Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

O nly when Boden disappeared from view did Astrid’s spear lower, but the tension in her muscles didn’t ease. She had stood against the alpha and won. That was unheard of in itself, but what baffled Erec the most was that she had been willing to pick him over her father, over her pack, and over everything she had ever known. How could someone who had everything he’d ever wanted be willing to abandon it all so easily?

The intensity of what happened hung in the air like thick smoke around them, leaving everyone, including Erec, disoriented and confused. He’d heard rumors about wolf shifters sharing a special bond with pack members but had never experienced it for himself. Until now. Somehow, he could sense the survivors’ discomfort; their collective panic vibrated across his skin, making goose bumps rise. Even the excitement of several children who were chasing one another on the other side of Svanna Rock buzzed through him, along with the joy of their parents as they watched them from their half-risen tents. It was as if they were a part of him. All of them—every single one. Every heart, every mind, every wolf—their essences pulsated through Erec all at once. It made him dizzy, but at the same time, the clamor soothed him. He didn’t understand why, but knowing he had so many people around him, connected to him, brought him a sense of protection. Safety.

It was the strangest sensation Erec had ever experienced. He had never gone through anything like this during his short time in Mikel’s pack. Why was that? Mikel had been like a father to him. Erec should have felt welcomed there. It was one of the reasons he couldn’t accept Mikel’s offer to be alpha. That and his own fear.

Erec glanced at Astrid, wondering if his sudden acceptance had anything to do with her. Had he established the west-side pack as his own because Astrid was here?

“Come on.” Astrid beckoned the group forward with a wave of her hand. Her spear came back to her side, but her lips remained pressed in a grim line. “Let’s get you all settled in.” She started toward a cluster of unfinished cabins at the edge of the rock’s face.

The survivors fell in behind her, walking in silence. Exhaustion reflected on every face as they passed Erec. So did uncertainty and—was that a hint of relief? Anticipation, too? He could certainly sense it, like a tickle down his spine. Then he spotted Stefan’s mother. She hovered toward the back of the crowd, a heavy blanket draped over her shoulders. Despite the purple tint to her lips, they were spread in a big grin. She met Erec’s gaze and mouthed a word of thanks as she shuffled on.

Erec’s chest swelled. After making the ultimate sacrifice to protect her baby, mother and son were about to be reunited again. It was then that Erec realized Astrid had done the right thing. Stefan’s mother, along with every single one of Jerrick’s captives, had been through a great deal of pain and heartache. They deserved this.

Still, there were many questions Erec wanted to ask. He understood standing up to Boden for the survivors, but Astrid had threatened an alpha with a weapon. For him.

Even with her being Boden’s daughter, that type of extreme defiance called for immediate ejection from the pack. Even death. She was lucky Boden gave in and didn’t punish her.

“Astrid, wait!” He sprinted to the front of the group, weaving in between the men, women, and wolves until he reached her side. “What was that all about?”

Astrid’s attention remained straight ahead, her expression focused. “What?”

“You know what,” Erec said. “That. With Boden. No one stands up to an alpha like that.”

Still, she didn’t look at him. “You have,” she replied.

True. He had confronted Boden the very first time he had met him. And again just before. Cursing himself for being such a terrible influence, he wiped a hand over his face. “Well, yes, but I didn’t have a pack then. I had nothing to lose. Do you have any idea what could have happened?”

“Of course I do.”

The indifference in her tone only spiked his worry. “You could have been kicked out of the pack, Astrid,” he went on. “You could have become a rogue and lost everything.”

“I know.”

“I admit my anger got the best of me, but maybe we could have offered Boden some kind of deal to make the survivors pack. Maybe he would have listened to that.”

She didn’t answer.

“You should have never taken such a risk. Not for me.”

She halted, drawing everyone else to a stop. When she turned to Erec, the same severity flashed in her eyes as when she had challenged her father. “You deserve a place to call home as much as these people do.”

Erec’s throat tightened. His first instinct was to refute what she was saying, but his words tangled on his tongue.

