Chapter 26 - Freya #2
“I should get back to the New Dawn,” Fern said. “Artemis wants me to help coordinate the beta fighters.” She squeezed my shoulder before letting me go.
Flint pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Come on. I smell something tasty cooking, and if we don’t get there soon, I have a feeling that a big, bad wolf might eat everything.”
We made our way to the central fire pit, where Midnight Path shifters were preparing meals and passing them out to hungry wolves.
Shifters from various packs mingled together, laughing and talking.
The scene was so domestic, so amicable, that for a moment I could almost forget we were preparing for war.
Heath appeared with food for all three of us, his hands balancing the three bowls precariously.
“I could sense your hunger through the bonds,” he admitted before settling on my other side. “Eat, love. You need your strength.”
The endearment made my chest warm. “Your sisters,” I said, recalling my earlier thoughts. “What did they really say about Dryden?”
Heath sighed. “They were relieved. But also worried about Congress — more signs that pack law is dangerous to the country’s stability.
There’s talk of outlawing it completely, like Canada did.
” His jaw tightened. “But at least Harlow and Hazel can live without our father’s threats hanging over them anymore. ”
“Will they come back now? Since they don’t have to stay in those arranged marriages?”
Heath’s laugh was surprised and genuine.
“You know, I asked them the same thing. They said they’re staying right where they are.
I think they actually like their mates.” His smile turned mischievous.
“Besides, love, if my sisters came back, they’d steal all your attention. And I’m much too selfish to share.”
His wink took any seriousness from the words, and I laughed despite everything. “You share me with five other mates. I think you can handle me having two more friends.”
“True, but they’re also a handful. You’ll see if you ever meet them.”
“I’d like to,” I admitted. “Meet them, I mean.”
“They’d like you.” His arm slipped around my waist, pulling me against his side. “How could they not?”
We sat together in comfortable silence, eating and drawing comfort from each other’s presence.
“Thank you for asking about them, love,” Heath added after a moment, pressing a kiss to my hair. “Not everyone would care about my family like that. It’s one of the things I love most about you — your fierce protectiveness extends to everyone we care about.”
For a moment, Flint, Heath, and I shared a quiet moment enjoying our meal together. The warmth from the bowl seeped into my cold hands. The stew was simple but delicious — meat and vegetables in a rich broth that tasted like comfort.
Tor’s words snapped through the Bonded link, destroying the calm. “Creativity reports a band of wolves moving toward us from the south. Not Denraider — they came from the other direction.”
“Have the scouts stay together,” Gage ordered, but to whom, I wasn’t sure.
Flint moved closer to my side, his eyes scanning the camp as though the enemy were already among us. No one around us knew anything was amiss. My lips parted, but before I could say anything, alarms sounded at the south of camp.
“Freya…” Flint warned as I jumped to my feet, deciding I needed to see for myself what was going on. He didn’t try to stop me, but he set his bowl down and followed.
Across camp, I caught sight of Gage, his calm voice cutting through the rising panic. “Stand down. It’s not an attack.”
My mates fell into formation around me — Gage and Heath taking point while the others closed in around me until I was walking inside a wall of bodies and bristling wolves.
Shifters poured out to join us on all sides, some brandishing weapons while others pulled off their clothes in preparation to shift.
Overhead, a raven croaked out what I assumed to be a warning.
“We’re no threat!”
A group of shifters approached on foot, surrounded by our warriors on all sides.
“They say they’ve come to join us,” Lee called out.
Heath’s shock lanced through our bonds. “I never thought we’d see the day,” he murmured. “Alloy values their independence.”
We’d hidden near their little outpost once, back before my first heat, when Ironwood hunted me like I was prey. Alloy had never been a true pack, just a string of weather-beaten houses and shacks, a loose band of exiles and lone wolves who tolerated each other more than they trusted each other.
I still remembered picking wild apples behind the house Marius had rented to us while Gage was away dealing with a shipment. Back then, Alloy had been a place to lie low for a few nights. Gage had contacts among them, but even he was surprised to see them all here, walking straight into a war.
“Word must be spreading of the threat Denraider presents,” I mused.
“Alloy has always been neutral,” Gage added. “Looking out for their lone wolves, wary of rogue alphas.”
He moved forward to talk with them, while the rest of us hung back.
