Pack Ruin (The Splintered Bond #3)

16. Leaving Mountain

16

Leaving Mountain

FLOR

“ H e’s a natural,” Glen murmured at my side as he watched Brand move from shifter to shifter, accepting their vows of loyalty. I hummed in agreement, but my gaze was fixed on Samuel.

He sat on a folding chair that was far too small for his frame, sipping a cup of hot tea that had so much whiskey mixed into it, I could smell it from a dozen feet away. His face was frozen in an expression that was equal parts pride, amazement, and awe, his dark eyes shining. I swallowed to keep the tears that had gathered in my own from falling.

Tears of gratitude. Samuel was wounded, but healing. He was no longer the Alpha of the Mountain pack, but he was still something . I could sense the residual power that emanated from him in gentle, almost comforting ripples.

When I’d asked Samuel if that was what normally happened when an Alpha handed over their power in front of the Council, he’d said no. “Shouldn’t be here,” he’d muttered, his shock making him sound like the nearly-silent giant he’d been when I met him.

“What he did shouldn’t be possible,” Glen murmured in my ear as a mated pair bowed together in front of Brand, and he laid his hands on their shoulders. “No shifter has ever been strong enough to do that.”

“He wasn’t strong enough,” I corrected. “You were. You and me and him together.” And Grigor, I thought to myself. I would have sworn I’d felt him, sensed him at the end, reaching out.

Glen ducked his head, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. A few shifters around us began whispering, and a couple even moved away. One of them hissed, “ Shame. ”

Instantly, Brand was there, facing them. “No,” he announced, and everyone went quiet, responding to the Alpha power that rolled off him in invisible waves. “Flor is your Alpha Mate. You will treat her with the respect you promised to me.”

A tall male, one I’d met at Southern in the Enforcer Games, pointed out, “She wears the mark of another shifter, Alpha. Glen’s mark. How can she be your mate, and his as well?”

His tone was not disrespectful, and that may have been why Brand only snarled. “You dare?”

I wasn’t sure why he was shocked. The looks I got weren’t all that different from the ones I’d faced at Northern. At least no one had yelled whore or witch this time. Of course, the night was still young.

Glen leaned down and murmured, “They’ve seen my mate mark? Have you been running around in a bikini, Dream Girl?” I elbowed him hard in the gut, glad for the distraction, though his mention of the hidden claiming bite made my inner thigh pulse slightly.

Brand held up his hands, and every shifter who’d arrived for the challenge sank down, listening. Then he nodded to me, though I stayed right where I was, holding Glen’s hand. I didn’t need to be in the center of the pack.

“But you are the center, Flor,” Brand said, obviously reading my thoughts again. I glared at him and thought very hard about the maggot-filled squirrel I’d once found outside my dorm room door back at Southern. He snorted a laugh, before he addressed the gathered pack.“The moon has made it clear to us that our packs have run down a path that leads only to death,” he said quietly, though his voice carried as if he was using a microphone. “Fewer wolves find their true mates every year. Almost no children have been born at the other main packs in the past decades. Even our own is dwindling, though our adherence to many of the old ways has kept us strong.”

My heart was swelling with pride, when I heard something. A whisper, a humming.

I need you, little one. Come to me.

Who was that? I concentrated while Brand talked about what needed to change at Mountain. The insularity that had led to the current mess. The isolationism that had allowed corruption to infect every pack.

The voice interrupted again, pleading. He needs you. I had a vision of Luke, in a bed, alone. Unconscious. I need you. Dark eyes, gleaming with red fire, flashed. Come to me.

“But you and her… and him. Those aren’t the old ways,” someone in the crowd shouted at Brand.

“No, they aren’t,” he agreed. “And my eyes are not my old eyes.” Those bright twin moons flashed. “The world we live in is not what it once was. For some reason, my love has been given more than one true mate.”The crowd burst into chatter, until he sent out another wave of dominance to silence them. “I am in her heart, in her very thoughts, and I tell you, there has never been a shifter born who was as brave and strong as this small female. If you do not accept her as my mate because her heart was made to hold more than one bond… then I will leave this pack, and you may find a new Alpha.”

