Page 29 of Wanted by the Wolves (The Last Shifters #2)

Chapter 28

Nova

A fter teasing me with his magic touches until I was practically cursing his name, Gage backs off. He’s switched to giving me tasks in the front part of the garden where he grows food. Every once in a while, he’ll give me a little love zap that brings my awareness and slick surging back, but I think he wants to keep me waiting for Dex without pushing me over.

Mission accomplished. I’m a lust bomb set to go off.

My body is taut, waiting for Gage’s magical caresses. They feel like a shock to my nipples and a buzz to my clit. I’m practically vibrating with anticipation.

The minutes tick by, and the jolt doesn’t come. Instead, the scent of lush earth, florals, and herbs surrounds me in a warm cocoon. It’s Gage’s scent, magnified by the blooming greenhouse. After a while, it dulls that burn in my core to a low, simmering ache, making my head a little floaty. I hum while I work, and Gage purrs, the sound soothing.

When I’ve gathered what’s there to harvest, I lean against one of the gardening tables and watch Gage. He looks more tense than usual. It’s especially noticeable because, for the last week, he’s been relaxed, slowly letting down his guard.

He’s working at the back of the greenhouse in what I like to think of as his office. It’s got a high-top wooden slab shoved against the wall and my makeshift wolf’s nest tucked underneath. He isn’t using the table today but is working with crystals on the cleared floor. He hesitates at the large, iridescent moonstone in his hand before looking back at an old page of a grimoire.

“Use it.”

“Do you know what that’s for?” Gage looks up, his brow raised.

“A moonstone is for abundance. It’s a part of the spell.” I nod in the direction of the circle made from chalk runes on the floor. “You’re making a moon circle for the full moon. That’s why you said to wait to bond?”

Gage has told me to follow all my omega-bonding instincts except that one. This must be why.

Gage sighs in exasperation, but he’s clearly impressed. “I take it back. Your grandmother was a nuisance.”

“She knew someone would need to keep you honest,” I tease.

“Guilty,” he says with a devilish laugh.

He goes back to studying the book, and I watch again, puzzling him over.

“Now I’m curious what you’re up to.” I don’t remember all my grandmother’s spells, but this is one I watched her set each month. The circle is made with crystals and a strengthening spell to help awaken mating bonds. It’s like a blessing for a pack.

It makes sense that Gage is setting the circle now. The next full moon and my heat are less than a week away. Omega wolves have a heat every full moon until they bond or become pregnant, which can only happen during a heat, and my wolf is riding the need for both hard. The fact that he was focused on the moonstone is what has me so puzzled.

Gage looks up from the book, his expression more subdued. “This upcoming moon is a Blue Moon, which brings a unique surge in magic. I’m hoping a moon circle can harness that extra power.”

“You think the Blue Moon could strengthen a bond? Like, heal the magic?” I ask, excitement creeping into my tone.

“Maybe.” Gage’s eyes shutter, some of that spark of his dimming. “Don’t go getting your hopes up, little star.”

I cross the greenhouse to join him outside the circle. “Why the moonstone?”

Gage looks at his book. “When I was studying to be a healer with my uncle, we trained for a few months with an elder named Julian. That’s where I first learned about the power of the Blue Moon and how to use it to enhance a spell. I was debating whether to switch the moonstone from the original spell with a protection crystal or if it’s a necessary element that helps strengthen bonds.”

I stare at my tense mate, trying to find his tell. His scent is sour, and he won’t meet my eyes. Why wouldn’t he want abundance in our mating? What am I not getting?

“Abundance is for—” Saying it aloud makes it click into place. Abundance is for fertility. The reality of that hits me like a sucker punch to the gut. Oh, Gage. “You’re worried about me getting pregnant during this heat?”

“Yes, wild child,” he says, his voice hollow. “Moonstones are used to enhance fertility. With the strength of a Blue Moon…”

I grab his forearm, trying to keep us both from spiraling. “Do you agree with my grandmother about why the magic might be broken?”

Gage spears me with the intensity in his eyes, weighing the stone in his hand. “Yes. The bonds aren’t strong enough to hold packs together. I think without the extra magical connection from the mating runes, pregnancy and birth drain an omega’s magic.”

I hold his gaze, letting that sink in. I’ve had all the pieces from listening to my grandmother, but he’s the one who has made the connections clearer in my mind and put it all into focus. “That tracks with my grandma’s explanation that the usurper’s betrayal broke our magic. The Alpha King didn’t just take the throne in the challenge—he came after my grandmother, the pack’s omega.”

