Her Shifter Kingdom (House of Wolves and Magic Book 5)

by Helen Scott

  Chunks of organs did as well.

  I didn't know which organ, but whatever it was had made Jax collapse onto the ground. His wolf seemed to face away into the man that he was, who was currently bleeding out from a massive hole in his abdomen.

  Shock was written all over his face, probably not just from the fact that he knew he was dying or from pain, but from the fact that he knew he'd lost as well. I moved to stand over him, prepared to run at the slightest twitch of his fingers if I didn't like it, but he didn't, instead he just stared at me. Part of me wanted him to say something, anything, to admit defeat maybe or to apologize for everything, to say that he was wrong, but no words left his lips, only a sad groan of pain followed by his last breath.

  I turned to the side and dry heaved. If I'd had anything to eat I probably would have vomited, but all that was there was spit and some stomach acid at the very end. I retched again before I was able to straighten and once I did I couldn't look at my hand or at Jax's corpse, because that's what he was at that point.

  It didn't feel over, especially not with the sounds of fighting and gunfire still coming from the trees. I knew I should send up some kind of signal but there was nothing I could do that would be loud enough to communicate to everyone.

  A howl went up from behind me and I turned to see Micah's wolf with his head in the air, followed quickly by Blake who was still on the other side of the clearing. His injury was keeping him down, but he'd managed to shift so he could howl. The howls weren't mournful or sad, they were celebratory. Victorious.

  Responding howls went up from around the woods and the sounds of the fight stopped, no one knew who'd won yet, though I doubted Jax would howl, but as figures filtered through the trees I pulled myself up to my full height and raised my bloodied fist in the air. Jax's corpse was still at my feet and I wasn't going to move away from it until everyone saw that I had killed him. That the woman he thought weak and incapable of hurting him had actually punched right through his stomach and taken his life.

  Silence fell as people approached and the clearing filled with shifters. As they entered some of them cheered and some of them looked a little green around the gills. It didn't matter how they responded though, all I cared about in that moment was the fact that it was over and wanting to know where my mates were.

  Within seconds of me wondering they were there in front of me, Denver, Roman, and Tate, rushing toward me even though they were all a little worse for wear. I looked to each side and saw Micah supporting Blake with his good side while Blake was struggling to walk with one of his legs. Seeing them up and moving was enough for me to break down with happiness and start crying.

  We had made it.

  We had survived.

  And for a brief shining moment everything was hopeful.

  Epilogue

  Nina

  In the two weeks that passed since I killed Jax the world seemed to have gone crazy. Not only was Charlie the alpha of Thomas's old pack, but Wilma had been leading the charge on getting people to vote for helping us. Serenity survived the fight and though she was injured, she still remained alpha of her pack. We reached out to Nathan and persuaded him to come out of hiding for a meeting and for us to prove to him that Jax was well and truly defeated.

  The thing that was crazy was that I was considered the new alpha of Jax's pack since I was the one that had killed him. That was how things had always been done in that pack since I was little so it shouldn't have surprised me and yet... it did. So many of them had wanted me dead that the idea they were willing to listen to me and follow orders seemed strange. Too strange.

  I hadn't wanted to be anyone's alpha, I'd been adamant about that, and yet somehow I was.

  The compromise we'd come up with was me leading an alpha council. I wasn't any specific pack's alpha, but I was somewhat in charge. Which was why we were on the biggest stretch of neutral territory that there was between all our pack lands. Every shifter in the area was there and I was terrified of what was about to happen.

  My heart practically stopped in my chest when Charlie handed me the microphone. I stepped forward on the makeshift stage and looked out at the audience, my mouth going as dry as the Sahara. If it wasn't for the burst of love I felt come through the mate bond I may have frozen there completely. As soon as I felt it I looked down at my mates who were lined up in the front row.

  I could do this. I'd defeated Fenrir. I'd claimed five mates. This was just a speech. No big deal.

