Alpha Queen

by Callie Rose

  “But I’m not even sure what I did differently—”

  “I know,” I cut in, excitement racing through me. “It was me. When I felt you, I had to let you take me. I think maybe you’re just not quite strong enough to pull one of us with you if we aren’t willing to go. If we aren’t actively supporting the attempt. With practice, I think you’ll be able to do it without our help.”

  She returns us both to our bodies in the backyard, and we waste no time leaping up to race into the house. Dare, Trystan, and Ridge are sitting around the coffee table in the living room with battle plans spread across the surface as they hash out details for the upcoming fight.

  I let Sable deliver the news of her success, grinning as she adds, “And now we want to test to see if I can carry all of you in with me.”

  We join them around the coffee table, settling in close together. I explain what they’ll feel when she reaches for them, and how they need to basically let go of their physical forms and give themselves over to her essence. Then Sable closes her eyes and dives into the astral realm. A moment later, she tugs me after her.

  The process is easier this time, and I’m not sure if it’s because I know what to expect and am better prepared to help her, or if she’s already growing more skilled at this. Either way, the fact that we repeated it is a good sign. It means it definitely wasn’t a one-time fluke.

  I sit beside her on the couch in the pseudo mating cabin. Worry darkens her eyes, and I rest a hand on her knee, turning a little to face her.

  “You can do this,” I tell her, well aware that I’ve repeated that phrase a dozen times since we started this mission. But I’ve meant it every single time. “Concentrate. They know what to do, and they’re ready for you. Bring the rest of our family here.”

  Sable nods and wipes her palms on her pants, then closes her eyes.

  One by one, she drags Dare, Trystan, and Ridge into the cabin until we’re all gathered together in the astral realm, brought here by the bond we share.

  “Damn. This is fucking epic.” Trystan practically tips his head back and howls, excitement filling his voice. “We can rip Cleo apart.”

  “Assuming I can do this again and take you somewhere I didn’t create,” Sable points out wryly.

  “We’ll keep practicing,” I assure her. “Until you feel totally confident with it.”

  “What I feel right now is tired,” she says with a wan smile. “Let’s go back. I need a break.”

  I feel a subtle release in energy, and then I snap back into my consciousness on my living room floor.

  Ridge lifts his hands and looks down at them, clearly impressed. “Mind-boggling. Well done, little wolf.”

  A rose glow rises in her cheeks, and she shrugs. Then suddenly, her voice echoes in my head. I can’t believe that actually worked.

  I jerk, surprised. The other three alphas each react the same way, their gazes snapping to Sable.

  “Did you guys hear that?” I ask over the beat of my heart in my ears.

  Dare nods. “Mind speak.”

  And we’re not in wolf form, I add, thinking the thought as loudly as possible.

  Their gazes move from Sable to me, indicating that they all heard me.

  My mate’s eyes widen. “Did you just… talk in my head?”

  “I did. And you talked in ours,” I tell her. Excitement and shock are buzzing through my veins, and I shake my head in amazement.

  Ridge rubs his hand over the dark scruff on his jaw, studying Sable with interest. “It must be a byproduct of our connection changing. Deepening.”

  “Transforming,” I correct him. “I have a feeling it’s only the beginning of what we’ll discover between the five of us. So much of our mate bond breaks all the established norms. There’s no reason to think it’ll stop here.”

  A brief silence falls over us, and I know they’re each taking the time to absorb this new development. It’s incredible, and it could give us yet another advantage in the fight against Cleo and her coven.

  More than that, it makes me feel closer to all four of the people in this room with me. Not just to Sable, but to the other three alphas too. Being able to share my thoughts with them doesn’t feel weird or uncomfortable. It feels right.

  But before any of us can speak again, in our minds or otherwise, howls rise up outside the cabin.

  Ridge stands abruptly, motioning for us to follow. “Amora’s back.”

  24

  Sable

  We make it down Archer’s street and onto the main road that bisects the village before we find Amora and her team.

