by Raye Wagner
When Rage pulled onto our land, I stared out the window at the plowed and dried-up cornfields now harvested and covered with a light dusting of snow, the wildflower meadow likewise blanketed in white. Smoke puffed from the chimney of our cabin. I couldn’t breathe as I was suddenly overwhelmed with homesickness, only to be doused with terror as the pack trickled outside, likely brought by the crunch of our tires on the hardened snow.
I sucked in a ragged breath, trying to control the panic clawing through me. As if Rage could feel its hold on me, he reached back and grasped my hand, squeezing it tightly.
‘We’ve got this.’
I scoffed. ‘Really? Does my dad know Nolan is dead?’
‘Maybe.’ Rage grimaced. ‘Usually, the king sends a letter to the family.’
Usually. ‘What about fated mates? Does your douchebag uncle send letters about that?’ I was 85.9% sure no one told my dad about Rage and me. ‘Or what about the fact that we’re on the run from the king and maybe the High Mage Council, all of whom I’ve pissed off?’
He winced. ‘That’s a lot to catch him up on.’
‘Yeah,’ I snorted. ‘No one’s got this.’
And because I’d taken the magic oath when I’d boarded the boat for Alpha Academy, I wouldn’t be able to tell him anything. This was going to get interesting with hand gestures and broken words. Would it hurt when I tried to tell him? Or would no sound come out? I didn’t know how the spell worked to keep all that transpired at school a secret…
‘Maybe it would be best if I let you two talk—’
‘Nice try, mate. You’re coming with me.’
Rage nodded and put the car in park as Justice pulled up next to us.
“I’ll wait in the car until you give us the all-clear,” Elaine said. “This is so far away from official business…”
She was a foreign wolf, the wife of the alpha douche who banished my pack … I’d need to get my father’s invite for her to step foot on this dirt.
I nodded, and Rage stepped out of the car and opened my door.
“Shirt!” I whisper-screamed at Rage.
His eyes widened. “What?”
“You’re shirtless!” I gestured to his incredibly yummy washboard abs, but it was too late, my father stepped out on the porch, and his gaze jumped from me to the half-naked man holding my hand.
His brows drew together, and he clenched his jaw. “Nai?”
Emotions bubbled up in my chest, and a sob caught in my throat. This man might not have been my “bio” father, but he chose to raise me—he was, and always would be, my…
“Dad!” Running, I broke away from Rage and raced up the path. The cold air nipped at my nose and bit my cheeks, but none of that mattered.
My father wasn’t a very emotional man—being the alpha of a large pack will do that—but tears glistened in his eyes as I ran to him. The moment I hugged him, he wrapped his arms around me in a fierce embrace.
“Nai,” he whispered in my hair. Then, he cleared his throat, and his voice dropped, low and threatening. “You smell of blood. What’s wrong?” He pulled back and glanced at Rage. “Who the hell is the half-naked Midnight wolf? And why are you home early?”
I took in a deep breath, praying that I could somehow explain this to him with the spell in place.
“I’m half high mage, which I think you know, and we’re on the run because the alpha king wants to kill me.” Holy crap, I could talk. Maybe being half high mage meant the spell didn’t work on me? “He”—I pointed to Rage—“is Courage Midnight, my fated mate. His mother, the queen, is in the car as well as his brothers and two of my best friends from Harvest Clan. We need safety until my grandfather, Geoff, who is the high mage of spirit, arrives, because we’re going to bring Honor, one of the Midnight brothers, back from the dead.” Having run out of air, I sucked in a ragged breath and then smiled to soften the blow … or blows.
Eyes wide, my father stared at me, his eyebrows so high that I wondered if they’d hit his hairline.
“Fated mate?” His gaze went down to my fingers.
“Really?” I muttered. “Out of all that, you are stuck on fated mate? What about Grandpa Geoff, or bringing Honor back from the dead?”