A few shifters looked to Samuel, who shook his head. “I no longer have the force of an Alpha in me. My son did what no other shifter has ever done, a feat that always takes the power of death, or the power of the entire Council, a gathering of strong Alphas filled with the connection to all of their pack’s wolves, to effect. The moon has blessed him in many ways, the greatest of which is Her choice for his mate, who is more than worthy. If he leaves, we are all rogues. Packless and lost.”

He stood and walked to his son, then kneeled on the ground in front of him. “Before the moon, I vow to serve the true Alpha of the Mountain pack, Brand Becker.” Then he bowed his head to me. “And I vow to protect his mate, Florida Wills, from anyone who would dare to question her place at his side.”

All the grumbling stopped. I wiped my face, pretending to be annoyed at my tears. “I think I’m allergic to something up here. Pine trees, probably,” I grumbled when Glen handed me a handkerchief from somewhere.

Brand went on. “Mountain, I must warn you. The Council will not accept me, or my mate, or even the moon’s judgment that was made today. They have grown used to holding the power of the pack, of our pack, on their own leash.”A growl rose from the crowd, and Brand roared back. “I will not accept the collar of a corrupt Council leader, who has already imprisoned the Alpha and Alpha Mate of the Northern pack. Who has placed their deranged Head Enforcer, Torran, as a figurehead at Southern. Change is here, whether we are comfortable with it or not. War is coming, and we must be prepared to protect our home, and to shine the moon’s light on all the packs.”

The crowd burst into howls, shouts, and cheers, and as one, they rushed toward their Alpha.

Glen pulled me closer to Samuel, who shook his head at the raucous, fiercely joyful scene. “He’ll be the best Alpha we ever had. I’m so damned grateful I’ll be here to witness it.” His dark eyes speared me. “Brand needs to stay in the Den for the next few weeks at least, gathering our forces, preparing for the battles that will come.”

“Patrick is already doing the same at Northern,” Glen murmured. “How soon can Mountain be ready?”

“Normally? Months,” Samuel replied grimly.

“What… What do you mean, months?” We didn’t have time to wait. Luke needed me. Grigor needed me.

Samuel shook his head like he was clearing away cobwebs, and answered slowly. “Every pack member must travel to the Den and pledge their loyalty. The ritual must be completed before they go to war.”

“Shifters need a leader to fight effectively in a pack this large,” Glen explained. “Once the ritual is complete, Brand will draw strength from the pack, and the pack from each other. We may not even need Patrick’s army. Mountain will be unbeatable.” He sighed. “Even if they hurry, though, this pack is enormous. It will take weeks.”

Samuel grunted. “Good. That means we have time to read.” I blinked at him, until he explained, “I’m taking you back to the library.” He set his cup down and stood, but I didn’t take the hand he held out. I couldn’t.

“I can’t stay.”

Samuel frowned.

“I can’t stay here. Luke is dying.” I pressed a hand to my heart. “I can feel it inside me. He’s being kept alive by machines, but his spirit’s connected to mine. He’s draining all five of us.”

“All five?” I raised an eyebrow, and he sighed heavily. “Brand can’t go with you, Flor. He needs to accept the pledges, and then gather weapons for the fight.” He scowled. “If they figure out Luke is your mate as well—if they even suspect that you’re connected to the Heirs—they’ll kill him to get to Brand. Or Finnick, or Glen.”

Glen cursed. “We have to get Luke away from them, from Torran.”

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard his name. He sounded like a real rat bastard, but I’d dealt with plenty of those before. “I know every hiding place and rabbit path in that pisshole pack. If anyone can get in and out without being spotted, it’s me. I think…” I didn’t want to say Grigor’s name and set Samuel off again. “I think I’ll have help when I’m there. Someone on the inside. Just get me close, and I’ll be back with an extra Heir before you know it.”

