Chapter 29 - Flint #3
“I can’t do this alone. I need people who will tell me the truth, even when it’s hard to hear.
I’m creating an Astral Council — one alpha who isn’t already a pack protector, one beta, and one former omega or low-ranking wolf from each pack.
That way every voice has a path to me. The Howling Echo will consult with all pack protectors, of course.
But the Astral Council will help ensure that no packmate is left unheard and forgotten. ”
She looked directly at Fern, and I felt my heart skip. The safer bet would have been to choose Bretton for the council. My sister had challenged us at every turn, had led the rebellion that forced the Howling Echo into exile. This was a risk.
But it was also brilliant.
“Fern, I want you to serve as the New Dawn’s beta representative.” Freya’s voice was steady, kind. “I know we’ve had our differences. But you always stand up for what you believe in, even when it’s dangerous. That’s the kind of courage I need on my council.”
Fern’s eyes widened, and for a moment, I saw my sister as she’d been when we were young, before all the pain that had shaped us both. Assertive yet vulnerable. Hopeful.
My sister swallowed hard, then dropped to one knee. “I will, Radiant. And… I’m sorry.”
Freya pulled her up into a brief hug. “Then we move forward together.”
We’d all been worried about my littermate, about whether she could let go of her anger. That was the magic of our mate — not just her Odinswolf power, but her ability to see the best in others and call it forth. To make them want to be better.
More and more wolves stepped forward, vowing to serve on Freya’s Astral Council if she would have them, and if there were no objections from others in their packs.
Hank offered his experience for New Dawn’s alpha seat on the council.
Ironwood put forward Lee and Willow, after Willow surprised Freya by announcing she would move back to Ironwood.
Jasmine and Marius served from Alloy, the alpha seat vacant as Gabriel was the only alpha among them — for now. Shante surprised no one by volunteering on behalf of Moonblessed alongside two of her packmates. The only council member I recognized from Midnight Path was Ony, Astrid’s alpha enforcer.
“I will serve on the council on behalf of Elder Forest as soon as you are properly introduced to our true pack protector, my grandfather,” Wendell offered.
“Understood,” Gage agreed.
Two women came forward from Elder Forest, and Freya and Heath’s instant surprise and delight flooded the pack mind.
Heath introduced the beta to everyone. “Rose left Frost Fang when Nira took over as pack alpha. Now Rose serves as a librarian in Elder Forest.”
“I would be honored to join Freya’s Astral Council and share my knowledge with the Astral Packs.” She bowed her head.
“And Ulla, it’s great to see you,” Freya acknowledged the low-ranking shifter beside her. “I would love for you to join the council.”
Ulla bowed so fast she nearly fell. She clearly hadn’t expected Freya to remember her name.
Recovering, she blushed and said, “Radiant, I never thought — well, yes, I would be honored.”
Freya sent a vision to Gage, Zak, and Tor, showing them how Ulla had been one of Dryden’s servants at his Elder Forest estate when Heath, Rowan, and I had accompanied her there.
“I will look to my Astral Council for advice on how to handle matters going forward,” Freya announced. “We will also discuss how often members of the council will rotate, to allow new voices on the council over time.”
Wendell cleared his throat. “Radiant, if I may bring forward an urgent topic for discussion now… Elder Forest’s seat in Congress is now empty with Dryden’s death. Some of the other representatives are corrupt, bought and paid for by various interests that don’t serve shifters’ needs.”
I felt Heath’s tension spike through our bonds, but this time it was anticipation rather than dread. He’d been thinking about this, I realized. Planning.
Freya looked to him, and I watched the silent conversation flow between them through their mate bond. After a moment, she squeezed his hand and nodded.
Heath stepped forward, his voice carrying the confidence of someone who’d finally found his purpose. “I’ll take the seat. Temporarily, until new representatives can be voted into office. We’ll figure it out together.”
“Thank you,” Freya said softly. “You can show them what we’ve built. Show them that pack law doesn’t have to mean tyranny. That we can govern ourselves with peace and justice.”
Zak’s voice was soft but firm. “You can show Congress that they don’t need to ban pack law like Canada has done. That we can be trusted to police ourselves.”
