Chapter 14 - Flint

Chapter 14

Flint

Heath was the first to shift, and I followed, lugging along my bulging sling bag. I pulled my colorful moccasins out to cover my soft human feet before joining my packmates in the clearing. I also sent a quick message to Gage that read simply, "Together again."

In truth, it was a short delay to give Heath a chance to bask in Freya's attention.

My wolf spirit often perceived unseen things that many other wolf shifters missed. Not only was he adept at detecting lies, but he was also tuned into the subtle nuances of other emotions as well. And, as always, Heath doubted. When he spoke of Freya, I sensed his hesitation, his worry.

He would never admit it, of course. But even after all this time, even after he'd apologized and helped bring Freya into the pack, even after she'd chosen to have him during her heat, and even Heath and I had proven that nothing would keep us apart after Gage bit her… Heath still doubted.

So, I hung back a moment, letting him see the sheer elation on her face when she caught sight of him coming through the trees. Still naked, Heath nearly tripped over a stone as he rushed forward to greet his mate.

But Rowan let out a growl and stepped between them. He was dressed only in jeans, without shirt or shoes, as though he'd just come back from a run and had only gotten dressed when he felt our approach through the pack bond. My eyebrows furrowed as I took him in. He didn't seem like he was still feral…

Then I realized what must be happening. Freya was going into heat, and Rowan's wolf was getting overprotective and jealous. Heath pulled up short, seeming to come to a similar conclusion.

It was Freya who broke the ice. "Don't you all just look so dangerous… and so tempting."

Her eyes slid down Heath's naked form, then did the same to mine.

Heath grinned. "Tempting is the exact word I would use for you, my little warrior wolf."

He took another step toward her, but Rowan growled again and cut him off.

"Stand aside and let me greet my mate properly." Alpha power radiated from Heath's words, though he hadn't exactly used his alpha bark on Rowan.

"Mine," tore from Rowan's mouth as fur rippled along his arms and chest.

He was barely in control of himself. The fur disappeared back into his skin, but the slightest misstep would bring out his feral wolf.

"Heath…" I warned.

If this went the wrong way, we'd send Rowan back into his feral state, regardless of which form he was in.

Heath didn't back down. He stared Rowan in the eyes, trying to force his packmate to recognize his greater dominance.

Then Heath nodded with grim acceptance. He pulled his sling bag over his head to let it drop to the rocky ground beside him.

"If that's how this is going to be…"

I sighed in frustration. Freya didn't need her mates to fight over her. She wanted us all.

Heath's hand came up to Rowan's chest, and he roughly shoved him away. Before Rowan could recover his footing, a silver-white wolf growled before him, his fur standing on end.

"No," I lunged forward to try to get between them, but it was too late.

Rowan leaped at Heath, shifting mid-air. The two wolves collided in a snarling, growling mass of animal fury. I rushed to Freya's side, pulling her back from their duel.

"Don't!" she shouted at them, but it didn't matter. Their wolves were locked in a primal battle now.

From the pack bond, Gage let me sense his concern, and I sent him back all the dubious reassurances I could muster. But for Freya, I put on a brave face, trying to show her this kind of thing was fairly normal among a pack of all alphas. Sometimes our wolf spirits had to work out problems their own way.

"Don't worry, moonbeam. They just need to get it out of their systems. Everyone's been so worried about you."

My admiration for my mate grew when she was able to tear her gaze from the fight. She looked around me, as though someone might be hiding behind me. Then her sad eyes met mine and nearly broke my heart. I knew exactly who she was looking for. But a high-pitched yip from the fight brought our attention back to the matter at hand.

"Can we do something?" she asked.

I shook my head, watching to see how the fight was going.

"They need this," I explained.

Despite Rowan's size, the two of them were normally well matched. This wasn't the first time I'd watched them spar. So, I emptied my sling bag and pulled on some jeans, preparing to settle in for the match.

I added, "It's an outlet for all our pent-up alpha aggression. Heath is more dominant than Rowan or me, which means he's more likely to win, since our wolf spirits naturally feel the pressure to submit to him. And even if Rowan doesn't submit… he recognizes Heath as pack. He won't actually hurt him."

But when a tuft of silver fur went flying, Freya grabbed my hand, squeezing it hard. "I'm not sure I believe that."

I pulled her against my naked chest, careful not to jostle my healing ribs. Seeing her white hair dance alongside my own dark hair again soothed something in me.

