Page 13 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

Freya

In the early hours of the morning, Heath and Flint loaded the ATVs into the original Howling Echo trailer.

Heath drove the Jeep with me and Zak in the backseat while Flint and Gage took the truck with the trailer behind.

And along with us rolled a small caravan of followers.

Rowan ran ahead, covering more ground faster as a wolf than we could while slowly offroading through the wildlands.

No one had slept much, so the trek was mostly silent, each of us coming to terms with being exiled once again, even if it was by choice this time.

“There’s a clearing up ahead,” Rowan called through our Bonded link, only announcing it to Gage and me.

“I want to do more to bring Zak into the fold,” I replied, opening my voice up to my four alpha mates. “Let’s try to broadcast as much as we can to all six of us from now on,” I asked.

“Very well,” Rowan said, then repeated himself so all my mates could hear, including Zak.

“Big enough for this many?” Gage asked, keeping the Bonded link wide open among us all.

We’d agreed to leave Frost Fang, but we wanted to stay close by for now. We planned to wait a few days to let word spread throughout the pack. None of us wanted to leave behind anyone who felt unsafe staying in a pack as unstable as Frost Fang had become.

“As good as we’re likely to get if we want to stick around here,” Rowan replied.

As soon as Heath rolled to a stop, I gratefully popped out of the Jeep, my wolf thrilled to have the sky overhead again.

I surveyed the clearing that would be home for the next few days, only a few hours south of Frost Fang territory, noticing the rolling hills would make setting up tents difficult.

Frost Fang alphas directed the other vehicles to park in ordered rows. Bretton began organizing our pack followers into work parties while Heath and Gage discussed security. From a distance, Rowan’s golden eyes tracked every movement as he patrolled the perimeter in wolf form.

My chest tightened as I watched Flint help unload supplies, remembering how his sister’s bitter words had driven us to this point. But when I reached for him through our mate bond, I found not despair but acceptance.

“Don’t worry about me, moonbeam. This isn’t my first exile,” he said, still leaving his words open through the Bonded link for all of my mates to hear.

“You’re not sad to leave Fern behind?”

“I was the first time. This time is different.”

“This time, you’re with your true family already,” Heath clapped him on the shoulder before grabbing the bagged tent from him and carrying it away to set up.

“Ever set up a tent, city boy?” Heath called over to Zak, who left my side to join him.

“Never needed to,” he admitted. “How can I help?”

“First, we figure out which poles are the long ones and short ones.”

Heath unpacked the bag, laying out all the poles. He jumped back as the poles rose in the air as Zak lifted his hands, separating them by length.

“What do we do with long poles?” Zak winked as his hands moved, magically keeping the poles airborne .

Heath laughed. “I bet you already know what to do with a long pole, mage.”

“No need to compare pole sizes, boys,” I joked as I turned over a table to lock its legs in place, doing my part to help set up camp. Still, I glanced around, worried at what our pack followers might think of Zak’s blatant use of magic. Everyone seemed busy with their own tasks, however.

With help from Zak’s magic, Heath and Zak made quick work of the three-person tent that some of us would no doubt end up sleeping in. With more mates, I wondered if we would have to start taking turns somehow. That was a problem for another time.

“The northern towns have declared for Fern,” Bretton reported, appearing at Gage’s side. “We’ll want to keep our distance, avoid looking threatening.”

“Agreed.” Gage’s shoulders tensed. “Have the hunting parties stick to the south of here. We don’t want to give them any excuse to feel pressured.”

“On it,” Bretton said before heading away.

“The pack bond is full of turmoil,” Gage said, his eyes distant. “I can feel their confusion, their fear of what comes next.”

“What happens if the pack bond with Frost Fang breaks?” I asked softly, observing it with my newfound sight.

Bright lines connected Gage to every Frost Fang wolf who’d followed us, but the ones leading back into the packlands looked strained, stretched thin by distance and ready to fray.

“Not sure. I’ve never heard of a pack alpha in exile,” Heath answered, moving closer to wrap his arms around me. “It’s not like a formal transfer of power or…” He swallowed. “Or the pack alpha’s death.”

“Without an alpha present, they’ll be vulnerable,” Varden growled, overhearing us as he set up a tent nearby. “Denraider won’t hesitate to take advantage.”

His words carried an uncomfortable truth. What would happen to the packlands if they came under attack? Without alphas of their own, they would be defenseless to alpha commands from outsiders like Denraider .

