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“That’s because Freya did,” I admitted. “And now she’s walked fearlessly into the mage’s den.”
Shante scoffed at my rueful tone. “You want to keep her ignorant of what she truly is?”
I shook my head. “No. I respect Freya. I recognize her courage.”
Maybe getting answers would make her realize she couldn’t deny the connection between us. Her fated mate had rejected her, so I saw nothing else keeping us apart except Freya’s refusal to accept our protection.
“But I care about her and want to keep her safe.”
Shante’s expression softened. “Tapping into her magic side could help with that.”
“Learning about the spirit realm, about directing the unseen forces of the world… That’s not something you learn overnight,” I pointed out. “Ironwood is coming. They won’t wait around for her to finish lessons.”
My former packmate sighed. “You’re right.”
We fell into companionable silence. I’d once belonged to the Moonblessed pack before the wolf spirit within me felt called to join the more nomadic Howling Echo pack instead. That didn’t change my friendship with Shante, however.
In unspoken agreement, we both drifted closer to the mage’s cabin so our sensitive wolfish hearing could pick up what they were talking about — it didn’t sound overly promising.
After a moment, Shante murmured, “She can’t stay here.”
I nodded. “She can’t shift, her heat’s coming… We need to get her as far from here as we can.”
“So, what’s your plan?”
Gage, Heath, and I had considered and discarded plenty of plans while we followed along behind Freya and Shante. One thing was for certain — we wouldn’t let Ironwood catch up toher. Gage and Heath had every intention of dragging her away, kicking and screaming, if that’s what it took to protect her.
At this point, I wasn’t above such caveman behavior myself. My wolf spirit and I valued my mate’s safety over everything. It would be for her own good.
I answered Shante, “We’ll take her out of state.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You have the funds for that?”
Gage and Heath might not want to admit what motivated them, but I knew their wolves must also consider Freya their mate. Why else had they dropped everything to follow her into the wildlands right alongside me?
When Pack Alpha Hugo had mentioned Freya could be a special kind of wolf that shifted later than most, it all but confirmed my suspicions. Freya could have multiple mates.
Shante still waited for my response, so I pushed that revelation to the back of my mind. What mattered right now was keeping Freya safe. The rest would work itself out later.
“Gage is smart. He has stuff stashed all over the place. And Heath is always planning something. The Howling Echo pack has allies everywhere, near and far. There’s half a dozen places we could take her.”
I didn’t mention the part where, eventually, we would run out of cash. We were never exactly well off to begin with, and if we didn’t find new, lucrative jobs soon, we’d be little more than rogue alphas ourselves.
“Good,” Shante breathed a sigh of relief, as though I’d outlined a watertight plan.
I appreciated that she trusted me and the rest of the Howling Echo, but we still had a lot to figure out.
An acrid, unwashed scent caught my attention, and I turned my head, shifting slightly to allow my wolf senses to come to the fore. The repugnant stink of an unfamiliar alpha filled my wolfish nostrils, and I growled.
It could be an Ironwood scout, here to bring the rest of his pack down on us, but I hoped it was just a solo rogue alpha.
Shante’s eyes widened when she noticed the wolf-like snout pushing forward from my face. Then her expression twisted as she, too, caught the scent I’d picked up.
“Stay here,” I growled.
If Shante refused, I would bark an alpha command to keep her safe. But the beta nodded her head, trusting me to do what needed to be done. I removed my clothing, shifted, and silently prowled away, following the disgusting scent trail. I wasn’t surprised to find him closing in on our location.
Chapter 3
