Chapter 27 - Freya
Freya
Denraider forces spread across the valley like a plague.
They hadn’t attacked overnight, but none of us had been able to get a restful night’s sleep knowing they were waiting.
From my position behind our defensive lines, I watched far too many enemy wolves calmly flowing toward us.
I couldn’t shake the sick certainty that we were about to witness a massacre.
Somewhere beyond the southern ridges, the Elder Forest’s vast army was coming. Their packlacks covered much of western Wyoming, so they had a lot of ground to cover — still too far away to join this battle, but close enough to matter. We were wedged between empires now.
And yet, we waited. The combined forces of all of our allied packs paced restlessly, waiting for the enemy to approach. To Denraider, we probably looked weak, unwilling to attack unless the enemy struck first.
We’d completed all the defensive preparations we possibly could. All save one.
All night long, I’d resisted the urge to try to test my pack mind abilities. My mates had wanted me fresh and alert for when the packs needed it most, not tired and drained from holding the pack mind all night, waiting. But now was the time to get ready, to ensure I could open it with haste.
I turned to face my mates, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Do you trust me to use the pack mind in battle?”
“With everything,” Gage said immediately, his sky-blue eyes blazing with absolute certainty.
“Always,” Heath added, his voice rough with emotion.
“Without question,” Flint said.
Rowan’s voice was fierce with conviction. “You know I do, lightning bolt.”
“Completely,” Zak said.
“To the ends of the earth and beyond,” Tor promised.
Their absolute faith was overwhelming, but I needed more than just my mates’ trust. I needed the pack alphas to believe in what I would attempt if and when Denraider struck.
Quickly, I reached out mentally, searching for those receptive to joining with us.
“Thatcher,” I projected to all the nearby pack alphas in the alliance while reaching mentally for the Ironwood alpha. “Do you trust me to lead this battle?”
His response came back steady and sure. “I’ve seen what you can do, Radiant. Yes.” With that, I expanded our connection, linking him into the pack mind.
“Astrid?” I reached for the Midnight Path alpha next, feeling her bear’s fierce protective instincts the moment we connected.
Her mental grin was audible, wild and confident. “You healed my shifters when the witches tried to steal their animals. I’ll follow you into hell if you ask.”
“Hugo? Idori?”
The Moonblessed alpha pair responded as one, their voices harmonizing through their mate bond. “We’ve watched you grow into this power, Astral Freya. Our pack is yours to command.”
By the time I reached out to Artemis and Gabriel, something had shifted in the mental landscape around us. The conviction and certainty of the other pack alphas flowed through our connections like a rising tide, reinforcing the younger leaders’ confidence.
“Yes,” Artemis said without hesitation, her voice strengthening as she felt the support of her peers. “The New Dawn is ready to win this. Show us the way.”
“Lead us,” Gabriel agreed for the Celestial Alloy, his own doubts dissolving in the face of collective determination.
“I’m not sure how long I can hold it,” I admitted. “So we’ll have to fight without the pack mind to start, and I’ll use it if we have to. It’ll be easier now that we’re all on board.”
Unspoken acknowledgment met me, but before I could drop the pack mind, a figure walked out onto a raised, rocky outcropping. He positioned himself like a king surveying his domain, a sea of shifters surrounding him.
Lydell.
All the alphas’ awareness sharpened across the pack mind I’d left open. My mates’ protective instincts flared, all six of them pressing closer to me.
Tor’s ravens brought us a closer look, confirming it was Lydell. The pack alpha who’d destroyed Rowan’s childhood, who’d enslaved countless wolves, who’d turned conquest into an art form. He stood proudly with his arms crossed.
Chained beside him in iron shackles was an older man I recognized from watching through Rowan’s eyes when he was in Denraider territory.
“Rowan,” I whispered. “They have Mavis.”
“I know.” His voice was granite-hard with rage.
Mavis, the older alpha who’d helped Rowan during the uprising, stood defiant despite his shackles. His gray hair wild, his lifted chin and raised eyes showed his absolute refusal to submit. Fresh wounds marked his body — evidence of the price he’d paid for choosing freedom over slavery.
Heath began to move into position with his rifle, but Rowan put a hand on his elbow, warning both him and our gathered pack protectors, “If you miss, you could kill Mavis.”
