Chapter 37 - Freya

Chapter 37

Freya

I startled awake at dawn to see Gage and Flint up on their paws. Gage trotted off, still limping, to stand with some other wolves. At some point in the night, backup must have arrived from Moonblessed, but none of them came near.

As Flint settled along my flank, I realized Rowan's warmth was already on the other side. The massive, intimidating wolf still looked every bit as terrifying in slumber, but his presence comforted me as much as Flint's did.

Last night, my mates had protected me, and I had protected them, breaking the witchfire barrier preventing them from fighting back.

On the other side of the clearing, the first rays of dawn fell on the bodies of the witches.

A strange feeling overcame me. My stomach twisted as the world lurched. I felt the urge to hold onto something, but I couldn't. Instead of the early dawn light, the sun flew overhead until twilight fell.

And the bodies… now there were more of them. Dozens more. Hundreds more. Wolves and humans alike.

A dawning horror rose in me. When I looked to either side, my mates weren't with me.

I was suddenly in human form.

Fearing the worst, I walked slowly among the bodies as tears fell freely. While I searched for my mates, I instead found others I recognized. Some were Ironwood wolves, yes, as well as Frost Fang, whose names I didn't know, but whose faces I recognized.

The scene shifted, night fading fast. My stomach lurched again, but I couldn't feel the rest of my body.

I found myself standing back in our den at Frost Fang, in the bedroom where I'd last been before my aunt had tricked me into leaving my mates behind.

"We should stay here for your heat," Gage insisted. "We'll be better able to protect you on Frost Fang packlands."

But something inside of me knew that was wrong. That's when I realized what had happened. The vision I'd seen… was of the future. It hadn't yet occurred. This decision right here, right now — this moment led directly to the slaughter my vision had shown. I knew it with pure certainty.

"We can use my heat to draw out Ironwood so we have them right where we want them." The words fell from my lips as though from someone else. "And Frost Fang can surround them and force them to surrender instead. Fewer wolves will die that way — on both sides."

The words felt right, and I knew then that this was the right path. The one that would avert that disaster.

I waited to see what would happen next, to see my theory proven. Instead, the vision shifted like a dream, my stomach lurching again. This time, I expected the sensation, and I readied myself to study this new vision.

I found myself standing at the peak of a cliff.

At my back stood my four mates, their tails to me as they faced down the path in wolf form, all of them tense and on guard. But I turned to face the other way — looking outward into the expanse.

Gazing down into the valley below, my eyes found nothing but deep darkness. The future was bleak, and we five were on our own again. But from that darkness far below, I thought I saw — yes, two tiny stars flickered to life. The flickering grew brighter as they came closer.

I squinted toward them because those two bright lights felt so familiar. As they came, they left a trail of light behind, dispelling the darkness. Inexorably, they came closer and closer toward my mountain like magnets being drawn in.

As they approached, I realized they were two men, each of them carrying torches. They remained far apart, unaware of the other. But they both knew me. Their upturned gazes caught on me, and my inner wolf stirred. She took special note of the wolf shifter, recognizing him as one of her own… not just a fellow wolf, but a fellow Odinswolf.

That's when I realized the other wasn't a wolf shifter at all. Nor was he carrying a torch, but a ball of his own witchfire. Deep within me, the part that had once been sealed awakened, twisting in recognition of a fellow mage.

Both of them felt so familiar, like I'd known them before.

They were allies. They could help the Howling Echo when we were alone and friendless. They could help me unlock the depths of my powers. And one day soon, they would arrive.

The vision shattered as a familiar voice echoed in my mind.

"That bastard won't stop calling me. I think he knows his ruse is up." Heath's voice in my mind brought me back to the present, where I found myself still resting comfortably with my snout on my paws, sandwiched between Flint and Rowan's warmth on either side.

After the disturbing visions I'd just had, I wanted to know all my mates were safe. I jumped to all four paws, and to either side of me, Flint and Rowan did the same. I rushed forward until I caught sight of Gage's dark gray wolf with his white forelegs and muzzle.

In the distance, he stood at the edge of the clearing with two other massive alphas, on the other side of the witches' bodies. When Gage sensed my worry, his ears perked up, and he sent me reassurances through the pack bond even as he trotted toward me across the clearing. The other two alphas and all the smaller wolves with them stayed back. I recognized Shante's wolf among her packmates.

Seeing my pack alpha's obvious limp brought all my recent memories rushing back. Now I realized who Heath had been talking about. His father, the one who'd told my aunt I'd left Elder Forest. The only one still left alive who was responsible for hurting my mates.

But it was a sign of how exhausted I was that I couldn't even work up an ounce of anger.

"Have you told your littermates?" I asked, remembering that Heath had siblings.

"My every waking thought has been of you, my love. But you are a kind mate to remind me. I'm just… not sure Hazel or Harlow will believe me. We haven't really kept in touch in the past few years."

"They should hear it from you," I said, leaving the rest of my meaning implied.

"I know."

If the Howling Echo went up against Heath's father, his sisters would want to know why.

"Though I still don't understand what he would get out of tipping off my aunt."

"We'll unravel this," Heath swore to me. "Together."

With Heath in my mind and my other three mates around me, my wolf felt content. She knew another fight would come, but she also knew we would survive. Together, just like Heath said.

Everything between us had changed, and thanks to my vision of the two lights in the darkness, I had the foresight to know it would continue to do so. But through it all, my mates would stay by my side. I knew that deep in my soul, deeper even than the seal those witches had destroyed.

Maybe I should've questioned these visions. Did they come from my witch side or my Odinswolf side? I couldn't be sure of that, but with every fiber of my being, I sensed the truth of the visions. They weren't dreams — I'd been fully awake.

My moonmarked mate rubbed along my flank. "How do you feel, moonbeam? The Moonblessed wolves are ready to escort us back to their packlands."

"How did they know where to find us?" I asked. Too bad they'd arrived too late to help.

"Gage used the Frost Fang pack bond to summon Ivar and Bea, who wisely got backup."

As Flint circled around me, my mouth watered at the sight of the open spot on his neck where I intended to bite him. Maybe back at Moonblessed, we could find some time alone in bed, just the two of us. Flint wanted to make it special, and I longed for the equal mating he'd always promised me.

After everything that had happened, I was impatient to claim all of them. If my wolf had her way, she'd bite all three of them here and now. But my human side knew how important it was to be sure each of my mates was ready to accept that commitment.

Gage and Rowan both had things to sort out first. The important thing was to make sure we worked it out soon. I needed to claim them all before my heat so we could be prepared. The mate bonds would make it easier for me to sense when each of my mates needed me, and in turn, they would know when I was in danger.

Thanks to my vision telling me to set a trap, I knew Luka would strike sometime close to my heat, when my scent was strongest. The Ironwood pack wouldn't expect us to have a secret weapon like a five-way mate bond.

We needed every advantage we could get for what was coming. My visions hinted at a darkness even greater than the battle with Ironwood, but we would survive it together, one step at a time.

"Yes, let's go back to Moonblessed," I answered Flint.

Now I knew that Brielle was right. We wouldn't stay in Moonblessed for long.

Destiny called.