Not far from my mates, Gabriel stood with Jasmine and his brothers.
Even from here, I could see the restless energy in him — the way he paced while others stood still, the dominant tilt of his chin that he kept having to consciously lower around Artemis.
He was a good man trying to be a good subordinate to his pack alpha, but his wolf clearly had other ideas.
I hadn’t known him long, but even I could tell this was unusual for him.
“Heath,” I said slowly. “Do you think Alloy would ever accept an alpha’s rule?”
“Depends on the alpha.” He studied me, understanding dawning in his caramel eyes. “Do you have someone in mind?”
I smiled. “I might.”
Gage must have sensed my intentions through the bond because he said to Alloy, “If you wish to join us in standing against Denraider, you may be forced to take orders. From alphas.”
“Better that than be conquered by Denraider,” one of them muttered.
“I’ve heard how they treat their women,” a beta piped up, her hands balled into fists at her sides. “No better than omegas.”
“The pack mind works best when I only have one point person from each pack — someone whom the others implicitly follow,” I reminded Gage through the Bonded link. “I can account for Brielle, but the more wolves outside of a pack, the harder it becomes to keep the pack mind intact.”
“Then would you accept a pack alpha? Would you join a pack?” Gage asked.
“No pack will take us,” a subordinate man said, his shoulders hunched. “We’re all exiles in one way or another.”
“What about creating a new pack?” I asked.
Heath moved aside, and Thatcher piped up. “This is Astral Freya, the leader of our combined alliance of packs.”
The title still felt strange, but I was getting used to it.
“Astral?” Every Alloy shifter’s eyes scanned me, each of them sensing the same thing — I was no alpha.
“Astrals are wolves who provide leadership outside of the pack hierarchy — through understanding and unity, not force or dominance,” Tor explained, coming up beside me.
“In the same way that shifters honor alphas, sometimes they are honored with the title of Astral. Or shifters may use the more formal title of Radiant when an astral, like Freya, guides multiple packs.”
“And as our Radiant, she’ll lead us to victory over Denraider,” Thatcher bragged. “Our packs will finally be safe.”
My heart skipped a beat. I knew they all hoped that I could, but to hear it spoken so plainly put all the pressure on my shoulders.
Instead of confirming or denying such a bold claim, I glanced toward Jasmine. They refused to be separated, so I hoped she would forgive me for what I was about to suggest.
“Gabriel,” I called, gesturing for him to join us.
The tall alpha approached, his mates flanking him. “Astral?”
“How would you feel about leading Alloy?”
Gabriel’s eyes widened. “What?”
“You’ve been struggling under your new pack alpha’s authority,” I said gently. “I know you never wanted to lead a large pack, but what about a small one? Alloy needs an alpha who understands what it’s like to be an outsider.” I glanced at Artemis. “If your pack alpha agrees, of course.”
“I think it’s an excellent choice,” Artemis said. “What do you say, Gabriel?”
Gabriel looked at Jasmine, uncertainty written across his features. She smiled and took his hand. “You’d be an amazing pack alpha, my love.”
“We’d be your enforcers,” Garreth added, and Grayson nodded.
Since there were no other alphas among Alloy, it was true — Pack Alpha Gabriel’s enforcers wouldn’t be alphas. His beta brothers would serve well enough.
With his mate’s and brothers’ approval, Gabriel’s entire demeanor settled. He turned to the Alloy wolves, who had gathered nearby, watching with guarded interest.
“May I speak to them?” he asked Gage.
“They’re not my wolves to command,” Gage replied. “Ask them.”
Gabriel approached the Alloy group. The independent wolves eyed him with the wariness of those who’d learned not to trust alphas easily.
But before Gabriel could speak, Marius stepped forward. He was the one who’d once rented his cabin to us, giving us shelter near Alloy. He still kept his hair in long braids.
“We came here to fight off a pack of conquerors, not to be ruled by an alpha ourselves.”
The tension spiked, and I pushed past Heath before things could get out of hand.
“You’re right,” I said, stepping forward. “Alphas shouldn’t rule. They should protect.”
Marius’s eyes narrowed. “Pretty words, Astral. But what’s the difference?”
“Everything.” I looked around at the assembled Alloy wolves. “You came together because you needed protection in the wildlands. Because you looked out for each other when no pack would take you in. That’s what a true alpha does — protects, not dominates.”