Page 47 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

Gage’s eyes met mine as though he’d caught the private thought. His lips parted in surprise, and I wondered then if his wolf had recognized the same thing in me.

Curiosity reached me across the Bonded connection, but I dared not say a thing across our link as I dipped my chin and dropped my pants. Now definitely wasn’t the time.

“Shift,” Gage commanded.

More eager than ever, my wolf surged forward, but the shift remained sluggish with only one alpha command compelling me. It was much less painful, though. In moments, I stood before them on four paws, back in my dark gray fur.

Gage shifted as well, his alpha form towering over me. I bowed my head in respect. Remembering that all the Howling Echo wolves wore Gage’s mark and the tattoo on their left forearms, I extended my left foreleg.

When I raised my muzzle, his golden eyes met mine.

An undercurrent of understanding passed between us through the Bonded connection.

Then his powerful jaws encircled my foreleg, his fangs breaking the skin with careful precision.

Blood pooled around the wound momentarily until Gage licked it clean, making my wolf whimper with need.

Every part of me wanted that tongue elsewhere.

But as the wound sealed, a new sensation arose.

A new bond bloomed in the back of my mind, distinct from the Bonded link I shared with the others.

This was more structured, more defined — a direct line to Gage and, through him, to the rest of the pack.

His power would shelter me in his strength, and with his mark on me, any other wolf I met would recognize my pack alpha’s dominance.

I realized my mistake too late. Before, I’d always been able to hide from the others using my magic to shield myself inside the Bonded circle. But the pack hierarchy empowered Gage over me — giving him the power to sense more.

My wolf whimpered as my fear rose, but Gage’s next words reassured me.

“Just as you have sworn loyalty to me, I swear to never abuse this power over you. You are now our packmate, the newest member of the Howling Echo pack.”

The others shifted as well, surrounding us in a circle of fur and fangs and lupine family. Freya’s white form pressed against my side, her joy pulsing through both our Bonded link and the new pack bond.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, sensing my hesitation.

“Gage… I can’t hide from him anymore, can I?”

“He’ll only be able to sense your strongest emotions through the pack bond,” she assured me. “Especially if you’re in danger, much like our Bonded link.”

“We’ll keep you safe,” Gage’s golden eyes stared into mine until my wolf could take it no more, and I looked down. “You’re ours now.”

“And we protect what’s ours,” Heath’s mental voice reached me, along with his desire.

“We stand together now and forever,” Flint added, touching his muzzle to my shoulder.

To my surprise, I even sensed Rowan’s acceptance through the pack bond, or maybe the Bonded link, I couldn’t be sure.

Run with mate. My wolf tried reaching out to him, but I knew he was too far away for words to reach. When Rowan and I finally got to run together at last, I hoped all his resistance toward me would finally fade.

Still, the impact of his presence in the bond remained. He had accepted me — not just as Freya’s mate, but as pack .

Gage led us in a celebratory howl, our voices rising together into the afternoon sky.

The sound echoed through the trees, bouncing back to us like the forest itself was welcoming me home.

In that moment, I felt more complete than I ever had.

My wolf and my magic balanced in harmony with my mates and my pack surrounding me.

We ran again after that, just the five of us, reveling in the new bonds between us.

When I stumbled over a fallen log, Heath was there to steady me. When I lost the trail, Flint circled back to guide me. When I tired, Freya slowed her pace to match mine.

This, I realized, was what pack truly meant — not just protection, but belonging. Support. Family.

As the afternoon waned, we made our way back toward the camp. The others shifted back to human form at the edge of the clearing, but I lingered in my wolf shape, reluctant to give up this newfound freedom.

“You can shift whenever you want now,” Freya reminded me, reading my hesitation. “No one’s going to stop you.”

I shifted back, the transformation smoother each time.

“Tomorrow we should get you a proper pack tattoo,” Flint said, showing me the howling wolf design on his wrist above his pack bite.

“I could do with some ink,” I said, running my fingers over the fresh bite mark on my own wrist. Already, it was healing with shifter speed, the edges knitting together.

“It’s more than just ink,” Heath explained. “It’s a declaration to everyone — fae, vampires, other wolves — that you’re protected. That you belong to us.”

His caramel eyes sparked with deeper meaning, and I had no doubt that his wolf had also recognized me as his mate.

Here, in this unlikely pack of alphas and outcasts, I’d found a place where I was not just accepted but coveted.

My wolf had recognized these three alphas as my mates as well, proving my long-held suspicions and affirming my attraction to them.

But they might not be ready to do the same.

Things between Freya and me were still so new, and the same could be said for things between Gage and Heath.

I didn’t want to push any of them out of their comfort zone.

No, the safest thing would be to wait for them to approach me.

As alphas, it’s what they would expect. If I could be that patient.

As we walked back to camp, I found myself at Gage’s side. The pack alpha moved with that effortless confidence I’d come to associate with him, his gaze constantly scanning our surroundings.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

He glanced at me, one eyebrow raised. “For?”

“For seeing past what I am to who I am.”

Gage was silent for a moment, then said, “The Howling Echo was founded by outcasts. Wolves who didn’t fit anywhere else.” A hint of a smile touched his lips. “You’ll find you’re in good company here.”

Ahead of us, Freya walked between Heath and Flint, her laughter carrying back to us on the evening breeze. My mates. My packmates.

The Bonded link hummed with contentment, and alongside it, the new pack bond pulsed steady and strong. I wondered if Gage was constantly aware of his pack’s safety. It would explain a lot about the way he’d treated me at first, and why he’d challenged me to prove myself.

I touched the mark on my wrist, still tender but healing, a physical reminder of what had happened today. It proved I was accepted. That I was wanted.

That I was pack.