Chapter 5 - Rowan

Chapter 5

Rowan

My pack alpha had sent me to find his mate, but I had only caught a glimpse of her long, snow-white hair as she disappeared into the squat building up ahead. Though I'd never met my newest packmate, Gage had told me her name, and the asshole escorting her into that dark place had called her Freya, confirming her identity.

That single glimpse had been enough to shake my sanity, because I recognized that hair from my dreams. Not once, but twice, I'd dreamed of an ethereal woman who seemed so familiar even though I'd never met her in person.

The pack bond between us snapped tight in that moment before she disappeared, just as it had in the dream. I was so stunned I froze for a few long seconds before shaking it off.

My packmate needed me. I needed to focus and come up with a plan.

From what I'd seen, there was only one way in or out of that place, and there were four guards outside the entrance. While it would be no problem for me to tear the guards limb from limb, waiting until nightfall would be the smarter move.

I considered sneaking back off packlands while I waited, but my wolf would hear nothing of it. At the thought of leaving, he rooted my paws to the spot.

Freya was too precious of a hostage for that cowardly pack alpha to harm her. Gage's overflowing emotions would warn me through the pack bond if the circumstances changed, even though he couldn't speak to me directly from this distance.

Waiting until night would allow me to stealthily dispose of the guards before going inside and figuring out why I sensed three packmates inside instead of just one. When we fought our way free together, we'd be better able to sneak back to the border under cover of dark.

I settled in to wait, but my wolf impatiently urged me forward. Mate.

That revelation knocked me off my paws just as something heavy fell on top of me.

"Got you!" a gruff male voice growled as cheers rose from several throats.

I growled and struggled under the weight pinning me down, my forelegs tangling in a net. The Ironwood pack had noticed me sneaking around after all. I knew it would have been better to wait off packlands, but with that one word — mate — I understood why my wolf hadn't wanted to leave.

"Shift back," someone demanded, but that only made me growl louder.

Instead of attacking me outright, their weighted net had enabled them to get the drop on me. My human side admired their caution, treating me as a worthy foe, even as my wolf fought for freedom. They may have taken me by surprise, but nothing would stop me from tearing through every last one of them.

As soon as they tried to carry me away in the net, I struck. My fangs tore into one man's throat despite the net being crammed in my mouth.

As I struggled to break free, my eyes caught sight of the true target of my ire — the Ironwood pack alpha, trailed by a beta with a bowed head, and several guards. They came out of the squat building as their alpha barked out orders the whole way, totally oblivious to his packmates' struggle to keep me down.

The net couldn't keep my fangs from seeking blood, and my wolf went feral. Even with the rope tangled in my jaws, I crushed windpipes and broke bones while my claws raked through flesh despite the net restraining me. In my rampage, I killed or maimed my enemies as they got within reach, human and wolf alike.

They must have sent a warning through the Ironwood pack bond, because the pack alpha and his guards suddenly shifted and galloped into his fancy residence. By the time the last of them disappeared inside, I'd dispatched every wolf who'd ambushed me. Getting free of the net troubled me for another moment, but, with my coat slicked from their blood, I managed to slide free before more Ironwood wolves interrupted me.

My wolf longed to howl with the bloody bodies of our enemies scattered around us. Barely hanging on to a sliver of control, I stifled the primal instinct. Normally, my wolf and I were in agreement on most things, but my human side understood strategy and tactics much more than my wolf.

The cowardly pack alpha would no doubt send reinforcements after me at any moment. I couldn't let them stop me from rescuing Freya, so I rushed the low, ugly building where I'd last seen her disappear.

The four guards' eyes widened when they saw me closing in.

"The dark wolf!" one of them cried just before my jaws closed around his throat.

The second one pointed a gun at me, but I closed the distance between us before he could get a shot off, knocking him off his feet. My fangs tore into his face and neck before his body even hit the ground.

