Wicked Wolves, page 8
Alpha Morgan looks at us both with that same I'm-pretending expression, though I catch a twinge of pity in his eyes for me.
"I thought it was best that we deal with this issue privately, but I wanted to check and see what the two of you think," he says, his voice low and soothing, his self-assured alpha nature calming.
My mom is wrong. He isn't a terrible alpha. He's dependable, calm, and in control.
That's probably why he never chose her as his mate. They couldn't be more different.
"If you'd like, I can bring them in front of the pack publicly. But since very few people know that they attempted to burn your house down, I thought it best we keep this to a small group of trustworthy people. I'm trying to convince the pack that we can come together in peace, and that'll be easier if they all believe this is a terrible tragedy."
Considering my mom's current drunken state, I'm sure they're more likely to think it was a stupid accident. She wasn't drinking at the Hideaway alone, after all.
Before she can answer the alpha, I step in and tell him, "Let's keep it private. You're right, it's for the best. But... what are you going to do?"
Chapter 21
Rina
"Exile them, of course," he says, sounding surprised. "It's the only option considering what they've done. I'm pretty sure they would've killed you if you'd been home."
A shudder goes through me at the thought.
I never, in my entire life, would've guessed that someone might one day want to kill me because of a grudge.
Much less that it would be someone in my pack—more than one pack member at that.
I'm going to have to summon those gods and have them help me fix this, or I won't survive to see spring.
"Let's see them exiled," I tell the alpha. "I want to know that it's been done."
He escorts us up to the Mating Circle. Bastian takes up the rear position, a silent shadow, protecting us from unseen threats.
But the threats are right here. They're seen.
As Alpha Morgan and the warrior drag the couple into the middle of the stones, nausea churns in my stomach. They're both struggling, moaning and pleading with him not to do this.
Zoe Sleet looks straight at me and growls, her lips peeled back from her teeth.
But the alpha is calm and determined. He gives Ali the signal, and she walks to the center as well, standing next to one of the stone risers.
Our Mating Circle, I'm told, is unique. I haven't seen other packs' to compare, but apparently most have one stone riser, for their alpha to perform Mating Ceremonies and other bits of magic-infused pack business.
Ours has two. One for a witch from our coven, one for our alpha.
Morgan gets up on his riser, facing Ali. She begins the incantation. He rises up his arms, letting the power flow into them.
The warrior ties the couple to the stone plinth in the middle of the Mating Circle, and they both begin to break down. Their helplessness seems to have set in—they're accepting their fate.
"I wish we could burn them," my mom tells me, her voice softly slurring. "Like they tried to burn us."
Her angry declaration is somewhat ruined by a drunken hiccup.
Power flowing through him, Alpha Morgan faces the couples. He crooks his fingers and makes a yanking motion in the air, drawing their threads out.
I've seen him do this once or twice before, but now that I've watched Delilah Glass do it, I can see how clumsy his movements are. He's an alpha, not a weaving witch. The threads are his to manipulate but not control.
"Zoe and Bernard Sleet of the Mountain Pack," he calls out, twisting the threads in his fingers, "I as your alpha cast you out. No longer will you be bonded to our pack," he severs a thread, "to our land," more threads, "or to each other," a final thread.
Bernard begins to sob.
Zoe screams out.
Then they both look up—at me. I feel their hatred and want to run away. But something inside me won't let me do it.
I watch as they're untied and dragged away from the circle. As they're tossed to the ground, and our land's protective wards rise up.
The wind stirs. The water of the nearby lake churns. Trees bend and snap.
Like a quilt being shaken off, they're thrown through the air. Both land on the ground as wolves—and they start to run.
They have to, because our territory is furious with them now that they've been cast out. The very trees smash against their feet, sweeping them away like gnats. I watch them disappear into the darkness, treetops shaking for miles, until the earth is calm.
And I know that they may not survive alone for long.
At least the pack bonds weren't poisoned enough to completely destroy our wards.
Once that's done, I find my mother, Ali, Alpha Morgan, and Bastian looking at me. The warrior—I think his name is John—is pointedly not looking at me, which is almost worse.
"I want to be alone for a minute," I tell them, raising my chin. "Ali, can you take Mom home please?"
"Sure."
"I'll go with them," the alpha suggests. "We'll come back for your mother's car tomorrow, then figure out where everyone is going to sleep."
Mom makes a protest, but Ali convinces her to peel away from me. She also hands me something I've been missing: my phone, which I left behind for my Mating Ceremony.
It's off, which is probably a blessing. The hatred I've been dealing with is bad enough face-to-face.
Bastian takes one look at me and declares, "I'll make sure the protective defenses around the circle are set up."
"I'll go with him," the warrior says, reaching out to clasp Bastian's shoulder.
Once they're gone, I feel a kind of peace.
And then a torturous, terrible grief.
Stumbling to the middle of the Mating Circle, I fall to my hands and knees. My fingers dig into the ancient stones. Power pulses just beneath me, deep in the ground and out of reach.
Sobs wrack my body, and tears fall onto the stones. They roll from my cheeks, down my arms, splatters my hands, and sink into the ground beneath me.
