Page 14 of Never Tamed (Bad Wolves #3)

Mathis

D ax is heavy as hell.

Even half-shifted and unconscious, he’s dead weight between me and Torin. We haul his ass over the snow and his feet drag, leaving a crooked trail behind us, his head lolling forward every few steps.

A part of me can't believe Noble knocked him out that good. Dax is going to be pissed when he wakes up.

Torin grunts. “You good?”

“Oh, sure. Peachy,” I mutter, adjusting my grip under Dax’s arm. My ribs ache, and my shoulder’s screaming from the hits I took at the church. I keep it to myself. “You?”

“Shut the hell up.”

Fair enough .

Ren and Noble trail behind us. He’s limping less now since the shift..

She hasn’t spoken once. She’s been quiet for the entire trek back down the mountain, visibly shaken, with her clothes in shreds. I want to ask her why she decided to run off in the middle of the night and how Dax suddenly lost his mind.

She’ll tell us when she’s ready.

Now if this storm would stop—

The snow slows us down. It’s not as windy as it was the last time we trekked to the temple, but the flakes are thick, building mounds around us, making it harder to move.

It isn’t until the sun starts to stain the gray clouds a muted gold that we crest a ridge and see the creek and the glow of our makeshift camp’s dying fire in the distance.

“Finally,” Torin breathes. “With all the snow, I was afraid you were walking us in circles. I thought we’d never make it back.”

“Didn’t trust me?” I ask, raising a brow.

He side-eyes me. “Don’t push it.”

I give him a tired smirk and keep slogging downhill. The sky pales by the time we stumble into camp.

Torin and I lower Dax beside what’s left of our fire. He slumps sideways, bare-assed, and half sunken in the snow.

“I’ll get more wood,” Torin mutters and lurches off into the trees.

Noble follows, determined to be useful, to make up for his limp. For a moment it’s just me and Ren and the soft hiss of snow landing on hot embers.

She kneels opposite the fire with her hands hovering over the flames, shaking from cold and whatever’s rattling around in her mind.

I nudge a half-burned log into the embers and watch the sparks flare. “Do you want to tell me where you ran off to?”

Please, tell me . I have to feel useful.

“You’re not going to scold me, are you?” she says, which surprises me.

I hadn’t intended to come off condescending, but I guess my tone did come off a little harsh. “I—”

She lets out a breath fogging the air between us, then finally lifts her gaze. The haunted look there makes my stomach twist. “Don’t apologize. I know you have a lot on your mind.”

Although it’s never explicitly mentioned, she’s talking about Flora.

“So do you.”

She nods.

“You first,” I prompt gently and crouch beside her. “I’m here. I’m listening.”

Glancing over at Dax’s still unconscious frame, she hesitates.

“He’s fine,” I say. “He’ll have one hell of a bruised jaw, but he’s been through worse.”

Hell, we all have. This is one of those times where a little beatdown isn’t so bad in the grand scheme of every other fucking thing happening.

Ren stares at me for a long moment before sighing.

She scratches her head, her eyes dark and round.

“It started as a dream. I was running through the trees faster than I’ve ever run before,” she whispers.

“Then suddenly, I was a wolf. That’s when I realized it wasn’t a dream at all.

I was really running in wolf form up the mountain with some kind of super speed. ”

I hold her gaze. “Wolves can run pretty fast.”

“No, you don’t understand, Mathis. This was different. It was like I was flying over the snow, unable to even feel the ground.” She shifts in discomfort.

My brain spirals, pulling pieces from my memory and the stories I’ve heard to make sense of what she’s saying. I come up empty and offer a ridiculous, “Oh.”

The look on her face says whatever had happened had both terrified and amazed her.

“Before I knew it, I was at the temple. I started talking to the Moon Goddess’s statue and she just kinda…appeared.” Ren lets out a short laugh. “I know it sounds crazy—”

“It does.” Torin appears with a bunch of sticks in hand.

Noble’s not far behind him, clutching more.

Ren scrunches up her nose at her newest mate. “I’m not lying! She was there. I’ve actually seen her a couple of times. She came to me, looking like a sweet single mother, and called herself Anna. She helped me out.”

My blood freezes in my veins. “You’ve seen her before?” I ask in a combination of intrigue and nameless dread.

“Yes. She picked me up when I was stranded after escaping from your territory. And I saw her again at Rudy’s before Andras’s men attacked us. Me, Carrigan, Dax, and…” Ren trails off and shakes her head violently.

“Flora.” Even saying her name makes my throat tight.

“Anna said she’s been waiting for me to find her so we could talk privately.”

