Page 24

“I’ll let you know what they say,” I tell River, walking away to find my people.

[ 16 ]

DAIR

Grand Prairie Compound

Days Since Last Attack: 0

“You’re out of your moon-addled mind if you think I’m staying here for a whole fucking month,” Aspen snaps from her spot on the shabby couch in our guest cabin.

“It won’t just be you,” I try to cajole her. “Koda has already agreed to stay with you.” Based on the burning of her usually mild scent, this wasn’t the persuasive statement I thought it was.

Her blue eyes pin me in place. “You knew how much Koda wanted to go home, how much we all wanted to go home, so why the fuck did you volunteer us to stay? Koda wants his nest, his own space for a little while away from everyone. Surely River is a big enough boy to take care of his own problems, yes?” She folds her arms over her stomach, and if she could growl, I think she would.

I rub a hand over my beard and sigh. “Listen, I know this isn’t what we agreed on, but we really need access to those comms.”

“No, we don’t!” she explodes, face flushing red with anger. “Forget what I said when we got here! We can find another radio tower. There has to be more than just this one in all of this flat land. We don’t need Grand Prairie, especially if they’re on the brink of internal collapse.”

“You’re right,” I concede. “We could look for another compound, but how much longer will that take? You want to go home, but we would be on the road for weeks looking for another tower. Hell, we could spend another two months searching Appalachia ourselves, but River is offering us the access we need. All he’s asking for is help.” While that’s not strictly true, Aspen doesn’t need to know about everything else.

Aspen throws her hands in the air. “I’m telling you, you’re putting all your eggs in a rotting basket, Dair. Why are you risking everything for this alliance?”

Exhausted, I slump onto the end of the couch. I knew Aspen was going to be the harder sell. Koda was disappointed, but also oddly excited to learn how the old alpha, Josef, had managed to use their solar setup to run a patched-together irrigation system to water their community crops.

“If you’re sold on Grand Prairie, I don’t understand why we aren’t all staying,” she gripes with one of her pale eyebrows raised in defiance.

“Tore and I need to get back,” I say. “Or at the very least, we need to be on the road, out in the Wilds where we can shift whenever we want. The walls of this place constantly grate, and my wolf needs to be back on his land. I can’t stay here.” My voice goes rough. I also now have to convince Ren to share his work.

“That may be true, but I know you, and you would do whatever it took to help the clans, including forcing yourself to stay here. So what is really going on?”

My heart races as I think about telling Aspen the truth about everything. Maybe I can just tell her part of the truth, the reasons involving Raine. It was easy to vent to Tore about finding my true mate because I know that he completely understands, but maybe I can offer Aspen that truth so that she can make the best decisions while she’s here.

I take a deep breath and then admit, “I can’t stay because my true mate is here, and she’s going to be matched with another alpha, or a pack, any day now. My wolf is nearly feral to get her back in our territory before the next full moon. If I stay, I’ll have to see her go through some horrific, unnatural mating ceremony that strips her of her right to choose who she wants. If I stay, I don’t even know if my wolf will allow it to happen at all.”

Aspen’s eyes widen with every word.

“He might burst from my skin and bite her in the middle of the compound just to stop this madness. But I can’t leave knowing that at any moment the political stability could collapse, leaving her fate even worse than it currently is. I need to know that River stays in a position of power so that he has the means to protect her.”

Then there’s the full moon to be worried about. Now that I’ve found my true mate, my wolf will send me into rut—a hormone-driven breeding binge—on the full moon. It will be torture to be here, close to her, unable to spend my rut in her arms. If we stay, Tore will have to find a way to chain me up in seclusion.

Aspen stares at me, mouth agape. “Who? Raine?”

“Yes,” I sigh.

“Moon, help us!” she exclaims. “River’s sister?” I nod, but then she frowns. “Wait, I don’t understand. If she’s your true mate, why don’t you offer to mate her as part of the alliance? Surely connecting our communities with a mate bond would be better insurance than any word of mouth.”

The worst part is, if she wasn’t my true mate, it would be a really good idea, but as it is, I cannot be another man in her life looking to take away her options. I tell Aspen, “I can’t bear to control her that way.”

“Then give her the option,” Tore says from where he’s leaning against the main room’s wall. “Omegas need choice, brother. You need to give her the option to come with us, and if she chooses to stay, I’ll help you through the full moon, just like you did for me that first time.”

“I know you will,” I say. “But for now, the plan remains. Aspen and Koda will stay to help finalize the alliance and ensure that River is able to squash the political unrest in exchange for contacting the Appalachian wolves. Tore, you’ll leave with me for home, where we can begin preparations and update the Lunar Mother.”

[ 17 ]

RAINE

Grand Prairie Compound