Tor added, his tone more serious than usual, “We are not beasts. We can be ruled by compassion and care for our weakest packmates.”
“That’s the world we’re fighting for,” Freya said, her voice carrying across the gathered wolves.
“Where no child is beaten for being a different kind of shifter. Where hybrids aren’t left in the wildlands to die.
Where no packmate is enslaved for being weaker.
Where shifters of every kind can find a home to belong. ”
“And where every shifter can follow their heart — without having to choose between love and safety,” Jasmine spoke up.
“Where even hybrids are welcome,” Brielle acknowledged.
“Where each pack will defend the others if needed,” Hugo added.
Gage agreed. “Denraider is gone and Lydell is dead, but the remnants of that pack are scattered, not destroyed. Some of them will regroup. Some may want revenge.”
Freya’s expression hardened, and I felt the shift in her through our bonds — from visionary to warrior in a heartbeat.
“Then we’ll be ready. Together, the Astral Packs will drive conquerors out of our territories.
Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming are under our protection now.
Anyone who threatens our people will face the full might of the pack mind. ”
Rowan’s growl of agreement echoed through the clearing. “Let them come. They’ve never faced anything like us.”
Determination poured through all the bonds — mate bonds, pack bond, the Bonded link, and the pack mind’s unity. We were stronger together than any traditional pack could ever be.
Denraider had built their empire on fear and domination, their savage brutality convincing many packs to surrender to survive or hide and wait for their turn to be defeated.
With an alliance like this, between so many packs that were willing to fight for one another, we could prevent another Denraider from rising to power.
“We’ll need to establish patrols along the borders,” Thatcher said, already thinking tactically. “Coordinate our defenses so we can respond quickly to any incursion.”
“And we should rebuild the highways between our packs for quicker response times if we need to send aid to one another,” Artemis added.
Astrid nodded. “Reclaiming the wildlands will make it safer than ever to travel between all the Astral Packs.”
I watched Freya’s face as the pack protectors began planning, saw the pride and relief in her expression. She’d given them the framework, and now they were building on it together. Exactly as she’d hoped.
Willow called from a cluster of Ironwood shifters, “Freya, where will you and your mates live? Every pack will want to claim you.”
Freya shook her head. “We won’t belong to one pack alone. We’ll travel between you all. That way, we can see how each pack thrives, ensure everyone is being treated fairly, and help where help is needed.”
“The Howling Echo has always been nomadic,” I added. “We’re not suited to be rulers in a distant castle.”
Heath grinned. “Can’t get too comfortable. Comfort breeds complacency.”
“You’re going to need a big place, Radiant,” Jasmine called, grinning. “Or at least a really big bed.”
Laughter rippled through the alliance, easing the last of the tension. Freya’s blush touched the bond, warm and wry.
“Each pack can decide what to build,” she said. “We’ll be grateful for any roof that fits all seven of us.”
Zak stage-whispered, “Maybe we should just bring a really big tent and set it up wherever we go.”
“I’m not sleeping in a tent for the rest of my life,” Heath snorted.
“We lived in the wildlands for years,” Rowan pointed out.
“Exactly. I’ve done my time roughing it.”
The banter continued, and I felt my heart swell with love and pride. This was the family Freya had built — chaotic, unconventional, perfect. And now, we were the foundation of something bigger than ourselves.
As the gathered wolves began to disperse, planning celebrations and discussing the practical details of the new alliance, I pulled Freya aside for a moment. My hand found her cheek, thumb brushing across her skin.
“I knew,” I said quietly, holding her gaze. “From the very first time I saw you face off against an alpha with determination in your eyes, moonbeam, I knew you were meant for something extraordinary.”
Freya’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “You were the first to see me. Really see me. Not as a rankless shifter who couldn’t shift or a worthless, packless hybrid, but as someone who could be more.”
I kissed her forehead, breathing in her scent — apple pie and magic and home. “You were always more. The rest of us just needed time to catch up.”
Through our bonds, I felt all our love flowing toward Freya — and toward each other. We were her astral protectors, the constellation of stars around her bright half-moon, and together, we would change the world, starting today, the first day of the new year.
Freya stood with her six mates around her, looking out at the Astral Packs — hundreds of wolves from different backgrounds, different hierarchies, different histories, all united under a new vision.
