Page 21 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

I walked away, trailed by the Moonblessed shifter who’d sniffed out my magic earlier.

“This open area will work well for magic training,” I mused aloud, then caught several Moonblessed wolves tensing. “Freya needs room to practice safely.”

“Magic?” One of them spat the word. “We don’t need witchcraft here.”

I’d promised we wouldn’t be hiding our magic anymore, but I hadn’t realized we’d be on borrowed land when I began helping Freya master her powers.

Fortunately, a giant black wolf chose that moment to materialize from the shadows like the predator he was. He shifted and strode toward us, unconcerned with his nudity.

“See that rune on his face?” Rowan growled. “You’re speaking to one of Freya’s mates. He may be half mage, but he belongs to the Howling Echo now.”

The way he said I belonged to them sent shivers down my spine.

I couldn’t keep my eyes from scanning Rowan’s naked form, noticing with a sense of pride that stubble filled in the pink areas on his chin where the witchfire scars had once been.

No trace of them remained on his perfectly muscular body.

Only the presence of Moonblessed in our midst could steal my attention away from his impressive form.

The Moonblessed shifter’s lip curled. “A witch in a wolf pack? It’s unnatural.”

Rowan’s eyes flashed gold, his alpha power surging, the weight of it pressing down on me and making my wolf whimper.

He snarled out an alpha-bark, “Keep your opinions to—”

The nearly feral alpha cut himself off, taking a step back to gather himself. Everyone nearby froze as his alpha power crackled and then dissipated around us. None of us dared speak as Rowan wrestled with his beast nature.

“Zak has proven himself worthy of our trust,” he said instead, each word measured and tightly controlled. “He won’t enter your walls. If you have concerns, take them to your alpha pair.”

Through our Bonded link, I sensed how difficult it had been for him to restrain himself. Shame and guilt flooded the bond. He could have forced these subordinate wolves’ submission, but chose not to. My respect for him deepened.

The Moonblessed wolves retreated, though their suspicious glances lingered. Once they were out of earshot, I turned to Rowan, who had remained naked through the entire conversation, uncaring of who saw his powerful muscles vibrating with fury.

“Thank you,” I sent through our connection, and he visibly relaxed, taking a deep breath that only served to make his strong pecs look that much more impressive. “Though you didn’t have to defend me.”

“Yes, I did.” His mental voice held iron certainty. “Gage may not have marked you yet, but you’ll be pack soon enough. You’re one of Freya’s mates. My wolf would defend you to my dying breath.”

The admission stunned me. Before I could respond, he shifted back into his wolf form. He melted back into the forest, leaving me to ponder how far we’d come from our first wary encounters. The remaining Moonblessed shifters eyed me but said nothing.

I looked around for some way to help set up camp, determined to prove Rowan’s faith in me wasn’t misplaced. Our hosts might doubt me, but I would show them — and everyone else — that I could be more than just the witch they feared.

Gage and Heath strode over just as I sensed Rowan beginning to run through the wildlands.

Heath scowled as he entered my space, forcing me to step back to give them space as Heath moved closer.

When he positioned himself between me and the wary Moonblessed shifters, I suddenly realized Rowan must have tipped them off.

“Have you picked a space to train Freya?” Heath asked, standing too close for comfort, forcing the Moonblessed shifters to back away.

“Not… yet,” I said slowly, still reeling from Rowan’s defense of me and now the other two alphas’ protectiveness.

“Let him get settled first,” Gage growled, his eyes tracking Heath’s proximity to me .

I sensed the passage of unspoken words as Heath met Gage’s eyes, their gazes locked in a battle for dominance.

“The sooner he trains her, the better,” Heath argued, not backing down.

This time, Gage stepped into Heath’s space, and I watched Heath’s pupils dilate, his breath catching as he refused to back up. The pack alpha’s big hand landed on Heath’s shoulder in a crushing grip. Their eyes locked, neither averting their gaze.

Gage’s big hand slid around to the back of Heath’s neck as though waiting to see what the other alpha would do. Then Gage pulled him in for a kiss. Heath’s whole body seemed to melt into the embrace even as his hands fisted in Gage’s shirt.

The Moonblessed shifters backed away as though trying to give them some privacy, their own confusion obvious by the scent in the air. Everyone surely knew these two were Freya’s mates. Hard enough for wolf shifters to accept that she had more than one, but now to see them kissing each other?

It drew a chuckle out of me, which caused Gage to pull back from Heath. They both glanced over at me with questions in their eyes.

