Of Savage and Sin (Wolves of Ossary #2)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

–Naya–

IT WAS ASTONISHING how I could simultaneously be happy and fearful all at once. I was a wife now with a husband. It sounded crazy even to my own ears, but nothing had ever felt so right. Bain felt right. Like he had always been with me and always would be.

Yet his impending departure loomed over my head and in my heart.

I was careful not to show my fear and heartache as we discussed what came next for our pack. We had enjoyed an amazing few hours celebrating and now sat in an adjoining room with immediate family members, figuring out our next move. Not the best honeymoon ever, but most newlyweds didn’t have a shotgun wedding with a medieval werewolf during a pack war, so we had to roll with the punches.

“It’s been reported Tadc and Niall have come to some sort of an agreement,”

Tréan said grimly. “And that Tadc continues to build his army.”

“What are we thinking?”

I asked Tréan and Kaia. “That Tadc has agreed to an alignment between their packs? A foothold both here and in the twenty-first century?”

I could imagine the possibilities, and they weren’t good. Not between evil bastards like them. I could see benefits, however, if both were taken down. An opportunity to wipe out two no-good factions of wolves. Maybe even recruit a few of Niall’s men in Boston who might defect and help the Wolves of Ossay once Niall was gone.

Interestingly, it sort of branched off from my original plan of freeing myself from both Niall’s and Bain's clutches. That plan had meant downsizing by talking anyone willing to listen out of living the shady life and letting me take charge, whether Uncle Conner liked it or not because it wasn’t something he truly wanted anyway. He just didn’t want anyone causing trouble for me and my cousins anymore. Either way, my plan would have allowed me to lose not just Niall but Bain because I would have needed to remain in my era to oversee things. Sadly, now I knew how much I wanted Bain, I was going to lose him anyway.

“I think ‘tis safe to say our enemies intend to utilize both their packs to fight us, then likely expand as Niall hoped,”

Tréan replied to me.

“Has Niall returned to the twenty-first century yet?”

I wondered, alarmed because Storm was there alone.

“Not alone but protected by Adlin,”

Tréan reminded, catching my thoughts. “Trust me when I tell you she’s safe. As is your Uncle Conner since he’s with Gráinne.”

“So they’ve hooked up?”

I raised my eyebrows at Kaia, amused and more than a little surprised. “She found him that quickly? And he was good with a medieval Irishwoman protecting him?”

“I can’t say how it’s going between them but according to Adlin, yeah, they’re together.”

The corner of Kaia’s mouth quirked. “As to how things are going from there, I can only wish Gráinne luck.”

“Where mayhap you should wish your uncle luck,”

Callum said, amusement in his voice despite his expression remaining the same.

I would be the first to admit Callum had been a damn intimidating wolf when he confronted me in the tunnel earlier, but I liked him right away. Even though he played on his guilt, I liked that he defended Ceara. I also liked his demeanor, in general. Something about his strong, steady, wise vibe was comforting. His broodiness, as well as the sexy mysteriousness clinging to him, worked, too.

And, of course, he was easy on the eyes.

Like his brothers, he was tall, broad-shouldered, and bearded with thick mahogany brown hair flecked with light brown and wisps of silver. I wondered at the pre-mature silver, but it amped up his appeal. His eyes were a striking pale amber, and his masculine features were classically handsome, whereas Bain’s were more rugged.

I imagined Storm would enjoy him a great deal if she ever got close enough because right now, it sounded like she steered clear for Ceara and the pup’s sake. I could hardly blame her, all things considered, but still. The whole situation would be crappy if Callum was her fated mate and all signs pointed in that direction.

So what would happen if he was? Did that mean they somehow forfeited their connection, and Callum stayed with a woman he didn’t love? One who apparently hadn’t shifted to her human half since the day after she returned? I had no idea, but I wasn’t sure I liked any of it for Storm. She might be running battier than ever these days, but I still loved her and wanted the best for her. A guy who felt indebted to his ex and her pups?

Definitely not.

