Chapter 47 — Winter

I checked on Fagua, who was sleeping in Sky's arms. My brother was softly snoring while the TV was showing the end credits to a movie they'd been watching. After I clicked off the movie, I pulled up the blanket over both of them.

A shadow drifted on the other side of the glass doors and I tensed. Husk.

He was out on the balcony, pacing like a damn caged lion. I joined him outside and cracked my knuckles, readying for a fight. He and Fagua had argued over an innocent phone call, and I was Team Fagua right now because he'd crossed the line.

"Your ego is going to fuck you up one day," I said, leaning against the iron railing.

He nodded his chin in her and Sky's direction. "How can you deal with that? Knowing that she's sleeping with all three of us?"

"She's a beautiful woman. She could have as many men as she wants." Maybe I was biased since I was with Fagua first. That she chose me without the sickness hanging over my head that Sky and now Husk dealt with.

"I wish she'd just pick one of us," he complained.

"No, you don't." I shook my head, grasping the railing so I didn't strangle him. "Lots of wolves have more than one mate. You're jealous because you thought she'd leap into your arms first."

That made him stop. He gave me that particular Cheshire cat grin, and it was the type of smile that you gave someone when waiting for them to walk away so you could pounce on them.

"Look, I get it. I'm not eating popcorn and watching her fuck Sky."

He clenched and unclenched his fists. "How can you even deal with that? Hearing them? Knowing what they're doing?"

"I don't. But I know she loves me and I love her. I trust her." After my words registered in his eyes, I continued. "Your dick is overreacting like she's cheating. She's not. We knew we were all her mates from the beginning."

"My dick is telling me to drop-kick you off this balcony."

"Then do it," I challenged.

He shook his head, pacing back and forth again, his gaze drifting over to Fagua and Sky. "I can't. You're my brother. If you were anyone else—"

"You'd have ripped out our balls by now," I finished for him. "When was the last time you talked to her?"

He paused in his pacing, his shoulders tight. "Yesterday. Something seems off with her power."

"It's probably because she's upset with you, and I don't blame her." I gestured to the couch where she and Sky were sleeping. "When she wakes up, talk to her. Apologize."

"I need to run." He took off his shirt and I turned back to the living room. Normally, I would shift with him. But there were some things, like sorting out his own shit, that no one could tell him what to do or do it for him. He had to handle all this on his own.

My brother was a proud man, and I know it rubbed his fur the wrong way that Fagua didn't sleep with him as firstborn alpha.

I walked back inside after seeing Husk leave for his run. I took a hot shower to wash away the sweat and dirt of the day. When I came out, Fagua was awake and eating a slice of chocolate cake at the kitchen table. I opened a beer and saluted her with the bottle. "So you had a rough night?"

She shrugged, and her gray eyes turned a darker shade. "Just stopped an accident, nothing to worry about. How about you? I heard you and Husk arguing."

I winced. "Husk is a neurotic douche bag sometimes. When he's upset, he growls in his sleep like a damn bear and I can hear him all the way to my room."

"He stops if you kick him," Sky said as he yawned, coming into the kitchen.

"You could just go in there and tell him to calm down like an adult."

I sat next to Fagua, kissing her temple, and she leaned into my touch, tucking the back of her head against my shoulder as she scraped off icing from the plate and licked the fork clean.

"He really needs to man up and own his shit."

"Don't be too hard on him." Fagua placed her fork down on her empty plate and snuggled against me. "I think deep down he means well."

"Yeah, like way deep," Sky added, his jealousy showing.

Can't say that I blamed him as it had just been me, him, and Fagua for weeks. Now we had to let Husk into our trio. And he didn't even act like he wanted to be mated to her. But once again, I had to be the good guy in our dynamic. "Be patient. Husk will come around. He's not as bad as he makes himself out to be."

Fagua let out a sigh. "Sometimes he's not that bad. We had a really nice time at the bar and went out for a run on the pack lands. It was the first time I'd been able to fully shift into my wolf. It was amazing."

A spike of hot jealousy plunged into my middle. Why hadn't she been able to become her wolf with me or Sky? We'd accepted her first as our mate but Husk is still holding back and he's granted the privilege? I took another swig of my beer, hoping to dull the ache pressing on my chest.

"Your wolf?" Sky's eyebrows raised. "No kidding? What did she look like?"

Fagua laughed and I relished the sound. There had been too many serious days lately and I missed her light-heartedness. "No idea, I couldn't really see myself. Plus, you know wolves can't see all the colors humans can."

"How did it feel? Your first time?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light.

"Amazing. I don't have words to describe it. It was as if I felt whole for the first time in my life. I'd never felt like that before." She chuckled. "I didn't know I could run so fast."

"Hey, next time we'll all go for a race. Let's see if you can beat me." Sky pulled up a chair, flipping it backward and sitting in it, leaning his arms across the back.

"I bet it felt freeing." I lightly squeezed her shoulder.

"It was incredible." Fagua's cheeks pinked and I wondered if it was from her being with Husk that night or just from finding her wolf. "I could run without a problem and there were hundreds of scents. I even remember smelling humans from miles away."

"Fuck." Sky shook his head. "Wish I could've been there."

"Next time." Fagua smiled.

"I can't believe your dad and mom never helped you learn how to shift completely." Sky tapped his fingers on the back of the chair. "You'd be a pro by now if they had."

Fagua looked between me and Sky. "We need to come up with a plan on SmallHeath. My father is killing wolves and I don't want anyone else getting hurt." She shivered and rubbed her arms. "And I certainly don't want to be carted off and sold."

I couldn't believe he was doing this to his own daughter. But I'd seen power corrupt people before.

"Now that you have your magic back, we can take him and anyone else out." Sky leaned forward in the chair. "They won't expect a surprise attack."