“I’m sure Freya would have loved to see that display of dominance,” I said in my best bedroom voice. “I’ll admit it got me a little hot under the collar myself.”

I unbuttoned the top three buttons of my Henley and noted with satisfaction how both Gage and Heath’s eyes followed every movement of my fingers.

Gage’s palm tightened on the back of Heath’s neck, as Heath’s grip crumpled Gage’s shirt all the more.

The Moonblessed shifters turned tail and found other places to be.

“You’ve just confused the hell out of Moonblessed, but I can’t blame you. With a man that gorgeous, who could keep their hands off him?”

Gage’s eyes darkened for a heartbeat while emotions tangled together in the bond, making it hard to determine which ones came from him and which came from Heath. The chief emotions I sensed included desire, annoyance, impatience, possessiveness, wariness, and jealousy.

That was enough to bring me to my senses. Gage and Heath were too tied up in each other for me to be flirting so openly with them. I reminded myself that I’d decided not to complicate things with Freya’s alphas until my relationship with her was on more solid ground.

Pulling myself together, I said, “But to answer your question, no, I still have some looking around to do before I find the right spot to train Freya.”

“Don’t let us stop you. Come on,” Gage growled to Heath as he released him. “We need to tell Hugo and Idori about Tork.”

Heath eyed the ATV Gage was heading toward. “I’m not riding bitch.”

“Afraid you can’t handle being pressed up against me?” Gage’s voice held a dangerous edge.

“More like afraid you can’t handle it,” Heath shot back.

Their gazes locked, electricity crackling between them.

From the way Gage’s lips twitched, I guessed that they were silently communicating over the Bonded link.

Without another word, Heath swung his leg over the seat behind Gage, his hands settling possessively on the other man’s hips.

The pack alpha tensed, and I glanced between them, trying to unravel what had caused all their tension.

“Just drive,” Heath muttered.

As they drove up along the edge of the valley toward the wall, I wondered if they would ever sort out whatever was brewing between them. The way Gage had kissed Heath right in front of me… was he marking his territory, or trying to prove something to himself?

Either way, I needed to be more careful.

The last thing I wanted was to piss off Gage if I ever expected him to welcome me into the pack.

I turned to see if I could help Flint, noticing him directing some shifters in erecting a giant tent as a few others team-carried some heavy wooden tables toward them.

“Shante! Willow!” Freya’s delighted cry snapped me from my thoughts.

Two female wolves emerged from the tree line, shifting smoothly to their human forms. The gray wolf with brownish legs turned into a brown-skinned, muscular woman with braids down her back.

The other became a thin reddish-blond woman with witchfire burns on her arms. The easy grace of their transformation made my wolf whine with envy, but I averted my eyes from their nudity.

My chest warmed at how Freya’s whole face lit up at seeing her friends.

“We heard you were back,” the brown-skinned woman grinned as she pulled on clothes from her sling bag. “And I heard you brought someone new with you.”

“Come and let me introduce you,” Freya called to them as she came over to me.

“It’s my pleasure to meet Freya’s friends,” I said as the now fully clothed women approached.

“This is Shante,” Freya said, gesturing to the woman with braids. “And this is Willow,” she pointed to the one with witchfire scars, and I caught guilt through our mate bond.

“And who might you be?” Shante asked, her eyes sharp despite her easy smile.

“This is Zak,” Freya said, sliding her hand into mine. “My fifth mate.”

Pride swelled through me at her casual claim, even as Shante’s eyebrows shot up.

“Fifth? Well…” She grinned at Freya before glancing me up and down. “Girl’s got taste.”

Freya snarled, and Shante laughed. “He’s all yours.” Then she sniffed in my direction.

“Yes, he’s a hybrid like me,” Freya added.

“Ah,” Willow said. “That explains why you didn’t come to see us. Moonblessed only allows shifters on packlands.”

Shante nodded, explaining to me, “My friend Brielle lives in the wildlands because she’s a hybrid like you guys. And hybrids are really only allowed by special exception.” Her expression softened. “Many of our packmates are refugees who’ve been hurt by witches.”

“I thought Brielle preferred the wildlands,” Freya argued.

The name tickled my memory, and I recalled earlier mentions of the hybrid being Freya’s first teacher.

“True,” Shante nodded. “She likes her solitude. I’ll admit our pack is becoming more biased against hybrids, not just witches. After my packmates saw what Freya’s magic could do…” She shrugged meaningfully.