Heart of the Pack

by Jenny Frame

  “The Alpha.” Caden rushed from the room.

  *

  Caden shifted and followed the trail of destruction and the Alpha’s scent down to the edge of the forest. She saw the Alpha up ahead, roaring, slashing, and smashing her claws repeatedly on a huge tree trunk.

  It was potentially suicide to approach a dominant wolf in such a state of grief, but she had to help her friend.

  Dante scented her and turned around to face her. She looked terrifying, snarling and growling. If Leroux had been here, she would have torn her apart.

  Caden approached slowly and submissively. Her eyes lowered, tail between her legs, ears back, everything to show she was not a threat.

  Alpha? Let me help you, please. I know you want Leroux’s blood. We will get it.

  At the mention of Leroux’s name, Dante launched through the air and knocked her Second to the ground. She snarled and snapped at Caden’s face, blinded by her rage.

  Caden did the only thing she could do, and that was to offer her throat. Alpha, I give you my throat, but please let me help you.

  The Alpha’s stormy eyes started to clear, and she saw her friend beneath her. Dante walked back and shifted to skin.

  Caden followed suit and kneeled down beside her Alpha, who had her head bowed and was breathing heavily.

  “Alpha, I’m so sorry.”

  Dante’s dark hair was slick with sweat, and her muscles taut with fury. She lifted her head and Caden saw tears of grief rolling down her Alpha’s face. “How do I tell her, Cade? How do I tell her when she wakes up that our cub is dead?”

  Caden had no clue what to say. She couldn’t imagine having to break that sort of news. “I don’t know, Alpha, but I do know when you do, you will be the Mater’s strength, and she will need you more than ever.”

  Dante wiped her face, trying to pull herself together. “I know. I have to be strong for her and the cubs.”

  They both stood, and Caden saw a look of cold, hard determination come over her Alpha.

  “I might not have been able to protect Eden today, but I swear to the Great Mother, I will find Leroux and tear her apart, piece by piece.”

  *

  Blaze and Flash found Dante and Caden in the forest clearing by the river. When Dante saw who they had captured, she charged toward him.

  “No, no! Please, Dante,” Kurtis screamed.

  She stopped inches from him and snarled, “Let him go, Wolves.”

  Kurtis fell to his knees and started to sob. “Thank you, oh God. I thought you were going to kill me. This was all a misunderstanding.”

  “Stand,” Dante said.

  Kurtis stood on wobbly knees and looked down submissively. Blaze and Flash stood behind them, barely restraining their rage. Caden stood at her Alpha’s right hand.

  “No, I’m not going to kill you.”

  Blaze and Flash started to protest, but Dante silenced them with a growl. “I’m not going to kill you. I just wanted to look into your eyes first, then make sure you die a fair and honorable death. Blaze? As you are higher ranked than Flash, you have the honor of killing this traitor. Flash, you must hold your wolf.”

  “Yes, Alpha,” they replied.

  “No, Dante, please,” Kurtis begged.

  Dante signaled to Caden to follow her and they turned and padded away. “Have at it, Blaze.”

  Kurtis starting screaming. “I hate you, Dante. I hope your bitch and that bastard cub inside her die.”

  Dante stopped, and Caden said, “Leave him, Alpha. Let us go back to our mates.”

  As they walked off, all they could hear were the sounds of snapping jaws and squeals of pain.

  Caden didn’t know how Dante would cope with the pain of losing a cub, and nearly her mate, but one thing she knew for certain was that she and the Mater would survive, with the love and support of the pack.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Smoke rose to the clear dark sky from two funeral pyres, set in a large forest clearing. As many of the Wolfgang pack as could crowd the space were there to witness and mourn the passing of two young wolves.

  At the front the first family of the pack stood together. Dante held tightly to her mate, who was still healing after her horrific injuries. Eden kept baby Conan close in her arms, and Megan held on to her pater for reassurance. Dion kept one hand on her mom, while holding Tia’s hand with the other. The sounds of grief and the crackle of the fire echoed across the clearing.

