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SKYE

M y head was spinning as I headed into the tent to shift back and help deal with whatever the hell just happened in the pack. Already bonded pairs were starting to sneak off to consummate their newfound bonds. The pack run was all but forgotten because about half of them just found their soulmate. Remy hadn’t even needed to tell me we should shift back and regroup to talk about this before I turned and all but ran for the seclusion of the tent.

A few women followed me, but I was surprised to see Lulu waiting for me in the middle of the tent, her expression solemn and her hands clasped in front of her.

I shifted immediately and started grabbing for my clothes. “What’s wrong?” I demanded over my shoulder.

Lulu had been all but hidden the last day since we arrived in Blackwater. If she was here, it probably meant something was wrong.

“Is it Linden or Elias?” I pressed, pulling my leggings back on. The last thing I needed tonight was those two causing another layer of chaos.

“How many just bonded?” she questioned softly.

My hands froze in the midst of pulling my shirt over my head. I yanked it down a second later. “What did you say?”

“You knew that would happen?” Tate was beside me, pulling clothes on as fast as I was.

“I had a suspicion,” Lulu admitted, looking slightly guilty. “After the bonding wave you mentioned on the plane, I kind of wondered.”

“A heads up would’ve been awesome,” I said a little helplessly, shooting her an exasperated look. “We have a field full of newly bonded mates.”

“It wasn’t a sure thing, Skye. This kind of thing hasn’t happened in years . We’re talking hundreds of years.”

“Who is she?” Katy asked, flicking a finger at Lulu.

“This is Lulu,” Tate answered for me.

“The witch?”

Lulu shot Katy a withering look. “I’m not a witch.”

“She’s an elementalist,” I corrected quickly, waving a hand. “But what I want to know is why you knew this would happen. And, more importantly, why the hell you didn’t give me a heads up.”

“Skye.” Mom touched my shoulder behind me.

I turned and realized there was a tent full of women gawking at us and whispering.

“Just a heads up, but even I can scent the pheromones in the air right now,” Lulu said worriedly. “You might want to either try to wrangle things or resolve yourself to a massive mating orgy outside the tent.”

I rubbed my temples. “This isn’t happening.”

“Can someone explain to me what is happening?” Ainsley demanded behind us.

I spun to see the normally poised and confident girl now pale and practically shaking. Her eyes darted around the tent anxiously, lingering on the flaps of the opening.

“More specifically,” she stammered, tearing her eyes away, “why do I suddenly feel the need to jump the McAllister twins?”

Larkin gasped softly beside me, and a new round of whispers swirled in the air.

“Both of them?” one woman asked.

“Yes,” Ainsley practically snarled, whirling on the older woman. “So don’t get any ideas about my guys.”

The woman stumbled back, hands outstretched. “I didn’t mean it that way!”

“Enough!” I snapped sharply. The room fell completely silent. Now I was left in a deathly quiet space with a bunch of nervous women.

Shit.

I turned to the one I could count on to handle them.

“Mom, can you please take the women outside? And maybe see if Remy can get over here so we can sort this out?”

“Of course,” she said, flashing me a thin smile. “Let’s go, ladies.”

She herded them outside, and I finally felt like I could breathe.

Ainsley stared at me. “I’ll take any explanation. If I just landed a mate, cool, but someone tell me which one it is.”

“Both of them?” Lulu offered.

I frowned and turned back to Lulu. “What you said before—twins can bond with the same person.”

Lulu nodded quickly. “They have shared a soul since conception. It’s not uncommon at all for twins to bond to the same mate.”

“So, I get two guys because they share a damn soul?” Ainsley practically screeched.

“They’re nice guys,” Larkin offered helpfully. She would know since they had tried to date her a few months earlier before Rhodes shut that shit down.

Ainsley’s eyes narrowed. “You have your own mate, Larkin. Lay off mine.”

My eyes went big as Ainsley slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Why did I just get so mad about that?” she mumbled through her fingers.

“Because they’re your mates,” Lulu said simply. “You’re naturally possessive of them.”

