Chapter 10 - Torsten
Torsten
The night after Freya stripped Dryden of his wolf, she slept fitfully.
The only good thing about it was that she kept me company through the Bonded link while Jasmine, Gabriel, Garreth, Grayson, and I silently moved into position.
We spent the next day hiding in Denraider’s newly conquered territory, awaiting our moment.
While the four of them kept me company, for the first time in my life, I wasn’t alone in my own mind.
Thanks to the Bonded link that Freya, Zak, and Rowan had pulled me into, the gentle presence of my future packmates hummed at the edges of my awareness, a constant reminder that I belonged somewhere, to someone.
My four traveling companions had all abandoned the Snow Moon pack to come with me.
It wasn’t entirely altruistic — the Snow Moon pack had grown increasingly hostile to wolves who stood out from the pack, like Jasmine and her three mates.
They hoped to find a new home, and I was grateful for the backup.
“You’re close?” Gage asked impatiently.
It was obvious that the pack alpha cared very much about Rowan’s wellbeing, and that endeared him to me. I’d only met Rowan in my dreams, but our instant connection told me how important he would become to me in time.
“Yes,” I promised, injecting my certainty into the new bond we shared. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get him out.”
Through the keen eyes of Awareness, one of my raven friends, I watched over Rowan. It was Christmas Eve, and the raven showed me the revelry unfolding on Denraider’s conquered lands as darkness fell.
Massive bonfires cast shadows across hundreds of wolves — some celebrating with drunken abandon, others cowering at the edges like beaten dogs. The size of the bonfires made it clear they planned to celebrate all through the night.
All the recruits were being closely watched in preparation for the ceremony.
Denraider knew that not every rogue alpha and lone wolf they’d picked up truly wanted to join the pack — and they didn’t care.
By the end of the night, they intended for the newest batch of “recruits” to join the pack, whether they chose to or not.
As soon as Rowan had realized how bad the situation was, he’d closed the Bonded link with the rest of us. I was still unfamiliar with the ability to share my mind with others, so I didn’t have any hope of breaking through.
Gage had urged Freya and Zak to find a way, and I had to hope they could. We needed Rowan to know he wasn’t alone.
The figure stepping up onto the raised platform made my blood run cold.
Lydell. Massive and intimidating, his presence dominated the clearing. Through my raven’s enhanced sight, I could see the cruel satisfaction in his weathered face, the way his lips curved in anticipation of expanding his pack and his power with new alphas.
If Lydell bit him, the Denraider pack bond would snap into place, and Rowan would be lost to us. The alpha command would become irresistible, and he could be forced to reveal everything — his mission, Valkyrie’s importance, the location of our allied packs.
“Torsten.” Jasmine’s voice cut through my focus, steady despite the urgency. Her pale blue eyes reflected the distant firelight, and I caught the scent of her determination mixed with carefully controlled fear. “We need to move.”
Even in our hiding spot, I could scent the acrid smoke mixing with the metallic scent of old blood, creating an atmosphere thick with violence.
But I couldn’t tear my eyes away from what Awareness was witnessing.
“Tonight, we welcome new blood into our ranks!”
Lydell’s voice boomed across the crowd, while his alpha enforcers nodded their approval, their eyes bright with their rising wolves.
“The holiday celebration begins with new pack bonds! Shift and kneel before your pack alpha!”
Around the gathering, wolves dropped to the ground as if struck by lightning, their bodies betraying them as their pack alpha’s bark took hold. Bones cracked and reformed as they shifted against their will, forced into submission by pure dominance.
Conquered subordinate “recruits” whimpered, their wolf forms pressed low to the frozen ground. The sight made my wolf snarl with rage — these weren’t volunteers seeking a pack, but conquered wolves forcibly claimed.
Rogue alphas, not yet part of the pack, also bowed to Lydell, his sheer dominance forcing them to shift as well.
Despite how Rowan had blocked us through the Bonded link, I still felt the command hit him like a physical weight.
“Freya? Zak?” Gage growled through the Bonded link.
They redoubled their efforts to break through. The sixth sense of it felt foreign and yet familiar to me, as though I’d been waiting my whole life for this kind of connection.
“Let’s show Rowan he doesn’t have to do this alone,” Flint agreed.
“Not from Tor,” Freya told Zak, and I sensed they must be pulling power from the rest of the Bonded link.