“Besides,” Artemis added, “Killing a pack alpha without challenging him is against pack law. Denraider wouldn’t follow you, Heath. We’d still have to kick their asses.”
The pack mind rippled with understanding and frustration.
A raven swooped over the gathered shifters, showing us that several of Lydell’s alpha enforcers surrounded their prisoner.
“They’re going to make him watch,” I whispered, my voice tight with fury that bled through all our bonds.
Gage scanned the enemy’s position. “Lydell wants to break his spirit before he kills him.”
Heath growled, “The bastard enjoys cruelty.”
Beside me, Brielle stepped closer, her green eyes glowing with ready magic. “Zak and I will shield you while you work. Whatever you’re planning to do with the pack mind, we’ll make sure nothing interrupts it.”
Zak nodded, his hands weaving protective sigils in the air. “The wards will hold against anything they throw at us.”
“Let go of it for now, little warrior wolf,” Heath reminded me.
“I’ll bring back the pack mind when we need it,” I promised the pack mind just before letting it dissolve.
Everyone’s confidence should have reassured me, but I felt trapped, useless, watching from the sidelines while others prepared to die for our cause.
My mates had positioned themselves around me like a living fortress, and while I understood their need to protect me, it made me feel like a prize to be guarded rather than a leader ready to fight.
From his position on the rocky outcropping, Lydell’s voice boomed across the valley. “Wolves of this pathetic alliance! I declare everything both outside and within those walls to be Denraider territory. Your packs are forfeit. Surrender now, and I might let some of you live as slaves.”
Cruel laughter rippled through the enemy ranks, thousands of voices joining in mockery of our defiance.
But nothing could ease the sick dread clawing at my chest as I searched the Denraider ranks desperately.
Where was she? Where was Valkyrie?
“Tor,” I said urgently. “Send your other ravens. Find her. I need to know she’s safe before—”
“Already done,” he replied, his ice-blue eyes distant as he communed with his network of avian spies. “Awareness and Realm are searching the rear positions. Skill and Thought are checking the flanks.”
“This traitor beside me,” Lydell continued, gesturing to Mavis with casual contempt, “thought he could defy the natural order. He led an uprising against his betters, convinced lesser wolves they could be more than what they are.” His face twisted into a vicious grin.
“He’ll watch me crush your spirits before I crush his throat. Denraider… attack!”
He shifted along with them, disappearing into the fray.
Around our defensive positions, allied packs responded to the threat, following the plan as we’d all agreed.
The sharp crack of rifles echoed from the western walls as Moonblessed wolves opened fire on Denraider advance forces.
Their shots were answered by howls of rage as enemy wolves charged forward.
Sniper rifles picked off more distant enemies while others with shorter-range rifles picked off closer targets. As soon as the enemy closed ranks with our people, however, our shifters pushed forward to meet them with fang and claw.
They still outnumbered us three to one. The only thing keeping us from being completely overwhelmed was the terrain, funneling the enemy into previously chosen chokepoints where our fighters faced off against them.
The chaos unfolded. Each pack fought bravely, but they fought separately.
Moonblessed held their walls. Midnight Path defended their area. Ironwood controlled their chokepoint. The New Dawn protected their portion of the line. Even the Celestial Alloy rallied around their own bottleneck.
But as Denraider’s overwhelming forces surged forward, our wolves were forced back toward Moonblessed walls.
We weren’t moving as one unified force. We were fragments, each doing their best but without the coordination that could turn brave fighters into an unstoppable army.
“Artemis isn’t ready for this,” I said, watching the young alpha struggle to coordinate her newly merged pack as Denraider pressure mounted on their section. Her commands were good, but they lacked the confidence that came with experience, and her people didn’t trust her completely yet.
And Tor still hadn’t told me where my sister was. With our strong bonds, I peered through his eyes, watching as each raven reported back.
“Gabriel’s still learning to lead,” Flint observed through our bond, his steady presence anchoring me even as worry colored his mental voice. “And Celestial Alloy has never had to fight in a battle like this.”
Our allied pack alphas were waiting on me for guidance. Not Gage, despite his experience and dominance. Not the other alphas, despite their tactical knowledge.
Me.
They weren’t just hoping I’d use my magic to help them fight. They were waiting for me to lead them.
“Freya, it’s time,” Gage answered, his pack alpha instincts automatically assessing our allies’ capabilities.
Somehow, I sensed this would be easier in my Odinswolf form.