Never in my damn life have I heard about anyone having a personal chat with the goddess. She is the moon. She is the one who controls the tides and her wolves. We pay homage to her and for years I hunted her damn stone, her fucking sword, trying to find a way to defend my pack against our enemies.

Now she’s walking around Rudy’s fucking bar?

I clench my hand hard enough to feel the tendons tighten and snap.

“Well, she got her chance. What did she say?” Torin throws his pile on the fire hap-hazardly. It’ll never catch fire like that.

City folk.

They don’t understand.

It’s easier to focus on the fire than the strange amalgam of emotions inside of me.

Standing, I rearrange the sticks into a point to get better air flow underneath. Then, I gently blow on the embers to encourage them to grow.

Ren crosses her legs underneath her to get comfortable.

“She said I’m the answer to stopping Andras and the Blood Moon pack. That everything we have survived was pushing me toward this. She said I am her weapon, and she’s given me powers.”

Her voice trembles.

My heart skips a beat before settling into a steady rhythm. The mate bond flares brighter with the four of us together and any need to react to the news dissipates with the other's calm control.

“Powers, like running up the mountain in an hour,” Noble supplies. “Maybe less.”

“Exactly. I don’t know what else I can do, but she said the process has started.”

The fire finally grabs hold and starts to spread, winning me an annoyed look from Torin. Realizing it’s better for me to handle it, Noble just throws his gathered sticks next to me. It’s an opportunity to compose myself. To reckon with the strange emotional surge.

“I guess you were always meant to have the Moonstone after all,” Torin says, rubbing the stubble on his jaw.

“Seems like it. Like fate, if you believe in that sort of thing.”

“I do,” Noble says and winks at Ren. “It brought me to my mate. I’ll never question the will of the goddess again.”

Ren flashes him a loving smile. “I’m just worried about how I’m supposed to be her ‘sword’ or whatever. How am I going to kill Andras? Me.”

Her. She has no idea how amazing she is, what a gift she is to all of us. The pressure in my chest increases.

Torin straightens, running a hand down his front in a nervous gesture. He’s reaching for the tie he’s not wearing. “No one said anything about you killing him.”

“What else does stop him or defeat him mean?” Ren replies, ready to argue. “I’m going to have to fight him in some way.”

“No, you don’t.” Torin is pure iron and adamant.

“The Moon Goddess says I’m the only one—” she begins.

A growl rips out of him, low and visceral. “Well, the Moon Goddess can go fuck herself, because there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you get yourself killed. You are my mate.” He clears his throat but his wolf is close. “Our mate. Ours to protect.”

“Nobody’s dying,” Noble cuts in.

Strain coils through Torin, from his posture and through the bond connecting us. His shoulders form a rigid line and his hands tense and curl. He’s adjusting to the mate bond. I get it.

But it has him running hot.

The instinct to protect Ren is chewing him alive, especially after what happened at the church. He blames himself for not stopping Catarina or Andras. Even if I couldn’t feel his emotions myself, it’s obvious. I know that guilt.

I feel it too.

I clear my throat, trying to devolve the building tension, but Torin ignores me.

“Don’t start, Noble. It’s non-negotiable,” Torin bites out. “You know it too.”

“But she’s not alone, Torin,” I cut in. “We’re here. We’re not letting her walk into this alone. She’s got us.”

He doesn’t answer. He only stiffens and turns away like he’s sick of looking at us.

“We will protect her,” I add. “Together.”

He’s quiet a moment longer, but then says, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

He spins on his heel and storms off through the trees before the gloom swallows him whole.

“Torin! Don’t leave!” Ren’s voice cracks when she calls out to him but Torin doesn’t turn back.

I can’t even be mad at the prick. Not when I’m feeling it too, the rippling unease, the weight of something inevitable.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I ask, glancing at Noble.

He just lifts a shoulder in a shrug, but we both know why Torin’s lashing out. He’s scared.

We’ve all failed before. Many times. But failing Ren? That means death for her and for us because, as her true mates, her death will destroy us. That’s not something we can let happen.

I won’t lose her, too.

I rake a hand through my hair and let out a breath that fogs the freezing air. Ren’s staring after Torin, arms wrapped around herself like she’s struggling to stay warm.

Noble and I both move on instinct and drop down on either side of her. I wrap my arm around her shoulder to pull her tighter to me. She inhales deeply, drawing in my scent, and instantly, she eases.

“We’re not going anywhere,” I whisper. “We’ll figure it out. All of it.”

Noble places his hand on her thigh. “Together.”

A smile lifting her lips, she peers up toward me. “Okay. Right. Thank you.”