“That’s why I joined the Bonded link,” I reminded her. “To share my strength.”
“No,” Zak answered. “We can’t risk draining you.”
“Torsten,” Gage commanded, “Go get Rowan.”
Through the eyes of my ravens, I saw him. The man I’d met in dreams stood among the kneeling figures like a pillar of defiance.
Rowan.
Across our bonds, six wolves howled for our missing packmate.
He remained upright in human form, his dark hair disheveled, every line of his powerful frame radiating resistance.
But I could see the strain in his posture, the way his hands clenched into fists as he fought against Lydell’s alpha command.
Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the winter cold, his jaw locked with the effort of remaining standing.
Then the Bonded link blazed to life.
The sensation hit me like a thunderclap, power flowing across the vast distance between us and the Howling Echo.
“We’re through,” Zak confirmed distantly.
The connection burned through me, my consciousness suddenly expanded to encompass not just my own awareness, but theirs as well. I could feel Freya’s desperate love, Gage’s pride at Zak and Freya’s accomplishment, Heath and Flint’s frustration, and Zak’s magic standing ready.
“We’re with you,” Freya’s voice reached us all, clear and strong despite the miles separating us.
“Whether you like it or not,” Heath grumbled, his ire directed at Rowan.
“You’re closer to him,” Freya whispered to me. “Mind if I borrow this?”
I barely had time to give my wordless consent before her Odinswolf magic intertwined with mine, ancient power recognizing its kin.
Something jolted in my chest as Freya ripped that power from me and forced it into Rowan. I gasped with utter shock as she revealed a power I’d never imagined. Not only could she lend her own powers to Rowan, she could borrow mine as well.
Our Odinswolf resistance to alpha commands flowed through me toward Rowan like a river of starlight.
“Hold on,” I projected to Rowan through the enhanced connection, my mental voice carrying all the certainty I could muster. “We’re coming.”
I watched through my raven’s eyes as the magic reached him. Rowan’s posture straightened, his resistance solidifying, becoming unbreakable. The strain lines around his eyes eased as our power reinforced his natural defiance.
I pulled my consciousness back from Awareness’s sight, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the darkness of our hiding spot. My human vision felt limited after experiencing the world through a raven’s superior sight.
Jasmine crouched beside me, her compact frame coiled with tension. Behind her, Gabriel, Garreth, and Grayson checked their weapons with efficient movements.
“The ceremony’s starting,” I said, my voice rougher than intended.
“Then we go now,” Gabriel said, his alpha authority cutting through any debate. “Jasmine, you and I will take the eastern approach through the pass. Garreth and Grayson will come from the west where their guards are thickest. Torsten—”
“I go straight through,” I finished, already knowing what had to be done. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, eager for the hunt. “They won’t expect a frontal assault during their celebration. Drunk wolves make poor sentries.”
Jasmine’s hand found my arm, her touch warm and reassuring. “We’ve got your back. All of us. But…” Her voice dropped, carrying the weight of hard-earned wisdom. “Don’t get yourself killed trying to be a hero. Freya needs you alive, not martyred.”
The simple statement carried weight beyond words. These wolves had chosen exile over abandoning their unconventional bonds, just as Freya’s pack had. They understood what it meant to fight for the family you chose rather than the pack forced upon you.
“And I won’t sacrifice any of you for him,” I said, meeting each of their eyes in turn. The words needed to be said. “If this goes wrong, if we can’t reach him—”
“It won’t,” Garreth interrupted with a fierce grin. “We didn’t come this far to fail now. And we don’t need you to do anything stupidly noble to spare us.”
“Yeah, stupid nobility is my specialty,” Grayson added with dry humor, beginning to undress. “But tonight, we’re all going home. Together.”
I liked the sound of that. We all hoped to be taken in by the Howling Echo, who would become our home. Stuffing our clothes into our sling bags, we put our guns and knives on top, easily accessible once we shifted back.
Through my network of ravens, intelligence flowed.
Creativity showed me the guard rotations — sloppy from the celebration, sentries more interested in their bottles than their duties.
Skill revealed the locations of Denraider’s slaves, close enough to serve their captors’ every whim.
Realm mapped the fastest routes, highlighting weak points in their defenses.
And Dream… Well, Dream remained back near Valkyrie in Oregon, locked away far from the celebration.