Page 5 of Those That Defy the Realm

That is until one of the strangers joins in the chorus of howls and I immediately recognise the voice. Holy shit, it can’t be.

I haven’t heard that signature in over forty years, and though we’d had bits and pieces of information about him through our secret channels, we’d heard nothing recently to suggest he’d be in the Northern Isles.

Rune barks sharply as our mother freezes. Both of them recognise it too.

Forgetting my orders, I leap forwards and charge towards the tree edge. I need to know, to confirm it with my own eyes. The voices of his companions register in my ears but I don’t recognise them at all. Maybe we’re wrong?

But as soon as I inhale upon exiting the treeline, I know I’m not mistaken. It really is him!

Rune and I are first to reach Ty, the male vampire we’d call a cousin, even though he’s not related by blood. We’d grown up together, frequently visiting each other's lands, before we’d been secluded to the Isles, and Ty had—as far as the world knew—become extinct. Sadly, for Ty’s family, including my aunt and uncle, it was true. He was the only one of his pack’s core members to survive the war.

Our mother, and the enforcers that joined us, aren’t far behind, a small part of my brain keeping an awareness of the pack.

Bouncing and yipping with excitement, I launch myself, knocking Ty straight on his ass as I sniff him all over, burying my nose into the collar of his thick jacket to really take in his scent. Rune does the same, both of us competing for his attention, our tails batting each other as they wag furiously.

It’s only when our mother issues a stern bark that we pull back. But still, I let out a whine, and my body doesn’t want to come to stillness. I cannot believe it’s really him.

“Theodora,” Ty addresses my mother as she shifts back to her human form. “I’m glad to see you are well. This is Henry Knox and Aurora Capenor. They’re with me and won’t bring any harm to your pack.”

My attention goes to Ty’s companions, they’d not seemed like an immediate threat so I’d dismissed them before. Sniffing to lock their scents into my brain, I take in the female first. She’s got magic, that much I can tell from her. Not that she’s using any, but it’s strong enough in her scent that I know she has enough to actively cast. She looks incredibly wary of us as her eyes dart between each of the wolves currently surrounding them. I also note how she keeps looking at Ty, at how her body is turned slightly towards him.

They’re not together, at least not mated—another trait I’d be able to smell on them both thanks to my very acute senses. But her stance, and his too, now that I’m really looking, tell me there’s something between them. Could she be a female vampire? I thought the only ones of those left were already mated.

“You can trust them,” Ty reassures my mother.

“And I can trust you as well, now that you’re no longer bonded to that cunt,” she replies, referring to the absolute tyrant now controlling the vampire pack in Froan, or what’s left of it, the one Ty’s parents used to rule.

The male stranger, Henry, lets out a low chuff before quickly silencing himself. My head cocks. Does this male agree with my mother about the Froan pack’s current leader?

He’s not bonded either and doesn’t hold his own magic. From his general aura, he is definitely supernatural. Another vampire, I’m certain.

A tall one as well. I’m sure he’d tower over me, even in my human form. He’s not bulky, his arms or chest aren’t straining against the padded gear he’s wearing to protect him from the cold. He must feel my lingering gaze as his eyes find mine. The hazel irises are a swirl of colour, and the pink flush to his pale cheeks and slightly chapped lips suggest he’s not outdoorsy. He’s got a well-defined chin, covered in short stubble and hair that matches those striking eyes. A fact I can only tell because a few strands have escaped his hood and are flopping over his forehead.

He continues watching me, and my body shivers under his gaze. I almost want to shift so I can introduce myself properly and see just how tall he is. Tall guys are my kryptonite. Even if only in my fantasies. There’s not much choice when you’re secluded to a tiny island with an even tinier population.

Skin heating, I look away and concentrate on the conversation once more.

“Ty, we mustn’t forget them but they’d not want you eaten by guilt like this,” my mother says, her voice full of kindness. Ty’s pain radiates from him.

We’d known that he’d survived and had tried to reach out to him after the fighting ended. It was a blow to our whole family when our intel informed us that Ty had disappeared, our contacts only able to verify that he had survived the war. We only managed to get glimpses of information in the years that followed, of how he had spiralled into a self-punishing cycle of getting high and getting drunk. The trail had then gone cold for many years until my mother learned he’d pack bonded to Adicious, the male currently running his old lands. It’s only one of a handful of times I’ve seen my mother cry and my father curse.

It’s a relief to see him looking healthy and clean in front of us, and without a pack bond flowing in his veins. Rune must feel it too as he whines.

My mother becomes the leader she is once more and orders everyone back to the village, the vampires included. She shifts before anyone can argue and takes off back towards our residence.

The enforcers peel away, and those on patrol, turn tail to get back to their posts on the mountains stretching out around us. Rune comes over to me, batting me with his front leg and giving me a nuzzle to say, “can you believe it?”

I nudge him back with my snout before we fall into formation as well, taking up the rear of our little gang, and barking to tell the vampires to follow.

Dinner is normally an exuberant and loud affair but tonight it’s even more so. The only one of my siblings not in attendance is Joey because he has a date night planned with his two mates.

Colton’s mate is also missing from the table. Colton says it’s because she’s got morning sickness. She is in the early stages of pregnancy, but I think my brother’s protective side has more to do with it. We’d all trust Ty implicitly but knowing who he’s been attached to and the fact he’s shown up with two strangers probably got my brother’s hackles up a little. Let’s just say wolves are a bit extreme when their mates are expecting.

Aurora is lovely, quiet, but articulate and friendly. She immediately wins my parents over as they chat over the dinner table.

Henry is another matter. Not that he isn’t kind, but he’s clearly very intelligent and very grateful for our hospitality. No, I just can’t look at him. When I’d shifted back earlier and had indeed confirmed the tall vampire still towered a head above me, I basically melted. Then he’d arrived at the meal a tad late, flushed from a hot shower and freshly shaven. And having removed the padded layers of outdoor wear, I could fully check him out.

Or futilely resist trying to, anyway.