  Thankfully, they all look well—no blood, no injuries, so they clearly weren’t ambushed, though they do all look exhausted on their feet. They’re already in human form, bedraggled and dusty from the long journey while they tug clothes over their naked bodies. The rush to dress isn’t something shifters usually worry about. Nudity’s just a fact of life around here.

  It doesn’t take long for me to see the reason why they’re pulling on clothes though. They’re not alone. Gwen’s walking with them.

  Gwen.

  Seeing the mountain witch sends a rush of memories cascading through me. I’m surprisingly happy to see her, and not just because I hope she’ll help us. I was intrigued by Gwen when we met her, and even though she’s a bit strange, I like her.

  Actually, maybe I like her because she’s strange. She’s different than any other witch I know.

  The lone witch is tall and willowy, but her lean body boasts the kind of muscles a woman can only get farming the land and taking care of her homestead alone. Every single muscle has a purpose and was earned by hours outside working the land. Her pale red hair is pulled into a long ponytail at the back of her head, and she’s dressed for travel—hiking boots, blue jeans, a fitted t-shirt in hunter green that only intensifies the spring grass color of her eyes.

  She reminds me of an older, paler Amora. Self-sufficient, a bit of a tomboy, and with a look of steely determination lining her face. She has sunglasses shoved up on top of her head and a backpack draped around her shoulders. The corded strength in her biceps looks almost as deadly as Amora’s. All those years chopping firewood, I’d guess. I’ve tried it. It’s hard work.

  My footsteps slow a little as I near the group of them, and the members of the recon team hang back as Gwen and I approach one another.

  The witch rakes her gaze over me, then offers me a hand. She narrows her eyes a little before cocking an eyebrow. “You look less like a frightened deer now. You’ve been practicing?”

  Embarrassed, I duck my head to hide the blush I can feel heating my cheeks, but take her hand in mine. “Almost every day. I’ve made progress.”

  “Good. I knew you had it in you,” she says approvingly. That hint of a southern drawl colors her tone and makes her words slow and easy. Her palm is dry and rough with calluses as we shake, then she releases me and looks around.

  Faces are appearing in the windows and doors around us, and I can feel the discomfort radiating from her. When was the last time the hermit witch saw people en masse? Much less an entire village of them. The packs have come a long way toward accepting me as their own personal witch, but a stranger is a whole other story. More than a few shifters cast suspicious glances her way, and a few more look just freaked out enough to do something stupid, if given half the chance.

  “Archer,” I say, turning to find him behind me, standing side by side with my other mates. “Could we maybe take Gwen to the meeting house? Get her off the road?”

  Relief touches the witch’s gaze, and she nods her thanks at me.

  “Of course,” Archer replies without pause. He shifts his gaze to the redheaded witch. “Please follow us.”

  Ridge pauses by Amora and asks her to track down a few shifters to prepare food and drink for Gwen and her wolfish escorts, and I leave them chatting quietly to fall into step beside the witch.

  She seems to miss nothing as Archer, Dare, and Trystan lead us through the villa
ge. I can almost see her calculating an escape route and planning her method of self-defense, should the need arise. And I can’t really blame her. It’s honestly surprising Amora was able to convince her to come. Now she’s surrounded by strangers who hate her for the magic she wields.

  Which means it’s my job to make her feel safe. I brought her here, and I’ll be damned if I let her feel uncomfortable without at least trying to fix it.

  “Thank you for coming. The journey went all right?” I ask, glancing over at her as I keep pace with her long strides.

  Gwen nods. “Unremarkable. Your friend Amora is a gracious host.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” I say, and I mean it. “Did she tell you why we asked you to come here?”

  “A bit,” Gwen says. “Mostly, she made it quite clear that you’re in trouble with Cleo, and that was enough to convince me to come.”

  I nod. The hardness of her voice when she says the coven leader’s name only reinforces my hope that she’ll side with us. “Thank you for that. I know you don’t know any of us, not really, and you have no reason to take our side over hers.”