"Remember, we heal faster in our wolf forms. Whatever wounds they give each other will heal. Someday, you'll gain that same power."

I dropped a kiss on the top of her head. What I didn't tell her was the real reason for this fight. Heath had his doubts about Freya, and Rowan probably did as well. He and Freya had only just met, which had likely triggered her heat. His wolf no doubt saw her as his mate, and we hadn't had a chance to explain the situation before Heath and I appeared — no doubt Rowan's wolf saw Heath asserting a prior claim to her as threatening Rowan's own.

I tore my gaze away from the fight to study the campsite. Rowan had clearly been busy providing for our mate, which pleased my own wolf spirit.

Where had Rowan gotten all of this? A skinned and prepared deer roasted over the fire, making my stomach rumble. I was surprised to see a boiling pot and a cooking pan not far from the fire, along with a bucket of water and various other camping supplies.

"Rowan has done well providing for you, moonbeam."

Part of me hoped that my words might reach his wolf, reminding him we were all on one side — we all wanted the best for Freya's wellbeing.

"Three wolves attacked him. Most of this stuff was theirs."

She didn't state the obvious. Rowan had killed to protect her, just as he had in the Ironwood packlands — as we all had.

She raised her voice slightly over the growls as the two wolves stood back from one another, circling each other not far from the fire.

"Rowan kept me safe."

I grinned into her hair. My little moonbeam had recognized the same thing I had and wanted to reach Rowan, to tell him this fight wasn't necessary. As Heath and Rowan closed the gap and became one mass of black-and-silver rage again, silver fur flew.

That's when my doubts set in. Normally, Heath could use his dominance to override Rowan's tendency to go feral during a fight. As the most dominant of the three of us, he'd taken it upon himself to fight Rowan, to force him to allow us to be near Freya.

But… I hadn't counted on the fact that Heath was still wounded from the torture we'd endured at Ironwood. Neither of us had been in wolf form enough since then, so our wounds hadn't healed nearly enough. As I watched the two of them fight, I could clearly see that Heath guarded one side of his body — the side with his broken ribs.

Rowan saw it too, and Heath let out a yowl of pain when Rowan feinted and then smashed his larger body into Heath's wounded side.

"That's enough!" Freya yelled, tearing free of me.

My eyes widened in horror as she ran straight toward the two snarling wolves. In a situation like this, Gage usually told the two fighters to stand down. As pack alpha, his words held more weight, even to other alphas. In my experience, only a wolf with greater dominance could call off a fight like this.

Freya wasn't dominant, nor could she shift. She didn't play by our rules. She charged right in, her arms flying up. It reminded me of that time in Moonblessed when Heath and I had fought. Freya — drunk on faerie wine — had slurred for us to stop fighting over her because she wasn't "worth it." I hadn't hesitated to yield to Heath's dominance then, so I could go to her and reassure her that wasn't true.

Today, neither Rowan nor Heath yielded, but the sight of the white-haired beauty charging straight for them made them both hesitate. Their growls didn't cease, but Freya showed no fear. She slid into the gap between them, close enough she surely felt the heat of their panting breaths on her torso.

She spoke to Heath first. "That's enough, Heath. He's just confused."

Then she turned to Rowan. To my absolute shock, she put her hands on either side of Rowan's massive head, massaging her fingers into his fur.

"I'm fine, Rowan. There's no need for this. They won't keep me from you. They can't, because I choose you, too."

Rowan's wolf was so large that he was staring directly into Freya's snow-blue eyes.

Heath and Rowan caught their breath, and I held mine, waiting to see what would happen next. Instinctively, I trusted both my packmates not to hurt Freya, but my human side wasn't so sure. A malnourished waif of a woman was all that stood between two of the largest, most ferocious wolves I'd ever known who'd been at each other's throats moments before.

"Remember our kiss, Rowan?" she asked in a soft voice. "It won't be our last, I promise you that."

The confidence in her voice seemed to reach Rowan, because the massive wolf shifted weight on his paws, as if uncertain.

"But just as you are my mate, Heath is my mate, too." A small growl filled her words, and my heart expanded with pride. "And I will not allow you to hurt him. Understand?"

My eyes nearly popped from my head when Rowan fell to his stomach before my moonbeam with a whimper. It almost seemed like… he was submitting to her.