I could tell just in the few hours I had spent with Callum that he was stubborn and loyal to the bone. More than that? Even if he loved someone else, he wouldn’t turn from someone he felt he owed his fealty to, whether he truly did or not.

“And what of Storm?”

Bain asked Kaia, pulling me back into the conversation when he asked the same questions I would have. “Have she and Adlin returned to the Colonial, or is he keeping her elsewhere, assuming Niall and his men will return?”

“Adlin’s doing what’s best,”

Tréan answered vaguely before pivoting back to the matter at hand. “Meanwhile, we will tackle what’s coming both defensively and offensively.”

Based on what I caught of Tréan’s thoughts, that meant it would be a castle siege, where the pups remained safe here, surrounded by the majority of the pack and small skirmishes as we tried to whittle down Tadc’s growing army as quickly as he built it.

“And to answer your previous question, Naya, no, Niall has not returned to the future yet.”

Tréan gave me and Bain a pointed look. “From what our scouts report, Niall and his men are heading this way without Tadc, determined to reclaim his mate.”

Callum’s brow lowered sharply. “Surely, he’s not that foolish?”

“He’s usually not.”

I frowned but smiled a little on the inside because he was taking the bait I'd laid out when I sent Tadc's man scrambling back to him and, by extension, Niall rather than face castration by my Viking blade. Sent him back with news of Bain and me hooking up I knew would make Niall act stupid, and it worked.

“I can see Niall acting foolish because of you, Naya.”

Kaia eyed me with approval because she knew what I had done. “He’s always been crazy about you, then he had you and lost you in a big way, so yes, it makes sense. And don’t even get me started on his inflated ego.”

She nodded at Bain with approval. “I can’t thank you enough for knocking that down a few pegs.”

“Pegs that are working in our favor,”

I said, seeing things clearly now because I knew how Niall thought. “Niall might have made a deal with Tadc to join forces across time and expand their empire, but he couldn’t lose face in front of his men and let me go that easily. Sure, his ego is bruised, and he is possessive of me, but Niall puts business above all things, and looking weak in front of your men is the surest way to lose respect and control.”

“And I long for the moment I rip it from him entirely,”

Bain ground out, his cock a little less hard than it had been since pulling me onto his lap as he swore vengeance on our enemy. He narrowed his eyes at Tréan, daring him to say no. “Let me have this, brother. Let me rip out the throat of the wolf that turned our mates. Let me have our revenge.”

Their eyes held for a long, drawn-out moment as Tréan weighed what was best before replying. “The kill will be all three of ours, brother. Kaia and I will travel with you and some of our best warriors to intercept Niall and his men.”

He looked at Callum and Mave gravely, making himself clear. “Which leaves you two in charge of protecting this castle and its inhabitants. Not just the pups but our people, for there are many within these castle walls and more en route.”

“’Tis my castle and my kingdom,”

Callum countered. “So ‘tis my responsibility, not Mave's, and—”

“No,”

Tréan said firmly. His wolven eyes flared at Callum in warning. “’Tis the responsibility of my top alphas because we are one, especially when at war.”

He looked from Mave, who had remained relatively quiet, back to Callum. “You and our sister will work together to defend the future of our pack, and if you do not—”

Tréan’s eyes narrowed— “you will suffer for it.”

There was no need to ask what he meant because I felt it like everyone else in the room, and it sent a shiver down my spine, telling me just how much a part of this pack I had become.

If Callum didn’t play nice with Mave and the pack suffered, Tréan wasn’t above exiling him, brother or not. And by the spike of dread in my wolf, that was about the worst thing that could happen to us. Worse than death. We needed each other like we needed to breathe, and that became clearer the longer I was around the Wolves of Ossary. I was bonding with each and every one of them, whether they were present in this room or not.

Callum met Tréan’s steady gaze for a long, tense moment, the frustration inside him that he had to team up with Mave palpable, but in the end, thankfully, he lowered his head. “Ta, alpha. As you wish.”

Tréan eyed him for another long, equally tense moment, gauging if he could be trusted before he nodded in return. “Good.”

