Page 9 of Bound to Exiles (Rejected Wolf Pack #5)

Her words struck harder than any physical blow. Betrayal lanced through my gut like a blade. Through the Bonded link, I felt not just Freya’s concern, but my fellow alphas’ as well.

I held up a hand to keep the others back. This was between me and my sister.

“I understand more than you know,” I said quietly. “But this path you’re on… it will only bring more pain. Not just to you, but to the pack.”

Frost Fang alphas herded the rest of the betas away, getting closer and closer to us.

“At least it’s pain of our own choosing.” She stepped back, regarding me like a stranger. “You used to fight for what was right. Now you’re just another alpha’s attack dog.”

Fern twisted away from the alphas who tried to usher her out with the rest, slipping past them like water through their fingers. The betas followed her lead, no longer resisting. As they filed out, my sister’s words echoed in my mind: At least it’s pain of our own choosing.

“They’ve been planning this for weeks,” I shared through our Bonded link. “We should let them try it their way.”

Surprise rippled from the others. Gage’s jaw tightened as he watched the last of the betas leave while the alphas postured .

“Let them try what?” he asked. “To tear apart everything we’ve built?”

“With two mages in our midst, they trust us less than ever,” I explained, pulling Freya close and giving Zak a reassuring nod so they didn’t think I was blaming them. “We can’t effectively rule a pack that fears what we are.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Gage’s mental voice held a hint of incredulity. “Step down?”

Rowan’s agreement reached us from the jail, his wolf nature understanding the futility of forcing ourselves on an unwilling pack. “Just as we left Ironwood behind, we can leave Frost Fang.”

Zak’s muscles tensed, though he remained wisely silent.

“The Howling Echo comes first,” Heath agreed after a moment. “Holding down Frost Fang is becoming unrealistic.”

Gage’s turmoil flooded our bond — pride warring with duty, determination with despair. He’d poured everything into rebuilding this pack, establishing fair rules, ending the practice of omega slavery. To give that up now…

“What about those who don’t side with Fern?” Freya’s concern carried clearly. “The Ironwood refugees… we promised Brooke and the others safety.”

True strength came from knowing when to be as unyielding as the mountain and when to adapt like the river finding a new path. “We could escort them back to Ironwood,” I suggested. “Now that Thatcher rules, they might find peace there.”

“Or they could come with us,” Heath added through the bond.

“And go where?” Gage’s mental voice carried an edge of bitterness. “Back to taking whatever jobs we can find?”

My wolf stirred at the thought of returning to a nomadic life. Back when my family fled the downfall of the Nightsinger pack, I remembered my parents saying the land belonged to no one. Perhaps it was time to remember that wisdom.

“We survived before,” Heath reminded him. “We’re stronger now. And I know many would come with us, strengthening our new pack. Once Frost Fang sees the error of their ways, we can return.”

Gage shook his head. “And what if that never happens?”

Freya’s determination mixed with Zak’s curiosity about our past as wandering outcasts. The energy among us hummed with possibility, even as sorrow tinged the connection. The simple truth was that Frost Fang no longer felt like home — perhaps it never truly had.

I answered, “Then we do what we’ve always done. We adapt.”

“The Howling Echo does not stand on tradition,” Freya reminded us. “We need no packlands. We can call the wildlands our home.”

“We need you somewhere safe before your next heat hits,” Gage disagreed.

“Good point,” Heath said, glancing at Zak, who looked puzzled.

“Have any of you scented her heat starting yet?” I asked.

Zak’s shock rippled to us before abruptly dissipating when no one spoke up.

“Maybe it’s because he’s a hybrid?” Heath wondered.

Could it be possible that Zak hadn’t triggered the countdown to Freya’s heat like meeting the rest of us had?

“Or maybe because he’s not an alpha,” Gage mused. He pulled Freya to him. “As much as I would enjoy another heat with you, princess…”

“I get it,” she interrupted. “It would be easier if we didn’t have to worry about that along with everything else.”

“After we leave, we should move toward the seventh starbeam,” I suggested.

Before the others could answer, Varden and the other alphas strode back into the throne room, their scents heavy with frustration.

“Pack alphas,” Varden called. “This cannot continue. The betas grow bolder by the hour.”

Gage’s relaxed stance showed how little the other alphas intimidated him as he gathered his resolve.

“We’ve come to a decision. One that I will announce tonight at the pack meeting.”

Outraged growls filled the room. “I thought we were meant to discuss it.”

“Why did you even call us here?”

“And Fern thinks it’s only the betas that he yanks around.”

“You’re making decisions without the input of the rest of us alphas?”

“As we’ve just demonstrated,” Gage’s voice carried a hint of irony, “higher-ranking shifters often make decisions without consulting lower-ranking ones. Now you know how the betas feel. You’ll hear our decision tonight at the pack meeting with everyone else.”

He dismissed the other alphas before anyone could protest further. Through our bond, I sensed his strategic mind at work. Better to keep the alphas guessing than risk them alerting anyone else that we planned to defect and split the pack.

I followed the other alphas outside, listening to their grumbles until most of them shifted into wolf form to run off their aggression — a wise decision.

Then I headed over to the jail to trade places with Rowan.

The dark wolf gave me a grateful nod, trotting past me to go on a run of his own, most likely.

For a few hours, I guarded the silent Tork, who paced his cell like a caged animal. Heath arrived earlier than I expected to swap places with me. Tork instantly charged the bars, slamming his open palms onto them and letting out a silent growl.

Only then did I realize why he’d been so silent. “You commanded him to silence?”

Heath smirked. “Couldn’t give the traitor another chance to betray us. Right, Tork?”

He chuckled when Tork let his hands drop, his eyes staring daggers into Heath.

In the past, Heath had always been able to balance sleeping with whomever he pleased without creating animosity when he chose to spend the night with other shifters instead.

Tork was the first one I could remember that had shown his displeasure at Heath’s choice — Freya — by stabbing him in the back. Heath wouldn’t let it happen again.

“Speak,” Heath commanded, temporarily lifting his previous order.

“You’re all cowards,” Tork spat. “Hiding behind alpha commands because you know I speak the truth about your precious mate and your pet mage—”

“Silence,” Heath snarled, and Tork’s mouth snapped shut. “See?”

I crossed my arms and regarded Tork. “He’s definitely more tolerable this way.”

Heath chuckled, and I left him behind to guard Tork. Rowan would return soon to relieve Heath before the pack meeting .

At the den, I found the others had already begun packing, various bags and crates piled up and waiting for us to move out. Zak’s fingers drummed against the table as I came in.

“I feel useless,” he admitted.

I motioned him to follow me as I began gathering my own belongings.

“Who is Tork, anyway?” Zak asked, perhaps just to break the silence.

“He used to be a Moonblessed pack beta, and one of Heath’s former lovers when we would visit there between jobs.”

When I glanced over at Zak, the surprise was evident in his eyes, but not in the bond. He clearly had more control over what he leaked to us than the reverse. My wolf didn’t like it, wanting to sniff out his secrets. But I knew he would never trust us with his secrets if we didn’t trust him first.

So, I added, “But when we traveled to Moonblessed with Freya, Tork tipped off Ironwood, putting the whole pack in danger when Ironwood threatened pack war if Hugo and Idori, the Moonblessed pack alphas, didn’t turn over Freya to them. Thus, he earned his exile for putting his own pack in danger.”

“I see,” Zak said, his emotions carefully guarded again.

I tossed my duffel bag on the pile. Seeing our belongings gathered reminded me of my years in exile, always prepared to move from one place to another. Our pack would face whatever came next together. But when I turned around, the mage had silently disappeared.