When a wolf submitted to a more dominant wolf, he would often roll over to show his belly or his neck, exposing his vulnerabilities as proof of the other wolf's dominance over him. Rowan did neither of those things, though. In fact, I'd only ever seen Rowan make a submissive display to Gage.

Still, his display here proved he no longer intended to fight, and that's what mattered. In the space of one breath, Heath shifted back into human form.

He looked more than a bit worse for wear, and I rushed forward to give him support, pulling his arm around my shoulders. He leaned into me, and an unexpected sense of primal satisfaction washed over me — that I could be the one to help him and that he trusted me enough to let me. I puzzled over the intensity of the feeling for a moment before Freya's voice caught my attention again.

"All is well," Freya whispered, running her hands along Rowan's flank. "I know you hate being in human form, but…"

Rowan instantly shifted, pushing up from his hands and knees and surging toward Heath and me with fury written into his face and the tension in his body.

"How dare you call yourselves her mates," he growled. "Look how thin she is! How did you let this happen to her? And all these new scars…"

To my surprise, Heath reached out and clapped Rowan on the shoulder. "Welcome to the club, man. We all feel that way. We all want to protect Freya, to keep her safe from the world."

I nodded with Heath's arm still wrapped around my shoulders. Freya came up and took Rowan's hand, as well as mine. She completed our circle. Two of us stood clothed, the other two naked, and we all regarded each other warily.

"Your wolf spirit has likely already realized it," I pointed out. "We're all Freya's mates. You included."

Rowan shook his head. "Her heat…"

Heath grinned. "As packmates, we've always shared everything. Now that includes Freya's heat." Then he glanced over at her and amended, "If she chooses us before her heat begins."

Freya met Heath's gaze and gave him a wink. Hopefully the two of them would finally find their footing together soon.

"Speaking of heat," Freya said, "It's time to turn over the venison. We all need to eat."

Rowan jumped back, breaking contact with both Heath and Freya. He rushed to the spit and carefully turned the carcass over so the flames could sear the other side. From here, it looked nearly done to me, but I trusted Rowan not to let it burn. After driving through the night with nothing but protein bars to eat, my stomach growled, ready for meat. And lots of it.

Freya rose up on tiptoes, her lips begging for a kiss. Heath groaned as he leaned down to oblige. Then she turned to me next. When our kiss ended, I noticed Rowan watching us from the corner of his eye, though he was trying to make himself look busy with campsite duties, like adding another log to the fire.

"I'll leave you two to get reacquainted," I said in a low voice to them, helping Heath take a seat. "You should shift soon."

"You don't have to remind me," he groaned, putting one hand to his ribs.

"Go ahead and shift now," Freya urged, but I went toward Rowan as she and Heath began arguing.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a quiet voice with my back to the other two.

Rowan's head whipped up in surprise. His eyebrows drew down as he gave me a curt nod, as if to say, of course I am.

"I don't mean from the fight," I said. "It can be a lot to process… especially when she's going into heat."

He shook his head. "It shouldn't be possible."

"Freya isn't like other wolves. And… as you've seen from her scars… she hasn't had an easy life."

A growl ripped from Rowan's throat, and he turned his back, as if avoiding looking at Freya would help him regain control.

"I want to go back there and tear them all apart."

I nodded. "As do I, but we need to follow our pack alpha's orders and keep Freya safe."

"Where is Gage?" Freya asked from across the fire.

"He wanted to be here," I assured her, turning to face her and Heath.

"Frost Fang needs to be whipped into submission," Heath added. He grinned at Freya. "Trust me, Gage is the right man for the job."

Freya met Heath's grin with one of her own, matching his flirtatious tone. "Maybe we should go back… so we can watch."

Heath's eyebrows shot up before he reached out to caress Freya's lips with his thumb. His wry voice dipped. "Hmm, do you like to watch your men at work, little wolf?"

The playful smile on Freya's face fell. "In truth, I can feel Gage through the pack bond, and… I miss him. When Rowan told me you were coming, I was hoping we would all be reunited."

"We want that too, moonbeam," I assured her, coming to sit beside her.

My wolf spirit whimpered, sad because his mate was sad. We couldn't give her what she wanted, but maybe there were other things we could offer her in the meantime.

I reached for my sling bag and brought out some of the treats we'd hauled from the truck out here. "How about a snack while we wait for the venison to finish cooking?"