“After everything you’ve done for this pack, for these survivors—for me—there was no way I was going to let you leave here, just to return to that cave. No way.” Astrid paused, her eyes closing. She said nothing for a few breaths.

Then, her shoulders fell, and when she looked at him again, her expression softened. “I knew the risk,” she whispered. “I knew, but look what happened. Now everyone is part of the pack. And so are you.” A faint smile touched her lips. “It was worth it,” she said. “I think so, anyway.”

Radiating warmth spread throughout Erec’s body. He didn’t know what to say. Astrid’s selflessness stunned him. To her, he was worth losing her home and her family for. Sure, Erec had helped the west-side pack find Svanna Rock, but that was because he couldn’t stand to see another pack overrun by Jerrick and his men. And, of course, he had saved Astrid from Claus. It was his fault she had been the scouts’ target in the first place; he had been foolish enough to leave her behind.

He hadn’t done anything to earn such kindness.

Astrid spun around and strode toward the collection of dwellings again. “Come on,” she called to the group. “There’s food and some new clothing for you all this way. I think you’ve waited long enough.”

Henrick and the others continued behind her, but Erec remained locked in place. All he could do was watch in silence as Astrid and the survivors walked off. As the distance between them grew, the weight of everything that had transpired these past few days tumbled down on him. The ambush, the death of Mikel, Jerrick’s scouts, the survivors, the fight with Claus, Svanna Rock...then finally having a pack, having a friend in Henrick, and possibly outliving the curse. This time, instead of snow, his thoughts were burying him.

And Astrid… For the first time in his life, he wasn’t alone anymore. She wanted him to stay with her. Be with her. Even if she wasn’t his mate, Erec couldn’t think of anyone else he’d rather spend his remaining days with than her, here, in the west-side pack, part of a family.

The sound of heavy footsteps approaching captured his attention, and he turned. A sizzling sensation raced over his skin again, and then he felt the push of an alpha wolf’s aura against him. Boden. He must have been returning—maybe to tell him he’d changed his mind. But a few seconds later, the black hair and broad shoulders of Astrid’s brother, Filip, appeared at the top of a snowy knoll.

Erec hesitated. That couldn’t be right.

But the closer Filip got, the stronger the alpha spirit became, reaching out to him and searching for Erec’s wolf, curious. Erec’s animal was dormant because of the daytime, but the alpha power emanating from Filip was strong enough to make its mark. He could see it, too, somehow—shimmering a brilliant gold around Filip’s body. But unlike Boden’s aggressive and commanding essence, Filip’s transmitted acceptance and respect. A leader.

A pack with two alpha wolves? Impossible. There was no such thing.

With Boden’s faltering health, Filip had been forced to take over most of the pack responsibilities, and it looked like his wolf had accepted the role of alpha completely now.

How could a pack have two alphas? Had Boden’s fading mind made him unaware of the great shift in his son?

“I just heard you arrived,” Filip said with a tinge of laughter. “Cutting it a bit close to the three-day mark, don’t you think? I was about to send a search group to find you.”

Erec rubbed the back of his neck. The movement sent a spike of pain through his wounded shoulder, and he winced. “We ran into some trouble.”

Filip’s gaze landed on his bandage, and his face turned serious. “I see.”

“But Astrid is fine. She’s over there, getting the survivors settled in.”

Filip glanced at the figures in the distance. “Were you able to rescue all of them?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“It wasn’t easy to convince my father to let you go. Or to take Ash with you. But I’m glad everything went as planned.” Then he added. “For the most part. I also heard one of Jerrick’s scouts is currently in Father’s tent.”

Erec nodded. “That was one of the reasons for the trouble.”

“There are more of them?” Filip’s thick brows raised in worry. Erec could sense that worry, too, as if it had slithered across the space between them and become his own. He tried to shake it off.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to this strange pack connection that linked them all.

