Chapter 25 - Zak #2
“What is it?” Gage demanded, having sensed our feelings through the bonds.
“Lydell,” Rowan’s mental voice was pure fury. “And his enforcers.”
“I’ll get a raven over there,” Tor answered.
Heath started. “How did none of our scouts or patrols—”
“They must have killed them,” Flint answered.
“Their pack alpha would have sensed it and alert us,” Gage disagreed.
“Then perhaps they only knocked them out,” Heath suggested.
“Regardless,” Rowan growled. “He’s here.”
Lydell’s words boomed across the valley between us as he projected his alpha voice.
“White wolf bitch! I know you can hear me!” His words echoed off the mountains, each syllable soaked in malice. “Your sister sends her regards. Sweet little Valkyrie. She’s got spirit, I’ll give her that. She’s always fought my wolves every step of the way.”
His attention shifted, and even from this distance I felt his focus lock on Rowan.
“And you, exile,” he called, scenting the air as if he could taste Rowan’s fury on the wind.
“Thought I wouldn’t recognize the little whelp I threw out?
You and that slave have caused me too much trouble. I’ll enjoy fixing that mistake.”
A snarl ripped through Rowan across the Bonded link, and my own wolf bristled at hearing my alpha mate spoken of like discarded trash.
He paused looking toward one of his enforcers, and Gage warned, “Freya, don’t—”
A low, vicious laugh carried across the valley.
“She’ll make a good reward for my enforcers to thank them for their loyalty,” Lydell continued, unaware of our mental communication.
“I’ll make sure you have a front-row seat when I finally let them have their fun.
Then, when she’s properly broken, when there’s nothing left of that fire in her eyes…
Well, once she’s worthless, I’ll kill her.
Slowly. So you can see what I’ll do to you next. ”
The sexual violence implicit in Lydell’s words, the promise of breaking someone who’d already survived so much — it ignited something primal in all of us.
The bond erupted with Rowan’s fury, Flint’s cold resolve, and Tor’s wrath. My own magic sparked at my fingertips, witchfire itching to leap across the gap. Lydell might have aimed his words at Freya, but every one of us took the threat personally.
Threatening one of us threatened all of us. That’s what pack meant.
Through the Bonded link, I felt Rowan’s memories surface — being fifteen years old, powerless, cast out by this same man who’d called him worthless. And now Lydell was threatening to do far worse to someone Freya loved.
Rowan’s rage exploded through the Bonded link like wildfire. The sheer audacity of Lydell threatening Valkyrie while standing untouchable on that peak ignited something dangerous in our mate.
The injustice of it, the cruelty, made my wolf snarl with pure hatred. My magic sparked involuntarily, blue witchfire flickering along my paws.
And it wasn’t just me. Through the bonds, I felt the entire Howling Echo pack go protective, their wolves ready for the hunt, ready to kill on behalf of Freya and Rowan.
Freya began pulling power from the Bonded link, the same way she had when she’d killed Trella. Lightning gathered along her fur, crackling with deadly intent.
But Lydell and his enforcers disappeared into the rocky outcropping before she could strike.
“No!” Freya’s mental scream was anguish and fury combined. “We have to go after them!”
“We have to go back down to the valley to get over there,” I replied even as my own wolf snarled at their retreat.
We rushed down from the peak we’d just surmounted, trying to find the quickest path that would lead us over toward where we’d last seen Lydell.
The way Freya kept darting toward openings between rocks before looking down and changing her mind made me fear for her safety.
Sooner or later, her impatience would override her sense of self-preservation.
My wolf rushed to keep up with her. Rowan ran ahead of us.
“We’ll gather the others as we go.” Freya’s power continued building. “We’ll chase them down. Kill them all.”
“Our allies agreed to defend these lands,” Flint’s voice cut through the chaos. “I doubt they’ll attack Denraider. Defend, yes. But not attack.”
“Brielle and Shante will go with us. Artemis and the New Dawn, I bet. We’ll see who else,” Freya growled.
“Trying to climb up would break our necks,” I realized, recalling what the peak looked like. “Even in human form, those rocks are impossible to climb.”
As soon as we reached the valley floor, Rowan and Freya both turned toward the other peak, ready to pursue despite the impossibility.
I raced ahead, trying to get ahead of Freya to position myself between them and the danger, though I wasn’t entirely sure I could hold back two mates if they went feral — especially not an alpha.
“Return to camp. Now.” Gage’s alpha command slammed through the pack bond with undeniable force. “We handle this with strategy, not rage. That’s an order.”
