Chapter 2
Gracie
“Little flame?”
At the sound of Thornar’s deep, honeyed voice, I turned my attention from the view of the Ironsun territory through the window.
After living in the cold, sterile desolation of the Cold Moon Pack for so long, I was mesmerized by the mountainous skyline and all the trees—even after days of being here.
The meeting had concluded, and I’d escaped into the stone-covered hallway to grab some fresh air. I knew my mates would follow close behind, but I’d gotten what I needed: a moment to center myself.
“What has your attention?” Thornar asked, his warmth surrounding me as he closed the space between us, my back pressed against the window.
I tensed only momentarily. I loved Thornar’s closeness. I loved the way our bond vibrated beneath my skin, and I loved the way he smelled like brown sugar and expensive bourbon. I just still wasn’t used to anyone being in my space without it being a threat.
He clocked the tension almost immediately and paused before he set his hand on the windowsill.
“I’m fine,” I said, placing my hand delicately on his chest. “I promise.”
Thornar’s chocolate brown eyes, circled with gold, darted over my face as he settled his hand on my waist instead of the window. Then in a quick move he switched our places, leaning into the window so that I stood in front of him, no longer trapped between his massive frame and a wall.
“Now.” He brought a hand up to a strand of my hair. “What had your attention?”
I tried to focus on his question, but the way he so effortlessly navigated me truly amazed me. The appreciation I felt for Thornar was more than words could explain. I stepped into him, dipping my head and resting it against his chest.
“Thank you,” I murmured. I felt his lips brush the top of my head before I pulled back, trying to shake the overwhelming affection the man inspired in me. Emotion wasn’t the only thing he inspired, though. My pulse stuttered at how unfairly handsome he was.
Everything about Thornar was warmth and light, from his bronze skin seemingly lit with golden fire, to his playful humor. The way he heated my skin with just a look made it feel like he was my own personal sun. I almost felt possessive over that.
It was a feeling I’d never experienced before.
“I was just looking at how beautiful the day was,” I said. “It was a nice break after the meeting being so…”
“Heavy,” he agreed, running his free hand through his coiled onyx hair. “Far heavier than what you should have to deal with.”
“Me? I’m the one who brought all of this on you!”
Thornar’s chuckle this time made my muscles tense as I examined his expression with caution. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, little flame. Ivan Rivers has been a poison to this country for far too long.”
My brows dipped as I considered what he was saying. “Why…why did no one stop him?”
“Stop him? When he took over the Cold Moon territory?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, my voice a whisper as if I was worried about speaking it out loud.
“I know why we didn’t. But for the other territories? I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. “Most likely because it didn’t affect them. Not truly. When you’re half a country away, it’s easy to turn a blind eye to someone’s entire life being destroyed.”
The way he said it was so simple but also heartbreaking.
I’m sure that was exactly why the other territories just moved on.
They may have disapproved of Ivan’s actions, but wolves—shifters in general—stuck to their own packs, their own territories.
Why fight a war for others, even if you are in a better position to do so?
“Shit. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Thornar’s chest rumbled as he used one finger to wipe an unexpected tear from my eye while wrapping his arm around my waist.
“I didn’t mean to,” I sniffed. “I haven’t cried this much in…a decade? More? Between Ravik’s news about my brother this morning and what you just said, it just feels…overwhelming.”
Which in itself felt like an understatement.
Thornar’s fingers clasped my chin as he examined my face. “The minute you need a break, little flame, we can disappear. You just say the word.”
Warmth exploded through my chest as my gaze darted down to his lips, my cheeks feeling hot once again. My wolf nearly jumped out of my skin in response to his, a low rumble breaking from his chest. I wanted to kiss Thornar. So why was I hesitating?
“Why is she crying? Again?” Basir’s gravelly voice broke through the moment as he strode from the meeting chamber.
I swallowed, feeling a surge of nervousness at his intensity, a mix of excited butterflies in my stomach and adrenaline.
Basir didn’t mean to be scary. I knew that wasn’t his intention, but it was almost impossible not to feel that way.
He was deadly, absolutely lethal, and I knew that without ever having seen him kill anyone.
Dressed entirely in black, his clothes hid the gold-lined grayscale tattoos that ran down his arms and up his neck.