  Beside them, Caden and the elite wolves and their mates stood in order of precedence. Caden held Lena in her arms, breathing in the scent that brought calm to her wolf.

  Dante walked forward and approached the fallen wolves’ families. She embraced each wolf in turn and said, “Thank you for your sacrifice.”

  “Caden?” Lena whispered.

  “Yes, Goddess?”

  “I’ve never experienced anything like this. The atmosphere, the sense of loss, every wolf is sharing in it equally. It’s closer than family.”

  Caden gave her a soft smile. “That’s what pack is all about. We are a collective force. We live and die together. Every cog and every wheel is needed to make us work. We are nothing without every wolf around us, and you are part of that now, Lena. You are pack, and you will never be found wanting again. I will love you and protect you until I stop breathing.”

  Lena looked up and placed a kiss on Caden’s cheek. She knew she had found her place of safety, her place of acceptance, but she would never have believed she would find her liberation in the strict regime of a werewolf pack.

  Dante addressed her pack. “My wolves, we come together to honor Jinx and Kai, two wolves who laid down their lives for their pack mates, and pack land. We will never forget their bravery or sacrifice. As they make their way to the everlasting hunt in the Great Mother’s forest, it falls to us to make their sacrifice worthwhile. An act of war was committed against the Wolfgang pack, and I know you will all stand with me as we take our vengeance on those who have sought to harm our peaceful way of life.”

  Dante turned and faced the glowing pyres and thumped her chest in salute. “Good hunting, Wolves.”

  The rest of the pack followed suit and joined in as Dante led them in a long haunting howl.

  *

  Lena was getting dressed for her special day in one of the Alpha’s guest bedrooms with the help of her new close friends, Eden and Stella. She was looking at her dress in the mirror, and all she could hear was her mother’s laughter. You can’t wear something like this, my baby elephant. You’ll look ridiculous.

  Her dress was a long forest-green elven-style dress with a long train of chiffon. Eden and Stella had helped her choose it and assured her it was the traditional dress for a wolf wedding. When she chose it she was high on excitement and loved the dress, but now on her mating day her anxiety was taking control and destroying her confidence.

  She broke down in tears. “I can’t do this. I look horrible and I’m just going to embarrass Cade.”

  Eden was beside her in a second and held her in her arms. “Stop that now. It’s just nerves. Stella, would you excuse us a moment?”

  “Of course, Mater.”

  When she left, Eden got her a tissue and said, “Here, dry those tears. You have got nothing to worry about, Lena. You look beautiful. I wish you could see what Caden and all of us see in you.”

  Lena wanted to believe her, but after a lifetime of beating her down, her fears were hard to let go of. “I try, but it’s hard. Caden should have a wolf, a wolf like you or Stella.”

  Eden caressed Lena’s cheek tenderly. “As Dante’s mother told you, the Great Mother picks out a mate before we are born. So if you didn’t accept your love for her, and hers for you, she would be alone for the rest of her life. Is that what you would want?”

  She hadn’t thought of it that way, and Lena did trust that Caden loved her. She always showered her in affection and utter adoration. But leaving her own gray, bleak world and entering this bright, lush forest wonderland someti
mes left her wondering if it was all just a dream, that she might wake up in her apartment in Salt Lake City alone.

  “No, I’d never want that. I love her. I just need to be enough for her, and to be part of your world, Mater.”

  Eden put her hand on Lena’s chest. “Lena, you saved my life and risked your own in the process. You are brave, honorable, and good. The Alpha and I will always be in your debt. Without you, we might have lost each other as well as our cub.”

  The emotion in Eden’s voice brought fresh tears to Lena’s eyes. “I wish I could have done more.”

  “No, you risked everything for me. We shared my blood, and it now runs in your veins. We are bound forever in friendship. No one deserves to be one of us more than you. You are pack. Understand?”

  Lena wiped away her tears and found a surge of strength from inside her. “Yes, I understand. I’m ready, Mater.”