"He's got something there," I admitted. "But we don't know how many wolves he has on his side. I assume with the ones that attacked us here at the penthouse, that he's got more he's hired, which means that the pack is getting bigger."

Fagua squirmed in her seat and leaned her folded hands on the table. "Don't underestimate him. He had me fooled for years and now my mom is backing him up too." She held up a few fingers. "So far we have Rebecca and her husband, who lived in SmallHeath. Mayia and Rock. And the four of us."

As if on cue, Husk appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, his chest bare and tattoos rippling with muscles. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair stood up like he'd raced here and shifted back to his human form.

"Everything okay?" I asked, crossing an ankle over my knee.

His gaze went to my close proximity to Fagua and my hand on her back before he shook himself. "Yeah. Just did a check around the casino making sure we didn't have any unwelcome guests."

"We need to come up with a plan for SmallHeath," I broke in. "Sitting here and waiting isn't going to work. They could come at us when we least expect it, like before."

"Well, don't just stand there." Fagua waved him over. "Come sit down and have some cake. You need something after shifting and patrolling. I'll make you a plate."

I wasn't surprised she made a plate for him. "Anyone else hungry?"

"No," Sky answered, and I shook my head, downing my beer.

Sky and I let her go about her business and she returned to the table with a plate of cake, three slices of sausage, and a glass of milk for Husk. She shoved the glass of milk into his chest and he took it with a questioning look.

"I know you're hungry. Eat."

"I'm fine." His stomach rumbled.

"You're not fine." Her eyes narrowed. "Eat."

With a muttered groan, he sat across from us, stuffing the sausage into his mouth as fast as he could.

"All right. So we take the fight to my father." Fagua clasped her hands on the table. "He won't expect us to have anyone with us. But with my mom there"—she shook her head, her lips in a tight line—"she could put up a magical landmine for us to navigate through."

Husk paused in his eating to glance up at me. Our conversation from earlier about Fagua's magic rushed forward.

"I can help with the magic part," she said.

"What about your wolf?" Sky stole a piece of Husk's sausage and popped it into his mouth before he could stop him. "You'd surprise them if they've never seen you shift before."

"That's a great idea." She beamed. "We can do a test to see if I can sense magic as a wolf. Then they won't know you have me with you or that you have my magical protection."

"Are you sure you're ready for all of this?” I asked her. "I mean, we're going to be facing off against your parents—against many people from your town."

She drew in her bottom lip, thinking. "I know. But I can't help feeling that they're in the dark about my dad, as I was before I saw what he was doing. I think many will either side with us or remain neutral once they know."

"We can't count on that." Husk swung his gaze to me and the air around us seemed to crackle with animosity. "If your mom wasn't a witch, I'd have you stay here with some of our security guards for your protection. It's too dangerous."

"Good thing I wouldn't allow you to do that even if my mom was on our side." She crossed her arms, leaning on the table and lifting her chin. "I go with you, Sky, and Winter. We're a team. We're mates."

Husk's nostrils flared and he shoved his plate away, the fork clanking against the table. "That's not how this works," Husk growled.

She tilted her head, pushing her hair behind her ear, but didn't look at him. "How does it work, Husk?"

He clenched his jaw and stood, walking across the kitchen and into the living room, leaving us at the table.

Fagua pushed back from the table and stood, her jaw tight. "If I'm your mate, I'm your mate for good or bad." She charged after him.

Sky picked up Husk's uneaten cake and carried it out of the kitchen with him.

"Damn it." I followed them, worried about the situation. I'd seen Husk lose his cool around her in the past and I didn't want a repeat of him locking her up again.

"We're not just going up against a couple of rogue wolves, Fagua." Husk's hands clenched at his sides. "This is a whole fucking town of wolves who've been brainwashed and fed the laced drink. They're not going to believe us."

Her eyes flashed with magical fire. "I'm going with you. Even though we're mates, you can't tell me what to do. I'm not a damn dog."

"And your magic?" he asked.

"What about it?” Her eyes narrowed at him. Then, before he could say another word, she said defensively, "It's just fine." She held out a hand and a vase on the mantel flew across the room into the kitchen, wobbling as it landed upright on the kitchen table.

"What about me?" Sky's face split into a wicked grin. "Don't I get a say in this too?"

"No." Fagua reached over and shoved a forkful of cake into his mouth.

"They won't hurt her." I ran my hand through my hair. "They want her for selling. They'll be after us to get us out of the way."

"I'm the one with magic," Fagua said. "I'll be the one protecting you three. I will fight alongside you all."

"Fight?" Sky coughed on the cake in his mouth. "Who said anything about you fighting? You're the magic, we're the muscle."

"You should stay here," Husk said before he stalked out of the room.

"Wait," she called after him. "We have to decide on a plan."

He paused in the hallway, glaring at me and Sky. "We don't need one. My gut and my wolf tell me what to do. There is no room for thinking that will get you killed. You three plan everything until you can sleep well at night. Just tell me when we leave."

"Don't be like this," Fagua begged in a soft voice.

"Sweetheart, this is me being nice." He grinned, and a vein pulsed in his forehead. "If it were up to me, I'd take you away from all this and never look back."

She lifted her chin, tears shining in her eyes. "Good thing it's not up to just you."

Without a backward glance, he turned on his heel and left.

Fagua sank to the couch, pulling her knees up under her chin. "So now what do we do?"

I sat beside her and Sky set down the empty plate on the coffee table before he took the place on her other side.

"We call your friends and see what they say." I rested my hand on her arm. "Then we pick a date to go after your father. The sooner the better."

Because my wolf paced inside me, wanting to attack. I had a foreboding feeling that if we waited too long, our enemies would be at our doorstep, and they'd be on the winning side.