Chosen By Fate (Rejected Wolf Pack #6)

Chapter 1 - Flint

Flint

On the winter solstice, I ran alone in my wolf form, my paws striking the frozen winter ground. For three days now, I’d made this same run along the ridge. Each morning, Rowan’s absence cut deeper than the winter wind.

Three days ago, he’d walked out of our den in Moonblessed alone, officially exiled from the pack bond to infiltrate Denraider territory and search for Freya’s sister.

To return to the people who had first cast him out as a child, to pretend loyalty to those who had shown him none — his courage humbled me.

I’d joined the Howling Echo after he had, so his absence in the pack bond frustrated my wolf spirit.

Rowan was part of what made the Howling Echo my home, my pack.

My breath misted in the bitter air as I followed the familiar path along the ridgeline.

Running here, with the fortified walls of Moonblessed rising to my left and the sprawling camp of Frost Fang refugees spread across the valley to my right, highlighted that neither place was home.

We belonged to both and to neither, suspended in the space between what we’d lost and what we might yet claim.

I had always preferred being a wanderer, following in my ancestors’ footsteps, but it worked for me because my pack was my home — not a place.

That understanding had carried me through years of exile, following the ancient paths my ancestors had walked.

A true pack moved with the seasons, not against them.

My ancestors considered winter the most important time for the community to hold together against the darkness. But we’d been forced to send one of our own into that darkness alone, and my entire being hated it.

Napi — Old Man Sun — was at his weakest tonight, struggling against the cosmic darkness just as Rowan did.

Tomorrow, the longest night would be over, but it felt like our own darkness was just beginning. Where Rowan should have been running beside me, a silent, powerful presence matching my stride, there was only empty space.

Winter’s quiet surrounded me, making every sound sharp and meaningful. Most animals were conserving energy in their dens, waiting out the hardest season. Even the usual chatter of birds was muted. It was a day when everything seemed to hold its breath.

I turned back toward Moonblessed, my run complete. Freya was awake — she’d been sleeping restlessly since Rowan left, and I knew she needed the comfort of her other mates before the day’s chaos began.

I found her exactly where I’d expected — awake in our bed, staring out the window with the longing look that meant she was trying to comfort herself by sensing Rowan through the Bonded link.

The early light caught the silver in her white hair, making her look ethereal and untouchable. But I knew better. She was as human as the rest of us, just as vulnerable to worry and fear.

“Moonbeam.” I settled on the bed beside her, opening my arms. “Come here.”

She came willingly, curling against my chest. Her exhale shuddered through her, carrying so much worry in that single, fragile sound.

“Any word?” I asked, though I already knew the answer. If there’d been news, it would have blazed through our Bonded link like wildfire.

“Nothing new. He’s still alive, still… distant.” Her voice was muffled against my shirt.

I tightened my arms around her, pressing my lips to the top of her head. “He’ll come back to us. Rowan’s survived worse than Denraider before.”

“I know. I just…” She pulled back to look at me, those snow-blue eyes bright with unshed tears. “What if something goes wrong? What if they recognize him after all and imprison him?”

“Then we’ll tear Denraider apart stone by stone until we get him back,” I said simply. “But it won’t come to that. Rowan’s too stubborn to die in enemy territory.”

That earned me a small smile, which was what I’d been hoping for. I settled back against the headboard, pulling her with me so she was tucked against my side.

“Even in the deepest winter, there is warmth to be found with the pack. We just have to create that warmth for each other,” I said, stroking her hair. “This is what we’ll do. We’ll steal moments like these between the chaos.”

She relaxed against me, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “Stolen moments,” she murmured. “I like that.”

I gazed out the window at the snow-covered landscape. “Today’s the winter solstice — my ancestors believed it to be when the sun has to fight his way back through the darkness.”

Freya tilted her head to look at me. “Like Rowan.”

“Like Rowan,” I agreed. “And like us. We’re in our own longest night, but that means tomorrow the light is coming back.”

“Tomorrow,” Freya sighed. “I can hold on one more day.”

She said it as though Rowan would return then, but we all knew better. We would take it hour by hour, whatever it took for her to hang in there until Rowan returned.

A soft knock at the door interrupted the quiet moment. A familiar presence reached me through the Bonded link — warm, electric, tinged with uncertainty.

