Page 4 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

My heart ached with the desire to touch her again. Holding hands wasn’t nearly enough, but I wouldn’t scare her off by pressing for more. This would be on her terms, as I’d promised her and her alpha mates.

I glanced around to see Gage and Heath at the kitchen table and Rowan nowhere to be found.

“Morning,” I said, taking in the small kitchen. The three jacked alphas made it seem even tighter.

The dreams hadn’t prepared me for any of this. I’d caught glimpses of their dynamics, felt echoes of their bonds, but standing before them now made my carefully maintained control waver under the weight of their alpha dominance.

“Evening,” Heath corrected with a smooth smile.

Freya hid hers, glancing between the two of us.

Gage’s jaw tightened. It didn’t take a Bonded link to know he was frustrated with the entire situation. “Let’s go to my study so we have space for all of us to talk.”

“I hope you don’t mind eating on the way,” Heath said, passing around wrapped breakfast sandwiches that smelled divine. “A loyal Frost Fang packmate dropped these off at Gage’s request.”

After days of surviving on gas station snacks, I eagerly reached for one. When my fingers grazed Heath’s, something like electricity jolted me, much like when Freya and I had first come in contact. He jerked back as if stung. His eyes widened, and he dropped his hand.

“Thanks,” I pushed the word out, unsure what to think of his reaction.

My attraction to Heath had been instantaneous, but his reactions to me still seemed wary. He tilted his head now, studying me, and I wondered what he saw. His nostrils flared as he scanned my body, seeking out my secrets.

I nonchalantly unwrapped my sandwich. My first bite of the bacon and egg sandwich had my stomach growling for more, considering how little I’d eaten on my journey here.

I’d been grateful when the pack had prioritized sleep, but now I wasn’t sure how much to reveal. What would these powerful alphas think once they knew the truth about me?

For now, they knew what they needed to. If Freya wanted in on my secrets, she would ask. My feisty mate had proven that much already .

Gage headed out the door, and the rest of us moved to follow.

When Freya reached for my hand, I nearly stumbled in my eagerness to touch her again. I transferred the sandwich to my other hand so we could eat and walk as Heath had suggested.

“My guiding star,” I whispered gratefully in her mind as I took her outstretched hand. The nickname felt right since she’d led me here through our dreams, showing me a path to belonging I never thought I’d find.

“Thanks for keeping your Bonded mark hidden,” she said. “We’ll figure this out.”

She linked hands with Flint as well, leaving the two of us to eat our sandwiches as we walked. Through the Bonded link, I sensed Rowan’s location in the woods not far from town. For the first time, the emotions I sensed from him were all peaceful and calm.

“Give her a bite of yours,” Flint whispered into my mind, startling me. “She hasn’t eaten enough yet today.”

As I chewed the bite I’d just taken, I held up the sandwich in front of Freya.

“Care for a nibble, my dear?” I asked silently instead of talking with my mouth full.

Freya smiled and leaned forward. Doing my best not to trip while I held out the sandwich, I brought it closer to her lips. She took a lady-sized bite, then let out a groan of satisfaction that had my dick instantly taking notice.

Flint chuckled, then held out his sandwich for her the moment she’d swallowed.

As we passed, wolf shifters turned to stare at us. They may have thought they were being discreet, but I noticed the way their heads tilted toward one another, clearly talking over their pack bond without us being able to listen in. Just as we did similarly.

“My arrival seems to have caused a kerfuffle,” I said through the Bonded link to Freya.

She answered me more broadly, where the others could hear.

“Do you regret leaving the safety of your coven?”

For some reason, her words made Gage and Heath both instantly growl. I didn’t know how long Freya and her mates had been together, but I longed to belong together the way they so clearly did. Spying through the Bonded link couldn’t rival the easy understanding they all seemed to share.

Through my dreams, I’d gotten to know Freya to some degree, but those little tidbits only made me want to get to know her all the more. Perhaps she felt the same, which meant my answer was obvious.

“Of course not, my little spark.” Then I grinned and added, “Besides, I trust your big, bad alphas to protect us.”

“So, you’re not an alpha then?” Flint asked.

“Not a chance.” I couldn’t lie to a wolf shifter, so I redirected the conversation. “And I would disagree about my coven being safe. As an orphaned hybrid in a city controlled by witches, I stood out far too much.”