Artemis approached with a gleam in her eye. “We’ll start construction on the astral house in New Dawn territory next week. Big bed included.” Her grin was infectious.
Hugo and Idori promised, “Moonblessed will always have your den ready and waiting for your return.”
“We left behind many packmates who weren’t warriors,” Thatcher told us.
“They’ve been busy building us a new pack house in a new capital town so we can get a fresh start far from Jameson and Luka’s old seat of power.
We’ll see about converting it into a residence for our radiant instead, then build a new pack house. ”
Each pack protector made similar pledges, and I realized this was more than just logistics. This was love — the packs showing Freya that she would always have a home, no matter where she roamed.
The promises from each pack blended into something that tugged at an ancestral part of me. My people had wandered long before we ever shifted, following the buffalo and carrying home in our hearts and in each other, not in any single stretch of land.
The Howling Echo had always been nomads in our own way, never settling, never claiming territory as other packs did. Others considered us homeless outcasts.
I’d always believed we were returning to something older, something truer. Not packless, but free. Not homeless, but at home everywhere we went together.
Now, with Freya at our center, we weren’t just four exiled alphas wandering the wildlands.
We owed our hearts to something greater, bringing unity wherever we traveled.
My ancestors would have recognized Freya not as a chief who ruled from a single throne, but as a medicine woman whose power came from connection, from healing, from bringing people together.
We would have homes in every pack, and our true home would always be with each other, with the Howling Echo, our pack. Wherever we went, we’d bring unity with us.
Freya’s voice cracked with emotion. “Thank you. All of you. For choosing this. For choosing us. For choosing a better way.”
Heath moved to stand beside me, his eyes on our mate. “It’s something to see, isn’t it? How far she’s come.”
“How far we’ve all come,” I corrected. “Even I never imagined this.”
Heath’s eyes crinkled with understanding. “Remember when Gage wanted to kick her out? When I thought she was just trouble we couldn’t afford? When you were the only one willing to give her a chance?”
The memory felt like a lifetime ago, though it had been less than a year. “And that deal… We thought it was for protection in exchange for her heat. In truth it was protection in exchange for our hearts.”
“And now look at us,” Heath said quietly.
“A pack of alphas who swore we’d never let in a female wolf, following a hybrid who stands outside every hierarchy we’ve ever known.
Rowan being part of a Bonded circle when he used to distrust all magic.
Sharing not just one mate between us, but several.
” He paused, his voice dropping. “Gage and I finally admitting what we’d denied for decades. ”
“All of it,” I admitted, warmth spreading through my chest. “Things we never dared hope for. And yet it all feels right. Like we were broken pieces waiting for her to show us how we fit together.”
“She didn’t just heal us,” Heath said. “She showed us we were never really broken. Just incomplete.”
Around us, the packs buckled down and got to work.
Teams hauled off bodies and began funeral rites for Mavis and other fallen packmates who deserved to be honored.
Others cleaned up the fallen tents and other debris from the battle.
And the rest began preparing food and lighting bonfires to commemorate the formation of the Astral Packs.
The celebration began in earnest with wolves shifting and racing through the snow, yipping and playing.
I caught Gage’s eye across the crowd. Our pack protector moved to be closer to Heath while I pulled Freya in, breathing in her scent.
“Ready for this, moonbeam? Being the astral of the most powerful alliance in shifter history?”
Freya smiled. “We’ll bring my parents’ dreams to life at last. The Winter Wind may have fallen, but the Astral Packs will carry out their vision.”
“You honor their sacrifice,” I tilted my head in acknowledgment of the family Freya had never met, but whom she revered anyway.
Around us, the celebration swelled. Wolves howled their joy to the clear winter sky. Shifters mingled, getting to know members of other packs. The scent of roasting meat filled the air as shifters prepared a feast. Two more nights and our wolf spirits would celebrate as well under the Wolf Moon.
Through it all, I felt the pull of our mate bonds, the Bonded link thrumming with an energy that had nothing to do with politics or alliances. We’d won another battle, and that made alpha blood sing.
We needed time together.
All seven of us.
“Come on, moonbeam,” I murmured against Freya’s ear. “Let the packs celebrate out here. We’ve got our own victory to savor.”