Page 43 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

Zak’s whisper pulled me back to this moment with him. “You were sitting by a fire, surrounded by people who loved you, and you threw your head back and laughed with such joy that it took my breath away.”

He reached out, his fingers ghosting along my jawline.

“That’s when I knew you were my mate,” he continued. “Not because we’re both hybrids. Not because of Preston, either. Because, in that moment, I wanted to bring you joy and make you laugh like that. I wanted to be worthy of sitting around that fire with you.”

My heart clenched at the raw honesty in his voice.

“The stars brought us together,” he said, “but what I feel for you… that’s all mine. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

His vulnerability had me reaching for his hand again, threading my fingers through his. As I did so, I noticed the tattoo on his shoulder of the moon, the glowing white side of the half moon bright against his black pigmentation.

He was one of the six stars shown on my tattoo. Starlight had bound us together.

And I was glad that it had.

I squeezed his hand and let my feelings flow through the bond.

“You’re right. And I think we’re both right where we belong — together.

” I paused a moment, then confessed. “It is nice to think this is what Preston would have wanted. For us hybrids to find each other. To help each other. To help foster peace. ”

His smile widened. “The bridge between worlds. That’s what he used to call hybrids like us.”

“He believed in unity,” I said, remembering the fierce conviction in my father’s dream-voice. “In bringing witches and wolves together.”

“He did.” Zak’s eyes lit up. “And here we are, doing exactly that.”

I glanced toward the tent flap, where early morning light was beginning to filter through. An idea took shape in my mind.

“Would you help me with something?” I asked, turning back to Zak. “Something you haven’t taught me yet.”

“Of course,” he replied without hesitation. “What did you have in mind?”

“I want to learn how to access the Bonded connection properly,” I said. “To draw on its power, the way witches are supposed to.”

Zak tilted his head, studying me. “Why now?”

I didn’t tell him my true intention — to use that power to help him shift.

Instead, I said, “Because I think we’re stronger together than apart. And I want to understand what connects us all.”

Zak nodded, his eyes bright with renewed purpose. “Then let’s do it.”

We’d both dressed in loose clothing at my insistence — I remembered how easy it was for a shift to destroy clothing. But I didn’t tell Zak my plans yet.

He led me to a secluded clearing not far from camp, down the slope from the Moonblessed wall. A stand of trees hid us from its view, and the morning sun filtered through the branches overhead, dappling the ground with shifting patterns of light and shadow.

“Alright,” he said, settling cross-legged on the ground and gesturing for me to join him. “The Bonded link is different from the pack bond or the mate bond. It’s more… fluid. Omni-directional. Less hierarchical.”

I sat across from him, mirroring his posture. “How do I access it?”

“Close your eyes,” Zak instructed. “Picture a thread connecting us — not just you and me, but all of us. Gage, Heath, Flint, Rowan…”

His eyes dropped to my collarbone, searching for the sixth rune and failing to find it.

Tor and I hadn’t bonded yet, but since Zak and I had managed it over a distance, I still held out hope that Tor and I could do the same.

Maybe learning to use Bonded magic would help me bring him into our circle.

I closed my eyes, focusing inward. The pack bond was easy to find — a solid, steady presence in the back of my mind, dominated by Gage’s energy with the others present past him, connected to me through him.

The mate bonds felt different, each an intimate, personal connection that pulsed with varying emotions.

But beyond those, I sensed something else — like a warm pool caught beneath everything else. …

“I feel something… like a pool of water,” I said.

“That’s it,” Zak encouraged. “Now, instead of just sensing it, try to reach for it. Imagine drawing it gently toward you, or you joining with it, bathing in it.”

I frowned, concentrating harder. Every time I thought I had a grip on it, the sensation slipped away, like trying to catch water in cupped hands. It reminded me too much of the way I’d failed Brielle’s lessons.

“It’s slippery,” I admitted. “Every time I think I have it, it slides away.”

“That’s normal,” Zak assured me. “The Bonded link isn’t meant to be controlled — it’s meant to be shared. Don’t try to grasp it. Instead, try to imagine letting it flow through you.”

I took a deep breath, releasing the tension in my body. Instead of trying to seize the current, I imagined myself as part of it — not directing it, but swimming in it, becoming one with it.

The sensation changed immediately. The warmth flooded through me, bringing with it a kaleidoscope of impressions.

For a moment, I could sense what surrounded each and every one of my mates, all at once.

When I realized I could sense myself sitting next to Zak, I startled, falling back into my own body again.

“I did it,” I breathed. “I could feel them. All of you.”

“Good. Now, focus on one person. Try Gage — since he’s the most dominant, his should be easiest to pick out through both the pack bond and the Bonded link.”

I directed my attention to the immovable presence I recognized as Gage. It felt solid — unyielding, dependable, the foundation everything else was built upon.

“He feels… solid. Like bedrock,” I said, smiling at the rightness of it.

“Draw on that strength,” Zak suggested. “Not to take it from him, but to share in it. Like you’re both standing on the same rock.”

I imagined reaching for Gage’s strength. In my mind, he reached for me, pulling me onto the solid rock with him. As soon as I stood with him, his raw power flowed into me as well. It felt steady and unwavering.

My eyes flew open. “I can do it! I can feel his strength flowing into me.”

“Now try Heath,” Zak said, looking impressed.

I closed my eyes again, shifting my focus. Where Gage felt like bedrock, Heath was like a powerful waterfall. Unstoppable in his own way, but forever flowing and churning with energy.