“You were an orphan too?” Freya asked. “My parents were killed when I was young. I never really knew them.”

“Same. The coven executed both my parents when I was four years old for daring to produce a hybrid and then trying to escape the coven with me.”

She gasped and squeezed my hand. Her compassion washed over me, making me realize she was consciously trying to lift my spirits. My new packmates clearly knew a little about how to use the Bonded connection, even if they hadn’t yet learned to shield their emotions from the others in the link.

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Freya responded. “I was lucky to have a sweet woman take me in, despite my lowly status in the pack.” After a split second, she added, “Sadly, learning that I’m part mage, not part human, has strained things between us lately.”

“At least she’s still alive. There’s time to prove you would never harm her.” I pushed my own compassion toward Freya, hoping she would find solace in my words.

I glanced over to find Flint’s gaze full of approval, but I sensed her disagreement, sadness, and reluctance, as though I’d hit on a sore subject.

“I hope you were also adopted by a kind family?” Freya asked, clearly redirecting the conversation back to me.

“At first,” I agreed. “He was a good man. The coven drove him away before my first shift.”

“So you have shifted,” Heath interjected .

“As little as possible,” I admitted carefully. Surely they wouldn’t be surprised by that answer, considering I’d been raised among witches.

“How old were you when you first shifted?” Freya asked.

I tilted my head, confused by her question. It seemed harmless enough, except that Freya had held her breath when she asked it.

“Fifteen,” I answered before asking, “And you?”

Waves of protectiveness, wariness, and reluctance hit me from all sides.

Gage interrupted us by announcing “Here we are,” out loud.

Something about this conversation had set them off, and they were closing ranks around Freya to protect her from me. Though I had access to their unguarded emotions through the Bonded link, I couldn’t read their minds.

The realization that they might be hiding as much from me as I was from them struck me. In spite of Gage’s words, they didn’t trust me. Despair overwhelmed me. If they couldn’t trust me, they would never accept me as part of their pack.

I’d spent my entire life fighting hard for even a drop of respect from my coven, yet earned little. Now I found myself having to prove myself all over again. Exhaustion — mental and emotional — weighed on me as Gage led us into the pack house.

I shook it off as my survival instincts kicked in.

Beginning to study my surroundings, I mapped out the exits and alternate paths to them.

I felt like a witch being led before a wolf tribunal as we passed a massive open room with a polished tile floor.

But we passed by before I could see what the massive room might contain.

Instead, Gage led us into a cozy study lined with bookshelves.

As pack alpha, he took the desk chair. Flint pulled Freya down onto his lap in one of the armchairs facing the desk.

Heath motioned for me to take the other as he went to perch on the edge of the desk near Gage, all but confirming I’d been right about the two of them.

Freya might be their shared mate, but there was something between the two of them, as well.

Feeling defeated, I sank into the chair and looked up at Heath, who seemed preoccupied with Gage. The room felt heavy with unspoken words. The silence stretched, and I wondered if they were privately talking without including me.

To them, I was an untested stranger, not a worthy ally. I needed to change that. But just as I was about to speak, Gage began.

“Before we gather a pack meeting, we all need to get on the same page first. The pack has questions, and we need to present a united front. Everyone saw seven starbeams fall from the sky. Do we want to admit the stars revealed Zak as one of Freya’s mates?”

He looked between Freya and Heath, not sparing a glance for me.

Heath kept his eyes on Gage as he answered, “I don’t see how we can avoid it. You already told them he’s no stranger to Freya. She held his hand in front of them. If we’re going to address the starbeam issue, they could catch our deceit if we try to sidestep answering.”

“We should be direct,” Flint agreed. “These celestial signs aren’t something to hide. We need to tell them the stars revealed Freya’s fated mates, confirming it with marks we all share. We can’t keep hiding Zak’s Bonded mark.”

I didn’t like the way they were talking about me without talking to me, so I asked, “They don’t like mages, I take it?”

“Let’s just say I’ve had a hard time governing the pack with a witch’s mark on my face,” Gage answered. “The idea of Freya taking multiple mates and being half mage has been… difficult for many to accept.”

“And Fern seems hellbent on finding reasons to undermine Gage’s authority,” Heath pointed out. “This is just one example.” In my mind, he added, “So, don’t take it personally.”