Freya hungrily grabbed the bag of chips and set about wolfing it down. After a few handfuls, she gave me a rueful smile and held out the bag, silently asking if I wanted any.

"There are plenty of other snacks," I added, pulling another choice from the sling bag and gesturing for Rowan to have some.

"But we won't stay here long," Heath mentioned. "After the venison is cooked and we're all stuffed pelts, we'll head back to the truck so we can get moving."

He slid a hand down Freya's arm, as if hungry to have her attention again. I couldn't blame him. I could barely keep my hands off her myself. It was as though I constantly needed to assure myself she really was safe, that this wasn't a dream.

"We brought you clothing," Heath said, pulling them from his sling bag where he'd tossed it aside.

Freya groaned with pleasure as soon as the fabric touched her skin. She went behind a tree to change, which told me she and Rowan must still not be fully comfortable with each other yet.

When she came back, Heath said, "I have somewhere safe I plan to take you."

"Will Gage meet us there?" she asked.

Heath couldn't suppress a snort. "Not on his life. Our plan is to hide out until Gage kicks some ass, then meet him in Moonblessed, where he'll tell us whether it's safe to bring you back to Frost Fang."

"So Gage won't know where we are?"

I held up my phone. "I've messaged him to let him know you're safe, and will again once we're on the move. Though I won't tell him where we're going."

I gave Heath a meaningful glance, because even I wasn't exactly sure where we were going yet.

"It's better this way." Heath squeezed her forearm. "Just in case Ironwood attacks Frost Fang. Luka didn't exactly let any of us go."

"Then you should shift while we wait for the venison," Freya insisted. "Heal up some."

"You're right," I said and stood.

First, I pulled out the blanket I'd brought with us and wrapped it around Freya. Then I stepped back, my hips nearly at her face where she was sitting.

Freya's eyes followed my hands to the button of my jeans. She hungrily watched as I stripped. Kneeling before her, I gave her one last kiss before I shifted.

Rowan's eyes bored into me as I did so. He'd been quiet, watching us ever since Freya pulled him back from the brink of going feral. Perhaps he'd have something to say when Freya couldn't hear. I gave him a quick glance and a sharp, quick nod before shifting.

Rowan joined me moments later, quickly followed by Heath. The two of us still flanked Freya, and we both laid down, settling in beside her. With her hands resting on our furry backs, my wolf felt content. I let out a sigh and rested my muzzle on my paws.

Naturally, Heath's first words across the pack bond to Rowan were, "So you kissed her, huh?"

I chuffed a laugh, and Freya smiled down at me. "Not fair that I can't tell what you three are talking about."

Heath twisted his head and licked her hand to reassure her.

"Fine, fine, I'll take a nap." She looked over at Rowan. "Rescue the venison if it starts to burn, okay?"

Rowan dipped his head before settling back on his haunches. Freya laid down between me and Heath, and Rowan's mental sigh reached us.

"I know she's Gage's, but my wolf…"

"Oh, trust me, we know," Heath chuckled. "Things were confusing for the three of us at first. We're still learning how to share."

"But Gage…"

"He may have marked her, but he means for all of us to have her, if she'll have us. That includes you, I promise."

A wave of calm acceptance and reassurance bled across the pack bond — to all of us, I assumed. I hadn't checked for a reply from Gage before shifting, but he knew we were reunited and could probably guess where our conversation might be going now.

"So, where do you intend to take her?" Rowan's mental voice sounded even more cautious now.

"My plan is for the four of us to go to the Elder Forest packlands," Heath admitted, twisting to face me. "They're the only pack big enough to deter Ironwood if Luka tries anything stupid. And I can pull on my father's resources to give Freya a safe place to rest and recover."

Rowan paused, then answered, "We can meet up with some of my contacts under the guise of returning to resume my mission."

"A wise move," I agreed. That had me feeling slightly better about the plan. Very slightly.

It would keep Heath's father from being able to interfere with us too much. But no doubt he would still plan to use his son the way he wanted.

Heath was moving us into a dangerous game, and even though he was the best at playing politics, the rest of our pack wouldn't stand idly by and let Heath fall into his father's traps.

After what I'd seen Freya do today, I knew one thing for certain. Heath's father would never manage to separate Heath from the rest of the Howling Echo. Especially not while Freya was on the verge of going into another heat… Heath wouldn't allow it.

And Freya wouldn't let anything come between her and her mates.