“Come in, Zak,” I called out.

The door opened, and our newest packmate stepped inside, and my wolf spirit perked up. My eyes lingered on his full lips as they curved into an uncertain smile. Then I noticed his rumpled clothes.

“Didn’t sleep well?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Though I have to say, this beats sleeping alone in a tent.”

He hovered near the door as if unsure of his welcome. The old Zak would have made some flirtatious comment to cover his uncertainty. This Zak simply stood there, letting us see his need for connection.

“Plenty of room around the fire,” I said, patting the bed on Freya’s other side.

Relief flickered across his features as he padded over to Freya, who immediately reach out to touch him. He gently pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm before settling beside her.

When he curled up against her side, his shoulders finally loosening, a sense of rightness flowed through the Bonded link. Freya’s entire body seemed to light up with joy. Whether the feeling originated from me, Freya, or Zak, I couldn’t be sure.

I loved seeing my moonbeam take comfort from his presence, and him from hers. While I still didn’t feel much differently toward my alpha packmates than I always had… I’d noticed my wolf spirit’s curiosity toward Zak ever since I’d run alongside the beta wolf.

“Better?” Freya asked, her voice already lighter with both of us flanking her.

“Much,” Zak murmured, and I caught the edge of his contentment through the bond.

“Getting used to pack life?” I asked, studying his face.

There was something different about him lately — a confidence that hadn’t been there when he first arrived. He was no longer hiding behind submission or flirtation. His walls were coming down, letting us see the man beneath the careful masks he’d worn for so long.

“Getting used to actually belonging somewhere,” he said honestly. “It’s… nice.”

“You belong with us,” I agreed. “Always have, always will.”

Freya reached up to trace a finger along his jawline, and I watched his eyes flutter closed at the simple touch. The intimacy between them was growing stronger each day, and it felt completely natural to witness it. To be part of it. We were pack, and he would become her mate soon, I felt certain.

After that… who knew what might happen next.

“I’ve been curious about something,” Freya said, her tone taking on that playful edge that usually meant trouble.

“Oh?” Zak’s eyes opened, a smile tugging at his lips. “Do tell.”

Anything that brought her joy brought joy to all of us, and Zak was a wise mage, to know that already. The important thing was that my mate felt free to want what she wanted, without shame or hesitation.

“Your piercings.” She glanced between us, color rising in her pale cheeks. “I’ve always wondered… do they feel cold at first?”

Zak’s laugh was rich and genuine, but his arousal bloomed in the bond. “You mean before they enter your sweet heat? Only one way to find out, my dear.”

Through the Bonded link, his interest spiked — not just toward Freya, but toward me as well. The old Zak would have hidden that as well, but now, he let it flow freely through the bond, trusting us with his truth.

I appreciated his bravery. It made it easier to admit my own curiosity.

“Truly,” I said slowly, meeting his gaze directly. “I’d like to find out for myself.”

Freya smiled. “Perhaps we can find out… together.”

Zak’s jaw went slack at her bold assertion. I couldn’t help teasing him a little.

“Well,” I said, settling back against the headboard with deliberate casualness, “I wouldn’t want to get ahead of myself. Freya should experience all your secrets first.”

After all, I recalled Rowan’s parting words to Freya — his explicit blessing for her not to wait for his return before claiming Zak. I wasn’t sure how Rowan would feel if the rest of us claimed Zak before he could. My wolf whimpered at the thought, and I trusted my wolf spirit’s instincts.

Zak’s smile widened as if my teasing only heightened his excitement. “There’s plenty of me to go around.”

For now, I would content myself to exploring what fun we could have with Zak and nothing more.

As Freya had promised both Rowan and Zak, our wolves would know the time.

Her words had filled me with pride, echoing a sentiment I’d once told her, that our wolf spirits would guide us to choose the right moment for our claiming.

The moment of playful tension shattered at the sound of Heath’s voice from the hallway, raw with anger and frustration. The words came in waves as he paced. His voice grew louder as he approached our door, muffled as he moved away.

“After everything I just told you about what he did to me — to us — that’s all you can say?”

Freya tensed against my side, and Zak sat up straight. We all went still, listening. Through the Bonded link, I sensed our pack alpha doing the same. Whatever Heath’s sisters were telling him, it wasn’t what he wanted to hear.