“There were two more scouts,” Erec explained. He was much more comfortable relaying the details to Filip than his father. “They chased Astrid, but she managed to kill one of them during the fight. The other ran off.”

“Ash killed one of Jerrick’s men?” He paused as the information sank in. Then, to Erec’s surprise, he laughed.

Had Erec missed something? Confused, he waited for Filip to speak again.

“Ash always wanted me to let her train with the boys growing up,” he went on, shaking his head and chuckling. “I had thought it was a waste of time. Women don’t need to learn to fight, but she had insisted. I eventually gave in, thinking it was only to keep her from wandering off and that it wouldn’t matter much, but she killed one of Jerrick’s men and chased the other off? I can’t believe she proved me wrong.”

Erec smirked. Why wasn’t he surprised? “She can handle that spear better than most men,” he replied.

“I’m guessing that wound of yours is also from the fight?”

“Unfortunately Claus was able to get a strike in again,” Erec said.

Filip’s mouth tugged down in a puzzled grimace. “Again? What do you mean?”

“Claus is Jerrick’s hound. He was the one who knocked me out during the raid of Mikel’s camp. The reason I was buried in the snow.” Erec ground his teeth as his rage resurfaced. He should have been the one in Boden’s tent questioning Claus. The bastard owed him answers.

“Oh.” Filip was quiet for a long moment. “Then you should come with me.”

Erec paused, unsure what he meant. “Er—”

“I was going to visit my father’s tent after finding you. Be a part of the questioning,” Filip said with a shrug. “I think you deserve to be there as well. Especially after what he did to you and Mikel. Would you like to ask some things?”

Erec grinned. “Actually, I think I do have a few questions for him.”

T he temperature inside Boden’s tent was sweltering. The heat hung in the air like a hazy cloud, making sweat bead on Erec’s forehead and upper lip as soon as he stepped inside the cramped space. He wasn’t sure if it was from the large bonfire just outside or from the five massive men squeezed in the single canvas shelter. Six, including Claus’s half-conscious body, which had been tied to a chair that sat at the center. His chin was tucked to his chest. The new gash across his left brow and swollen eyelid hinted that someone had landed at least one good punch on him already.

Kalle and Bec stood behind Claus, shoulder to shoulder, with their hands cupped behind their backs. Bec’s bald head gleamed with perspiration. Although his expression remained stern, unreadable, there was a pleased smirk twisting Kalle’s lips. He must have been the one to knock Claus—payback for having to listen to hours of his blabbering.

Boden hovered over all three, unaware Erec and Filip had entered. As he moved closer to the chair, the top of Boden’s head skimmed the tent’s ceiling. “Now.” His voice boomed. Boden clutched the handle of his broadax so tight, his knuckles were white. “Stop with the games! Tell me what Jerrick is planning. What’s his next move?”

Claus’s chin lifted, his eyes wide with panic. The skin of his face was pale from the loss of blood, almost translucent. He sputtered a cough, causing the middle of his bottom lip to split open.

“I’m losing my patience!” Boden bellowed, raising his weapon. The sharpened stone caught the candlelight and gleamed ominously.

Claus eyed the axe and trembled. “All right!” His voice was barely audible, a raspy whisper full of fear. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you!” He took his time swallowing and finding a good position in the wooden chair. When he opened his mouth, only a strained gurgle came out. Erec couldn’t decipher any words from it.

Claus swallowed again, and Boden leaned in.

Then, Claus tilted his head up, closer to Boden’s ear. “You’re. Going. To. Die.” He spit at Boden’s face, but thankfully, the wad of blood and saliva narrowly missed his cheek. Red-stained teeth flashed as Claus threw his head back and burst into a fit of high-pitched laughter.

Boden roared, whipping his axe behind him, ready to deliver a final blow. “You foul little—”

Filip rushed forward and held up his hands to stop his father. “Father, don’t! We need him alive.”

“Don’t you see? Claus wants us to kill him,” Erec added, his pulse racing. “Then we can’t get any of the information we want.”