Before I could face my next enemies, a wolf bowled me over. He did his best to grab my throat, but my wolf was so much larger than his that I easily broke free. He whimpered before my alpha dominance, falling back beside the fourth guard, both in wolf form.

Having shifted, they could telepathically warn the any of their pack also in wolf form. My human side knew that was bad, and that we needed to dispatch them before they could summon reinforcements. My wolf agreed, but he was heedless of the danger. No, he had different priorities.

He'd scented his mate. Nothing would keep him from her now.

Before they could decide what to do, I charged the two smaller wolves. They wisely danced to either side, trying to flank me. I quickly ruined their strategy, as I bowled one over and then twisted to face the other before he could bite me.

Fear made him hesitate, and I lashed out, catching his throat and shaking my head to snap his neck. The final wolf that I'd knocked over barely got to his paws before I ended him.

Once more pushing down the urge to howl, I ran inside the building. My wolf didn't like that at all. Wolves belonged outside, under the sky, where we could see the moon rise. Not in buildings where we could get trapped away from both. Even the caves and dens I'd taken shelter in before were open to the elements. But we had to press further, and fortunately, my wolf's eyes quickly adjusted to the darkened interior of the building.

He might not like being here, but my wolf sniffed the air, catching that delicious scent of his mate. I knew he had to be wrong, but that was a battle for a different time. After she was safe, then I could remind my wolf that our pack alpha had already claimed her.

"What's going on up there?" a female voice called just as I spotted an alpha male staring at me from a darkened corner, his fangs bared.

He and I lunged for each other at the same moment, colliding in a bone-jarring impact. We both growled, but I quickly overpowered him, knocking him down and biting through the thick scruff of his fur to reach his throat. His struggles ended, and I turned toward the stairs — another thing my massive wolf hated.

As I traveled farther underground, the delicious scent of fear wafted through the air. It surprised me to find the female alpha still in human form. I dodged to the side just before she fired, and stone dust hit my paw from where the bullet struck nearby.

"Intruder!" she yelled to no avail.

My wolf caught sight of the offending weapon and lunged forward to handle the problem. She screamed as I dropped her dismembered forearm. Behind her, I caught the scent of my three packmates. My wolf preened, excited to show his prowess to his mate and packmates alike.

This enemy wouldn't last long. When she began to shift, I allowed it. My wolf preferred fighting other wolves, after all. Killing humans was too easy. But the stupid shifter lunged forward, forgetting I'd removed one of her limbs. With her off-balance, I easily ended her. I shook my head, my jaws snapping her neck as my teeth ripped open wounds that spattered the wall with her blood.

I'd managed to refrain from howling so far, but my wolf almost overpowered me this time, in view of his packmates. Pride filled me at the thought of being reunited with them. I placed my paw on the body before me, and only Heath's alpha command prevented my wolf's victorious howl.

"Don't you dare howl and bring more enemies down on us."

A growl tore from my throat. My wolf didn't like being ordered around, but he knew his place in the pack. He'd accepted it years ago, when he'd first bared his throat in submission to Gage and received the mark of the pack. Heath's dominance unquestionably outranked my own.

Only now that I'd finished tearing apart everyone in my way did I stop to consider the state my packmates were in. The chains prevented Heath and Flint from shifting, which was why I hadn't been able to communicate with them through the pack bond.

But I only noted their wounded state in the back of my mind, because the rest of me focused on my newest packmate, the source of the most delicious scent I'd ever encountered. The pack bond between us tugged at a place deep within me, and my wolf snarled, noticing how she'd been mistreated.

"This is Freya," Flint said, apparently unconcerned about the chains restraining him. "Our newest packmate."

I instantly cataloged each of her injuries, feeling more and more frustrated that the cowardly Ironwood pack alpha had gotten away while I'd been busy killing those who'd ambushed me. As soon as I caught sight of the bite mark at the juncture between her throat and shoulder, I looked away.

See? I told my wolf. Not mine. Gage's mate.

