Page 109 of Pack Rage
Through Luke, who stopped in the middle of cataloguing the library at Oriens, taking note of which books and journals needed to be copied and which would need to be brought as originals to the library at Mountain, the handwritten notes revealing which Alpha and packs in the wider world were true friends, and which were threats for us to address over the coming years.
Through Glen, who stood watch at the edge of the city park, just in case. None of us took our mate’s safety for granted, or each other. He was in human form, but his wolf was yipping to be let go, to share in the mating dance under the moon.
Through Finnick, who cursed softly as he began to glow brighter in the hotel room when I pressed deep into our mate, giving her wolf side a pleasure she hadn’t known with any of the others yet, as the thick base of my wolf’s knot pulsed and thickened, locking us together.
She tied us all together as she hunted and found her bliss. And every one of us knew we’d found ours as well: our purpose and plan. Our joy and our salvation.
Our queen, who ruled us with a heart filled with hope.
Chapter 52
Grand
FLOR
Late summer, Mountain Pack
“Ithink we should go with Brandor,” Glen mused from the middle of the lake. We’d paddled out here in a small rowboat to fish, supposedly. But I think Glen had been running away from the others, since he’d been teasing them hard enough to deserve a little payback, and he hadn’t even cast his line out into the water.
“Brandor?” I raised one eyebrow, or tried to. It was harder to raise just one eyebrow than the romance novels Glen and I had been reading aloud to each other made it out to be. Both eyebrows? Easy. Just one? That took practice.
It was a good thing I was retired, and had plenty of time to devote to things like that.
“Yeah, Brand plus Grigor, for their ship name,” Glen said, dragging one hand over the side of the boat through the water. He’d read some online story about “bromances” and decided that was what Brand and Grigor had going on. He wasn’t wrong.The two of them had been almost inseparable since we came to Mountain. Most shifters were naturally wary of Grigor, and back at Eastern, no one had been brave enough to speak to him besides Becca and Vanya.
But here at Mountain, when Brand was around, they at least acted like his shadowy presence didn’t worry them. Yesterday, while Brand had been accepting the pledges from the shifters who’d been too late to make their vows before the battle at Eastern, Grigor had been lurking in the closest shadows a few yards away, alone… until two of the pack’s toddlers had decided “Boo Man” was their new favorite playmate. I stifled a laugh, thinking about how natural Grigor had looked with one toddler pulling at his pants leg, and another climbing up his back.
Of course, he’d had a child before, a long time ago. What if he wanted more?
My heart raced, until Grigor spoke into my mind.Little queen, I only need you. My life is full and perfect. If you want pups someday, your mates will do our best to give them to you. If you don’t, or if you want to wait, then?—
Brand’s mental voice broke in.Grandma Ida has already sent to the witch who lives in our packlands for herbs to make sure it’s your decision. No one will ever take your choices away again, wildflower.
I peered around the lake’s edge, wondering why their voices had sounded so close, but Glen was still talking. “I mean, Brandor evensoundscool.”
“Why not Boo Man and Bearman?” I murmured, admiring Luke and Finn, who were on the bank, and who might, if I encouraged them, be convinced to take off their clothes. Finn had just come down from the house, and was still in his usual dark suit, since he’d been doing some sort of online video call with a pack in Italy. Well, a shifter organization, rather than a pack. They were some kind of religious order, if there wasa religion where the priests and priestesses were all badass assassins.
This branch of the order was taking care of his sister Tana, and she’d even enrolled in a local school. No one else over there knew who she was—a good thing, since the story of their mother had been shared all around the world. We were all worried about what other packs might do to exact some sort of revenge on the family, now that Finn had shared how many visiting shifters and humans had been killed and drained for their parents’ evil plans. Tana needed to stay hidden, and go to school where she felt safe, but Finn was having a hard time letting her go.
I had a feeling she was going to be fine, and Grigor had promised to check in on her after he went to “visit” the Alpha of Novosibirsk.
As I stared, Finn started to strip out of his suit. It was hard to tell from here, but he might have winked at me while he did it. I heard Luke say something about it being hot, before he took his own shirt off.
It’s so hot,I thought at them.Far too hot for any clothes.
Their laughter rippled across the lake, but they both began removing their remaining clothing slowly, like one of the videos I’d scrolled past on the phone Brand had provided. Lots of the pack had phones now, though we kept them put away when Samuel was around. He was every bit as old-fashioned as before, but Brand had convinced him that pure isolation was more dangerous than connection, even if it meant using human tech.
I was wishing I had my phone now to take a video of my two hot mates stripping. But a second later, I was very glad I’d left it in the cabin.
Glen was still talking when the water rippled behind the boat, and it wasn’t because of a fish. I grabbed hold of the sides, trying to keep a straight face as Glen muttered, “Boo Man? Come on.I’d go with ‘Grand,’ but that’s already a word. And honestly, both of them have egos big enough to sink a boa?—”
Suddenly, the arm he’d been trailing in the water got a bite. Or a tug, at least.
“Whaaa?” he screeched before vanishing over the side and falling into the water. I barely managed to stay inside when I leaned over the edge to see. Brand and Grigor were swimming like sharks around Glen, who was cursing and spitting, his blond curls falling over his eyes. “Not cool, guys!”
“Oh, you’re not cool enough?” Grigor smirked. “I think I can fix that. I know where there’s some very cool water.” He dove down and grabbed Glen under the water—it was so clear I could see him gripping Glen’s ankles—before pulling him down. They vanished into the deep blue, and Brand’s smiling, bearded face popped up beside me.
“Want to cool off, wildflower?”
