Chapter 3 - Gage

Chapter 3

Gage

Alone in my late brother's throne room, I struggled to maintain control of my wolf as I listened to my pack bonds. Not my new bond with the Frost Fang pack, but to my true pack, the Howling Echo.

I didn't like how Flint and Heath's emotions had gone silent for so long, as though they were both asleep. But now it was mid-day… and with them being so close to enemy territory, they would have taken turns sleeping.

They also hadn't answered my most recent calls or messages. From this distance, we couldn't talk to each other through the pack bond, even if we'd all been shifted at the same time.

Something bad must have happened. I'd asked them to wait for Rowan to show up, but their fear for our mate probably overrode their control over their wolves. Knowing that Freya was in danger was bad enough — I clawed at my own control while fear for my packmates seized my lungs.

A cacophony of emotions from the Howling Echo pack bond now assaulted me. And the loudest one? Dread. I was so preoccupied with the pack bond that it took me a few minutes to realize Bretton stood at the foot of the throne.

The Frost Fang beta's gaze latched onto me, probably studying the glowing mark on my cheekbone, just under my eye — the mark that had appeared when I bit and claimed Freya as my mate.

The mark confirmed her witch nature, and I'd noticed an unease among the Frost Fang wolves ever since the mark had appeared. They weren't sure what to make of their pack alpha being mated to a witch. No one had ever seen Freya shift, so they didn't understand she was half-witch, half-wolf.

Bretton lowered his eyes appropriately when I glanced over at him but didn't seem terrified of me like some of the other betas were. That was one of the things I liked about Bretton. He didn't grovel.

"What are your orders now, alpha?" the beta asked me.

Bretton had been overlooked by my father despite being one of the most dominant betas in the Frost Fang pack. Older than me by about fifteen years, he had a steady head on his shoulders. But right now, I needed silence to try to understand what the pack bond was trying to tell me.

I held up a hand, and he bowed his head, waiting for his new pack alpha to acknowledge him again.

The Howling Echo pack bond still radiated with emotion, but it was easy for me to isolate Freya's feelings from the rest by using the mate bond. I could sense where she was, far from Frost Fang packlands. And worse, I sensed how despondent she felt.

My mate needed me, and I wasn't by her side.

Mate, my wolf whimpered inside of me.

Sensation tickled along the back of my mind just as it had once before, as though the incomplete mate bond struggled to go both ways. Yet without access to the wolf inside of her, Freya couldn't bite me and make our bond equal.

I hoped she would eventually forgive me for biting her and putting her into an unequal mate bond, but right now I was more thankful than ever to have it, so I could find her.

"Let me through!" a female voice called, and I glanced up long enough to see Bretton stride to the door to intercept whoever dared arrive unannounced.

My sanity hung by a thread, and that thread was my mate bond with Freya. It gave me the ability to sense her emotions to an even stronger degree than the pack bond.

The bond — I might not be physically present, but I could still be there for my mate. I could still help her, even in this small way.

Since Freya wasn't connected back to me through the mate bond, I pushed reassurances to her down the pack bond instead. I lent her my strength, sending her perseverance and determination.

The mate bond instantly revealed the change within her. She regained control, pulling herself out of the tailspin she'd been in. Her fear became anger, her desperation turning into resentment.

Renewed determination filled her, and I wished she could hear my words through the mate bond, as she was meant to.

"I'll be there soon, Freya. But don't wait up."

When I reunited with her, I wouldn't hold back — I would promise Freya the moon itself for her forgiveness.

When I glanced up, I found Bretton in a staring contest with a female beta who must be nearly as dominant as him.

"Who is it?" I called, and she flicked her gaze over to me for just a moment before lowering her eyes.

Something about her dark, straight hair, her athletic runner's build, and her brown skin seemed familiar.

Bretton opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "Fern, Flint's sister. I came all this way to see my littermate, but this ass—"

"Show some respect," I growled. "Bretton acts on my behalf when I'm indisposed."

She might be Flint's sister, but he hadn't seen her in years. When we'd interrogated the entire pack, Heath had been the one to question her town. He'd told me and Flint that Fern held no love for Nira or Garth, and Flint had been relieved. Then all hell broke loose, and Flint hadn't gotten the chance to catch up with his littermate. Her worry made sense, but right now, I couldn't tolerate insubordination.

Fern squared her shoulders, but couldn't hide the anger on her face. "My apologies, pack alpha, but I need to know where Flint is."

"He's on an important mission for me," I answered automatically.

