Chapter 32 - Freya #2
Rowan rose and joined him, and I followed, drawn by the quiet intensity of their connection. From here, the scope of Ironwood’s rebirth was even more apparent. Construction crews worked on what would become the new pack house.
“Ironwood is flourishing now,” Rowan said quietly.
“They would have flourished under your rule, too,” I told him, wondering if that’s why I heard the melancholy note in his voice.
“It’s your rule I’m thinking of.”
“She does rule here,” Tor pointed out. “As Radiant, she will help guide their future away from fear and domination toward something better for all shifters of every rank. And we’ll be at her side the whole way, leaders in our own right.”
Rowan turned to face our newest mate, his eyes soft with an emotion I recognized through our bonds. “You see things with so much hope. I love you for that, Tor. And for so much more.”
The words hung in the air between them, honest and unguarded. Tor’s expression shifted, starlight seeming to dance in his eyes.
“Your courage humbles me,” Tor replied, his voice thick with emotion. “You faced your worst nightmares in Denraider to protect Freya’s family. That kind of love is what legends are made of.”
I felt their mate bond pulse with new depth through our connection, and my heart swelled with joy.
Another piece of our constellation clicking into perfect alignment.
Over time, all our bonds would deepen and grow, and I looked forward to the pack’s evolution.
The moment stretched between them, intimate and profound, before the sound of footsteps on the stairs reminded us we weren’t alone.
The others began to drift back toward us, eager to share their findings with the rest of us. As Flint and Heath emerged from the communications room, Gage appeared with a book tucked under his arm.
“The library has old texts on pack law,” he said. “Some books even mention Odinswolves.”
Zak practically bounced up the stairs, his excitement infectious.
“The practice room is perfect,” he announced. “We could work on advanced techniques there, maybe even experiment with combining our different types of magic.”
Tor’s attention sharpened. “Something tells me we still haven’t tapped the limits of what we can do together. Our unique bonds could reshape the world.”
Gage moved to the window, his gaze distant. “Stories of the pack mind will spread. It could change everything.”
“We can show other packs beyond the Astral Packs that there’s another way,” Heath said.
“To prove that strength comes from wisdom, not domination,” Flint added.
Zak nodded eagerly. “And that magic and shifting can work together instead of in opposition.”
“That love multiplies instead of divides,” I said softly, the truth of it settling deep in my bones.
Through our bonds, I felt all of their agreement, their hope, their absolute certainty that we were exactly where we were meant to be.
But I caught the flicker of concern that crossed Heath’s features. “Speaking of reshaping the world, we need to talk logistics. My Congressional duties are going to pull me away more often than I’d like.”
Gage moved from the window to face his mate, his alpha instincts sharpening. “How often?”
“I’ll need to attend full sessions in person each quarter, committee meetings twice a month, and emergency votes whenever they arise,” Heath said, running a hand through his dark hair. “Plus the swearing-in ceremony next week.”
Tor grew thoughtful. “After this heat, your cycle will normalize to once yearly, astral. But Heath must always return in time for the season.”
Rowan agreed, “An alpha without his mate during heat season risks going into rut alone.”
I’d never considered how often Heath might need to travel and what it might do to the delicate balance we’d all found together.
Heath’s jaw tightened. “I’ll always be here for Freya’s heats. Whatever it takes — postponed votes, proxy representation, emergency flights home. Nothing matters more than this.”
“I’m glad,” I said, but worry still gnawed at me. “It’s only for the rest of this term, right?”
“It’s only temporary,” Heath agreed.
“The Howling Echo pack still comes first. It always has,” Gage said firmly, his protective instincts radiating through our bonds.
“Besides,” Flint added with a gentle smile, “We always know when it’s coming. That should be plenty of time to arrange your schedule around Freya’s cycle.”
The practical discussion should have been reassuring, but instead it made my thoughts drift to another woman facing her own heat cycle.
Somewhere out there, Valkyrie was discovering what it meant to have multiple mates, probably facing some of the same challenges I had in the beginning, when Gage and Heath couldn’t believe that Flint’s hope could be true, that I would take multiple mates.
Hopefully seeing us all together made that possibility more believable for Valkyrie and her men.