Gage’s eyes widen. “The story I heard when I was younger was that she died giving birth to your mother. Healers consider your mother’s death the first of the omega sickness.” He stares at me, and it’s as if I can see his mind working to sort through the puzzle pieces. “But that’s not right. You’re saying it was the Alpha King who killed her, not the birth?”

“Yes,” I nod, trying to gather my thoughts to explain what I think this all means. “Omegas are supposed to be sacred, their role in packs protected. Maybe killing the omega queen triggered wolves’ bonds to break as punishment?”

Gage looks away from me, visibly shaken. “I don’t know, little star. That changes things… I just don’t know how.”

I tug on his chin, drawing him back to me, trying to find the light for both of us. “Except my mother didn’t actually die. Not then. My grandmother saved her. Maybe that means something?”

Gage gives me a brittle smile. “True.” He pulls me closer, and the two of us are quiet as we process.After a few moments, he speaks again, and I already know from the sound of his voice that whatever he’s concluded confirms his fears. “Even if your grandmother is right about why we lost the magic, that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know how to bring the runes back. I only know that I don’t ever want what’s happened in the past to happen to you.”

I give him a sad smile, my insides twisting at the reminder of what we both know. “How do you propose we do that?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to puzzle out,” he admits in a huff, running a hand through his hair.

“Aren’t you the one who said I need to follow my instincts?” I challenge.

Gage studies me. “Truth. Do you want pups, Nova?”

I study my alpha right back. Gage has tried so hard to right a wrong he never made. Knowing how much he’s had to pay—how much we’ve all paid—cracks a piece of me. How much more can we take?

“In a world that isn’t like ours, where kids grow up safe, I’d love to have babies with you and a home like this.”

Gage’s eyes mirror my sorrow. “But that isn’t our world.”

I crawl into his lap, burying my face in his neck. “No, it’s not. But even I know that birth control potions don’t work with scent matches in heat.”

“Doesn’t hurt to try. If it could save your life?—”

I cut him off with a hand to his chest. “Truth.” I look up, finding his eyes. “Do you want a bond with me, Gage?”

Gage cups my face, pressing his forehead to mine and breathing me in. “I want everything with you. That isn’t the problem.”

I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. “Then bet on abundance with me, Gage. Use the moonstone and the original spell, the way it was intended. We can’t predict what will happen, but we can face it together.”

Gage’s expression is tortured. “How can you have hope after all you’ve seen?”

I trace his cheek, nose, and eyebrow, learning the lines of his face. “What’s the alternative?” I tuck his head against my chest, my purr rumbling to life. “You know, you guys are the ones who reminded me what it’s like to hope for something better.”

“Us?” He chuckles. “That sounds dangerous.”

“Oh, it is. But I’ve decided to roll with it even though I’m scared.”

“That’s because you’re brave as hell, wild child.”

“You make me feel brave,” I whisper, “like I can do more than just survive.”

I sit in his lap on the floor for a long time,the two of us breathing in each other. The sound of his purr settles into my soul. He kisses my forehead, wrapping me in his arms and holding me tightly.I nudge my nose into his throat, soaking up his soothing herbal scent. His cheek rubs along my hair, and the scent marking is so full of the comfort of belonging that I can’t help the warmth that spreads in my chest.

I try to explain it to him, choosing my words carefully. “I’m afraid, Gage. I won’t lie or pretend the worst couldn’t happen. But I think this world could use more love, not less. That’s why.”

“All right, little star.”

He rubs my back, and I let myself float in the connection between us, shoring up my resolve that this is the path forward. I trust my grandmother’s wisdom and my wolf. My instincts tell me I need to bond with them during this heat. If anyone can help strengthen our magic, it’s Gage. I’ll have to have faith in his plan for the both of us.

“We’re back!” Briggs’s shouted greeting startles me, and I yelp.

Gage’s muffled chuckle sounds near my neck.

“And it smells like you two have been up to no good.”

My cheeks heat. The greenhouse probably smells like my perfume. In my defense, Gage teased me for hours, and since our intense conversation, he’s been purring for me.

“The perimeter is clear, and the wards are holding. It looks like the storms forced the ferals off,” Dex’s voice joins Briggs’s. “You ready to come back to the house with me, sweetheart?”

Gage gives me a squeeze and whispers in my ear, “Go to him. We can talk more later.” I hesitate, looking him over, but he shakes his head. “Go. I’m good.”

“Will you finish setting the circle with the moonstone ?”

He swallows thickly. “I’m thinking about it.”