  The witch’s jaw tightens. “I’ve got reasons to take anyone’s side over hers.”

  Before I can respond to that, Archer holds the door open to the meeting house and motions us through. The interior is dim and cool, a nice respite from the growing afternoon heat outside. I motion for Gwen to take a chair at the large round table, then seat myself across from her so that we can see eye to eye as we chat.

  My men station themselves around me—Ridge and Archer in the chairs on either side of me, and Dare and Trystan standing guard behind me. An edge of unease thrums through the bond we share, telling me without words that they’re on the fence about Gwen’s presence.

  I know that most people don’t do things for others unless they get something in return. Hell, I learned that lesson the hard way, living under my uncle’s iron rule. I’m just hoping the bargain I have to offer her is enough to convince her to stay.

  As soon as we’re seated, a team of shifters arrives carrying snacks. They pile pitchers of iced tea and lemonade on the table, cold bottles of water, and an array of finger foods they likely pilfered straight from their own kitchens on the fly.

  Once we’re all sufficiently fed and watered, I set my own glass of lemonade aside and fold my hands on the table as I catch Gwen’s gaze. “I won’t beat around the bush. I know you don’t want to get involved in our fight with Cleo, but I’m hoping that once you hear what our plan is, you’ll be willing to help us.”

  Gwen nods. She keeps her fingers wrapped around her already condensing glass, as if the cool surface on her fingers can chase away the hot, dusty feeling she must have from the journey here. “I’m listening.”

  “We’re going after her.” I say the words bluntly, doing my best not to color them with any of the dozens of emotions bouncing around inside my chest. “We know where she and her coven hide, and we’re gunning for her.”

  Gwen raises an eyebrow. “This is sudden. Before you showed up at my cabin, you didn’t even know who Cleopatra was, much less that you share a bond with her.”

  “She’s discovered the bond,” I say, “just like you feared she might. She’s tried to kill me through that connection more than once—but that’s the least of her crimes against us since we last saw you. You already know that she kidnapped one of our wolves and tortured him for information regarding our defenses. Then, armed with the knowledge that she tortured out of our shifter, she and her witch army showed up and tried to destroy us all.”

  “Tried to?” Gwen says, her brow rising higher.

  “Yeah. Tried to.” A smidgeon of pride fills my voice, although the memory of that day will always haunt me. “The three packs banded together to fight, and we held them off. We kept them from wiping us out, and we made them pay for the attack with their own losses.”

  Gwen readjusts in her seat to lean forward and look at me curiously, eyeing through slightly narrowed eyelids as if I’m an oddity. The last time she looked at me this way, I was leaving her cabin to race home before Cleo attacked the East Pack village.

  “It sounds like you have this well in hand,” she says finally. “So why am I here?”

  “We’re going to march on the coven’s hideout and finish this once and for all.” My jaw tightens a little as I speak the words. “But in the meantime, we can’t leave our children and elderly here alone. And we can’t spare any of our best fighters to remain behind to protect them.”

  “Of course not. They’ll need to be part of the front lines,” Gwen agrees, though there’s an undercurrent to her tone that says she sees where this conversation is going. I can’t tell if she’s intrigued or irritated by the prospect of what I’m going to ask her. I did, after all, drag her from the safety and security of her cabin to ask for a favor she has every right to deny.

  I take a deep breath and calm my nerves as much as I can. “I’m hoping you’ll be amenable to a mutually beneficial relationship.”

  She huffs a breath, regarding me somewhat warily. “What could you possibly offer me?”

  “Well, for one, I think you hide in the mountains because you’re afraid Cleo might find you,” I point out. “If Cleo’s out of the picture, I imagine you’ll feel safe again. The coven has become strong and cruel under her reign, and we think they need to go. I’m pretty sure you feel the same?” I lift the last few words into a question, asking for verification that I’m on the right track, but she remains mute and expressionless. So I go on. “Even if you don’t want or need to leave your mountain, if she were gone, you could. I think there’s something to be said for having that choice.”

