Wolfish: Fateborne

by G. K. DeRosa

  “Sierra?”

  I tipped my gaze up to meet Hunter’s.

  “Just focus on me.”

  Weaving my arms around the back of his neck, I did just that. The music drifted through the crisp night air and as I closed my eyes and leaned into Hunter’s chest, I was transported back to that night at Arcane Academy.

  Hunter tipped his head forward, and his warm breath tickled the shell of my ear. “Dance with me? We can fight later.” I wanted to say no, to insist on talking now, but my head bobbed up and down. Hunter’s warm fingers closed around my hand, and he tugged me forward. Instead of heading toward the dancefloor, he led us to a quiet corner of the great hall. The talking, the laughter, the music all fell away, leaving us in a peaceful bubble all our own.

  Hunter’s arms wound around my waist, drawing me into his firm chest. The heat that radiated from his body scorched my bare skin. In the best way. My hands traveled up his silky jacket to rest on his broad shoulders. He began to move slowly, rocking from one foot to the other and my body moved with his.

  There was no stumbling, no awkwardness. For the first time in my life, I was dancing and actually enjoying it. I floated over the parquet, my golden dress set aflame by the candlelight as he twirled me in a tight circle. Hunter pulled me closer, his arms pressing me to his chest and a sigh rumbled in his throat.

  “You feel so good in my arms,” he whispered.

  * * *

  Hunter’s nose nuzzled my ear, nudging me back to the present. “You still do.”

  The vivid memories faded, and I focused my gaze on my mate. “I still do what?”

  He pressed me tighter against him, so close it squeezed the air from my lungs. “Feel so good in my arms.”

  I arched a brow. “You were listening in on my thoughts again!”

  “No, I was right there with you. Every time I hear this song, it’s all I can think about. How stupid I’d been back then not to tell you the truth right away. I don’t know how you put up with me for so long.”

  “Samesies.” I shot him a playful wink. “Thank the goddess you finally came to your senses.”

  His hand caressed my cheek as his eyes locked on mine. “I’ll never, ever, make a mistake like that again. You know that, right?”

  I nodded quickly. Somehow, I did know this time. I could feel his conviction through our bond. Every time he pushed me away was to protect me, as misguided as he’d been, his intentions had been pure.

  “Good.” He brushed his lips against mine, and the chaste kiss ignited something deep in my core. “Because I have big plans for us, Sierra Wildstone.”

  A broad smile split my lips, mirroring Hunter’s. His happiness surged through our bond, the breadth of it filling me so fully I could barely breathe. “Let’s get out of here,” I whispered.

  “I thought you’d never ask.” Taking my hand, he weaved us through the bustling crowd. As the myriad of wolves watched us, I plastered a smile on my face, doing my best to look as unintimidating as possible. I had to win these people over somehow. The sooner I did, the better it would be for all of us.

  Hunter stopped abruptly at the edge of the dancefloor, and I smashed into his broad back. My wolf stirred inside me, and I rose to my tiptoes to see over my mate’s shoulder. Brax and Connor stood beside two females, and the excitement in my packmate’s hazel eyes rocketed through our link.

  The tether around my heart tightened as I scanned the girls—twin girls. My mind whirled back to the picture of Grams with her daughters.

  “Sierra, it’s—” Braxton began, but I cut him off.

  “Lily’s daughters,” I breathed.

  Hunter’s head whipped back and forth from me to the females and back. “The missing Mystics?”

  My legs propelled me forward, and I wrapped the wide-eyed pair into a hug. Tears stung my eyes as I finally released the girls to arm’s length and scrutinized every inch of them. “I’m sorry,” I blubbered, “You both look so much like my mom.” They had the same dark hair, blue eyes and heart-shaped face. The three of us could’ve been sisters.

  Braxton waved an impatient hand at me. “This is Aster and that’s Amaryllis.”

  “We’re so happy to finally meet you,” said Aster.