“You did say you were high maintenance,” Katy pointed out with a grin. “Clearly fate knew you needed two guys to satisfy all your needs.”

“Do you want to be their mate?” Lulu asked gently, stepping forward.

“They started... fighting,” Ainsley murmured absently. “I came in here because I felt like it was my fault. Like I had to choose.”

“You don’t,” Lulu said firmly. “You can always choose not to bond with them, but—”

“But I want to,” Ainsley finished, looking a little dazed and flushed. “I want them both.”

“Then tell them it’s not a competition and claim your mates,” Lulu told her. “And have fun with it.”

Ainsley’s eyes flickered to me for a second, and all I could do was smile back. Whatever permission she seemed to be seeking, that was enough. She turned on her heel and marched back out of the tent.

Barely a second later, Remy came through the tent, followed by Rhodes, Dante and Ryder. A few steps later, Dimitri and Alexei entered with my parents trailing.

“Okay, things seem to be sorting themselves out for now,” Mom told me, fighting a blush.

I didn’t need to guess how things were being sorted out. From the sounds on the other side of the tent, some people hadn’t waited to find a private place to consummate their bond.

Group bonding orgy it was.

“What the hell is going on?” Ryder muttered, running a hand through his hair dark. “It’s like everyone lost their minds.”

“No,” Rhodes answered, shaking his head, “this is like what happened last time. But a helluva lot more.”

“A second bonding wave,” Nikolai confirmed, his gaze lingering on Lulu before they nodded at each other.

“Yeah,” I drawled slowly, “Lulu was just explaining how she thought this might happen.”

“What?” Remy’s sharp tone cut through the air like a machete.

Nikolai cleared his throat. “We both did, to be honest.”

I flinched and stepped back. “So, this was what? Another experiment?”

Remy growled and closed in to stand beside me as Nikolai held up his hands innocently.

“It’s not like that, Skye.”

“Then tell me exactly what it’s like, Nikolai .” I planted my hands on my hips and stared at him.

Now he flinched when I threw his name back at him. Those warm, fuzzy ‘dad’ feelings were quickly being replaced by a chafing annoyance.

“Lulu and I thought about what you revealed on the plane, and we remembered that there was a history of Alpha mates triggering a bonding wave amongst their pack,” he explained slowly. “We suspected it may happen tonight.”

“Tell me what you did wasn’t just another experiment like Elias did,” I went on, my voice shaking with emotion.

I was an idiot. A total, fucking idiot. Would I ever learn to not trust people who didn’t deserve it?

Remy stood behind me, wrapping an arm around my chest when I started to stalk forward.

“Easy, baby,” he murmured, so quietly I almost missed it from the blood roaring between my ears.

Nikolai’s face fell. “I never meant to deceive you. It was a guess, Skye, nothing more.”

“Skye,” Lulu started, her voice pleading, “you know I would never want to hurt you. And what just happened out there is a good thing . Don’t you see that? Don’t you see what you are?”

“I get it,” I muttered, frustrated. “But a heads up would’ve been appreciated.”

“Maybe we should all sit down and talk about it,” Dimitri said slowly, coming to stand between us.

“Maybe you should stay out of it,” Tate sniped, glaring at him.

He turned his cold green eyes to her. “This doesn’t really concern you, sweetheart.”

The snarls and growls that came from Dante and Ryder nearly shook the tent.

“Okay, everyone shut up!” Remy finally roared, bringing us all back to the present matter. He pressed a quick kiss to the side of my neck, almost like an apology or a reminder that I wasn’t included in that ‘everyone.’

“Lulu, right?” he asked, turning to her. “Why don’t you explain what you meant and what you know.”

Lulu sighed. “This hasn’t happened in, like, three centuries. That’s how long it’s been since we knew of a true Alpha pair.”

“Every pack had an Alpha pair,” Katy said coolly. “The Alpha and his mate—”

“That’s not an Alpha pair ,” Lulu interrupted. “An Alpha pair means both mates are Alphas. Remy is an Alpha and Skye is an Alpha. Not just that, but they’re bonded . You need those three things for a true Alpha pair. Plus they’re second gens, so that’s a whole new level of intensity.”

