Page 23 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

Gage

Through the pack bond, I sensed Flint directing our Frost Fang packmates in setting up additional sleeping tents.

I noticed he’d already had their help setting up a large main tent, tall enough to stand in, where we could gather to discuss our next moves.

All our sleeping tents surrounded that tent, as they should since the Howling Echo ruled this motley group without question.

Meanwhile, Rowan patrolled deep in the wildlands.

The lone wolf preferred solitude to time with the pack, so I let him be.

He was probably on the lookout for the rogues who Moonblessed had driven off.

We would outnumber them, but Rowan was our best tracker.

If he said they were long gone, I would believe him.

If he told us to prepare for trouble, we would.

Heath’s lust leaked into the bond as I strode through our camp toward where Zak was teaching Freya magic in the valley downslope from the rolling Moonblessed farmlands.

My wolf bristled at the sight of the mage’s hands on my mate. Even though Freya had taken my permission to kiss him, watching him guide her movements as she practiced her magic made my teeth itch. Through our mate bond, I caught Freya’s eager concentration.

Zak’s steady patience broke as I stalked closer, and I had no doubt he sensed my unbridled jealousy through the Bonded link. My grudging admiration also slipped through when his dark eyes met mine without fear.

“Your mate has much to learn,” he said calmly. “The sooner she masters her magic, the better she can serve the pack.”

“What would you know about serving the pack?” I growled.

To my satisfaction, Zak’s head instantly bowed, his eyes dropping in submission. His wolf might be hidden, but it clearly wasn’t an alpha. And yet… could he be like Freya, with a hidden Odinswolf? That would explain why he never shifted in front of us.

It was time to find out.

“Meeting tent. Now.” I jerked my head toward the largest tent in our camp that Flint and other shifters had already erected.

“You okay?” Freya asked through our mate bond.

“I’m tired of his secrets,” I growled, unwilling to admit how much it frustrated me that Zak could give Freya something the rest of us couldn’t.

“He’s starting to open up, little by little.” Freya followed us inside, where maps and documents from my study covered both tables. Pillows softened the hard wooden benches to each side of the tables.

“It’s time he learned obedience,” I said out loud.

The scent of Freya’s arousal grabbed me by the balls — she remembered what happened the last time we’d made her obey.

“How old are you, mage?” I demanded.

Zak’s full lips curved into a smile. “Thirty-four.”

So, it wasn’t that he was an Odinswolf waiting until turning age twenty-five to shift. And he’d already told us he’d shifted at age fifteen.

He winked. “What, worried I’m too young for your mate? Pretty sure I’m the oldest of her Bonded.”

He was right, but I laid my command on him, “Answer my questions without backtalk.”

The hybrid dipped his head and mimed zipping his lips. Though his eyes burned with anger, nothing leaked to me through the Bonded connection. If he couldn’t open himself to me through our existing bond, he would no doubt also try to hide if I brought him into the pack bond.

Unacceptable.

I entered his space and grabbed his chin, just like I’d done with Freya so many times.

The difference was that Zak was only a few inches shorter than me, and about as broad.

If he wanted to put up a fight… Well, we wouldn’t be evenly matched, but it would be close.

I stared into his eyes, eager to see if he would challenge me like Freya did.

Instead, his eyes immediately fell to my chin. His easy submission was driving my inner wolf wild.

“Why won’t you shift, Zak?”

His whole body froze, and his eyes slid away from us all. Still, I felt nothing from him in the Bonded link.

“Because I’m afraid to,” he said. “I’m… not an alpha like the rest of you. My wolf is a beta.”

I inhaled deeply. His heart rate increased only slightly, and his pupils revealed no lie. If he was a beta, he was a weak one. I could barely sense his wolf.

His words held nothing but truth, yet still managed to conceal it. And through it all, the bond revealed nothing. He was still keeping his secrets, but now I puzzled over the truths in his words.

“You have nothing to fear from us.” I swiped my thumb over his closed lips. “If I’ve thought about putting my cock in your mouth, it’s only to shut you up.”

Zak’s eyes lit with mirth, and I realized too late I’d just given him an opening. I’d ordered him to answer my questions without backtalk, but my words hadn’t been a question.

“Mmm, is that what you do to Heath when he talks back?” Zak’s melodious voice did strange things to me. “He’s so eager to please you.”

