grow slick by the day and your needs will only grow stronger until your heat finally hits.”

“Oh.” I really can’t say anything else as I look down, suddenly very interested in the wooden floorboards. Is that why my feelings have been so intense lately?

“Do not be embarrassed. It is an omega right of way once your mates have all been close to you. Breeding is what we are born for.” She sighs as my cheeks are still the brightest of red and I’m speechless. “When an omega goes into heat, she will not stop until she is pregnant. I suspect you’ll be carrying your first child soon.”

My first… child? Right when we’re about to go to war. I can’t think of a worse time. “I’m not sure?—”

“I hate to tell you, your wolf has a different opinion to you, and hers will always trump yours.” She smiles knowingly. “Breeding is a massive part of being an Omega. You are designed to make the most powerful children, and heat is the only way for that to happen. Many omegas have been bred by selfish alphas for years, and their children are rarely powerful or special because that is not how it works. They fuck first and don’t bother asking questions until much later.”

I chuckle, recalling my own experience with selfish alphas. “Sounds about right.”

We share a look of understanding, but then she frowns. “Do you understand why there are so little of us? When a female omega goes into heat, she must join with her mates, or we die.”

Dread sinks into my chest. “What?”

“When you’re going to heat, dear child, you will need your mate’s seed. Both of them, as I’ve heard you have two mates. You’ll crave them and need them before it kills you. There are reasons why our kind do not survive very well on our own. It’s not that we don’t exist. It’s because we don’t usually find our mates in time. I did, and that’s how I survived, but sadly, my daughters were killed.”

Still reeling from her words, I can only mutter softly, “I’m sorry.”

“The gods needed them for a higher purpose,” she says, surprising me. “I was glad to hear about you. In all my long years, I heard many tales of Omegas, but I’ve never managed to reach them in time. Heat…it is dangerous for omegas, especially in this world, where mates barely exist anymore. But mate bonds do and have existed for a long time. People just don’t know how to sense them anymore. We’ve become so isolated from each other that we never have a chance of finding our mates. Omegas can sense their mates, of course, and alphas can too. I have every belief that you will go through this heat successfully.” She smiles brightly. “Another omega, alive in the world with a child on the way, who will live a long life? The gods have been kind this time.”

If only she knew about Rune. Would she be so accepting of the bond I feel for him too? I have a horrible feeling Elias and Lazuri are never going to let him near me let alone join in.

“I have one more thing to tell you before I retire for the day,” the older omega says. “When in heat, any child will be a mixture of all seeds. The baby you conceive will be blood related to all your mates. This happens to make sure no wolf feels threatened by the young. It happened to my children.”

Oh, star gods. What the fuck? Being omega and in heat might be a death sentence for me…