His gaze went to Mave. “I expect you and your people to work just as readily with Callum. Listen to each other’s advice if the battle comes to your door. If you do not, know you will suffer along with Callum. Our enemy wants us divided, and I need us united.”

“Understood, alpha,”

Mave said without hesitation, lowering her head in a submissive sign of respect before she met Tréan’s eyes again. “I will work with our brother and protect our pack.”

“Good. We leave now because Niall draws closer, and I want to intercept him and his men while he’s still on the outskirts of the village.”

He brushed his lips across Kaia’s before they stood, and he looked at me and Bain. “’Tis not how I would have wanted you to spend your time after exchanging vows, but we have no choice.”

It wasn’t how we would have wanted it either because we were desperate to be wrapped up in each other’s arms again, but we were equally eager to end Niall, and I said so, glad I was back in my medieval clothes and ready to fight.

“No worries, Tréan,”

I said when Bain and I stood, grinning at each other. “This is probably the best wedding gift we could have asked for.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.”

Tréan gave me a look I didn’t much like. “Because ‘twill not be you doing the killing, my new sister.”

He glanced from Bain back to me. “But your husband and king. You will be needed here to watch over Ceara and the pups directly.”

Say what? Hell, no.

“Come again?”

I frowned from Bain to Tréan. “You can’t be serious? Niall’s coming for me, and fuck, if I don’t owe him a good throat-slit and castration.”

“Even so.”

Tréan’s wolven eyes flared at me in warning. “I’m tasking you with the most important thing above all so Callum and Mave are not distracted while defending our pack.”

“This is some serious bullshit,”

I ground out, shaking my head. “Who the hell are you to—”

“He’s your alpha above alphas,”

Kaia said softly, a dangerous edge to her voice when her eyes narrowed on me. “And you’ll listen to him or else.”

I felt her love and concern for me, just like I had since the moment she’d started raising me, but I also felt something new and pretty badass. She had always been incredibly strong, but now, she was Head Honcho Alpha Bitch strong, and my inner beast felt it. Understood it.

Worse yet, it obeyed it because as much as I shook my head no and tried to deny her orders, I couldn’t. Not when I looked down the gun barrel of Kaia’s icy blue wolven eyes because she meant business, and when my cousin meant business, wolf or not, watch out.

“Fine,”

I muttered, not happy at all. Not even a little, tiny bit, on my damn wedding day, no less, and I made sure she and Tréan knew it as I glared at them. Spit fire at them with my eyes so they knew how furious I was before Bain reeled me into his arms and tilted my chin until I was forced to look at him.

“Though I understand your anger and need for vengeance, you have been given a great honor, wife.”

He trailed his finger along my jaw and gathered me closer, swiftly redirecting my attention to him in all sorts of delicious ways. “Mate.”

He dug his hand into my hair roughly enough to make me melt against him. “My queen.”

The last thing I needed to feel right now was aroused, but I couldn’t help it if I tried. Every part of me wanted every part of him so much it hurt. Not just sexually but his heart, soul, and everything in between.

“And you have it, mo chara is gaire,”

he murmured huskily, his heart right there in his eyes before his lips closed over mine, and the world fell away along with the war ahead and the assholes at its core.

Every last bit but Bain and me and everything we’d found together.

We had kissed plenty up to that point, but somehow, this kiss felt better than all the rest. Meant more. Tasted like our past and future and the life I wanted with him. Like sex and love rolled into one sensual little ball as it went from soft and gentle to hungry and tongue-tangling. When my butt hit the edge of the table, I knew he was moments from hoisting me up on it and having his way with me had Tréan not cleared his throat.

I groaned at the intrusion, especially when Bain heeded it and ended the kiss slowly before backing away.

“I love you, wife,”

he said softly, his gaze lingering on my face for another moment before he tore his eyes away, nodded once at Tréan and Kaia, and strode from the room before I could stop him.

“I love you, too, husband,”

I said just as softly, knowing he would catch it.