Boden froze. His gaze jumped between Erec and Filip, seeing them for the first time since they had entered the tent. “What is he doing in here?” he barked at his son. His red face gained even more color.

Filip, though, kept his tone calm, even when Boden’s alpha spirit lashed out, swirling around the confined space like a tornado. “I brought him. Erec’s my guest.”

Erec could sense Filip’s own alpha wolf receding, becoming only a flicker compared to Boden’s storm.

“This is my private quarters,” Boden growled. His muscles bulged under his chainmail as he glared at Erec. “Get out.”

Erec was about to protest, but Filip’s sharp, “No,” kept him from speaking. Filip pulled his shoulders back, and his wolf reared up again, meeting Boden’s head-to-head. The energy in the room intensified, making it hard for Erec to breathe. The air crackled and sparked around them. Claus’s maniacal laughter echoed in his eardrums, drowning all outside sounds.

Kalle and Bec shifted uncomfortably on their feet. Erec’s skin crawled as power bounced between father and son.

Despite the change in the atmosphere, Filip’s face remained smooth, his demeanor composed. “He stays,” he said.

Boden’s shoulders dropped, and at the same time, his alpha wolf retreated. Immediately, a rush of relief flooded the tent and washed over Erec, as if someone had opened the tent’s flap, letting in the winter chill.

“He can stay,” Boden snapped.

Erec couldn’t believe Boden the Warrior had backed down a second time. Maybe his sickness was affecting him in more ways than they had seen. He was losing control over his alpha wolf, too.

Claus’s wild gaze shot to Erec, and his cackling ceased. Slowly, his expression twisted into sinister amusement. “Where’s the little lady?” he drawled. “Astrid…I believe that was her name. Where is she?”

Liquid fire pumped through Erec’s veins. If he hadn’t reached Astrid when he had back in the forest, who knows what terrible things Claus would have done to her. Just thinking about it made wrath slam against his temples and his vision blur. “I told you never to say her name,” he pushed through a clenched jaw.

“Astrid? My daughter?” Boden grunted and pointed a meaty finger at Claus. “You keep her name out of your mouth and tell us where Jerrick is.”

Claus’s gaze stayed trained on Erec. Studying him. Testing him. “The alpha’s daughter…” He drew in a long, deep breath and closed his eyes, as if he was recalling her scent. “Hmm… How delicious. ”

Erec growled and leaped forward, but Filip’s hand was quick on his chest to hold him back.

“He’s trying to get a rise out of you, Erec.” But Filip’s calm voice wasn’t enough to tame the whirlwind building inside Erec. Filip may have been right, but the predatory gleam in Claus’s eye whenever he purred Astrid’s name was all it took to slingshot Erec’s anger forward. He knew what Claus wanted with her; he knew what he was insinuating. There wasn’t a chance he was going to let this monster so much as lay a finger on her. Over his dead body. Erec’s wolf may have been lost to him during the day, but he was no weakling in his human form. He’d rip him apart limb from limb if he had to.

“She seems delicate. Soft. Like a flower.” A wicked grin formed on Claus’s face. “I can change that.”

Erec lunged forward again, but this time, Filip didn’t attempt to stop him. Erec’s fist met Claus’s nose hard enough to throw him and the chair back on its rear legs. The simultaneous crunch confirmed bones were broken. When Kalle and Beck shoved Claus upright, Erec seized his shoulder in a deadly grip.

“Tell us what Jerrick’s next step is,” Erec demanded. “Now!”

Blood flowed from Claus’s nostrils like a waterfall, but he smiled through it. His laughter rang out, piercing.

Erec’s patience was about to snap. He reached into his boot and yanked out his knife.

“Erec…” Filip’s warning came from behind him.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill him.” Erec’s gaze fell to Claus’s legs. Someone had given him pants to cover his nakedness from the change, but a dark stain marked the fabric where Astrid’s spear had punctured his thigh muscle. With how deep the injury had been, there was no way it was fully healed. Just then, an idea struck. “But he’s going to tell us what we want to know.”