Heath's words refocused my attention. "Don't be afraid," he said to Freya.

That made my wolf want to crouch down on his belly and show her she had nothing to fear. But before I could, my name fell from Freya's perfect lips.

"Rowan."

The power in her voice made me shiver. By saying my name, it felt as though she'd invaded my very being.

I stood in shock. I'd dreamed of her, and though she looked much worse for wear than the fit, powerful woman I'd dreamed of, every other detail of that dream had been true to life. Her long, pale white hair and snow-blue eyes mirrored the same colors of her wolf. In my dream, she'd shifted into wolf form, and her eyes had remained blue, not gold like every other shifter I'd encountered.

My wolf chuffed, wishing she would shift now. No manacles restrained her. Nothing kept her from her wolf form.

"Get her out of here," Flint told me.

Since he and I were of a similar dominance level, he didn't bother trying to command me to obey.

Besides, Freya disagreed. "Let me find the keys."

She headed for the stairs, and I was helpless to do anything but follow. My wolf had her in his sights, and he would never let her disappear again if he could help it.

I tried envisioning Gage and Freya together, trying to show my wolf that they belonged together, that she couldn't be my mate if he'd already claimed her, but my wolf disregarded me completely.

He was totally focused on the too-thin woman bending over the body of the alpha male I'd killed upstairs. She checked his sling bag, then let out a sound of frustration and checked the desk.

"Got them," she said triumphantly before heading back down the stairs my wolf hated so much.

She managed them gracefully, and I hung back to avoid bowling her over if my wolf slipped in his eager haste to follow her. I knew I wouldn't lose her down there — the dungeons contained nothing but stagnant air, which made it clear these stairs were the only way in or out. But my wolf refused to let her out of his sight for a second.

I sent him another image of a puppy following Freya, admonishing him for his ridiculous behavior, but he didn't care. When I saw Freya grab the stool and move it over in between Flint and Heath so she could unlock their manacles, my human side was just as impressed by her loyalty to her packmates.

She could have obeyed Flint and left with me, but first she wanted to free them. It reminded me of something I'd realized when I first heard Gage had finally taken a mate. Our pack alpha usually sent Heath to deal with any female shifters or human women we took jobs from. That meant Gage's mate must be someone special, because he hated women almost as much as I hated witches.

Mate, my wolf insisted, sensing my admiration for the woman using her weaker human form to free our packmates.

Packmate, I silently growled in response.

It physically pained me to go against my wolf, because I'd spent a decade of my life living as a wolf among an actual wolf pack. My time with my wolf family had solidified my primal instincts, leaving me more wolf than man.

But the day my wolf had sniffed out Heath and Gage and recognized them as his pack, things had changed. From then on out, I'd reintegrated into shifter life. I'd sworn loyalty to Gage, and I resurfaced that memory, trying to remind my wolf that we couldn't cross our pack alpha.

But sometimes, my wolf still slipped back into old ways. Before the Howling Echo, and before a wolf family had accepted me, I'd been completely alone, living as a rogue wolf in the wildlands, feral most of the time. This fight had nearly brought that side out of me again, my wolf riding the edge of it from the moment I spotted Freya. I hadn't gone feral in ages, and this mission was too important to allow the loss of control.

With effort, I turned my attention to my packmates. Flint and Heath rubbed their bloody wrists, but those were the least of their wounds. They'd been beaten badly, and I sensed they each had at least one broken rib. They would need days in wolf form to speed their recovery.

"Freya, you can trust Rowan with your life," Heath said. "Go with him."

Heath instantly shifted, tearing through the clothes he'd been wearing, which smelled much like Ironwood wolves. In moments, a silver-white wolf stood beside me. My fellow alpha was smaller than me, but not by much.

"I'll check the entrance," Heath told me as he raced up the stairs.

"We'll create a distraction, moonbeam," Flint said to Freya. "No matter what happens, you go with Rowan, got it?"

"Flint—"

"There's no time. We need to go before Luka sends more guards here."