  "Welcome, I wanted to introduce myself to all of you, my name is Nina. I grew up in the Moonstone pack, which was Jax's pack. The day I took Jax's life was one that I will never forget and one I don't want to remember, but I will for your sake. The other alphas and I have come up with a ruling council. The way things will work going forward is that each pack will receive a new name, one that doesn't assign it to a specific person, but rather to something that means a lot to that pack. Once the pack is named and the alpha is agreed on, the alpha will join the ruling council with me, and the other alphas. Each of us will have a set of advisors that consist of pack elders as well as younger members. We want everyone to have a voice. We know that tradition is important, but we also know that we can't stay stuck in the past. We have to adapt and evolve. In learning to coexist as a group of packs that get along with one another, instead of packs that are constantly at war with one another, we will have a stronger community. The alpha's will each manage their own packs but we will meet regularly with each other and our advisors to make sure that everyone is still on the same page and—"

  The crowd parted like waves and down the middle walked Skuld. I hadn't had chance to go and check on her since the battle, and I figured she'd be going back to Asgard the moment she could anyway. Apparently, I was wrong because she was here and from the way people were reacting to her it seemed like a lot of them knew who she was or could at least sense the magic rolling off her.

  She climbed up onto the stage and took the microphone from me. I wasn't about to fight a Norn over who was talking and using the microphone. When she began to speak her voice was as clear as a bell and just as resonant, giving me goosebumps all over my skin. "Most of you know who I am by name but haven't seen me. I'm the oracle. I'm the woman who has been guiding the packs for as long as any of you can remember. That's not the only thing I am though." She paused and I had a moment where I wondered if she was actually going to tell them. Surely not, right? They'd just think she was crazy. "I'm Skuld, the Norn of future and foretelling. I'm been cut off from my people on this plane of existence for longer than any of you can imagine. Your elders have looked to me for guidance over the years and I have given it as much as I was able, but inevitably some ignored me. This is how we ended up in that nasty little situation with Jax. Now, I want you all to recognize these women, and man, in front of you as the ones that have changed the course of your history.

  "I will not be able to guide you from here as I am returning to my home, thanks to the hard work of Nina and her mates. You may not believe me but Heimdall is waiting to take me home. So I ask that if you believe in anything from your history, anything from the heritage that your ancestors have passed down, then you believe this. Jax was leading you down the wrong path. Nina and her alpha council will lead you in the right direction. Within the next three years I promise that you will see more children survive their first transition than you have in the last decade. You will see more true mate bonds form. You will see women who are able to survive child birth. You will see your packs flourish, but only if you stay the course. Now, if you'll excuse me I have some family to see." Skuld handed the microphone back to me and looked up to the sky. "Ready whenever you are, big guy," she said with a grin.

  A laser beam of light seemed to stream down onto the stage and I couldn't do anything except shield my eyes. When I looked again she was gone, and as I glanced around I realized she was nowhere to be seen. The woman couldn't move that quickly, or at least I'd never seen it before, so I had to assume that Heimdall
had come through.

  Satisfaction rolled through me. If nothing else went right after this point at least I'd been able to get Skuld back to her sisters and her home at the base of Yggdrasil. The silence that seemed to stretch after her disappearing act wasn't something I was sure how to break but Charlie came out and saved the day, taking the mic from me and proceeding to talk about our plans for the packs, the neutral territory we were currently standing in, and the community center we planned to build there that would be open to anyone from any pack.

  My mind was already away from this meeting and back at the home I was building with my mates. The six of us were creating a place that would be a sanctuary for all of us no matter what was going on in the world out here. I would support the packs and I took my role on the alpha council seriously but I also wanted my family to be private.

  Everything wound down as I was lost in my thoughts and it was only as my mates came up to me afterward that I was able to refocus.

  "You okay, beautiful?" Micah asked.

  I nodded. "It's just a lot."

  They all nodded sagely. "That's why you have us, love. We're here to help you shoulder your burden and to be your sounding board," Blake said.

  "We'll be whatever you need us to be," Roman added seriously.

  "If that happens to be your personal sex toy then we can do that too," Tate replied with a wink.

  "We'll help you however we can," Denver said quietly.

