Chapter 47 — Rainn
Saying the words out loud in front of my entire pack makes it feel even more real.
Bree is my mate.
I’ve watched Bree fight the truth from the moment my dad pronounced it, without admitting to myself that there’s a part of me fighting it too.
It’s one thing to believe you’re connected with someone, to feel that you recognized that connection and acted on it. It’s something else entirely to know that while I was completely unaware, the wolf inside me chose the wolf inside Bree, and from that moment, everything else has just been like pushing and pulling against an unconquerable tide.
“She’s my mate,” I repeat, staring down the incredulous expressions from various members of my pack. To them, a mate is chosen, the same way most humans pick their partners. Being moonstruck, mated to someone without your input and desire…it’s not something they have even heard about, much less experienced.
“You mean you chose to mate with her?” Cherise sounds scornful. As if I’m some guy who married a one-night stand in Vegas. “I guess you had your pleasure, but how does that make her any more trustworthy?”
A growl starts deep in my throat, and I resist the urge to snarl at Cherise. “It means…I didn’t have a choice.” As the words leave me, I can feel Bree retreat from me. She doesn’t move, but inside, where our minds meet, I feel her pull even farther away.
Tearing my attention back to my pack, I share my father’s explanation with them. I show them the scene in the kitchen, my surprise, Bree’s confusion and resistance…all of it. “It means I know I can trust her, and you can too.”
Cherise makes a sound in her throat, half annoyance and half disbelief. “Your father is human. What if he’s wrong?”
I ignore the unspoken implication, the reminder that my father is an outsider, that even though I am alpha, I am a half-breed. I stare coldly at Cherise. “He’s not wrong.”
For a moment, it looks like she’ll continue scrambling, looking for an explanation, any explanation to show why, without shifting, Bree can see my mind even more clearly than any member of my pack. I keep my eyes on her, challenging her to defy me.
With a sigh, she gives up and turns to Bree. “Forgive my initial reaction. I am Cherise. Welcome to our pack.”
Bree stays silent, accepting Cherise’s begrudging welcome only with a slight nod. The others are warmer, but still wary as they welcome her. I don’t blame them. Not only have I brought a mate from outside the pack, but I have also brought a mate with whom I have obvious tension. My pack members can feel the walls between us. They can see the smooth connection between an alpha and his mate replaced by all the unresolved issues between Bree and me, making our union shaky from the outset.
It’s time to take their focus back to our mission. Whatever issues Bree has with me…us can wait until later.
“We have a common enemy,” I tell them. “Hugo is working with Gage. Hugo killed Bree’s father the same night our pack was murdered. Hugo is keeping an entire pack isolated and unaware deep inside the unclaimed lands. Hugo tried to kill Bree because she wouldn’t return to Falling River.” I pause, making sure I have all their attention.
“If anybody can answer our questions,” I continue. “It’s him. But to get to him, to challenge him within his own territory, we need more soldiers. Enough people to support us, and to be witnesses, and to convince the members of his pack that there are other wolf-shifter packs.”
“More soldiers?” Fern asks. She’s also older than me, but unlike Cherise, she doesn’t resent the fact that my blood got the call to be alpha.
“Yes,” I reply. “We’re going to ask for help?”
“From whom? All these other packs have done is try to settle on our lands.”
“Not all of them. My mother had friends. We’ll ask the Cedar Ridge pack. We need their permission to cross their lands in any case.”
“Will they fight with us?”
“We won’t know until we ask,” I admit. “But I believe they will. Because Gage will not stop with our pack. Whatever he is planning, all the other packs are also at risk.”
“What about the stray?”
At Cherise’s statement, all eyes go to Derek. He has remained silent since we arrived, listening and keeping his thoughts to himself. Now, he flinches from the attention, looking like he’d like nothing more than to escape.
“He’s my friend,” Bree speaks up before I can dismiss Derek as unimportant. “We grew up together in Falling River. Like me, he didn’t know other packs existed. Hugo kept us ignorant and subservient, and now we suspect he’s also a murderer. We’re both here for justice.”
“Justice!”
The cry echoes through the pack, and Derek gives Bree a grateful look, earning a nod of acknowledgement from her. I look away, jealous, even though I’m sure I have no reason to be.
If our wolves didn’t choose each other, would her feelings for Derek be greater than her feelings for me? Would her logical brain choose him over me? I suppress the thoughts and face my pack. “We’re going to meet the Cedar Ridge wolves to make our case to them.”
I send the smaller wolves home, ignoring their protests. They won’t be involved in the fight ahead, either. Unlike my mother, I won’t put my entire pack at risk.
Some of the older wolves herds the young ones away. They’ll run to the edge of the forest and make sure everyone gets home. By then, we’ll know if the Cedar Ridge wolves will stick their necks out and help us, or if we’re going to challenge Hugo and Leonidas Gage all on our own.