My cock hardened instantly at the thought of Heath ‘pleasing’ me. Before I could snarl a response, Heath’s scent reached me. He ducked into the tent, muscles tense.

“Everything okay? Everyone’s giving this tent a wide berth. We felt you unleash your dominance through the pack bond. ”

I instantly clamped down on the pack bond, feeling ridiculous for having let anything slip.

Before I’d become Freya’s Bonded, I’d always been good about keeping my own emotions out of the pack bond, allowing me to monitor everyone else’s.

In the past, only a rare surprise or emergency broke my control.

And as pack alpha, control meant everything to me. The pack needed to be able to trust me to act in their best interests. If I wanted to control a pack, I first needed to control myself… and my enforcers.

I met Heath’s eyes, remembering how he’d submitted to me yesterday. Would he do the same with Zak and Freya to witness it?

I couldn’t wait to find out.

“Just explaining to our future packmate where he stands.” I answered as I turned back to Zak. “Move these papers to the other table. Now.”

As Zak and Freya moved the documents, I caught Heath’s knowing smirk. He remembered how I’d once made Freya prove herself worthy of joining the Howling Echo.

“Think it’s time we showed him his place?” Heath asked, crossing his arms. “Like we did with Freya?”

Freya’s eager whimper and surge of lust through our mate bond made my dick throb. Even Zak’s careful control slipped, letting a hint of desire leak through.

I grinned, letting my dominance fill the tent.

“Last chance to change your mind, mage,” I warned him.

Confusion warred with desire on Zak’s face as he glanced from me to Freya. They shared a long glance, and I had a feeling she was telling him something. When his gaze flicked back to me, he was wearing the sultry expression I was most familiar with.

He dropped his eyes, tilting his chin down. “I submit to you as my pack alpha, Gage.”

A shiver ran down my spine all the way straight to my balls. I was already hard, but watching this powerful man submit to me made me want to force him to his knees and see if he really would submit in every way.

Fuck, what was the matter with me? I glanced back at Heath to see his heavy-lidded gaze fixed on me, full of trust and hunger.

Just as Freya had given me leave to do whatever I wanted with Heath, it seemed he felt the same way about Zak…

and that gave me the strangest feeling of fear.

They trusted me too much — I had no idea what I was doing.

As I had confessed to Freya, I felt like a teenager all over again. All balls and no brains to know what to do with it.

“Do you want me on the table again, alpha?” Freya asked once it was cleared off.

I grinned and glanced over at Zak. “The first time I ever fucked Freya, I did it in front of Heath and Flint so they would know who was in charge.”

Zak’s eyes widened as he glanced over at Heath.

“She loved every minute of it,” Heath added. “Are you up for that again, little wolf?”

“Of course, alphas.”

“And you, Heath?” I asked.

His throaty chuckle had my dick throbbing with desire. “You both know I’m always on board if it involves either one of you.”

But when his eyes flicked to Zak, my jealousy ignited all over again. Heath also wanted Zak. I’d known it from the moment the mage first showed up. That’s why he didn’t mind seeing my blatant attraction to the mage — because he shared it.

Well, maybe it was time to remind everyone who was in charge.

I didn’t want a repeat of mine and Freya’s first time with Heath passively watching. No, this time I wanted to see how far I could take things with my fellow alpha without starting a full-on dominance battle.

“Good,” I answered Heath. “Then strip and sit on the table.”

Heath’s instant shock gratified me, especially when it was soon obliterated by his intense desire.

Since this would be the first time we brought Zak into the fun, I wanted to remain in charge of every moment of it. It was his turn to wait.

We all watched as Heath stripped down, taking his time. Freya’s lust rivaled mine as he revealed every inch of skin, his eyes burning with challenge. Neither of them knew exactly what I was planning, and neither of them asked. We all knew it would only heighten their enjoyment.

He climbed up on the table as I’d commanded.

As soon as he sat down on the tabletop, his dick jutted up into the air like it was waiting for me.

My mouth instantly watered at the thought, but I wouldn’t be the one sucking him off.

The alpha in me rebelled at the thought, especially since anyone could walk in here at any moment.

“You’re sure no one’s around?” I asked him privately.

“You did a good job scaring them off,” his mental laugh didn’t carry out loud.

Good, if Heath believed I’d done it intentionally, all the better. I stalked over to the bench Heath still had his foot on and took it away, moving it to the side of the tent. Tossing a pillow back onto it, I pointed.

“Zak, that’s your spot.”