“Oh, will I?” Claus’s brows rose in mock interest.

Erec plunged the blade straight into the wound and gave it a hard twist. Claus wailed in pain, jerking against the rope restraints and thrashing.

Erec’s nails bit into Claus’s shoulder to hold him still as he stared directly into his eyes. He’d waited too long for this—too long to taste any sort of revenge for Mikel’s death. Or for what had happened to Astrid in the woods. This filthy mutt was going to pay.

“Unless you want to lose complete use of your leg—” Erec gripped the knife’s handle, ready to turn it again, “—I suggest you tell us where Jerrick is and what his next step is.”

Claus fought more, throwing his massive frame side to side. The chair whined under the weight.

Another spin of the dagger had Claus howling.

Claus’s gaze whipped around the tent, his eyes wide with terror. Real terror. Erec could smell his fear leeching from his pores. “I don’t know where Jerrick is!” he gasped. “H-He had me scouting the forest for any wanderers. Rogues.” His voice broke, and he sucked in air through his teeth. “Anyone else he can recruit.”

“He’s lying,” Boden shouted.

“I don’t think he is,” Filip replied.

“Of course he knows where Jerrick is,” Boden said. “He doesn’t want to give up his alpha.”

Claus shook his head vigorously. “It’s true! He was searching for your p-pack. He was following your trail to your camp west of the river.”

“What about the prisoners? Why did he leave them in the forest?” Erec asked. His fingers stayed wrapped around the knife’s handle.

The tendons in Claus’s neck bulged through his skin as he held in the pain. “They were the ones who refused to join in his mission.”

“And what mission is that?”

“T-Take out all packs to form one. Become the sole alpha. Rule over all of the land,” Claus replied.

“So, it’s true…” Filip whispered. Worry washed over his face.

“Jerrick will be happy to see you’re still alive,” Claus said, glancing up at Erec. “He’s been looking for you.”

Erec stiffened. He let go of the blade. “What? Looking for me?”

Claus nodded.

“Why?”

Suddenly, Claus’s body sagged in the chair, exhausted. His head fell to his chest.

Heart pounding, Erec grabbed his arms and gave him a firm shake. “What are you talking about?” he yelled in his face, but Claus’s eyelids drooped. “Why is Jerrick looking for me?” Was it because he was a rogue? Did he want to try and force him into his army? But how would Jerrick know he didn’t have a pack? He couldn’t. There was no way.

Silence was the only response. Claus didn’t move.

Erec cursed. Had he accidentally gone too far and killed him? He smacked Claus’s cheek a few times to force him to gain consciousness. His head rolled to the side.

“Kill me…” Claus’s voice was hardly there at all, just a breathy grunt. “Kill me… Jerrick’ll do worse.”

Boden stepped forward, axe in hand. “Let’s just put the dog out of his misery.”

Filip’s hand shot up to stop him. “No, Father. We can’t. Remember?”

“First tell me why Jerrick is after me,” Erec pushed Claus again for an answer. “What does he want with me?”

When Claus opened his eyes again, pure, heated rage burned there. He turned to Boden and let out a menacing growl. “Kill me, old man!” he bellowed. “Do it! Where are your balls? Do it!”

Boden’s nostrils flared, and his breathing became ragged.

“You’re not an alpha! You’re not a man! Your mate would be ashamed!” Claus’s shouts filled the tent. Blood sprayed from his lips with every word. “She’s looking down at you now, wondering how she could ever be mated with such a failure.”

Erec froze, knowing full well that Claus had gone too far. Everyone else knew it, too. They stood as still as statues as the tension in the room hit its peak. Mentioning Boden’s dead mate was the trigger Claus had been searching for. That was it.

“Not even death could save her from the embarrassment,” Claus snapped. “Boden the Warrior? You’re Boden the weak!”

Boden let out a deafening roar.

This time, when he pulled back his enormous axe, preparing for the swing, no one dared to stop him.