“Best that we worry about our own camp for the time being,” Gage answered. “Frost Fang will come up with their own defenses.”

Despite his words, his worry leaked into our connection.

“At least we didn’t cause a civil war,” Heath said, pulling me tighter to him. “That’s the worst kind of pack war.”

The choice hadn’t been easy, but we’d all rather be exiles than tear Frost Fang apart. Even Bretton had followed us, though it meant leaving behind everything he knew.

“I don’t like how the pack bond threads look ready to snap,” I murmured through the Bonded link.

Zak’s dark eyes met mine. “Magic always finds a way to adapt, my dear hybrid. Maybe pack bonds can, too.”

“It might adapt, but what happens if it changes so much that the link to all the alphas is severed?” I wondered. “Or if Fern gets the rest of the pack to agree to reject Gage as their pack alpha? That might break the bond entirely.”

Gage shook his head. “Fern wouldn’t try it. The pack bond with me is all that’s keeping another alpha from claiming Frost Fang. As long as I hold it, the pack has a chance to find their own way.”

Zak’s hand brushed along my forearm. “Your mate’s right.”

The casual way he called Gage my mate sent heat coursing through me.

Varden approached, meeting Gage’s eyes before politely averting his gaze. “Dean and I need input on the security perimeter.”

Strangely, Varden didn’t seem to hold any grudge against Gage for beating him. If anything, his defeat had made him easier to be around.

Dean and a few other alphas came over, no doubt responding to Gage’s summons through the pack bond, which looked thin even leading to the nearby alphas. Heath let go of me, instantly leaving my skin cold.

Something unspoken passed between him and Flint, who moved closer to my side. “I’ll stay here. You two go on ahead.”

Zak and Flint teamed up to set up a temporary kitchen area as Heath and Gage walked away side by side.

They led the Frost Fang alphas, whose loud alpha voices carried over the clearing, discussing the perimeter and how best to take turns patrolling it.

Through our bond, I caught Heath’s flash of desire when Gage spoke, all raw power and authority despite our exile.

Those two had been dancing around each other more than usual lately.

The Bonded link I could see between them glowed almost as bright as their connections to me, though neither seemed ready to acknowledge it.

Then Gage paused to call back, “Zak.”

My fifth mate’s head whipped up, his pupils blown as he looked toward Gage.

“Yes, alpha?” he practically purred.

Zak was still finding his place among us, but hearing his voice like that made dream fragments resurface… How many times had I pulled Zak into my dreams during my heat? I’d longed to have him there, right alongside my other mates.

Gage’s eyes narrowed as he looked the mage up and down. “Brielle once used wards to help us secure the perimeter around Freya during her heat. Could you do something similar?”

“Brielle is a half-mage hybrid as well,” Flint supplied, since Zak had never met her.

“I could indeed, and it would be good practice for Freya,” Zak glanced back toward me. “It’ll be easier for us to do it after you’ve established the perimeter. I’d rather not have to move the wards if you change your mind.”

“Very well. We’ll come back to that,” Gage said before continuing onward with Heath and the Frost Fang alphas.

Before I could help Zak and Flint with the kitchen setup, a commotion near the vehicles drew my attention.

Brooke had stumbled while carrying supplies, and several former Ironwood refugees rushed to help.

Seeing them working together, free from Luka’s cruelty and Frost Fang’s indifference to their plight, made my heart swell.

“They’re already forming new bonds,” I silently observed, seeing the faint lines of connection growing between packmates, totally separate from Frost Fang or Ironwood bonds. “Strong in their own way.”

“Because they chose this,” Flint said as he carried over a twenty-pound propane tank for the camp stove. “Just as we did.”

“Do you think they’ll really want to go back to Ironwood?” I wondered .

“Some might,” Flint answered. “Especially after a few days on the road.”

“I’m sure not everyone is well suited to camp life,” Zak agreed.

I watched the interplay of bonds as more former packmates arrived, having followed our trail.

Each new arrival strengthened our core while further straining the connections leading back to Frost Fang packlands.

Some bonds stretched gossamer-thin, ready to break.

Would they continue to weaken if we distanced ourselves from Frost Fang packlands?

I hadn’t realized I’d been standing there, staring, until Zak stepped into my field of view. Blinking rapidly, I allowed my vision of the pack bonds to fade so I could better focus on my surroundings.