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“Pack meeting in ten!” he boomed across the clearing as I spotted Saffy at her station and made my way over.
She gave me a curious look. “You’re going down there then?”
I grimaced. “That’s the plan. We need to find the third stone before she has time to regroup and it’s the perfect place to look.”
“Makes sense,” she replied with a sad nod, scraping her vegetable peelings into a bucket beneath the worktop and brushing off her hands. “I just wish you didn’t have to go again. You never come back without something awful happening.”
I pulled her into a hug as I spotted the tears in her eyes, pushing away my own fears as I tried to reassure her.
“Come on, you two,” said a gentle voice, and I looked up to see Noah rubbing his sister’s back soothingly. “The spaces around the fire are filling up.”
Tucking one of us under each arm, he led us through the gathering crowd to where Liam and Zeke were already waiting. I sank onto the wide log next to Saffy and looked around at the murmuring pack, my eyes instantly catching on Harlow’s where she sat across from us.
Glaring was not the word. The fire in her eyes as she stared challenging at me was almost palpable and was so blatant that the people around her had begun to take notice.
It was no surprise when her hand shot up the moment Liam finished explaining everything, all eyes turning to her.
“Apologies Harlow,” Liam said, the sarcasm in his voice slight enough to pass largely undetected. “I’m sure someone can fill you in on everything you’ve missed and help this to all make sense.”
She sniffed. “Oh, I understand what you’re saying. What I don’t understand is why you’re leaving the pack vulnerable yet again on the whim of your mate.”
Silence reigned as all eyes flicked to me, but I wasn’t about to jump in and feed her drama so I just raised an unimpressed brow in response.
“I realise you weren’t around for any of the clashes between our people and the Queen, but you can trust us when we say that staying here and waiting for them to attack is not the answer, especially when the Great Wolf God showed us the path to take.”
Harlow scoffed at Zeke’s words. “I trust you, but I think you’re being blinded by what she wants. You’ve changed, all three of you, and I think I’m the only one who can see it because I’m here with fresh eyes.”
“We were outsiders,” rumbled Rock, standing near the outer edges of the pack with the other shifters we had freed. “We have come here and seen the truth of things. This pack is stronger because of this Alpha pair, and this witch has fought for us with her life. They have all earned our trust.”
Harlow eyed him critically. “And yet you still haven’t joined the pack. I’m not convinced.”
Rock grunted and turned slightly, bowing his head submissively towards Liam and I.
“Alphas,” he rasped in his gravelly tones, and I sucked in a shocked breath as I felt his presence join the pack connection.
I opened my mouth to acknowledge him but stopped as the others who we had freed all imitated his gestures, their lights springing to life in the pack web that was always present in my mind’s eye.
“Welcome,” Liam said warmly, and the pack around us came to life as they called out greetings to their new packmates.
I smiled at the small group as I sensed their relief at finally having somewhere to truly belong, returning Wind’s respectful nod as he caught my eye.
“I’m still not convinced,” Harlow snapped, a sour look on her face as the noise settled. “It’s ridiculous to allow our strongest alphas to leave us alone with no protection.”
There was a murmur of general disquiet now, but the voice that spoke up shocked me more than anything we’d heard yet.
“What the hell crawled up your ass, Harlow?”
I gaped as Vella stood from her seat and glared daggers at her.
“Every single one of us is backing Cordelia, so get with the damn program or get out!”
I blinked at her as she glanced over at me, not holding my gaze but unquestioningly standing on my side.
“Um, thanks Vella,” I said, breaking my silence.
She gave me a curt nod, still glowering down at a floundering Harlow.
“Excuse me?!” Harlow snapped, standing to face Vella.