“You’re thinking about her,” Flint said softly, intuitively picking up on the shift in my emotions through our bond.
I nodded. “I just hope she’s safe. That her three mates are taking care of her the way you all take care of me.”
“She’s strong,” Tor said with quiet certainty. “Her mates will recognize that strength and cherish it.”
“I wonder where they’ll spend her heat,” I murmured.
Rowan suggested, “I could track them.”
Zak nodded. “And offer them a place in the Astral Packs to ride out her heat, at the very least, even if they decide to part ways later.”
Flint moved closer, his steady presence anchoring me. “Even if we can’t find them, their wolves know she’s their mate. They won’t let anything happen to her.”
His words calmed me, because I knew they were true.
Tor’s expression softened as he looked at my moonmarked mate. “You always know exactly what she needs to hear. I love that about you, Flint. The way you see past the surface to the heart of things.”
Flint dipped his head slightly, but his smile was radiant. “And I love how you see the bigger picture, Tor. You help us see beyond our own small corner of the world to the greater destiny we’re building.”
Another connection deepening, another bond strengthening the constellation that held us all together. It made my heart sing.
“What we’re building together truly is beautiful,” Zak murmured.
He turned to address the group, his vulnerability raw and beautiful.
“Each of you accepted me when you had every reason not to trust a witch. Gage, you could have kicked me out the moment I arrived, but you gave me a chance. Heath, you trusted me enough to volunteer when I wanted to prove myself.”
The two of them shared wide grins as he said it.
“Flint, you welcomed me without reservation, just like you did for Freya. Rowan, you trusted me with your deepest fears about magic and let me heal your scars. And Tor…” His voice broke slightly. “You helped me understand that being different doesn’t mean being alone.”
Tor laid a big hand on Zak’s shoulder, sending him wordless comfort as Zak turned to me at last.
“And Freya, you brought us together, gave me a family when I never thought I’d belong anywhere. I love you beyond magic, beyond reason, my darling hybrid. You helped me become who I was meant to be.”
I smiled. “You were already who you were meant to be, but I know what you mean. You needed to belong to our pack to see it. We just had to get you away from that coven.”
“You didn’t just save me from my coven,” Zak said. “You showed me that magic and shifting aren’t opposites. You transformed everything I thought possible. And I love each and every one of you for it.”
The raw honesty in his words sent waves of emotion through our bonds. My other mates’ hearts opened even wider, their acceptance of our hybrid deepening into something unshakeable.
Tor hooked a knuckle under Zak’s chin and raised his face to give him a long kiss, showing him without words how much he cherished their connection.
At the same time, I became aware of a subtle shift in Gage and Heath, like a gradual warming, like ice beginning to thaw in spring sunlight. Their love for Zak and Tor was growing stronger every day, even if they weren’t ready to voice it yet.
“Remember when you thought I couldn’t handle more than one mate?” I asked them with fond teasing. “Now look at us.”
I could feel their love expanding — the way their protective instincts had grown to encompass Zak and Tor, the way their respect had deepened into affection, the way affection was slowly, surely blooming into love.
It was beautiful to witness, even more beautiful to experience through our shared connection.
I found myself looking around at these six incredible men who had chosen to bind their lives to mine. The magnitude of what we’d built together, what we represented, suddenly felt overwhelming in the best possible way.
“We’re going to change how the world sees bonds like ours,” I said, the certainty of it ringing in my voice. “Our hearts only grow and expand, making space for more love. I can’t wait to show them that everyone can be free to love whoever and however many call to their hearts.”
“Already happening,” Heath’s eyes were bright with conviction. “The Astral Packs are proof that cooperation wins.”
“The old skalds sang of bonds like ours in their verses,” Tor said, “but even they couldn’t imagine the reality we’ve created. Seven stars around the moon, reshaping the very world.”
Gage nodded, his pack protector instincts extending far beyond our small circle. “Other species will take notice when Heath shows up to Congress. The fae courts, the witch covens, even the human government. They’re all trying to figure out what this new alliance means for them.”
“Let them wonder,” Rowan growled.
“Together,” Flint added quietly. “That’s what makes us stronger than any tyrant’s power.”