He shook his head as if none of that made sense—because maybe it didn’t, and then ran his hand through his hair. “Nai, my sweet girl…” He swallowed hard and then brushed an errant lock of hair from my forehead. “I should have told you sooner, but everything I did was to protect you.”
I nodded. “I believe you.”
I was old enough to protect myself now, not so much as a defenseless child.
He looked at the car. “You trust everyone there?”
I nodded. “With my life. Ten times over.”
He dipped his head once. “Then tell all of them to come in, and we can talk.” At this, Rage opened the door to the sleek SUVs, letting our crew out. My dad kept his attention on me, and added, “Lona is making chili.”
My sweet Lon—always in the kitchen, always taking care of us. A grin pulled at my lips with the thought of her cooking. “With honey cornbread?”
He gave me a side-eyed look of have-you-lost-your-mind? “Of course.”
I glanced at Rage and the others climbing out of the cars, and then fear clenched me. Standing on the uneven boards outside our cabin, I forced a swallow. “Dad, you know the king will come looking for us, right?”
Pursing his lips, he nodded. But there was no resignation in his expression—and no fear. Just resolute determination. “And we’ll fight to protect you, daughter. Always.”
Pride for our pack and fierce love for my dad swelled up my chest, and my tears were back. As I mumbled my thanks, Rage escorted his mother up the steps. Thankfully, his dirty shirt was back on.
“Hello, Nathan, it’s been a while.” Elaine bowed her head low in a sign of respect. “I wasn’t sure if my sons and I would be welcome here.”
My father cleared his throat and extended his hand so she could grasp it—as he would to any guest. “Friends of my daughter are always welcome in Crescent Pack.”
She smiled, a tremulous release of the tension in her expression and her shoulders, and my father kissed the top of her hand, acknowledging her position as queen.
One million percent proud of my dad right now.
Rage thrust his hand out next. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.” His voice shook, just a little, and I had to suppress my grin of satisfaction, knowing he was nervous to meet my father. Ha!
My dad shook Rage’s hand once, short and firm. “What was up with the no shirt thing?”
All my puffed-up pride drained away, and I blushed the color of a tomato.
Rage chuckled, taking the question in stride. “We covered Nai and me in the back seat of the car so we could sneak out of the portal.”
My father nodded as if this was all normal conversation. He narrowed his gaze and looked Rage up and down. “Fated mates, huh?”
“Yes, sir.” Rage showed his marks to my dad. “It took me by surprise, too.”
“So, it’s snowing, and we don’t have coats on.” I pointed at the gray sky in Captain Obvious fashion, nervous about the direction their conversation was heading. “Besides, Grandpa Geoff could be here anytime, and I’m starving. Not to mention we don’t have much time left on the resurrect Honor clock. We should get inside.”
My dad took the cue and led everyone inside where I introduced Justice, Noble, Kaja, and Fiona. Dad acknowledged each of them with respect, and I had only enough time for a deep breath before…
“Nai!” Lona’s shaken voice came from the kitchen, and I burst into a run.
While I didn’t have a mother growing up, I did have Lon. We crashed into each other, and her scent enveloped me, lavender and earthy spices, this time from the chili she was cooking.
“Oh, child, how I missed you.” She squeezed the ever-loving life out of me, and I let her. I let her hold me for longer than was “cool” because I didn’t give two craps about
that. It was so good to be home even under dire circumstances.
A low rumble of laughter made me look up just a split second before my best friend, Mack, jumped into the hug. “What the hell, Nai? Did you get kicked out of Alpha Academy?”
He enveloped me and his mom in a bear hug, lifting us right off the ground. “And you managed to make friends with Midnight?”
“She’s my fated mate,” Rage declared, scooting over to my side in a testosterone-oozing way.
Mack dropped his arms to his side with a low whistle. Lon and I both pulled away and, still smiling, wiped at our eyes.
“And you are…?” Rage asked, sliding his arm around my waist as he eyed Mack—as if he were competition. I elbowed Rage.
