Page 3 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

Zak

Trying to sleep midday while an alpha wolf shifter stared me down wasn’t exactly easy.

But after my harrowing journey alone from Vancouver, skirting around packlands and traveling on foot through the wildlands to get here, I was exhausted.

Last night, I’d found sleep difficult after giant rays of starlight had fallen on me… and on my new packmates, I felt sure.

At the time, I’d been holed up near a rocky outcropping a few miles distant from Frost Fang packlands.

Sleeping in the dangerous wildlands alone after such an exciting spectacle hadn’t proven easy.

I’d awakened in the middle of the night nearly frozen to death.

Only then did I dare make a fire, enchanting it to be lightless to avoid attracting unwanted attention from the feral rogue alphas said to wander all the wildlands.

I had to hope my wards would awaken me fast enough to defend myself with magic.

It wasn’t something I’d wanted to risk, but I’d survived.

Only my determination and hope that I’d finally found a place I belonged could have driven me to walk through the wildlands alone.

Freya had called to me in my dreams, and I’d given up everything to see if we could make those dreams come true for both of us.

While I’d gotten glimpses of Freya’s other Bonded in those dreams…

I hadn’t expected all four of them to be wolves… or alphas.

As alphas were known to be, they were possessive and protective over their mate. They saw me as a threat, and I couldn’t blame them. I might have felt the same in their shoes.

That didn’t mean I would roll over and show these alphas my stomach — even though that’s exactly what half of me wanted to do. Instead, I’d done what I always did in uncertain circumstances — led with bravado. I’d survived this far in my life by watching, quietly listening, and reading the room.

Freya’s alpha mates could have tried to drive me away, but they’d been wary of my magic.

I’d projected calm confidence, and so far, it had worked like a charm.

For my efforts, I’d gotten an invite into the den of my Bonded.

Of course, this show of trust came with an equal number of precautions…

such as the massive dark wolf hunkered across the doorway, preventing me from leaving without his knowledge.

“I suppose you shifters are used to seeing each other get naked,” I said in a flirty voice, feigning confidence as I pulled off my shirt.

Those golden eyes watched me, and one lip curled up as if to show off his impressive fangs in this form. His human side wasn’t entirely gone, though. Through the Bonded connection, I sensed Rowan’s entwined curiosity and wariness.

Those bestial eyes dropped to my pierced nipples before darting back up to my face.

Under the predator’s gaze, I forced my expression to stay neutral, though exhaustion pulled at me after days of travel through hostile territory.

I knew better than to show weakness now, but I cautiously slid my gaze away from his, unsure of the correct protocol here.

I’d given up my home, my coven, my easy but superficial relationships with my housemates, and all the respect I’d eked out over the years to follow the promise of belonging I’d glimpsed in my dreams with Freya.

But like all my dreams so far, it remained just out of reach. I couldn’t let any of them know how desperate my situation was. If Freya and her mates wouldn’t have me, I didn’t dare return to face the Ravenscroft Coven’s wrath.

These four apex predators could easily terminate my interest in their mate the way their instincts demanded — by ending the threat… me. If they sniffed even a whiff of my weakness, it would be over.

At first, I was surprised none of them had acknowledged me through the Bonded link we shared. Though they hadn’t consciously used it to converse with me in the beginning, I’d managed to get a good read on how they all viewed me.

Their concerns all revolved around Freya, so I’d done my best on the walk here to assuage those fears.

We might be bound together, but that didn’t mean I expected her to jump into bed with me…

even though I’d secretly hoped she’d do exactly that.

We’d been together countless times in our dreams, but Freya’s reactions made me doubt that she remembered as much as I did of our nighttime activities.

Instead, I found myself undressing in front of the biggest wolf I’d ever seen.

Not that I’d seen many in the city controlled by the Ravenscroft Coven, but Rowan’s wolf was unnaturally massive, much larger than any Frost Fang wolves I’d seen on our walk to the den.

I folded my shirt and placed it on the nightstand, then did the same with my jeans, then the thermals I’d had the foresight to wear for my trek across the wildlands.

When I stood in nothing but my underwear, I chanced a look at Rowan. The big wolf’s eyes scanned me from my toes up to my face. When his golden eyes met mine, he stared at me, daring me once more to meet the gaze of an alpha wolf who already viewed me as a threat.