“Heath is… more like water. Uncontained.”

“And Flint?”

His energy was different again — constant, patient, like the slow growth of trees or the unending flow of a river, gradually wearing away mountains. Enduring.

“Steady. Constant. In touch with ancient power.”

“Rowan?”

His presence made me smile. It was dangerous like fire, chaotic, bursting with life and energy — like running through a forest at full speed, branches whipping past, heart pounding with exhilaration.

“Wild. Untamed.”

“And me? What do I feel like in the bond?”

Zak’s energy felt split… one half crackling with energetic potential, the other side slumbering like an underground molten river, waiting to erupt. I opened my eyes, meeting his curious gaze with a smile.

“You’re like electricity, dangerous and beautiful at once.”

Zak grinned. “You’re a natural at this.”

“I have a good teacher.” I leaned forward, my expression turning serious. “Now show me how to combine our power. How to draw on multiple bonds at once. ”

“That’s advanced work. Even I’m not that proficient with the Bonded connection yet.”

“Then we’ll figure it out together. I think we can do it.”

Something in my tone made Zak pause. “What are you planning, Freya?”

I hesitated, then decided honesty was best. “I want to help you shift.”

Zak recoiled slightly. “I told you, I can’t—”

“You can,” I interrupted, my voice gentle but firm. “And I’m going to help you.”

“How?” He sounded defeated and hopeful at the same time, which made me even more determined to help him.

“When Luka attacked during my heat, I saw something.” I thought back to that strange, terrifying moment.

“My wolf had gone feral, but because of my heat, I couldn’t shift.

When Luka shifted, I could see the magic of shifting — the energy that allows wolves to transform.

I played with it, manipulated it, but I didn’t have enough power to truly influence it. At least, not on my own.”

“You’re saying…”

“If I can draw on enough power through the Bonded link, I think I can help your wolf break free.”

Zak swallowed hard, fear flashing in his eyes.

“I don’t know if I’m ready,” he admitted.

“You are,” I said with absolute conviction. I’d felt the yearning in him, the longing to be whole. “Your wolf is part of you, Zak. Just like your magic. You’re not complete without both.”

“What if I can’t control it?” he asked, his voice smaller than I was used to hearing it. “What if my wolf is too wild after being suppressed for so long?”

“Then your pack will be there to help you,” I said simply. “Just like they were for me.”

During my first shift, Flint had been there, his calm voice guiding me through it. Heath and Rowan had shifted with me, showing me the way. And even Gage, though physically absent, had been present through our pack bond, his pride and encouragement flowing through me .

“What if… I can’t? What if, despite all our efforts, my wolf remains trapped?”

“Gage brought me into the Howling Echo before I could shift,” I answered, my voice soft with memory. “We didn’t know for sure if I would ever shift. He accepted me anyway, made me part of the pack. He’ll do the same for you, if you really can’t shift.”

The moment the pack alpha’s fangs had pierced my skin and marked me as pack had changed everything between us, forever.

“And when you finally did shift?” Zak couldn’t help asking.

I didn’t stop the radiant smile spreading across my face. “It was nothing like what I’d imagined. It felt like I’d found a piece of myself I never knew was missing.” I reached for his hands. “I want that for you, Zak. I want you to feel whole again.”

I remembered the exhilaration of running through the forest on four legs for the first time, my senses heightened, my body stronger and faster than ever.

The way the pack bond had suddenly come alive in my mind, allowing me to hear my packmates’ thoughts in wolf form.

The joy of howling alongside them, our voices blending into one perfect harmony.

“Okay,” he finally agreed. “Let’s try.”

“Stand up,” I instructed, rising to my feet and pulling him up with me. “And take off your clothes.”

Zak blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Unless you want to destroy them when you shift,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Oh, right.” He glanced around the clearing nervously.

I squeezed his hands. “Moonblessed can’t see us from there, and don’t worry. I’ve seen it all before.”

I winked at him, making his lips quirk up.

“I suppose that’s true,” he grinned with a hint of his usual mischief.

The memory of watching him with Heath flashed through my mind — the way his pierced cock had slid into Heath, reducing my strong alpha to a quivering ball of need. Heat soared through my body at the thought.

“Besides,” I added with a teasing smile, “I’ve been curious to get a better look at those piercings of yours in daylight. ”

Despite his nervousness, Zak couldn’t help but laugh at my directness.

“Well, I’d hate to keep you waiting,” he replied, his voice dropping lower as he reached for the hem of his shirt.

He pulled it over his head, revealing his pierced nipples, then dropped his pants and boxers in one smooth motion.

The morning sunlight caught the metal adorning his body.

I couldn’t help but stare at them all — the row of hoops along his ear, the simple rings in his nipples, the cross through the crown of his member, and the ladder of barbells along the underside of his shaft.

My body warmed in arousal, but I didn’t touch him. This wasn’t about sex, I reminded myself. Not yet, anyway.

As he stood naked before me, I took a moment to simply appreciate his masculine beauty — his proud bearing, the artistic arrangement of metal against his skin, the way the sunlight played across his deep black complexion with its cool undertones, and the smirk on his lips as he watched my gaze slide over him.

I met his eyes, trying to project all my confidence and belief in him through the bond and in my voice.

“Let’s wake up your wolf.”

Zak took a deep breath and gave me a saucy smile that belied his inner nervousness. “I’m ready.”