  *

  Caden strode purposefully into the sacred forest where the bones of their ancestors were buried. A platform was set up among a clearing in the trees, and the sunlight streamed down through the leaves above.

  The pack stood around the platform and parted to allow Caden through. Behind her, the elite wolves followed in procession. They were all dressed the same, in white open-necked shirts, black trousers cut off at the shin, green velvet capes with silver clasps, their feet bare. Caden’s cloak had gold braiding and a gold clasp to signify her rank.

  She reached the bottom of the platform and saw Dante sitting on a wooden throne. Dante’s cape was trimmed in thick fur.

  Dante looked down at her and winked. “Who are you and why do you come here today, Wolf?”

  Caden replied in a loud booming voice, “Alpha, I am Caden, Second of the Wolfgang pack, and I come here today to be joined with my mate, Selena Miller.”

  Even as the words came out of Caden’s mouth, she still couldn’t believe it was happening. She never in her wildest dreams imagined that she would be doing this or saying these words, but she wasn’t in the slightest bit scared. This moment was what she was born for, and she couldn’t wait for the next phase of her life to start.

  Dante waved her up onto the platform. “Approach, Caden, Second of the Wolfgang Pack.”

  Caden walked up to the top of the platform and bowed her head. Dante rose from her ceremonial throne and opened her arms out wide to speak to the assembled pack.

  “My wolves, Caden has come before us today to join with Selena Miller. Selena, if you wish to join with Caden, Second of the Wolfgang pack, come forward now.”

  The pack around the platform split into two and a line of submissive women and men, all mates of the elite wolves, walked forward and branched off to the side of the platform, leading the Mater and Lena into the clearing.

  Caden gulped hard when she saw Lena. She was the most beautiful she had ever seen her. Her hair hung loosely in ringlets, and a crown of small white flowers lay atop her head. The forest-green dress trailed off in a train at the back, but in front it was shorter, to show her bare feet.

  “I can’t believe she’s mine,” Caden said softly to Dante.

  “She is, my friend. She is yours forever,” Dante replied.

  Eden led her up onto the platform and gave Lena’s hand to Caden to hold, then took her place at Dante’s side.

  “You look stunning, Goddess,” Caden whispered to her, and Lena blushed.

  Dante held up her hand. “Are you Selena Miller?”

  “I am.”

  “And do you wish to be joined to Caden, the Wolfgang pack Second?”

  Lena looked at her mate nervously, and Caden gave her hand a squeeze of support. “I am Selena and I wish to be joined to Caden.”

  Dante smiled happily. “Then let us begin.”

  Eden handed Dante the oathing stone that Caden and Lena had picked out. On top were two mating rings, each set with a beautifully cut version of the rainbow moonstone Caden had given her. Dante took the stone and held it up in the air. “May the Great Mother bless this stone and these moonstone rings, and may she bring happiness to Caden and Lena, and many happy years together.”

  She then offered the smaller of the rings to Caden. Caden lifted it and had to take a few deep breaths to calm the emotions inside her. She and Lena hadn’t slept under the same roof for a week as per tradition, and it had been torture for her not to be near Lena. Now they were going to be joined and Lena would never be separated from her. The wave of happiness was overpowering. She lifted the ring and asked for Lena’s hand.

  “Selena Miller, I pledge to be a true and faithful mate, to protect you from all harm with my life, to love you, and I promise that you will never go without food or shelter. Will you be my mate?”

  Lena gave her that smile that turned her heart to mush. “I will be your mate, Caden. By taking your ring, I promise to be a faithful mate, to care for you, to love you, and to give you everything you need.”

  Caden slipped on the ring and kissed her cheek. She smiled with pride as she watched Lena look down at her ring with wonder.

  Lena then placed the larger ring on Caden’s finger, making their pledge final.

  This is it. You’ve done it, Wolf.

  Dante asked them both to take the oathing stone in their hands. “The oath you take today is indivisible. Do you both swear in front of your pack to never break the vows you make today, and to keep them till death and beyond, when you enter the Great Forest?”

