Page 55 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

“Be careful,” Gage warned.

I pulled on all their strength, braiding it together with my own.

And then I used it to push in the direction I’d last sensed Heath.

I thought of the charm I’d added my intention to, giving him all the protection I could.

And I channeled our Bonded magic into that pendant, hoping it could aid Heath somehow.

Rising to all four paws, I asked my Odinswolf to add her strength to the mix. At first, I thought my efforts must have been for naught. Then I felt Heath’s presence, though faintly. I pushed again, pulsing our Bonded magic into the pendant. This time I sensed Heath was fighting.

His words came through faintly, as though whispered in a hurricane. I thought I heard something about Moonblessed and hybrids.

I wasn’t the only one who sensed it.

“Keep trying,” Zak cried, but I could feel Heath slipping between my fingers .

They broke the pendant, taking my hope with it. For a few moments, I could still sense Heath, and those were the worst of all. Searing agony reached me through the mate bond and the Bonded link simultaneously. My other mates cried out as the fragile connection between us snapped.

I collapsed to the dirt. If I’d been in human form, I would’ve been sobbing. My wolf whimpered, drawing her tail in tight to her body. My mind and body ached with echoes of more than my own pain.

“They took his wolf,” I screamed, hating my weakness, my inability to lend Heath the strength of our Bonded connection.

“You did what you could,” Flint assured me. “Heath knows we’ll come for him.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll get him out,” Rowan promised.

“Heath won’t stop fighting,” Gage agreed. “He’ll give them hell until we’re there to help.”

But still, I wallowed in my sadness, in my helplessness. I’d felt him there… it had been faint, but it had been something. Now he was gone as if he’d never existed.

My wolf whimpered as though she, too, had the sense that we should have been able to do more. Something about that niggled in my mind, but my sadness and hopelessness crushed me, making it impossible to consider it further.

“Rest now,” Zak said, running his fingers through my fur. “Your mates will watch over you.”

“I can’t rest,” I said over the Bonded link that still burned with Heath’s sudden absence. “Not while Heath is in danger.”

“You won’t be any use to him if you collapse tomorrow,” Zak insisted gently. “Let me help you.”

Before I could protest, he placed his hand on my forehead. A cool wave of magic washed over me, not forcing sleep but easing the jagged edges of my pain. The raw wound of Heath’s absence didn’t disappear, but it became more bearable, like a deep bruise rather than an open gash.

“Better?” Zak asked.

Grateful for the small respite, I answered, “Thank you.”

I tried to relax, taking comfort from Zak’s presence and the knowledge that Gage was nearby.

My eyes grew heavy despite my determination to think of something to help Heath.

The events of the day had drained me more than I realized.

As I drifted toward sleep, I reached instinctively for the Bonded link, seeking comfort.

Gage’s worry was a steady pressure, tempered by his iron control. Rowan’s fury burned hot and fierce, while Flint’s concern and guilt crackled alongside it. Zak’s emotions were harder to read, but his determination underscored them all.

And from Heath, nothing. Just that raw, empty space that made my heart ache anew. For him to be cut off from us and his wolf all at once… I could only imagine the agony he was in.

I whined softly, curling tighter into myself.

A moment later, I felt the warm weight of another wolf settling beside me.

My wolf instantly recognized the scent of her mate, Gage.

His fur brushed against mine, and I leaned my weight against him.

His presence was comforting, solid and real, easing some of the pain.

“Sleep,” he commanded privately, his mental voice a soothing rumble.

His alpha command didn’t work on me as an Odinswolf, but the warmth of his body against mine and the steady rhythm of his breathing lulled me toward unconsciousness anyway.

As I drifted off, I made a silent promise to Heath, even if he couldn’t hear it. “Hold on. We’re coming for you.”

The dream came swiftly, pulling me under like a strong current. I found myself standing in a forest clearing, snow crunching beneath my bare feet. The cold didn’t touch me, though — this was a dream, after all.

Moonlight filtered through the pine branches overhead, casting silver shadows on the pristine snow. I turned slowly, searching for… someone.

Heath? I reached out, trying to find that familiar presence, but the emptiness where he should be made me gasp with renewed pain. I pushed hard, expanding my reach, calling to my missing mate. If I couldn’t reach him through the Bonded link, maybe my dreams could take me to him.

Instead of silence, the croak of a raven’s caw reached me. I searched the skies, seeing two of them circling overhead to land in the nearby trees.

“Freya.” A deep, accented voice came from behind me.

I spun around to find Torsten standing at the edge of the clearing, his tall form silhouetted against the trees. Relief flooded through me at the sight of him, so intense it nearly brought me to my knees.

He crossed the clearing in long strides, his blue eyes filled with concern. When he reached me, his hands cupped my face, warm and solid despite the dreamscape.

“You’re in pain,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “What happened?”

“Heath,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes. “They took him. Cut him off from the Bonded link.”

Torsten’s expression darkened with anger. “The witches?”

I nodded, leaning into his touch. “We’re going to rescue him, but…”

“But you’re afraid it will be too late,” he finished for me, understanding in his eyes.

“Yes.” Admitting it felt like betrayal, but I couldn’t lie to him. “I can’t feel him anymore, Tor. It’s like he’s been ripped away. And… they took his wolf.”

He pulled me into his arms, and I went willingly, burying my face against his chest. He was so tall that even in the dream, my head tucked perfectly under his chin. His arms around me felt right, as if they’d been made to hold me.

“Tell me everything,” he gently suggested.

I poured out every detail, everything I’d felt, everything Heath had told us, all of it.

“He’s alive,” Tor said with certainty, tracing the runes under my collarbone.

“He is.” I pulled back slightly to look up at him. “I know he is, but without his wolf… What will happen to him?”

“Hard to say.”

With a resolute expression, Torsten led me to a fallen log at the edge of the clearing, brushing away the snow before we sat. His arm remained around my shoulders, his warmth seeping into me even in this dreamscape.

“I wish I could be there to comfort you and help fight our way to his side,” he said, frustration evident in his voice. “But there’s another problem.”

“What is it?” I asked, my heart sinking at his tone.

“Denraider,” he said grimly. “They’re cutting off roads wherever they can. I’ve been trying to find a safe path to you, but the ravens show they’ve blocked every route. It looks like they’re planning something big.”