Page 34 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

Freya

Murmuring something about taking the morning patrol, Heath had left my side early that morning, leaving me curled up with Gage.

By the time I fully awakened and took stock of my other mates, I discovered Flint was already gone as well, scouting the perimeter of our makeshift territory alongside Rowan.

I stretched, still pleasantly sore from the previous night’s activities with Heath and Gage.

My thoughts drifted to Zak, isolated in his own tent while we’d been… less than subtle about our enjoyment of each other. I hastily drew my mental curtains as he’d taught us, worried about what I’d let slip last night.

“You’re thinking loudly,” Gage murmured, his arm tightening around my waist, pulling me closer into his warm embrace.

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” I admitted.

“Did you reach out to Torsten again last night?” Gage asked.

“No answer.”

“Perhaps he was traveling overnight,” Gage suggested.

His muscles felt tense, and at first I thought maybe he shared my concerns. But through the bond I sensed a strange unease as his eyes went distant. I turned to face him, noting the tension in his jaw, the furrow in his brow.

“What’s wrong?”

He frowned, his eyes still distant. “Something bad’s happening at Frost Fang.”

My heart stuttered. “Are they under attack?”

“No.” His jaw tightened. “The larger pack seems unaffected. It’s only a few of our old packmates…”

His voice trailed off, frustration evident in his drawn brows.

“What do you sense?”

“Pain. Fear.” He closed his eyes, concentrating on the pack bond. “Terrible, bone-deep fear. And a strange… loneliness.”

I placed my hand over his heart, feeling it race beneath my palm.

Despite everything Frost Fang had done, the conflict between loyalty and exile clearly tore at him.

He was still technically their pack alpha, but as exiled now as he had been the first time he’d been forced out of Frost Fang thanks to his brother.

“Is there anything we can do?” I asked softly.

“There are things we could do,” he growled. “We could go back and find out what’s going on. But if we leave here, it should be to move forward and look for your mate, not to move backward.”

The physical pain it caused him to say it was evident in the way his muscles tensed beneath my touch.

“If you think we should go back—”

“No,” he said. “They made their choice. If they need me, they have only to ask. I would feel their summons, even from a distance.”

“We have company,” Rowan’s mental voice cut through our private moment. “I’m escorting them to you.”

“Who?” Gage asked sharply.

“Shante and Brielle,” he answered instantly. “What’s wrong?”

I slipped from the warmth of his arms and hurriedly dressed while Gage’s expression roamed over my nakedness.

Despite his leisurely glances, he answered Rowan promptly. “Nothing here. I sense something is wrong in Frost Fang, but none of them have tried to reach out to me.”

“Let them handle it, then. ”

Rowan’s mental shrug told us exactly what he thought on the matter.

But after a moment more of Gage’s unease pouring through the Bonded link, Rowan offered, “I could go scout around.”

As we sensed Rowan’s approach, Gage sighed and got dressed as well. “We’ll see,” he said, glancing at me.

“We don’t have to hunt down Tor right away,” I reassured him. “Maybe we need to make sure things are settled at Frost Fang first.”

Gage held open the tent flap for me. “Let’s see if your friends bring news, first of all.”

Shante’s laughter rang through the camp as I emerged from the tent to see her standing near the fire pit. The sound made me smile — her joy was infectious. Her long-sleeved bright colored dress instantly drew my eye, contrasting against her dark skin.

Beside her stood Brielle, looking less like a witch of the woods and more like an ordinary woman in jeans and a light, long-sleeved shirt. She’d braided her long, red hair in a double French braid that caused the plaits to trail down her back.

“There she is!” Shante called, spotting me. “Thanks, Rowan,” she said to the big, black wolf, who loped out of sight between two tents before shifting.

Brielle’s unnervingly green eyes fixed on me, assessing.

I approached them, accepting Shante’s warm hug as I turned my face toward the other. “Brielle. This is a surprise.”

“A pleasant one, I hope,” she replied with a small smile. “Shante insisted I come along.”

“You two have been hanging out?” I asked, glancing between them.

Shante grinned. “We went for a run this morning.”

“You’ve been practicing your magic, I see.” Brielle raised an eyebrow meaningfully.

Gage emerged from our tent, immediately taking charge of the situation despite the tension I could see in his shoulders. “Welcome to our camp,” he said, formal but polite. “I was just about to start breakfast. You’re welcome to join us.”

Brielle looked slightly surprised at the offer, but gave a slight incline of her head, dropping her eyes. “Good morning, pack alpha. ”

“That would be awesome,” Shante said, plopping down into one of the camp chairs. “We worked up an appetite.”