“Second what ?” Rhodes asked, frowning.

“It basically means that we each come from bonded mates,” I answered him quickly. “We’re each the product of a bond.”

“Exactly,” Lulu confirmed with a nod. “Alphas set the tone for their pack. That’s just a fact.”

“You said this happened before?” I pressed, needing answers.

“Yeah,” she replied. “There was another Alpha pair. When they consummated their bond—”

I could already feel the heat creeping up my neck. Back to the sex angle again.

“—it triggered a bonding wave in their pack.”

“That’s why we had so many people bond a few weeks ago,” Larkin mused softly. “It was right after you guys... you know .”

“Neither of us were Alphas then,” I pointed out.

“Remy was close to it.” Lulu shrugged. “And you were always supposed to be one.”

“So, why now? Why did it happen again?” Remy’s voice rumbled through my back, vibrating with his deep tone.

“Because now you’re both Alphas,” Nikolai answered for her, looking at me. “You are the Narodnaya Alpha, along with dozens of other packs in the eastern hemisphere. And Remy just annexed nearly a dozen new packs himself. Your strength is growing.”

“And that strength is being shared with your pack,” Lulu finished.

“Is it over now?” I asked evenly, leaning back against Remy’s chest. “I mean, was this it?”

“Probably not,” Lulu said with a small smile. “I’m guessing that this will trickle out to the pack members not physically here.”

“Meaning?” I prompted.

“Meaning if Narodnaya had a pack run or what used to be Stone Valley had a run, there would be more bonded pairs established,” Nikolai supplemented. “This also means more packs may come to join you.”

“To leech off their crazy bonding ability?” Katy demanded hotly.

“To find stability and leadership, and yes, possibly their mate,” Dimitri countered. He folded his arms over his chest.

Okay, that actually sounded kind of cool. Remy and I just being us could help others find their mate. We could help other people find the same kind of love and acceptance we felt with each other.

“It also means they’re a target,” Alexei muttered darkly, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully.

Well, that sounded less cool.

“What kind of target?” Rhodes demanded, the arm he had wrapped around Larkin’s shoulder tightened.

Alexei looked at me alone. “Damien will hear of this. What Skye and Remy are doing threatens the entire system he’s based his assault on. Plus, more packs will want to join Blackwater when they hear of what happened tonight.”

A man cleared his throat at the entrance of the tent, and we all turned to see Warren standing just inside, his face pale.

“I just received word from a member of my council,” he said quietly. “Long Mesa attacked Stone Valley tonight.”

Remy went rigid behind me, and my hand came up to grab the forearm still locked around my chest like a steel band.

Warren’s eyes narrowed at Remy. “You promised to keep my people safe.”

“You’re right. I did.” Remy exhaled, his hot breath tickling my neck. “As of tonight, Stone Valley is part of Blackwater. What they did was attack my pack.”

“Then what do you plan to do?” Warren demanded. “All of these bondings are great, but they mean nothing if we can’t protect our packs. Your mate’s mother is proof that the bonds are easily broken.”

Now Nikolai snarled, going to stand protectively in front of my mother. Hesitantly, Mom lifted a hand and slid her touch down his back. The fierce expression on his face didn’t waver, but his stance relaxed at the slight touch.

Remy let me go and came to stand in front of me, facing Warren. “We still have Linden Markham here. He’s alive, which means he’s still Alpha of Long Mesa.”

“A situation easily remedied,” Nikolai ground out. “We could send his head back to his pathetic little pack in a box.”

“No,” Remy replied. “If we’re taking down Long Mesa, we’re doing it the right way.”

“Fuck,” Dante muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

Dimitri snorted. “Head in a box still sounds fun to me.”

“We’re taking Linden back to Long Mesa,” Remy said, his tone final. “Once we’re there, I’ll challenge him and take his pack once and for all.”