  Though they were identical, Aster was a hair taller than Amaryllis and had a slightly more oval face. But even if they had been indistinguishable, I would’ve known them anywhere. My wolf recognized theirs.

  “And I’m ninety-nine percent sure Aster is my fated mate,” he finished, jerking me from my thoughts. A ridiculous smile was spread across his face as he stared at my half-cousin. A small grin graced her delicate lips, and the thrum of their matching heartbeats rushed the pack link.

  “I think you’re right,” I uttered. My heart soared as the implications of the twins’ appearance zipped through my muddled thoughts. Females, two females! Until we figured out this whole making Mystics thing, I had two new female wolves for our pack.

  Holy shift! I wanted to jump up and down and scream or cry, which one I wasn’t quite sure.

  “Where have you been?” I finally managed. About a hundred questions swirled in my mind, but this was the first one to pop out.

  “We grew up in Celestia,” Amaryllis answered. “An archangel took us in and kept us in hiding all these years.”

  “So you know everything?”

  They both nodded, lips pressed into grim lines. “My dad told us what was happening before he left us and went back for Mom. When they never returned, we knew the worst had come to pass. They left letters for us with Mazriel, and she’s been like a mother to us.”

  “How did you know to come now?” Hunter asked.

  “Word spread that there was a new supreme alpha. Mazriel kept abreast of the situation in Moon Valley since we left. She told us it was time to return.”

  I picked up my jaw from the floor and sucked in a breath. All this time, they knew. A tiny part of me was angry, but could I really fault these girls for wanting to remain hidden to survive? If they’d come earlier, they could’ve ended up like Connor’s mom.

  “Why don’t you come inside?” Hunter motioned toward the entrance to Silverstalker Lair. “You must be tired from your trip, and there’s much to discuss.”

  The girls looked at me, and I gave them a reassuring smile. “This is our new home, and now it’ll be yours.”

  Braxton laced his fingers through Aster’s, and the girl leaned into him. It was as if they’d known each other for years, instead of being complete strangers. Gods, the mate bond was crazy. Connor moved beside Amaryllis and led them toward the entrance at the foot of the hill.

  “I can’t believe this,” I whispered to Hunter as we trailed behind.

  “I can.” He dropped a quick kiss on my cheek. “I told you everything would work out as it was supposed to.”

  We stopped in front of the foreboding lair constructed into the side of the hill. If someone had told me a few months ago, I’d ever consider this place home I would’ve laughed in their face. But now, home was wherever Hunter was.

  He draped his arm around my shoulders and tucked me into his side. Together, we walked beneath the dark archway leading into the tunnels. The two sentinels at the door dipped their heads at our approach.

  “Welcome home, Supreme Alpha Aristaeus and High Alpha Sierra.”

  Epilogue

  One Year Later

  * * *

  Hunter

  * * *

  My wings flapped harder and faster as Silverstalker Lair appeared in the distance, nestled within the mountains of Moon Valley. Three days had been too long to be away from my mate. Unfortunately, my duties as supreme alpha often took me across Marlwoods to inane meetings with the other shifter high alphas. This latest trip was to Nocturnis, worse still. The situation in the vampire realm was deteriorating quickly, causing nothing but trouble for the feline prides along the border. The tiger alpha had urged me to meet with the queen directly which was what had brought me to the vampire realm once agai
n.

  After what Sierra and I had endured within the immortal territory, one hour was too much, let alone multiple days. My chest tightened at the other piece of news I was bringing back. Ransom.

  Lucien had warned us the transition would be brutal, but no one expected the extent of it. Even today, I’d had to plead with Carmen Rosa to see him. The vampires were even more secretive than the witches and allowing an outsider to see one of their own—and so out of control, was not something the ruler typically allowed.

  And now I understood why.

  I struggled to take in a full breath. The Ransom we knew was gone, and now I had to find a way to break that to my mate. He’d saved her life, and she carried that guilt with her every day. I could feel it, eating away. If only I would’ve been able to tell her that her old friend was fine, flourishing in his new life, at least it would ease some of that pain. She had enough to contend with in her new role as high alpha. But I couldn’t. And I wouldn’t lie to her.