Rowan approached from the edge of camp, now dressed in a bright blue flannel shirt that accentuated his golden eyes. His posture was stiff as he eyed Brielle.

“What brings the witch to our doorstep?” he asked, voice carefully neutral.

“I’m a mage, not a witch,” Brielle corrected automatically. “And I came to check on Freya’s progress—”

Her words cut off abruptly as Zak emerged from his tent, stretching in the morning sunlight. His clothes were rumpled, his jaw shadowed with stubble. As he lowered his arms, he subtly drew a sigil, and the stubble on his jaw disappeared.

He smiled. “Hello again, Shante.”

Then his eyes turned to our other guest. The recognition that flashed between him and Brielle was immediate and electric.

“Another hybrid,” Brielle breathed, her eyes widening slightly.

Zak stilled, his expression cautious but curious.

“Yes,” he said with surprise.

Gage glanced over at me, then made the introductions. “Brielle, this is Zakaib, Freya’s fifth mate. And this is Brielle.”

The casual way Gage introduced him, making my claim obvious on my behalf, left me speechless.

“I prefer Zak,” he said, shaking her hand.

A strange, uncomfortable feeling twisted in my stomach as I watched them clasp hands.

Two hybrids, both part mage, both clearly able to sense the magic in each other.

Both appearing to be of similar age — Zak in his mid-thirties, Brielle around the same.

Despite my own dual nature, they were both far more comfortable with both aspects, wolf and mage.

As an Odinswolf, I’d only recently learned to shift, and only recently gained access to my magic.

“We seem to be a rare breed.” Brielle’s eyes dropped to Zak’s wrists with unconcealed fascination, but thanks to his long sleeves, she couldn’t see that his wrists remained bare of any pack tattoos or bites.

No doubt her wolf sensed he didn’t bear Gage’s mark, nor my mate mark. Still, the matching rune on his face was unmistakably identical to the ones on my other mates’ faces.

“True. I’d never met another hybrid until I met Freya.”

The twisting in my gut intensified. Jealousy.

The realization hit me with embarrassing clarity.

I was jealous of the instant connection between them, of the shared experience I couldn’t claim.

Brielle was beautiful, powerful, and understood the magical side of Zak in ways I was only beginning to grasp.

And she was closer to his age than I was.

“Well, isn’t this interesting,” Shante said, glancing between us with a knowing smile. She bumped her shoulder against mine. “You okay there?”

I forced a smile. “Fine. Just surprised.”

Zak watched as our pack alpha began preparing the meal himself.

“I’d have expected you to delegate cooking duty,” he commented.

Gage’s lips quirked in a slight smile. “We all pull our weight in the Howling Echo.”

Brielle nodded approvingly. “Refreshing.”

Gage, ever perceptive, beckoned me over. “Freya, crack some eggs. We can catch up while we eat.”

His stiff actions betrayed his need to stay busy, to focus on something other than the distress coming through the Frost Fang pack bond. I moved to help him, just as grateful for the distraction.

While we worked, Shante filled me in on news from Moonblessed.

“Willow’s settling in well,” she told me, her eyes warm. “She asks about you all the time.”

“Zak healed her witchfire burns,” I mentioned to Brielle, only realizing after I said it how snotty I sounded.

Zak stepped over a tent pole to reach me, then pulled me to his side. “No, you did that.”

“With your guidance,” I said.

“Who’s Willow?” Brielle asked, looking between Shante and me.

“The only time I’ve taken Willow away from the safety of our packlands was to visit you,” Shante said to me.

“My friend from Ironwood,” I answered Brielle, smiling at the memory of my timid, kind-hearted friend who had always tried to protect me. “She was the omega there, treated nearly as badly as I was. I asked her if she’d like to relocate to Moonblessed when Rowan defeated Luka.”

“Killed him, you mean,” Rowan corrected bluntly from where he sat cleaning a gun. “Luka would have kept coming after Freya otherwise.”

Brielle’s eyebrows rose. “You’ve all been busy.”

“Yes. I arranged for Shante to help Willow get settled,” I continued. “I knew they’d get along.”

“The bestie of my bestie is my other bestie,” Shante agreed with a grin.

As breakfast progressed, the conversation flowed surprisingly easily. Gage’s cooking earned compliments from everyone, even Brielle, who seemed to be assessing our pack dynamics with more interest than usual.

I found myself growing quieter, the uncomfortable feeling in my chest expanding. Gage sensed my discomfort, moving closer to my side, while Rowan watched the exchange with cautious eyes.