  My heart felt like it was bursting with happiness as the six of us walked away from the meeting. Serenity tried to get my attention but when Denver told her she could talk to me later she let us be. We walked into the woods as a family, heading to our home, even though it was only partially built. The main room we used right now was the bedroom and the massive bed we'd had installed, which I had a feeling was about to get another round of breaking in with the way each of them was touching me.

  The relief of everything being resolved meant that the mate bond had time to assert itself and we were paying the price for ignoring the physical aspect of it for so long. None of us could get enough of each other and I wasn't sure we ever would, I certainly hoped not, though there was only so long my body could function under the deluge of pleasure they gave me before I had to tap out. Right now I was ready for it though, ready for them, ready for our family to be who we were meant to be and to show the world what true love looked like.

  Also By Helen Scott

  Don’t forget to check out Helen’s other series!

  House of Wolves and Magic

  Her Dark Moon

  Her Fated Mates

  Her Shadowed Wolves

  Her Hidden Pack

  Her Shifter Kingdom

  Magical Midlife in Mystic Hollow

  (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen and L.A. Boruff)

  Karma’s Spell

  Karma’s Shift

  Karma’s Spirit - Coming Soon

  Immortal Hunters MC

  (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen)

  Van Helsing Rising

  Van Helsing Damned

  Van Helsing Saved - Coming Soon

  Prisoners of Nightstone

  (Cowritten with May Dawson)

  Potions and Punishments

  Incantations and Inmates

  Curses and Convicts

  Legends Unleashed

  (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen)

  Don’t Say My Name

  Don’t Cross My Path

  Don’t Touch My Men

  Twisted Fae

  (Cowritten with Lucinda Dark)

  Court of Crimson

  Court of Frost

  Court of Midnight

  The Hollow

  (Cowritten with Ellabee Andrews)

  Survival

  Seduction

  Surrender

  Salsang Chronicles

  (Cowritten with Serena Akeroyd)

  Stained Egos

  Stained Hearts

  Stained Minds

  Stained Bonds

  Stained Souls

  Salsang Chronicles Box Set

  The Wild Hunt

  Daughter of the Hunt

  Challenger of the Hunt

  Champion of the Hunt – Coming Soon

  Cerberus

  Daughter of Persephone

  Daughter of Hades

  Queen of the Underworld

  Cerberus Series Box Set

  Hera’s Gift (A Cerberus Series Novella)

  Wardens of Midnight

  Woman of Midnight (A Wardens of Midnight Novella)

  Sanctuary at Midnight

  The Siren Legacy

  The Oracle (A Siren Legacy Novella)

  The Siren’s Son

  The Siren’s Eyes

  The Siren’s Code

  The Siren’s Heart

  The Banshee (A Siren Legacy Novella)

  The Siren’s Bride

  Fury’s Valentine (A Siren Legacy Novella)

  Standalones, Shared Worlds, and Box Sets

  The Sex Tape (Cowritten with Serena Akeroyd)

  Spin My Gold (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen)

  Buttercup

  Neve

  About the Author

  Helen Scott lives in the Chicago area with her wonderful husband and furry, four-legged kids. She spends way too much time with her nose in a book and isn’t sorry about it. When not reading or writing, Helen can be found absorbed in one video game or another or crafting her heart out.

  Thank you for reading!

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  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank you most of all, as the reader, for giving me a chance to entertain you and invite you into my world. Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed it!

  A big thank you to my cover designer, Rebecca Frank, for helping me bring these books to life, and to my editor for making sure that the readers get the best possible version of the book.

  Thank you to my family for helping me pursue my dream and putting up with my wandering mind.

  Last, but not least, thank you to my husband for pushing me to share my stories with the world. Thanks for putting up with me every day, babe. You’re amazing!

  Her Hidden Pack

  House of Wolves and Magic Book Four

  Copyright © 2021 by Helen Scott

  Cover Design © Bewitching Book Covers by Rebecca Frank

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the brief use of quotations in a book review.

  This book is intended for adults only. The sexual activities represented in this book are a work of fiction intended for adults. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used fictitiously by the author. Any resemblance to actual places, events, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

 

 

 
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