I wasn’t crazy, so I dropped my eyes to him. I couldn’t look him in the eye for long, anyway… his alpha power pressed on me too forcefully. How could Freya handle it? She clearly wasn’t an alpha like them, but perhaps since she was their mate, their dominance didn’t weigh on her as much.

Having finally met her in person, having felt the electric touch of her hand in mine? Knowing she was just down the hall made my entire body ache with need.

Shivering, I made my way over to the bed. I lacked the resistance to the cold that the shifters had displayed on my short walk here .

As I peeled back the blankets and slid under them, Rowan’s amusement provoked me into saying, “So, you never did answer about the offer to warm me up, big guy.”

After all, I’d promised Freya I would win them over. Rowan puzzled me the most, but I would figure him out in time.

The big wolf chuffed out a laugh, and I considered that a victory. Except for the part where he hadn’t answered me.

“So? What’s your answer? By now you know I can hear you through our Bonded connection, no matter what form you take.”

“Get some sleep, mage,” his quiet, menacing voice sent shivers down my spine as the cool blankets wrapped around me.

In spite of his tone, his neutral words reassured me.

I was walking a tightrope here, trying to find my place among these strangers.

But my dreams had shown me it would be worth it in the end.

I smiled, wondering if Freya would continue visiting me in my dreams now that we’d finally met.

That pleasant thought eased my mind, and I relaxed as the blankets finally began to warm.

I startled awake to find the window dark as night, though the curtains prevented me from seeing outside. As they fluttered from a slight draft around the windowsill, a thought occurred to me: That’s what the Bonded connection felt like.

With my training as a witch, I had instantly followed the magic of the bond to open or close the floodgates. Even before meeting them, I’d figured out how to avoid leaking so much into the Bonded connection like Freya and all her mates did.

Freya would be easy enough to train, since she was a hybrid. But for her wolf shifter mates, who’d never possessed any magic beyond the instinctive need to shift? They didn’t even know how to close the curtains.

I yawned and rolled over to find that someone else stood guard at my door — in human form.

“What did I miss?” I asked Flint as I stretched.

“The others are already awake,” he answered before opening the door. “There’s talk of a pack meeting.”

His words sent a zing of fear through me. My coven hadn’t exactly been a welcoming place, and although I knew better than to expect a wolf pack to accept me with open arms, I feared what would happen if they cast me out.

Hiding my lack of confidence from the bond, I gave Flint my best smile. Over the years, I’d become practiced at hiding my fear behind a sassy mask. It disarmed others so they assumed I was a harmless flirt.

Yet Flint’s dark brown eyes seemed to see right through me. “We’ll face the pack together. For now, come eat with us in the kitchen.”

Emotion clogged my throat, and I covered my inability to reply by grabbing my clothes and pulling them on.

Sleeping in the middle of the day and waking up at night didn’t help me bounce back, either.

I reached out through the bond to find my footing.

Worry, wariness, and resolve reached me from the others, and I nodded to Flint.

“Lead the way,” I said as I gathered myself.

Had Flint truly meant to imply they would stand by me?

Earlier today, Gage had surprised me by sounding so authoritative when he declared me trustworthy and said I wasn’t a stranger to Freya.

Through the Bonded link, I could only sense their emotions, not the conclusions they’d come to about me.

Perhaps I’d been overly concerned about their suspicions of me, but either way, I would do everything I could to earn my place in their pack.

Failure wasn’t an option.

As Flint stepped outside the bedroom, I cast a couple quick hygiene spells to freshen my breath and remove the stubble from my chin. Flint raised an eyebrow, no doubt sensing the magic.

“Just a quick shave for our lady,” I winked, then glanced down at Flint’s smooth chin as a means of averting my gaze politely.

“She’ll like you either way,” Flint answered with a reassuring smile.

The certainty in his voice took my breath away. Flint felt like the polar opposite of Rowan. Where the dark wolf had been vaguely menacing and reserved, Flint openly reassured me and made me feel included.

He led the way into the kitchen, then wrapped his arms around Freya. Even sleep-rumpled and casual, she radiated a quiet strength that drew me like a magnet.