To my absolute surprise, Flint leaned forward and embraced her, giving her a peck on the lips before he, too, shifted.

The dark brown wolf with a crescent moonmark on his forehead regarded me coolly. "Our mate can't shift. It's up to us to protect her."

Then Flint nudged Freya toward the stairs with his nose. I froze, caught by the double bombshell he'd just dropped. What did he mean by ‘our mate'… and she couldn't shift? How was that even possible?

I'd dreamed of her wolf. I sensed the delicate, blue-eyed creature inside of the woman before me. Freya definitely wasn't a teenager, so she must have been shifting for years. But before I could ask, Freya spoke up.

"We should stay together." She headed toward the stairs, glancing over her shoulder at Flint.

I went up the stairs first so that I could tear apart anyone who might threaten my packmates.

"She's right. Our pack is stronger together," I told both Flint and Heath as I emerged into the upstairs to find Heath's wolf form filling the doorway.

I didn't tell them that I feared I might do something stupid if left alone with Freya.

"Normally, yes," Heath answered. "But Flint and I are wounded. We'll only slow you down. We're too weak, and we'll likely be recaptured before Gage arrives. So, we'll cause the distraction while you get her out."

"Whatever happens," Flint added, "Don't let Luka have her. You have to get her out of here. Protect her, Rowan."

"Of course, I'll protect our pack alpha's mate," I growled, annoyed that they insisted on telling me to do something I already planned to do.

I sensed a strange hesitation from them both, as though they struggled to answer me.

"No time to explain," Heath said, but somehow I knew his words were for Flint.

My wolf was impatient to tear out more throats if that's what it took to win Freya's safety, so I gave little thought to their strange behavior.

"Just remember, Freya can't shift yet," Flint told me.

"Why?" I asked.

But before Flint could answer, Heath growled in our minds, "Enemies, ten o'clock."

Heath charged from the doorway, and beyond his massive alpha form, I caught sight of four other wolves, much smaller in size. None of them appeared to be alphas. Flint followed on his heels.

Freya ran after them, and I let out a growl. I chased after her, then got ahead of her, blocking her path with my body. She pulled up short, her eyes wide. I wouldn't let her charge into danger. Not when she couldn't shift, for whatever reason.

Shouts echoed off the wall of the alpha estate, and I looked up to see five shifters in human form. One of them raised a gun, and I let out a savage growl, putting my body once again between Freya and danger.

"They have our pack alpha's fated mate!" one of them shouted. "Kill them and capture her!"

I growled as a bullet nicked my skin, tearing through my fur but leaving nothing more than a scratch. The close call, the knowledge that my mate was in danger, and the presence of more enemies sent my wolf into a frenzy. I lunged forward, tearing out the shooter's trachea and scattering the rest. The stench of their fear only excited my wolf more.

Must protect mate, he growled, and I released control.

My wolf took over completely, going totally feral this time.

Without human thoughts to second-guess and delay me, I acted instantly, killing two more with instinctive efficiency. My human mind merely rode along as witness to the carnage.

I smelled my mate's fear and turned to check on her. As I did so, two familiar wolves moved between her and me. The massive alpha wolves towered over kills of their own. Formidable foes, then.

I growled, stepping forward to challenge them both. No one could stand between me and my mate.

"Stay out of his way!" a voice broadcast in my mind. Distantly, the human part of me remembered that was Heath, our packmate. "Rowan's gone completely feral."

"He won't harm Freya," the other wolf responded, dipping his head and moving out of my path to my mate.

Both wolves displayed neutral body language, not challenging my dominance, but still I bared my fangs. Even the more dominant wolf stepped back from my mate, avoiding the danger of provoking me.

I snarled and snapped at the two of them, warning them back farther still. But their mere presence aroused my protective instincts.

As soon as I turned my back, they would attack my mate. They were a threat I couldn't ignore.

Must protect mate. Kill everyone else.