  Now I understood why Lucien had been so tight-lipped about it.

  I released a sigh as my home grew larger, the dark stone edifice blotting out the skyline. Every flap of my wings drew me closer to Sierra. The mate bond thrummed with impatience, the desire to be near her, to touch her, to be inside her clawed at my core. The bond demanded it. Our connection became stronger by the day and being away from her was physically painful now. Most of the time, she came with me to these summits, but I’d come up with an excuse for her not to attend when I’d heard about Ransom’s precarious state. Hearing it from me was one thing but witnessing his deterioration was another.

  Shaking the thoughts from my mind as I had been for the past three days so that Sierra wouldn’t catch a glimpse, I pushed myself harder. I wanted to hold her already. I’d save the bad news for another day.

  The past year had been a difficult but extraordinary one, and though I was sure it wasn’t possible, I loved my mate more now than I did a year ago or even five. I’d been so sure I loved her just before the curse set in, and I likely did, but compared to what I felt for her now… it was nothing. Would I feel the same ten years from now looking back at this very moment? I imagined so. My love for her grew exponentially by the day.

  The guards at the entrance of the lair rose to their feet at my approach, their keen eyesight catching sight of me as I began to descend. I’d replaced most of my father’s sentinels with those of my own. I had a nice mix of Lunars and less—other wolves. Sierra had banned the use of the word lesser packs to refer to the others, but we’d yet to come up with a better name for them.

  How much longer? Sierra’s voice zipped through my thoughts and just the sound of her voice made my heart whole again.

  Landing in three, two, one. My feet hit the ground, and I darted toward the entrance at the foot of the hill. The guards parted to let me through as the door swung open.

  Sierra leapt into my arms, curling her arms around my neck and her legs wound around my waist.

  “Gods, I missed you.” I nuzzled her ear, her neck then moved to her lips as I pressed her body flush against mine. My nostrils flared as I detected a new, distinct scent on my mate.

  “Me too,” she whispered against my mouth, drowning away my thoughts.

  My hand cradled the back of her neck and tugged her lips to mine again. Tilting her head, I deepened the kiss as our tongues became reacquainted. “Too long,” I growled.

  “Umhmm.”

  That sound almost undid me. My arousal pressed against my zipper, almost painful. I needed her, all of her. Now.

  I turned us toward the main hall and began to sprint down the passageway, never releasing her lips, my hands cradling her behind. She laughed as I stumbled, too obsessed with worshipping her mouth to pay attention to where we were going.

  The sudden and deliberate sound of a throat clearing sent a tumble of curses to the tip of my tongue. I forced my mouth from Sierra’s and glanced over her shoulder. Vander and Cass stood in the middle of the tunnel. My friend looked mildly embarrassed while Sierra’s couldn’t keep the ridiculous smile off her face.

  “I’m glad you’re finally back,” Vander said.

  I raised my hand, stopping him. “Please don’t tell me you have something very important to discuss because I was about to do something very important with my mate. Who I haven’t seen for days.”

  Cass giggled.

  “I promise it’ll only take five minutes.”

  I muttered that curse I’d been holding back. Making Vander my supreme beta had been one of the smartest things I’d done, but he was almost too good. He kept me on my toes nearly as much as my mate. He and Cass moved into the lair a few months ago, and for the most part, it had been great, except for times like these. The enormous fortress had been too quiet for just the two of us, too many old ghosts lingered in the dark hallways.

  With Vander and Cass here, some of the light had returned. So we’d invited Sierra’s pack to move in as well. The place was large enough to house dozens of wolves, so there was no reason not to. Sierra seemed more at ease with her cousins and the boys all under the same roof. And now that Braxton was mated to Aster, I actually didn’t mind the guy.

  We were all one big, happy family. Except when my best friend was standing in the way of me making love to my mate.

  “One minute?” Vander offered.

