Chapter 16 - Freya

Chapter 16

Freya

I'd meant for Rowan to hear the truth from me after he got to know me, not from watching me come so hard I lost all awareness of my body.

"That's not why," I said, getting to my feet with Flint's help.

"But you are half witch?" Rowan demanded.

I shrugged. "It seems so. But my aunt locked away my magic when I was a child. Right now, I'm worthless as both a wolf and a witch."

"Moonbeam," Flint reached for me, but I held out a hand. He could disagree with me later. Right now, Rowan needed to hear the truth.

Rowan stared at me another minute, as if trying to sense the lie. Even in human form, shifters made excellent lie detectors. His sensitive hearing and vision would pick up any telltale signs of deception. He wouldn't find any, since I wasn't lying. But even with that, his hard expression didn't change at all.

"She's our packmate," Heath reminded him.

Rowan stepped closer to me, his eyes scanning my face the way his wolf had sniffed my body. My heart raced, but I mentally told myself to get a grip. He wasn't closing the gap because he wanted to kiss me or anything. He was suspicious of me.

His hand shot forward, pushing my hair aside and revealing what he must have seen moments before — the rune beneath my collarbone.

"Did you bewitch our packmates?" His voice rumbled, making me shiver.

When his words registered, I took a step back, my eyebrows drawing down in confusion. He grabbed my wrist, as if I was stupid enough to try to run from him.

Heath and Flint instantly growled, but Rowan had eyes only for me.

He crowded closer and growled in my face. "Did you bewitch my pack alpha? Gage doesn't trust women."

A laugh burst free before I could think better of it. "Tell me about it."

Then I sobered, realizing Rowan had no reason to trust me, especially if he thought I was powerful enough to bewitch an alpha. His eyes searched mine, hunting for any sign of duplicity.

"I didn't bewitch Gage." I tried reasoning with him, "He's more dominant than you. If I could bewitch him, why wouldn't I have bewitched you already?"

Rowan's eyes narrowed on me when I shook my wrist free from his grasp. He had every reason to be suspicious, but I was pretty tired of alphas manhandling me to get their way.

"She didn't bewitch us," Heath said in exasperation.

Flint stood closer to me, lending me solidarity but letting me take the lead on convincing Rowan. I tried to think of any way to prove I wasn't some evil witch like my aunt, my gaze locked with Rowan's.

"Look, I don't know the first thing about magic. I had no idea I was half witch until about a month ago. My evil aunt apparently double-cursed me, locking away my magic. As for why Gage brought me into the pack, you'll have to ask him that. But I am his mate, and I am your packmate. I know you have no reason to trust me yet, but you trust Gage. And you trust Heath and Flint, too, right?"

Rowan stared at me for another moment, his hard expression inscrutable. I wished I could think of anything else to reassure him, to break this stalemate between us. A cold winter breeze rustled the leaves around us, making me shiver and reminding me I should put on some clothes.

Rowan's eyes fell to my chest, and I had the urge to cross my arms and cover my boobs. No doubt my nipples were hard as pebbles right now. But in a moment I realized it was the rune he was staring at.

"She's a hybrid, Rowan," Heath insisted. "Nothing like the witches who hurt you before."

I shook my head. "Without my magic, I'm barely a witch at all. And without being able to shift…"

"You're still a wolf shifter," Flint reassured me, taking my hand. "Your wolf just hasn't shown up yet." He looked toward Rowan. "When she does, I don't think she'll be a wolf like us. When I dreamed of her, her eyes weren't golden. And—"

"Lightning sparked along her coat, and she had blue eyes," Rowan finished.

I gasped.

"I dreamed of your wolf. She was beautiful. Powerful." Then he growled, "Magical."

Flint forged ahead, "One of my former packmates told us that Freya's family was the same. When they shifted, their eyes remained their usual color instead of turning gold. She's a different type of wolf, Rowan. Don't you see? She doesn't follow normal wolf shifter rules. She belongs with us, the outcasts, the rulebreakers, the Howling Echo. We don't follow tradition, and neither will she. Freya has multiple mates, Rowan. And sooner or later, you'll have to accept that you're one of them."

Rowan shook his head again, stepping back. "That's why she has multiple mates," he said quietly, as if to himself.

"You sensed Gage in the pack bond?" Flint asked.

"He didn't seem… displeased," Rowan grunted.

"Quite the contrary," Heath laughed. I could feel his desire flooding the pack bond.

Flint nodded. "He's learned how to manage the mate bond without going crazy when Heath and I are with her."

"He's your Bonded," Rowan growled, staring at my rune again.

I sighed, but I wasn't about to lie to him. Bad enough that I'd kept this from him for so long.

"We believe so. This same mark appeared on his face after he bit me."

Rowan snarled, then looked away. His jaw worked as his fists balled up. The sight had me wrapping my arms around my middle and curling my shoulders inward, my reflexes and instincts prompting me to brace for blows to land. But Rowan was a Howling Echo wolf, not Ironwood. He wouldn't treat me like they did. And even if he tried, Flint and Heath would never allow it.

So, I gathered my courage and tried to explain, in case he thought that was proof of me bewitching Gage.

"I didn't mean to mark him. It just happened when he marked me. Like I said… I didn't even know I was a witch until recently. All of this is a surprise, and we're all figuring it out together."

"I need to talk to Gage," Rowan growled.

Flint started, "We could call—"

"No. I need to see him," Rowan growled. "Smell him. Sense if he's been bewitched."

He stepped back, turning away from me. I bowed my head. It felt like the tenuous connection we'd been building over the last several days had been irreparably severed.

Rowan turned his back on us, leaving us behind. He shucked off his clothes and shifted, then took off in an eerily silent run. The dark wolf disappeared into the forest.

After what Rowan told me about his history, maybe his distrust was inevitable. I tried to hold onto hope, but his rejection felt all too final. My wolf howled in mourning at the thought.

Heath let out a grumble of frustration. "Fuck."

Flint pulled me in for a hug, smoothing a hand down my hair and kissing the top of my head. "I'll go talk to him once he calms down, moonbeam. The run will help."

"I'll order him to come with us," Heath growled.

"He'll just think you're bewitched," I muttered in despair.

"Then he can fight me again," Heath growled. "I'll knock some sense into him if I have to."

"Why don't you rest while Heath and I pack up, and if he's not back by then, I'll go run him down," Flint said. "He'll come around."

I hoped he was right. Otherwise, Rowan's other fear might come to pass. Would my newly revealed secret be what tore apart the pack?