"Your old Alpha," she panted, struggling to speak. "Breached the border. For you."
It was a shock, like ice water poured over my head. Joe had come for me? The idea that my old pack had been so concerned with me being taken was a totally foreign thing. I had simply assumed my disappearance was written off as a non-issue. Kidnapping she-wolves wasn't unheard of, but it was an antiquated practice that a lot of packs refused to participate in. Even still, I never imagined I was worth enough to come hunting for. I couldn't help but feel a small bit of warmth at the thought.
But there wasn't any time to bask in the feeling. Joe was here, and according to Summer, he'd brought an entire entourage with him.
"It's just Noah and Cal, but reinforcements are on their way," Summer said as we made our way towards the border.
"What else do you know?"
"Nothing," Summer, normally all smiles, sounded grim, "All I got was a short text from Cal. He hasn't answered any of my replies."
My heart dropped. I couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get very bad, very fast.
We shifted, loping through the woods until we could see the small gathering of wolves up ahead. Noah sensed me first, and I shifted back, pulse thundering as I looked between mymate and my former Alpha, who was flanked by his men and appeared relieved to finally lay eyes on me.
"Sage," Joe said, his eyes darting to Noah and then back to me, "Thank goodness. Are you alright?"
"She's fine," Noah growled, baring his teeth, "And she's not going anywhere." Joe didn't take the bait, but kept his eyes fixed on me until I answered. "I'm fine."
The air between the two men crackled with animosity, but it hadn't broken out into violence, at least not yet. There was still time to diffuse the situation before it became an all-out war.
"Are you sure?" Joe began again, and Noah let out a warning rumble. The wolves flanking Joe tensed, and Summer and I both stepped forward, ready to jump into the fray if needed. Neither of us was a fighter, but the shock of it might be enough to stop the violence for a beat.
"Stop," I held my hand up to both Alphas, and they glanced at me. "Joe, why are you here?"
I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it for myself. My former Alpha took a breath and then met my eyes. "To bring you home. I had to clear it with the other packs in the alliance, or I would have come sooner."
That made me pause. "Clear it? Why?"
"Because," Joe looked back to Noah, "We have to be in agreement if the possibility of war between packs is on the table."
Everyone in the clearing sucked in a breath, and I felt a headache start to pound in the back of my head. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but I just didn't feel right. Still, I pressed on. "I'm...grateful you came for me at all. But it's more complicated than you know, Alpha..."
Noah snarled then, when I addressed Joe by his title. "More complicated, how?" Joe asked.
"Because she's my mate," Noah snapped, not giving me time to answer for myself. He moved in front of me, as if to shield me from my former Alpha. "My bonded mate. And my wife."
For a moment, the only sound was the wind curling through the trees around us and shaking the branches. Joe looked genuinely shocked, and it was the first time his mask had cracked.
"Did you know when you were treating him after the attack?"
"...yes. I know I should have told you, but it had been years since I'd seen Noah, and I'd hoped the bond had faded. Turns out that was wishful thinking."
Joe nodded, his face grave. He looked to Noah. "This complicates things. But you still stole a wolf from my territory, and as far as I'm concerned, she's still part of my pack. If Sage wants to come home to Brokenclaw with me, then I'll make sure she has that choice."
I'd never seen Noah so angry. He was like a different person, and if it wasn't for our mating bond still glowing strongly between us, I'd question whether he was in his right mind or not.
"If you take her," He seethed, "Then I'll call the rest of my pack, and you'll have your war. I'll make sure there's no doubt who won, and who lost. You will have to retreat."
Joe's shoulders squared, and his men tensed, waiting for the command. "Is that a threat, Alpha?"
"You're damn right it is. Sage is my mate, and I'll bleed if that's what it takes to keep her."
My head was spinning, and I reached out to grab Summer's shoulder to steady myself. It was all too much, the clearing full of pissed off Alpha energy, and the pull I felt towards Noah fighting with how much I still wanted to go back to my old home. It had lessened as I became more comfortable with Noah and the Silvervine pack, but seeing Joe and his wolves made the desire surge up all over again.
But Noah was my mate. He'd helped me through my heat, kissed me until I was breathless, and cared for me like no one else ever had. He'd done so much to prove that he was a better Alpha than his father, and that I could really have a home with him.
It was too much all at once. My legs felt shaky, my knees weak, my vision going fuzzy at the edges. I had to find a place to sit down before I passed out.