“Mack and I have been best friends since diapers. He’s practically my brother.” I laughed. Lona literally raised us in the same crib. I had the pictures to prove it.
Rage relaxed and shook Mack’s hand.
“Where’s Callie?” I asked, inquiring about the third musketeer in our bestie group, craning my neck to look up at Mack. “And did you grow another five inches?”
“She’s at her house, but she’ll be right over when I text her.” He pulled out his phone, and I stopped him.
“Maybe later, we have … pressing business.” Then I looked at his mom. “Is there enough chili for seven more, Lon?” I asked.
“You bet.” Lon bopped my nose like I was five and led us all past the depths of the communal lodge toward our personal residence, which was connected via a long hallway. I remembered the nights my father held late-night pack meetings in the conjoined building. Mack and I would sneak down and try to listen in.
I followed after my dad, seeing the space with fresh eyes. The dark wood floors were worn in patches with plenty of gouges from wolves’ nails, and the ceiling here seemed lower after living in the castle-like dorm—even if ours had been rundown and dirty. But the walls had a fresh coat of paint, and the couches were comfortable and clean. One by one, dad took our guests to their rooms, promising fresh clothes and towels, which were promptly delivered by Lona.
My childhood home felt alien after being away. Kaja and Fiona got right into the kitchen to help Lona while I settled Elaine into the guest bedroom so she could freshen up. Unfortunately, Gramps wasn’t here yet, so we were just going to have to wait until he came. I decided not to panic … yet.
Dad skipped past my room with a sigh, causing me to raise one eyebrow, but before I could ask, he opened the door to another guest room and waved Rage and me inside. It hit me then … he didn’t take us to my room because it only had a twin bed. He was willing to let Rage and me share a bed, recognizing we were fated mates.
Whoa.
“You two can share this room.” My dad gestured to the queen bed, and then he shook his head—again.
“Uh, thanks.” I was too terrified to say anything.
“Nai, we should talk. There are some things about the past you should know—especially about your mother.” My dad indicated I follow him down the hall and away from the room, and I turned, both eager and terrified, to finally hear the whole story of that fateful night.
Rage squeezed my hand and then let go, stepping past me to enter the guest room, but my father held his hand out to stop him. “You too, son. This is as much your family’s story as it is hers.”
A stone sank in my stomach. How much did my dad know? Had he been there that night?
He stepped away from the bedroom and said, “Let’s go to my study.”
We followed my father down the stairs and into his office. After Rage and I were seated on the worn, brown leather sofa, Dad pulled his office chair out to sit in front of us. I’d spent hours, almost every single day, growing up on this couch, drawing, braiding my Barbie doll’s hair, and doing homework with Mack. But this was different…
“So fated mates?” my dad said, again, with wild eyes, looking more than slightly horrified.
Poor guy was probably in shock, so much info at once. Who could blame him?
Rage cleared his throat. “I feel I should tell you … I’m nothing like my uncle. I’ll do everything I can to protect Nai, and I respect her. More than that, I love her.”
My dad nodded, and his features relaxed—slightly. “Thank you for saying that.”
Awkwardness crawled under my skin, and before this could go to any further levels, I brought us back on topic. “So … about my mom…?”
My dad rolled out his neck. “Right … so what do you already know?”
I caught him up on the mid-year games, Honor’s death, and how Rage and I had made a trip to the Realm of the Dead where we saw my mom and funcle together, holding hands. Then I raced through the brief almost-respite at John and Sara’s, the selkie detour, and the skirmish with King Douche before adding what Elaine told us in the car.
Dad absorbed it all quietly, and when I finally finished, he nodded. “My brother Mackay was a troubled man those last few years. Even though he was alpha, he’d disappear for days on end. I can’t tell you how many times over those three years he said he didn’t want to be alpha and had me take over duties while he was gone. I knew he was keeping secrets, but I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t going to fight him for alpha status, I loved him too much—and even though your aunt Lilith raged about his absence, she wasn’t strong enough to do anything—at least not while Mackay and I were around.”
