Page 100 of Mated By the Pack
“We’ll make sure of it,” Gideon says firmly. “Like Calla said. We’ll patrol the roads. Keep an eye out for any slavers moving women through The Tangle.”
“And if that’s not enough?” Caleb asks.
“We can cross that bridge when we get to it,” Knox sighs, clutching his hip. “Vance, I need redwort.”
“Let’s move,” Vance says, gesturing toward The Tangle. “We’ll find some on the way.”
“Yes, we should talk while we walk,” Jace urges, moving toward the mass of vines.
I follow my brothers, holding Calla close. She’s still unconscious. Still breathing softly. I’m amazed by her. Amazed by everything she is. I thought all hope was lost. Even The Aether lost faith in her. That hopelessness was like another knife in the back. The wound was still bleeding when Calla reached across the barrier that separates The Aether from this world.
She’s not strong enough to wield that kind of power. Maybe one day she will be, but it doesn’t matter. She wielded it once, and that was enough. We’ve escaped. We’re safe. Our bloodline can continue, and the world can be healed.
Jace pauses and turns around when we reach a clearing. The towering wall of Haven North is still on the horizon.
“No activity at all,” Jace mutters. “I half expected them to send an army after us.”
“I doubt they even have one, other than the peace officers,” Gideon says. “If our father had something stronger, he wouldn’t have been begging for his life at the end.”
“Fucking asshole,” Knox grunts. “I knew we were never more than experiments to him, but I didn’t realize he was so callous and cruel.”
“Before the Great War, we were obedient dogs,” I say. “They gave us a little freedom, so we wouldn’t feel like we were in cages, but we always were. They were just bigger.”
“I see some redwort,” Vance calls out. “If they’re not sending anyone after us, we should stop, rest, and treat our wounds.”
“Calla needs it too,” I say, moving some leaves out of the way and placing her on the ground. “Her shoulder is in bad shape.”
Vance gathers redwort and grinds it into a paste. I open the blanket so he can treat Calla. Knox is next. Everyone has scrapes and bruises that could use some attention. Even me. It’s strange to feel pain on the outside again. All I’ve felt since I died is internal despair. The crushing pain of being a lost soul with no way to move on.
Caleb moves closer to me. He knows a lot about internal despair, too. He’s carried his grief since I got stabbed in the back. He’s blamed our brothers. I’ve felt his pain, and his burden is almost as big as the one I carried to the grave.
“You’re really back?” Caleb asks, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. “This isn’t some trick, right? You’re not going to disappear as soon as we get back to the den.”
“No, brother.” I smile and shake my head. “I was never at peace. Never able to move on. Calla pulled my soul across the divide that separates our world and used the fabric of creation inside her to breathe life back into me.”
“Does that mean she can do the same for the others? Our brothers and sisters?” Vance asks, moving closer.
“I don’t think so,” I sigh. “I’m still connected to The Aether, but not like I was when I was dead. I can feel the hope pulsatingfrom these vines around us. The Aether is trying to heal. You can feel it, Vance. You’ve always been able to sense what is in The Tangle.”
Vance closes his eyes and concentrates. His ears twitch slightly, and he nods. “You’re right. The souls… they’re not just screaming now.”
“It’ll take generations to fully heal The Aether, but the process has already started. Our brothers and sisters will eventually be able to move on. It was different for me. I didn’t just feel the pain of never finding our mate. Never finding a purpose.” I look around at my brothers. “I carried the weight of my mistakes. The ones that cost lives, even before the knife went in my back. I left the pack broken. So broken that you barely trusted each other.”
“We all carried that weight,” Gideon murmurs. “That’s why we agreed we wouldn’t have a leader anymore. But now that you’re back…”
“No,” I state firmly. “This pack doesn’t need a leader. I should have listened to everyone, rather than making decisions that jeopardized us. Being bigger, stronger, and older may have made me the Alpha of the pack, but all of you have that inside you. I was holding you back.”
“I don’t understand,” Vance says, tilting his head inquisitively. “After you died, Gideon started changing. And after the others got Calla’s scent, they started to follow him. Begrudgingly, but a natural hierarchy was emerging. We could all feel that, even if some didn’t want to admit it.”
“Because it was all you knew,” I explain, looking down at the dirt. “You never learned totrulywork as a pack, despite trying to make decisions as a group. Once our pack starts to grow, and webecome more cohesive, you’ll all start to grow. This pack doesn’t need an Alpha because you’reallAlpha wolves. Like Calla, there’s more power inside of you than you realize.”
“Damn,” Knox says. “Then I guess it’s time we started acting like it, huh?”
“Yes,” I chuckle, pushing myself to my feet. “Don’t worry. Fatherhood will change all of us. It’ll bring us closer together. It’s what our pack needs to continue healing and for all of you to reach your full potential.”
“As long as we don’t turn out like Dad,” Caleb mutters as he stands up.
“We won’t be anything like him,” I growl, shaking my head.