The one I had seen peeks of when he decided to stay in bed with me as I practically wrapped myself around him.
I had no idea what I was doing when it came to any of these men, but especially Basir.
Sometimes I felt a world away from him, but other times, like now, he made his feelings clear. As he approached, he looked me over for injuries, his emerald and gold eyes flashing with frustration toward Thornar.
“She’s fine,” Thornar assured him before giving me a big smile and taking a step back. “We were just talking about the Cold Moon Pack.”
“I’m fine,” I assured Basir, stopping my hand from going up to touch his soft, shoulder-length black hair.
“You crying is never fine,” he murmured, then heaved a sigh. “Ravik is almost done, and then we can get away from this for a bit.”
“I am hungry,” I admitted. Basir locked onto that, looking toward the exit. “We need to wait for Ravik, though.”
“He might be a moment.” He looked back toward the meeting room, which Thornar was moving toward. “He’s discussing travel plans with his father.”
With his gaze not directly on me, I was able to find the courage to move closer to him and slide a hand up his chest, strumming my fingers there.
He froze and looked down at my hand, heat filling his gaze.
He wrapped his hand around mine before I managed to clear my head enough to ask him about what he’d said.
“Travel plans? For allies?” I asked.
“Yes. We may need to separate—”
“No.”
The word left my mouth before I could stop myself, and I tensed up at his surprised reaction.
“No?” he asked softly.
It was hard to focus with the full weight of Basir’s attention on me, but I managed to keep my composure. “I don’t want to separate. I want…I need the four of us to stay together.”
His emerald gaze darkened as he took in my words, and emotion clogged my throat as his silence wrapped around us. Part of my request came from my wolf, her outburst pushing past my normal control, but most of it was me. I didn’t want to be away from any of them.
“If it’s possible,” I whispered when he didn’t respond.
I almost tensed as his fingers slowly rose to wrap around the back of my neck. A position that should have caused me panic, but with Basir it didn’t. Instead, I felt the urge to curl up against him.
My head tilted back, and he looked over my face before leaning down. My eyes shut, and the breath between us nearly made me tremble.
He brushed his lips over mine, so faintly that it made me want more…but his words? They were everything. “If that’s what you want, that’s exactly what we’ll do. We won’t ever be apart, glow.”
I nearly melted right into his arms.
I could feel the shift between us, despite not fully understanding what was changing, and when Basir pulled back, his protective and heated gaze wrapped around me like a secure blanket.
“Thank you.” My whisper was hoarse.
“We’ll just have to leave soon to make it work,” Thornar called out. My cheeks turned bright red as I realized he’d been listening to our intimate moment while he waited for Ravik to leave the meeting room. Basir was startled as well if the low rumble that emitted from his chest was any indication.
I didn’t even notice Ravik approaching until he was already there, moving with a quiet, determined stride. One second I was standing, and the next I’d been lifted clean off the ground, a small, startled shriek slipping from my lips.
I wrapped my arms around his neck on instinct as he turned toward the exit.
“Where is he going?” Basir demanded.
“Where we are going,” Thornar called out as they followed us. “He heard she was hungry.”
Oh. That made sense. Ravik’s golden gaze was on me when I looked up at him, and the sunlight that shone through the windows in the corridor made his chocolate brown hair shimmer faintly.
His tan skin was warm beneath my touch as my gaze traced his beard and the dark, tailored clothes he wore. He was the image of a perfect Alpha.
So how was I in his arms? I was still figuring that part out, to be honest. All I knew was that there were cords tethering me to each of these men, coated in magic that changed my perspective on everything. All I knew was that the closer we grew, the even closer I wanted to be to them.
“Should have had more breakfast,” he pointed out before adding, “And I would never separate the four of us, lux mea.”
I didn’t doubt his sincerity. From the very start, from the first time I saw him walk into the room, I knew I could trust the man. I’d just been terrified Ivan would hurt him. I still worried about that with all of them.
But now I also understood how powerful they and the Ironsun pack were.
“How will we gather all the allies we need then?” I asked as the other two caught up, and Ravik kept me in his arms, ignoring any passing looks we received.
“We travel to them. All of us together,” he stated simply.
My eyes widened. “Like all around Thornfell?”