We may have questioned all the Frost Fang wolves, but that didn't mean I trusted any of them. Even before Garth exiled me, my father had exiled Flint instead of Fern, and a lot could have changed since. I couldn't be sure how much he would want her to know about our… nontraditional situation.

Fern crossed her arms like she was about to argue with me, so I glanced at Bretton.

"Any messages for me?" I asked as I also checked my phone for the hundredth time this hour.

No new messages from the Howling Echo.

"To my surprise, no. If the Ironwood pack truly has your mate—"

"They do," I growled.

"Then I'm not sure what game the Ironwood pack alpha is playing, sir."

Heath's alpha command had forced the truth from Bretton after I took power. The beta had admitted he'd always hated how my father had run the pack, and he hadn't held his breath when Garth became pack alpha, either. He'd hated Nira even more — even though he hadn't known for certain who had killed Garth, he suspected her, which was more than could be said about most other betas in Frost Fang.

In short, Bretton was unflappable, smart, and loyal to me. Or so he'd sworn. I knew I still needed to prove myself a worthy pack alpha to him and to the entire pack.

"Ironwood?" Fern muttered. "Is that where you sent Flint?"

I nodded. I trusted the Howling Echo to do what needed to be done. Now I needed to see if Frost Fang could learn to trust me in turn. I didn't want them to think we would become conquerors, but going against an outside force could help Frost Fang unite from within.

"Bretton, I need your honest opinion. Will Frost Fang follow me if it comes to pack war?" I asked.

Fern's eyes widened, and Bretton blinked, perhaps surprised I would ask him such a direct question when I'd already called all the Frost Fang warriors to my side.

"I must confess… I doubt that everyone will, alpha."

I raised my eyebrow at Fern. Since she was here, she may as well contribute. "Fern?"

"Bretton's right."

"Thank you for your honesty."

Her expression went slack, as though she hadn't expected an alpha to thank anyone for anything. I couldn't blame her, after having spent her entire life ruled by my father, then Garth, then Nira, all of whom seemed to rule through fear rather than the way alphas were meant to. We were supposed to be protectors, the ones who could keep the pack safe from outside threats, but too many alphas abused their power.

With a divided force who had only recently sworn loyalty to a new pack alpha and didn't understand why they should fight by my side… I couldn't expect victory if it came down to a pack war.

I'd been born on Frost Fang packlands, littermate to Garth, the son my father had deemed his successor. Yet no one seemed to know what to expect from me.

I supposed that was understandable, since I was the fourth Frost Fang pack alpha in the last six years — the pack might still be reeling from the changes, especially the most recent ones. I'd killed Nira, who'd killed Garth, though most didn't know that, since she'd secretly had him killed without properly challenging him in combat. And most recently, I'd executed anyone who was directly responsible for Garth's death and exiled the rest of my father's wives.

At the time, a strong showing seemed the best way to cement my power as the new Frost Fang alpha. Afterward, many decided staying subservient to my whims was the best approach — after all, it had worked with my father when he was pack alpha. But Bretton seemed to understand things could change in Frost Fang — for the better. I hoped Fern believed the same, but at this point, I didn't know her well enough to be sure.

It probably wasn't fair for me to expect so much from my new pack. I'd been exiled from their ranks three years ago, and they'd known nothing but strife ever since. They deserved a pack alpha who would treat them well and rebuild the pack, not one who would selfishly draw them into a pack war to save his new mate. I would have a lot of work to do to earn Frost Fang's loyalty.

I wanted to become the pack alpha they so desperately needed. But I wanted Freya's safety far, far more.

"Where is the list you made?" I asked.

Bretton ascended the steps of the throne to me. I hated this stupid thing Garth had built when he became pack alpha, but I couldn't deny that it helped the Frost Fang pack view me as their rightful leader. No one could sit here unchallenged unless he held the dominance and power to do so.

I scanned down the lists of names. These were the wolves Bretton believed would follow me into battle if it came to it. I'd already sent away the three most loyal Frost Fang alphas, each with one contingent of wolves to guard our borders during my absence.

The list showed who Bretton recommended of the remaining wolves, and I noticed he'd already listed Fern among them. The rest I would leave behind, ostensibly to guard the packlands.

"I expected more, Bretton," I grumbled.

He shrugged. "You wanted the truth."

I sighed. "I did."

My eyes flicked to the crowd milling around outside the so-called throne room. They were an unruly bunch, disgruntled by the fact that I'd called on all the warriors willing to fight yesterday and then waited for the arrival of warriors from the far reaches of the packlands to get here today. That made twice I'd yanked their leashes, since we'd interrogated every wolf individually after I'd killed Nira just over two weeks ago.