  Gwen taps a finger against the side of her glass, her face thoughtful. “Keep talking.”

  “Secondly, I’m offering an allied partnership. If you remain in the village and protect our families, we’ll protect and provide for you no differently than if you were a member of this pack. We’ll trade goods with you. We’ll provide you security, should you need it once you feel safe to leave your mountain. And most importantly, we offer you friendship and a place to turn to when you need it.”

  “No, most importantly, you’ll be eliminating my longest and greatest enemy. You could have just started with that,” Gwen says dryly. Anger and pain flash over her face as her gaze goes unfocused for a moment, like she’s lost in some memory. “Cleopatra has poisoned her coven. Some fervently follow her, believing all the lies she tells them. And others are too afraid to speak out against her. A few of us did speak out. We challenged her. And I was the only one who survived the confrontation. The man I loved wasn’t so fortunate.”

  Her lips quiver just slightly before she presses them together, forcing whatever emotions are rising up inside her back down. She takes a shaky breath and stares down into her lemonade for a few seconds before she speaks again.

  “I’ll tell you, Sable. I don’t think you have much chance of beating Cleo. You don’t understand how long she’s been honing her powers. She didn’t take control of the coven with just her winning personality. She took it by force.”

  I nod. “I know. I’m not underestimating her. Trust me. But I’ve been working on my abilities, and something new happened recently. Something that I think has the potential to turn the tides.”

  Gwen motions with one hand as if to say well, get on with it. The earlier vulnerability I saw on her face is gone, and I wonder fleetingly if she meant to tell me about the death of someone close to her, or if the words slipped out by accident.

  I don’t want to press for more details though. Everyone’s private pain is their own, and I don’t need to know the specifics to understand that Gwen is even more of a kindred spirit than I thought at first. We’ve both been through hell, and Cleopatra is at the root of our pain.

  So instead of asking her any more questions, I tell her about the fact that I can pull my mates into the astral plane with me. I explain about our mind link, and the dream, and how I’ve manag
ed to recreate the phenomenon intentionally. How I intend to keep practicing right up until the moment we attack.

  Her jaw is hanging open by the time I finish speaking. She lets out a deep breath and sinks back against the back of her chair, swiping a hand back over her ponytail. “Wow. Just… wow. To be honest, I sat here at first thinking you were out of your fucking mind for wanting to take on Cleo and the coven. But this… holy shit, this might be the answer.”

  My heart picks up its pace in my chest, and I clutch the edge of the table, trying to keep my excitement from running away with me. “Do you really think so?”

  “Absolutely.” She nods, her green eyes burning. Her stone-faced expression has melted away, replaced by an almost religious zeal. I can see in her features the hatred that she’s nurtured against Cleo all these years. “Attacking her within her mind with your wolves by your side? It’s brilliant. If the five of you can take her down from the inside, the whole empire will fall. The coven won’t stand a chance—she’s the driving force behind their anger, the one who constantly stokes their rage with her bitterness. And Cleo won’t be able to fight as dirty if she’s locked inside her own mind.”

  “So will you help us?” I ask, then hold my breath as I wait for her answer.

  Gwen nods. “Yes. I agree to your bargain. I pledge to protect your lands and your people as if they were my own. I’ll keep them safe until you return.”

  My relief is immediate. Those who can’t fight with us will be protected while we’re gone, which means our men and women will fight stronger, faster, and better. They’ll be able to throw themselves into the battle without worrying so deeply about those they left behind.

  I stand, and Gwen does the same. The two of us shake hands over the tabletop. The men have remained silent this whole time, letting me take charge on this like I asked of them, but now they greet Gwen and thank her for her service to the pack. We all refill our glasses, and the guys bring out maps and battle plans so we can fill Gwen in on what’s happening.