  “Fine,” I gritted out, lowering Sierra to her feet. I dropped a quick kiss on her forehead and squeezed her hand. “Wait for me in the bedroom; I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  She nodded, and I could scent her arousal in the air. She was as ready as I was. My wolf growled in annoyance as I spun to Vander and trudged away.

  Sierra

  * * *

  I paced the length of the bedroom chamber as my wolf mirrored my movements within its skeletal prison. What was taking him so long? I’d practiced the words at least a dozen times since yesterday and somehow, they still didn’t seem right. Would he be upset? Happy? It was what we both wanted, but I never thought it would happen so quickly.

  We were mated wolves, a bond more sacred than marriage in the shifter world. I was twenty-one and Hunter was twenty-six, more than capable of… Oh goddess, I couldn’t even say the words in my own head. How was I going to tell him?

  Dragging my fingers through my wild hair, I thought about the past year. We’d been through so much, and there was still so much to be done. Wrangling the alphas of hundreds of wolf packs had been an eye-opening experience. I quickly learned how naïve I’d been in thinking they’d all just accept me because I offered them a couple seats on the council. But we were finally in a good place. I’d been forced to use my alpha power on more than one occasion, and I was sure there were still many that feared me, but I thought I’d won most of them over.

  And Hunter… the day before the supreme alpha confirmation ceremony, the bear high alpha had challenged his appointment. The fight had been brutal, but in the end my mate had won and along with it, the respect of the other high alphas of the realm.

  But a baby? Were we ready for that? I curled my arm around my barely visible belly.

  Then I wrung my hands together as I marched another lap. More than that, what would our wolf pup be? Dragos? Mystic? A hybrid or unable to shift at all? A thousand questions battled in my mind as I considered our uncertain future.

  I’d thought killing Tyrien would be the end, but it was only the beginning.

  Luckily, our baby wouldn’t be the only hope for the Mystics. Brax and Aster were both purebloods which guaranteed Mystic offspring. They’d completed their bond and undergone the mating ceremony only a few weeks after meeting. It couldn’t be long before they started a big litter.

  Then there was Aras. The warlock had a difficult time transitioning to his new wolfish life, but he was finally committed to the cause. Once he shifted, which took three full moon cycles, he was all in. With Cass, it was instantaneous.

  Yup, that’s right. My best friend was a Mystic. I’d been terrified to tr
y to create another wolf, but she’d volunteered and after months of insisting, I’d finally given in. Unlike with Aras, the small bite I’d given her hadn’t put her in a month-long coma. Instead, she’d undergone the change slowly, and by the following full moon she was one of us.

  I still couldn’t believe my best friend’s bravery. She’d said it wasn’t entirely selfless, that it was what she truly desired, but still. I thought she secretly hoped becoming a wolf would trigger a mate bond between Vander and her. It didn’t, but the two of them were so in love, they didn’t need a mystical connection to prove their eternal love.

  Despite the successful attempt with Cass, I hadn’t turned any more wolves yet. For now, our pack was growing and flourishing all on its own. And I knew if I had to, I could create more Mystics, thanks to the goddess.

  The door swung open, and Hunter appeared in the doorway. My heart flipflopped, my entire body humming from his presence.

  “Sorry that took so long.” His long legs ate up the distance between us, his hand reaching out for me. I curled my fingers around his palm, and he jerked me toward him. A breathless laugh escaped as he crushed me against his chest. He buried his nose in the crook of my neck. “Hmm, you feel so good in my arms.”

  “You too. I missed you like crazy.” My hands moved across the hard planes of his back, all solid muscle.

  “Not as much as I did.”

  “I don’t know about that.” My voice hitched. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

  His finger moved to my mouth, pressing against my lips. “I want to go first.”

  “But Hunter, I really—”

  He dropped to his knees, and my heart stopped. For an instant, my entire body ceased to function. Lungs stopped inflating and deflating, blood stopped rushing, everything.

  A beaming smile flashed across his handsome face, and I was certain I’d melt into a puddle right on the floor beside him. He reached into his pocket and revealed a little black box.