"Why?" I beg the uncaring stones, hating that I'm upset again. "I want to get past this and move on, but I just can't. I don't understand why this happened to me. I don't want it—take it back."
If the stones could answer, I'm sure they'd refuse me. But I don't care. I'm desperate to undo it all.
I don't want to be an omega.
As the tears fall, I curl around my tender, injured center and drop my forehead down to the ground.
Eventually, I grow exhausted of crying, and settle into sniffling instead. My tears dry up, though the pain remains.
Silence descends in the Mating Circle—though I can still hear the distant chittering of Appalachian nature rustling through the trees. Cold air pricks my arms, the mountain autumn weather chilling my skin. I find myself wishing for my wolf form, desperate to stretch my legs, angry that my useless connection to the wellspring beneath me won't let me go anywhere.
I'm trapped. Cursed. And hated.
I feel a hand on my shoulder.
Chapter 22
Rina
The hand is warm, with broad fingers that curl around my shoulder.
My heart leaps. Looking up, I see one of the gods, the one I expected least.
Adar.
"You look surprised." He flashes a grin, his teeth pearly white against brown skin. "I'm able to come here, at least half-here, because my spirit is currently strong."
I swallow. "I didn't say anything."
"You didn't have to. I felt your distress and was called here. That and the fire made this possible."
I don't know what to say to that. It's embarrassing to think that someone felt my distress, but also comforting. I guess I'm needier than I realized.
There's something about his hand on my skin, even through clothes. Maybe it's the fact that he's a god. Or maybe it's the way he's here but not here, a little translucent, glowing as if the moonlight is reflected off him.
Just the touch of his fingers on my shoulder is enough to make my skin tingle. Arousal pools between my thighs, strange and embarrassing, especially since my tears have barely dried.
Pulling my sleeve over my hand, I wipe my nose off and look up into his heartbreakingly handsome face.
"Why are you here? Do you want me to summon you or something? Because I'm a little busy being pathetic."
"You're not pathetic." He pulls his hand off my shoulder, and I tamp down an embarrassing whine at the cessation of touch. "Here, get up off the ground and tell me what's wrong."
He's holding his hand out towards me.
Staring at it, I wonder if my fingers will go through if I touch it.
There's only one way to know. I put my hand in his, feeling a rush of heat and warmth. It isn't solid, but he's here, at least partially.
He pulls me to my feet with a yank that feels strong—but as soon as I'm standing his hand goes through me. I gasp at the sensation of it passing through my skin, like a jolt of energy straight to the heart. Not just the heart, though, because my thighs are quivering and my abdomen is like jelly.
I'm flushed and overwhelmed. Slightly out of it and dizzy. Almost like... almost like I've just had an orgasm.
Adar looks at me with a mischievous expression, raising a brow and cocking his head. "Something wrong?"
"No, I just—I've never touched a ghost before." I shiver a little, cold now that his hand isn't on me. "You pulled me up, then just... disappeared."
"My state is currently only half-solid, unfortunately for both of us."
I bite my lower lip, feeling my blush crawl down my neck and up my cheeks. He's clearly flirting with me—the expression in his brown eyes and the twisted grin on his face make that obvious. I've been flirted with before, but never by a god, much less half of one.
Somehow he feels more real and arousing than any boy I ever flirted with before the First Alpha chose me.
"I do mean it, by the way," Adar says, confusing me momentarily. "I want to know what's wrong. It wasn't a rhetorical question."
I swallow. Other than Ali, and my mother when she's being my "bestie," I've never really had anyone to confide in. My pack mates always felt distant and different from me.
The genuine warmth and desire in Adar's tone gets to me, and I instantly unravel.
"It's just that... my mom won't stop drinking. I mean, she mostly did, but she's started again. So now I have to deal with that, in addition to her house being on fire.
"And I know it's because I've disappointed her. She always wanted me to be the First Mate. I was supposed to be with the First Alpha. We'd get the nice house, everyone would love us, and she wouldn't have to work her terrible retail jobs anymore or beg Alpha Morgan for money.
"Now that's all gone, and she's fallen into bad habits again. But she's not even the person who's the most disappointed in me. I've ruined everything for my whole pack. They hate me now, and can you blame them? I'm the reason why our pack is in danger, and I even caused a miscarriage. A miscarriage!
"I want to fix it—believe me I do. Even if I do, nothing will be undone. That's bad enough. But I'm not even sure I can fix it. I don't think I'm strong enough to do any of it."
Chapter 23
Rina
Babbling over, I take a deep, gulping breath. I expect to breathe it out and start crying again, but to my surprise, I feel better. Looking up into Adar's eyes—far up, because he's very, very tall—I feel a tingle of gratitude inside me.
It's like I just burned every anxious thought and worry I've ever had out of me, all by talking to him.
I never knew that someone you just met could be so important in your life so quickly.
"I'm willing to bet you're strong enough, precious. And despite appearances, I'm not a betting man," Adar says, winking at me. "But you'll only believe you're strong if you actually try. Not trying won't get you anywhere, and it certainly won't change the trouble you're having. I know it's all new, but the sooner you accept what's going on and try to fix it, the better you'll feel."