Biting back tears because this wasn’t the time for them, I nodded once at Kaia and Tréan when they strode after him, knowing they would have his back. No big, long, drawn-out goodbyes here. We were at war and had one of the top monsters within our grasp, so now wasn’t the time to get sappy or over-emotional.

“’Twill be all right, sister,”

Mave swore, looking at me with reassurance before she strode from the room, too, but not before telling Callum she would await him on the battlements, and they would figure things out from there.

Would it be all right?

Would we get that lucky?

It all seemed a little too convenient.

“Because it probably is,”

Callum said, still sitting where he had been, clearly deep in thought before his gaze rose to me and lingered as if he weighed his words carefully. “If Tadc made some sort of agreement with Niall to tie their packs together, ‘twould have been foolish to allow him to head this way and fight during the day when we wolves are at our weakest.”

“It would, wouldn’t it?”

I murmured, getting where Callum was going with this. Niall was trying to save face with his men and acting on emotion rather than seeing the bigger picture.

Tadc was setting him up so he could take it all.

That meant, if Tadc was smart, and it sounded like he was, he had chosen one of Niall’s top guys to betray him and take his place. Chosen someone who might give him a little less pushback than Niall and not try to usurp him.

A weak link Tadc could cultivate to serve him.

“My guess is Tadc wants Niall gone, whether he’s kin or not.”

Callum eyed me in that intense, soul-searching way he was good at in both wolf and human form. “What does that mean in the future? What will he accomplish?”

Though he didn’t come out with it, I knew what he was really asking as Ceara’s wolf limped into the room with the pups in tow. What would Tadc expanding to the future without Niall at the helm mean for Storm?

“What will it mean for her?”

a feminine voice asked, surprising me because I knew it was Ceara. She had been following our conversation and my thoughts. Her wolven eyes locked on my face. “What will it mean for the female destined for my mate?”

I had to hand it to her for being upfront, and nobody’s fool.

“Trouble,”

I replied honestly. “Niall is the worst kind of bad, but at least he ruled with an iron fist and kept his men in hand. If Tadc picks Bran, the guy I think will take Niall’s place, Storm’s position in the pack won’t be good.”

I flinched even as I said it, but I knew the role Storm would play because she was too kind in a world that ate up kind and spit it out. Clenching my fists, I reflected on our younger years. “Storm shunned the advances of many of the men in Niall’s pack, so she’ll be used for breeding and nothing else. A way for the new guy, Bran, to repay his pack for their loyalty.”

“Can you prevent this?”

Callum said, his voice gruff and his eyes as troubled as Ceara’s. “When Niall is killed, can you go back there and prevent that from happening?”

“I can,”

I replied without hesitation because more than one opportunity was being dangled in my face, and it was a betrayal of our alpha’s orders, to be sure. But if I could kill Niall with my own two hands and get back to Boston with what I had on him, I could protect Storm and expand the Wolves of Ossary in one fell swoop, adding more muscle to our side of the war. Looking from Ceara to Callum, I nodded once. “Give me a chance, and I can turn the tide. You have my word.”

As I spoke, I was acutely aware of the little female pup eyeing me with what almost appeared approval as she sat beside her mother. The shy male pup lay beneath Ceara, peeking out at me curiously, and the lusty male? He sniffed around my feet until he sat beside me and gazed up at me with adoration. That is until he abruptly stood, raised his hackles, and narrowed his eyes in a southerly direction before releasing a low growl.

Ceara’s and Callum’s eyes narrowed, too, as they looked from the pup to each other, clearly having a conversation I couldn’t follow before Callum looked at me and said exactly what I wanted to hear.

“Go, Naya.”

The way he gazed at me, grave in a way I didn’t much like, sent chills down my spine. “As alpha and king of this realm, I give you permission to go and go swiftly.”

“Now!”

he roared when I must have hesitated because his one anguished, booming demand made me stagger back in terror that didn't make sense before I obeyed and raced out of the castle in a southerly direction, barely understanding the pain ripping through me until I did.

Unfortunately, and terrifyingly enough, however, it was already too late.