I yelped, my paws instantly turning toward the pack, unable to resist. Rowan’s wolf fought it — I felt the struggle through our Bonded link — but the command forced his paws to turn, too.
Freya, immune to alpha commands as an Odinswolf, could have refused.
But when Rowan and I started back toward camp, she followed, her frustration and fear bleeding through every bond.
“He doesn’t even have her with him,” I tried to reason. “If Lydell really had Valkyrie there, he would’ve paraded her around. This was just a taunt. He’s trying to draw us out.”
“It’s working,” Freya replied bitterly.
The run back felt nothing like the exhilarating freedom we’d experienced earlier.
Every step was weighted with Lydell’s threat, with Freya’s barely-contained fear for her sister, with Rowan’s near-feral fury.
By the time we reached camp, wolves were already gathering — anyone in wolf form could have heard Lydell’s threats thanks to his alpha voice.
The stench of fear rippled through the alliance. There wasn’t enough anger to offset the scent. As soon as we passed the first tents, Gage’s command over us loosened.
Rowan remained in wolf form, barely restrained. Freya’s anger and fear through the bonds kept him riding the edge of going feral. His massive frame vibrated with tension as pack alphas from the various allied packs gathered.
Artemis arrived with Hank at her side. Hugo and Idori represented Moonblessed.
Astrid lumbered over as a massive bear, before shifting to human form to join the discussion.
Thatcher and Lee came from Ironwood. Even Jasmine and her mates joined, though Gabriel’s discomfort was palpable.
Brielle came loping through the others despite not being an alpha, and I tried to follow her example.
I’d lived most of my life on the edges of the coven, never fitting in, and sometimes it was hard to remember that, here, I belonged.
Freya and I shifted back and put on our clothes, ignoring the looks from the others as they assessed our astral’s mindset. But Gage had more experience with leading, and he was the first to speak.
“Lydell’s trying to bait us. Draw us into a fight on his terms. He wants us scattered and furious, chasing him over open ground where he can spring whatever traps Denraider’s cooked up.
Denraider doesn’t stop at killing warriors — they wipe out entire packs, children and elders included.
If we abandon these defenses to run after him, we leave every non-combatant wide open. ”
“He threatened my sister,” Freya’s voice was ice. “We can’t just ignore that.”
“We’re not ignoring it,” Idori said gently. “But charging after him now is exactly what he wants.”
“Tor,” Gage turned as the white Odinswolf joined us. “What are your ravens seeing?”
Tor shifted before answering. “Valkyrie’s being moved closer to the front lines, but she’s fighting them every step. She’s not there yet. We still have time.”
I pulled Freya to my side and kissed her temple. “She’s safe for now. Lydell was bluffing.”
“I have no doubt he’ll follow through once he gets his hands on her,” she snarled.
If she’d been a Lokiswolf, I knew her eyes would have gone golden. As it was, lightning flashed in her hair, harmlessly flickering over to me before dissipating.
Lee cleared his throat. “We can’t risk our packs on behalf of one person — especially someone whose loyalty we don’t even know for certain.”
Freya flinched as if struck.
“Wait.” Astrid’s voice cut through the murmurs. The Midnight Path alpha stepped forward, her expression fierce. “We’re just going to let him threaten her sister? Let him revel in his cruelty and do nothing?”
“What would you have us do?” Thatcher asked, though his tone suggested he sympathized. “March into Denraider territory?”
“We barely escaped the last time,” Grayson murmured.
Heath growled, “We can’t just abandon her.”
“We’re not abandoning anyone,” Hugo said quietly.
“Then help us,” Freya pleaded.
Hugo’s eyes met Idori’s, and something passed between them — a long look weighted with shared pain and difficult decisions. When he spoke again, his voice carried the burden of his choice.
“All our packs have committed to defending these lands. We’ll stand with you when Denraider attacks — that oath stands firm.
But asking us to launch an offensive into their territory, to leave our walls, to risk our pack…
” Hugo shook his head. “Moonblessed is already sheltering your elders, your injured, your pups. If we send our warriors away, we leave every one of them exposed the moment Denraider decides to strike here instead.”
“You sent some wolves with us when we confronted the witches on Frost Fang packlands,” Freya argued.
“A few,” Idori agreed. “But that threat was smaller and in Frost Fang territory. Denraider is a much bigger force and threatening our walls.”
Flint placed a comforting hand on Hugo’s shoulder. “You must make the best decision for your pack.”