Clenching my own hands, I leaned forward. My father had never spoken of any of this. Ever. My breathing grew shallow, and my heart raced. The entire world disappeared as the truth of my birth was slowly unfurled.
“Then, one night, that night, he came to me in tears. My big brother stood in the doorway of my home on Shifter Island and said he’d brought death upon the pack. He begged me for forgiveness.” My dad closed his eyes and shook his head before meeting my gaze. “I thought he was drunk.”
I grimaced, every muscle in my body tensing for what was surely coming. Rage slipped his hand into mine and scooted closer so his body pressed into me—a subtle reminder I could lean on him if I needed.
“I was tired, and it was the middle of the night…” My dad’s expression took on that faraway gaze, and I knew he’d slipped back into the memories—reliving them. “I asked him what the hell he was talking about—told him to stop being dramatic. I grumbled about wanting to go back to bed … then this ethereal angel of a woman stepped out from behind him, and that’s when I met her.” Reaching out, he touched a lock of my silvery-white hair. “Your mother, nine months pregnant, breathing through a contraction.”
He paused, and I stopped breathing, feeling Rage still beside me.
My mom. In labor.
“Mackay went to her side,” my dad continued, “took her hand, and showed me. They had mate marks just like that.” He pointed to Rage’s and my interlocked fingers.
“All those missing nights,” I mused.
My father nodded. “He was with her.”
Could I blame them? Nope. I’d do anything to be with Rage. Rules be dammed.
“Were they running from something?” Rage asked. “My mother said they seemed shaken by the time they got to Midnight Pack lands.”
My father curled his lip in disgust. “Yes, son, they were. Elia said the High Mage Council knew her baby’s father was a wolf and that they’d kill the baby. Their laws are very strict. Elia and Mackay wanted Shifter Island to be a safe place for their baby.”
“What happened?” Rage asked, echoing my thoughts.
My father took a deep breath. “I suggested they hide there, on Crescent lands. Our pack would rally behind Mackay. He was the alpha. But Mackay said that they’d never be safe without the support of your father, the alpha king. The longer he talked, the more certain he became that he’d be able to talk reason into Valor, and the wolves wouldn’t bow to the high mage’s kill order. Nor would they step foot on our Shifter Island lands without the alpha king’s permission.”
I swallowed hard. “So who killed them?
”
He sighed. “Your mother’s labor was progressing, so I went with them to the castle. It was only a short distance from Crescent lands.”
My father was silent for a long moment. The silence stretched until I thought I might go mad. Jumping from the sofa, I shouted, “Dad! What happened?”
My father shook himself.
“Valor offered to help. I was floored. The alpha king hid us in his guest house, but a moment later, Declan arrived, pounding on the door and screaming about a high crime. I don’t know how he knew, but he did. Valor said he’d talk sense into his brother.” My dad swallowed, and his voice dropped. “Val said to wait, and then he slipped out the door.”
Nausea rolled into me.
My dad closed his eyes and seemed to be holding back tears before he continued. “Elia was in full-on labor. Valor and Declan were both fire elementals, but Mackay didn’t think either would fight each other over this, nor would they use their magic so close to the castle and the school. When Valor screamed, and we smelled … smoke … Mackay told me to stay and help Elia with the labor before he left to try and help his friend…” My dad opened his eyes and looked at Rage. “Your dad. Mackay was a water elemental. That’s why…” His voice cracked, and my dad forced a swallow. Shaking his head, he continued, “I’m sorry, while Elia silently gave birth to Nai, Declan slaughtered Valor and then Mackay, burning them alive in the garden.”
“No!” Rage jumped up and grabbed at his face.
The pained expression my father wore looked like he’d swallowed acid. “I wanted to help, but … I was literally delivering a child. By the time Nai took her first breath, I knew Mackay was gone. I felt it through the pack bond.”
Rage’s hands shook, and I stepped over to the couch, sinking to my mate’s side to rub his back. The entire time, my mind raced a mile a minute.
