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Flint’s firm voice reminded me he was just as much of an alpha as his two packmates. “Please accept this as an offering, sparing you the effort of dealing with him yourself. In return, is there anything you can do to obscure our trail and lead Ironwood away from us?”
“Great minds think alike, dear alpha.” Brielle turned and handed Shante the bundle of twigs. “I’ve enchanted this to smell like the scent of Freya’s heat. You must lead the enemy away from both Moonblessed and from my home. This you must do for leading trouble to my doorstep.”
Brielle retreated into her cottage, and I reached for Shante as she took the bundle of twigs.
“No, Shante. I can’t let you take this risk for me.”
“As Brielle said, it’s as much for her as it is for you, Freya.” She gave me a sad smile. “I’m sorry we have to part ways, though.”
Brielle returned with a blanket, which she tossed at Flint.
“I just remembered your mate can’t shift, and the nights grow cold.”
“Thank you, wise one,” Flint said with obvious sincerity, even bowing his head at this woman who clearly didn’t outrank him on the dominance scale. It puzzled me.
Then Brielle turned back to Shante. “When you are far, far from my house,” she fixed her with a stern look, “throw the twigs somewhere that they will burn. The fire will give off Freya’s fake scent even more powerfully than these twigs themselves. That will give you enough time to get away, and you can return to your pack where you belong.”
“Thank you, Brielle.” Shante smiled, and I wondered how deep their friendship went. How had she met the mage to begin with?
So many questions, and not enough time left for the answers. While Shante was busy leading Ironwood one way, I would lead them another and hopefully keep them from catching up with my friend.
“Good luck, Freya. Come back to Moonblessed when you can.” Shante gave me a hug.
When she turned back to Brielle, the witch snapped, and the tips of the twigs caught on fire.
“Show off.” Shante laughed before waving at me and heading away from Brielle’s cottage.
“Come on.” Flint pulled me along with him, the blanket folded over his other arm.
“Stay strong, Freya,” Brielle called to me.
When I glanced over, she carried a second bundle of twigs in her hand, their tips smoking and leaving a trail behind her as she headed in a different direction from me or Shante. That made three different trails Ironwood would need to unravel to find me.
“Thank you, Brielle!” I called after her.
Flint led me into the woods, and when I glanced behind me, Gage and Heath were back in their wolf forms, having not once said a single thing to me. It was impossible to know if they were angry at me — for trying to break the deal or maybe acknowledging Flint as my mate? — or if they were just back to treating me as an inconvenience.
“Having your scent everywhere is drawing unwanted attention,” Flint warned. “I should shift again.”
“Okay,” I said, my mind still whirring from the realization that I’d met my mate, and that he accepted me. I’d rejected him, but he stood by me, anyway.
Flint’s lips ghosted over mine, a promise for later. I leaned into the touch, but he pulled away all too soon.
“Even if you can’t see us, we’re there,” Flint said. “Don’t worry. Just keep heading southwest as best you can.”
At first, the three wolves stayed close, but within a few minutes, they loped off into the woods, each of them in a different direction. From time to time I could hear a branch break, but most of the time, I only heard the usual sounds of birds singing and the breeze riffling through leaves.
Had Ironwood made it to the Moonblessed walls yet? Did they realize my scent was stronger outside the walls than in it? I hoped against hope that they wouldn’t attack Moonblessed out of spite.
I wished for some way to inform them of their mistake, to explain that witches were meddling in wolf affairs. Why witches wanted to avert an alliance between Frost Fang and Ironwood, I had no idea, but it nearly led to pack war between Ironwood and Moonblessed, simply so they could kill Luka’s fake rejected mate. The thought made me furious at the witches.
Except… I was apparently one of them. Part of me, at least.
I wished I had more time to spend with Brielle and learn about that side of myself, but here I was, back in the wildlands, once more on foot and alone. In every direction stood nothing but tall trees and rocky crags. The mountains ensured I couldn’t go far east or west, so it wasn’t hard for me to keep going southwest, as Flint had suggested. The treacherous footing kept my attention on the ground right in front of me, so I saw nothing around me… but I heard it.
The sounds of a scuffle came from my left, and my heart lurched with fear for Flint. I knew he would want me to keep going, though, to keep moving so Ironwood wouldn’t catch up. So I did, picking up the pace into a flat-out run. While I had daylight, I should make the most of it.
In a few minutes, I found myself forced to skirt around some massive boulders that must’ve broken off the cliffs centuries ago. As I circled them, snarls and growls met my ears from up ahead, and I stopped short.