Although everyone out there had sworn loyalty to me and to the Howling Echo as their new leaders, that didn't mean they were happy about it. Disgruntled fighters would flee at the first sign of trouble when we faced Ironwood.

Bretton was right to choose his list carefully. I doubted there were even five hundred listed, but they would have to be enough.

"Go dismiss the warriors who aren't on this list," I ordered.

Bretton opened his mouth, but I held up a hand.

"Don't make it sound like I brought them here for nothing, obviously. Split them up among the three alphas and put them on rotating guard detail. Leave it to the alphas' discretion how they run their contingent, though."

"Very well, alpha," Bretton turned on his heel and marched outside to carry out my commands.

That would give the three alphas a chance to throw around their dominance on my behalf. None of them wanted to see Frost Fang fall, I was sure of that. They would defend their packlands to the death if it came to it. Their dominance would instill a familiar sense of hierarchy that would keep the other wolves in line while I was gone.

It reminded me of something I'd heard our father tell Garth about ruling the pack when we were pups.

"Keep the alphas in line and the rest will follow," he'd said.

What he meant was, instill fear in the alphas, and they would instill fear in the rest of the pack. My father had taken Karina from her alpha mate and forced her to become another of his mates. I'd been too young to understand her hatred of me at the time. As a child, I'd looked up to my father, but as an adult, I recognized how he'd ruled through fear.

Karina had helped Nira kill Garth, and then nearly helped her kill Freya as well. My wolf growled at the memory, already close to the surface.

None of that would have happened, though, if my father had ruled differently. I refused to be like him, but now wasn't the time to dwell on the past.

Rowan would do what I could not — infiltrating Ironwood to reach Freya, and perhaps Heath and Flint as well. But I had my part to play. I would lead Frost Fang in battle against Ironwood if I had to, but I hoped to only threaten pack war.

Even with the small list of warriors Bretton had selected, I intended to make Ironwood believe I led the entire might of Frost Fang against them.

And while the threat of pack war distracted them, Rowan would free Freya whether or not the Ironwood pack alpha allowed it.

"If fighting by your side means seeing my brother again, count me in," Fern said, reminding me I hadn't exactly dismissed her with Bretton.

"It does. And your littermate will be proud to see you leading the charge," I said just to test her.

"I can't wait." Gold glinted in her eyes as her wolf rose to the surface, perhaps excited by the chance to fight and prove herself to her new pack alpha. She might not be an alpha like her brother Flint, but she had his courage.

"Then go prepare," I told her.

She bowed her head and backed away, then disappeared into the crowd at the doorway.

Through the pack bond, I focused on Rowan, but sensed nothing out of the ordinary. He was a wolf on a mission, and his single-minded focus was exactly the asset we needed for this situation. Nothing would stop Rowan from accomplishing his goal.

I'd sent him to Elder Forest on a mission alone, knowing he was the best wolf for the job. They'd asked for help protecting their border and hunting down whoever had kidnapped a few of their wolves. Since Heath's father lived in Elder Forest, I'd refused to assign it to Heath, and the mission didn't pay well enough for the entire Howling Echo to go. So, with some reluctance on my part, I'd sent Rowan alone.

A flare of desperate fury filled the pack bond, breaking my train of thought. It originated with Heath and Flint. Something was happening — something involving Freya, because I could sense her fear as well.

"No."

Inside of me, my wolf sat up and howled, and it was all I could do to prevent the shift. I wanted to go tearing off toward Ironwood packlands myself. But if I did that, I would surely arrive too late.

My packmates needed me, and they needed me now. Physically, I couldn't reach them in time to prevent the danger they faced. As a leader, I had learned to think strategically, rather than letting my alpha instincts completely take over.

There was another way to buy them some time until Rowan could arrive.

"Bretton," I bellowed from the throne.

He returned to the throne room. With one look at my expression, he knew something was wrong.

"What is it, alpha?"

"Put a call through to the Ironwood pack alpha. It's time I make our demands known."

As Bretton dialed our enemy, Rowan's cool assurances bled through the Howling Echo pack bond to me. He'd reached Ironwood packlands.

"The Frost Fang Pack Alpha wishes to speak with the Ironwood Pack Alpha," Bretton said to whoever had answered. He paused, then scowled. "If you hope to avoid pack war, you will interrupt him. Otherwise we'll come knock on his door ourselves."

I grinned. Bretton had big balls for a beta. As he passed me the phone, I sensed Rowan's steely determination in the pack bond. He'd found Freya.

Now I just needed to make sure she survived long enough to escape — no matter the cost.