He's right.
I know that he is, because before I broke down, that was exactly what I was thinking. I need to accept this terrible situation, then start working on moving past it so I can fix my life.
I may not be the First Alpha's future mate anymore, but I'm still Caterina Birch, member of the Mountain Pack. I have a duty to my pack mates—even the ones who are furious at me right now.
And if the gods themselves believe in me, the least I can do is believe in myself.
"You're right. I have to stop the pity fest," I tell Adar, enjoying the way he beams at me with pride, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. "What do I have to do to summon you and the other gods?"
"I'm proud of you, precious," Adar says, his words filling me with warmth and yearning. "The magic spell to summon us is simple, but it has a high cost. Because your pack and its Mating Circle is steeped in sacrificial magic, you'll have to give something up."
I shiver. A question occurs to me, one that's plagued me my whole life. If anyone will have the answer, it'll be one of our gods.
"Why is our packs Mating Circle linked to sacrificial magic? I know it's why we have a coven, and why the First Alpha's Mating Ceremony is so important, but no one has ever been able to tell me why."
Adar smirks. "I'll tell you, but I have to point out, if you think about what we told you in your dreams long enough, you'll probably realize the answer yourself."
"Y'all told me a lot," I observe, scanning my memory for a hint or a clue. "Let me think..."
I find myself combing my fingers through my long black hair as I think, undoing knots that formed when I was crying.
Really I should get it cut. My mom looks fantastic with short hair, and she says I will too, because of my long neck and high cheekbones. But I've stubbornly held onto the black hair—it's the only trait I get from my mysterious father, and for some reason that's important to me.
My mind wanders, and I snap my fingers as I bring it back to the present. "Is the Mating Circle connected to sacrificial magic because of the werewolves who died here?"
"Bingo, precious. Especially the last omega, which is why I'm sure you'll be able to cast the spell. You just have to be prepared to make a sacrifice."
Of course I'm ready for that. I've prepared for this for years. Even before I was declared the First Mate, I knew I wanted to mate with the First Alpha. I read every book I could get my hands on about our pack history, and interrogated all the senior pack members for stories about other First Mates.
A dozen things I could sacrifice come to mind. I tick them off aloud to Adar.
"There's my singing voice, my ability to cook, my sense of smell, or... if those don't work, one of my childhood memories."
One of the First Mates from the 18th century had to sacrifice all her memories from before her ceremony. The thought of that is overwhelming to me—I would hate to forget Ali—but I'm willing to do it if I have no other choice.
"None of those things will do, precious." Adar shakes his head. "Your thoughts on submission are going in the right direction. What you must sacrifice to summon us is control.
"Control of your future. Control of your nature. And most importantly, the thing that makes you less than fully omega: control of your mating threads."
I inhale sharply.
All my people are born with some innate, fated threads that bond them to others. For most, it's a friend or a family member. A rare few get fated mate bonds, like I've heard Delilah has with all five of her mates.
"I don't have a real mating thread," I protest weakly, not believing it as I say it. "The only thread I ever had led towards the mountains, which means it was supposed to be for the First Alpha."
"Exactly. That thread is something valuable to your pack, but it keeps you from your true omega nature. It's a destiny thread—a thread woven by the collective strength of your pack's beliefs and traditions. Opening it up will be a sacrifice on behalf of your whole pack, and a commitment to changing its future. Only then will the gates open to let the four of us walk this earth."
There's conviction in his words. I can tell that he's telling the truth. Somehow, that makes this even more frightening.
That thread is what shone towards the mountains. It's what connected me to the First Alpha. Only by severing it can I open up the gate.
I hesitate. Every sacrifice has a benefit. I was meant to have the First Alpha if I sacrificed something to be mated with him.
Sacrificing something as big as my mating thread has to come with a pretty damned big benefit to be worth it. I don't even care if that's selfish—it's just how I feel, especially after being kicked around by my own people.
"What," I ask him, "will I get in return?"
Chapter 24
Adar
The beautiful little omega wants to know what she will get in return.
Staring into her precious, wild face, I wonder what she's thinking behind those bright blue eyes. The night wind stirs her long black hair—I sniff, but it's not Lucian up to trouble this time. The scent of her is all that washes over me, hickory smoke and salted caramel.
My mouth waters at the taste.
I can feel her anticipation, her yearning.
She wants to know what her god offers her in exchange for her sacrifice.
If only she truly understood. If she'd been born in the old world, the one with proper alphas and omegas, she would know already. Denying her omega nature is why her eyes are so troubled, her wolf so small and weak, and her life so misfortunate.
I wish I could help her see what awaits her. I crave to show her the most beautiful and pure connection there is in the world: that of an omega to her alphas.
But Caterina isn't ready for that yet. I can tell that just the thought she isn't the First Alpha's mate disturbs her. She's attracted to us—any omega would be, given that we're some of the only true alphas left from the old world. That attraction scares her, and she doesn't even know about knots yet, or the beauty of being claimed for life.