  “We do swear, Alpha.”

  “You are now mated and can enjoy all the privileges and responsibilities that brings.”

  Dante reached out and took Eden’s hand and pulled her close. “Today, my wolves, the heart of our pack is complete. While Caden and Lena kiss to seal their bond, let us come together and proclaim our joy to the Great Mother for bringing Lena to us.”

  The Alpha threw her head back and howled, and all the other wolves followed suit.

  Caden pulled Lena to her and said, “I have you at last, my Goddess.”

  “And I have my hunter.” Their lips came together and they both moaned. Lena pulled back and breathed heavily, “Take me back to our den.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  While the rest of the pack feasted and celebrated, as tradition dictated, Caden and Lena set their oathing stone by a tree selected by Caden’s ancestors. Their stone sat atop a mound of others, and it struck Lena that she was part of something now, part of a long line of family, of pack, and as much as it hurt that her own birth family rejected her, she now had new family, a pack who would always support her.

  Caden pointed to some of the older stones. “This was my mother and pater’s stone, and this Grandpa and Grandma’s. I never thought in a million years I’d be doing the same thing.”

  Lena slipped her arms around her mate’s neck. “And are you happy you are?”

  “Can you not tell by the stupid grin on my face?”

  She rested her head on Caden’s chest. “I know you are. I feel it every time you look at me.”

  “Now for the last part of the mating ritual.” Caden stood back and started unclasping her cloak.

  “What is it?” Lena wondered why she was stripping down to her skin, out here in the forest. She wasn’t going to…or was she?

  “I am going to take you back to our den. The den is now yours to do with as you please. I’m going to make improvements and make it bigger, but—”

  Lena silenced her with a kiss. “Take me back to my den, Wolf.”

  Caden growled and started to undress quickly. She piled her clothes up and shifted. No matter how many times Lena saw it, the process still gave her the same sense of awe and just a little bit of fear, but as soon as Caden was in her wolf form fully, she felt safe. The wolf would never hurt her.

  She held on to her wolf’s ruff, and they walked in quiet companionship, until they arrived at the den.

  Caden shifted back to skin in an instant and stood up slowly. Lena gasped as she did. The sight of her mate, muscles taut and eyes wild, made her ho
t.

  Lena’s breathing began to shorten as Caden approached her. Caden nuzzled her neck and growled. “I want you, Goddess. I want to make you scream.”

  She grasped Caden’s shoulders and dug her nails in. “And I want to make you howl, Wolf.”

  Caden picked her up and carried her upstairs to the bedroom.

  Lena was ravenous for Caden. She felt hot and in desperate need of an orgasm. One thing she had noticed since she’d mixed blood with the Mater was that her sex drive had risen exponentially. Maybe it was a combination of that and meeting Caden, but every time she was in her presence, all she could think about was Caden, raw and needy. Thrusting into her and making her come.

  “Take it off,” Caden said looking at her dress.

  Lena carefully took off her glasses and flower crown and laid them to the side. Caden was looking at her with hot, predator eyes and was barely in control. As she took off her dress, she heard Caden’s low growl, and she was instantly wet and throbbing inside.

  She quickly disposed of her underwear and paused before she unclasped her bra. There was still some small part of her mind that was anxious about the way she looked. Caden stepped closer, placed one hand on the back of her neck, and caressed her cheek gently with the other. “Don’t you know by now how beautiful you are? I worship you, Goddess.”

  “Thank you for seeing me, when no one else did.” She took off her bra and dropped it at her feet.

  Caden’s wolf teeth erupted and she ran her tongue over her elongated canines. “I want you, mate.”

  Feeling confident, Lena took her nails and scratched Caden’s torso, and that broke her mate’s restraint. Caden lifted her and threw her on the bed, before crawling up her body and claiming her lips aggressively. Lena’s legs parted and Caden’s sex slid into place quite naturally.

  Caden dragged her teeth down Lena’s neck, causing her to grasp at Caden’s shoulders and wrap her legs around her hard, muscled ass.