Samuel nodded slowly. “You can’t fly. You don’t have identification, and the Eastern pack will have eyes on the airports around here. Eyes on the roads. They’re waiting to catch Glen leaving the borders. They know I won’t have killed him.” He scratched his beard in thought. “Can you drive?”

“Nope. But I’m a fast learner.”

Glen’s hand tightened in mine. “I’ll take her. We’ll drive to Southern. Not to the gates, but to the back of the packlands’ hunting grounds. Flor knows the way in.”

I gripped his hand back. Just what I’d never wanted: to go back to Southern. But I didn’t have a choice. Grigor was there, with Luke. I had to get them free before Brand declared war.

“Let’s get those books, Samuel. I’ll need some light reading on the way.”

Brand and I made love that night, over and over, until the sun rose, like we might never see each other again. Glen slept in his own room, though I could feel his presence in the bond.

When I asked, Brand admitted he could, too. “It’s not as odd as I had feared,” he said, as he toyed with one of my nipples. “When you claimed Finn, I didn’t feel much change.”

I shrugged, brushing back my hair, which fell past my shoulders now. Being mated to powerful males came with some side benefits, it seemed. My hair and nails grew super fast and strong, and I healed from small wounds almost instantly.

If only the pain from Finnick’s infidelity would heal as fast. He hadn’t done anything else, not since that first hour or two of what felt like acid in my veins. But I could still feel the ache, and wondered if it might happen again.

“Maybe Finnick doesn’t feel the bond at all,” I mused.

“I think he does. How could he not be longing for you? You’re perfection.”

I rolled my eyes, even though my insides were flipping around at his matter-of-fact tone. “You know, Cityboy and I only bit each other. We didn’t butter the biscuit.” Brand groaned. “What, you prefer baking the potato? Planting the pars?—”

He placed a hand over my mouth, his fingers covering half my face. “Please don’t use Grandma Ida’s expressions when we’re naked together.” His eyes, almost silver in the dim light of the bedroom, gleamed with humor… and heartache.

How could I get along without my Bearman? It was silly to feel so desolate at the thought. I’d been more or less alone for years, with only Del to help me when he could. But I’d grown dependent on Brand in a few short weeks. It wasn’t that I needed him to protect me. I mean, I wasn’t nearly as strong as him, but I was a hundred times meaner and sneakier, and even without my wolf, I could rain hell on anyone who tried to fuck with me.

But I would miss him.

“I’m in your thoughts, my love,” he murmured. “If you need me, I’ll know it, and I’ll come for you. Taking on this pack, being Alpha here, was only so that you and Glen would be safe. If I have to give it up, I will.”

I kissed him soundly, then scooted out of bed, hunting for my clothes. It was time to go. “No, Alpha Becker, you’re needed here. Glen and I can sneak out, and if they catch us?—”

He grabbed me up in his arms and kissed me again, his beard soft on my face. “If they catch you, if they dare to hurt you, I will bring down the Mountain on their heads.”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m swooning,” Glen sighed from the doorway. He leaned against the open doorframe with one hand resting at the top, and the other tousling his golden hair, a pose I’d seen on a romance novel cover more than once. “Bring down the Mountain? I never knew you had such a romantic side, brother. I’m not certain I can measure up.”

Brand grinned suddenly. “You never could, Glenda.”

Glen leaped across the room to tackle him. The two of them tumbled off the bed and around the room, wrestling and mock-snarling, until they knocked into the lamp and I punched Glen in the kidney.

“Ah, shit!” he groaned, falling to the floor, in real pain.

Of course he was in real pain. I was his true mate, and I’d just punched a vital organ. I winced. “Sorry, Glen, I forgot.”

He whined from his spot on the rug. “Forgot I was your mate? I see how it is. Brand gets your sweet side, and I get your —”He shut up when I lay next to him, reaching under his shirt to rub my hands over the spot I’d punched.

“Feel better?” I asked after a minute.

A sweet smile on his lips now, he stroked the side of my face, and I moved so that I could brush his curls back from his. He took advantage of the position, pulling me close for a long, lingering kiss. By the time he broke it off, my toes were curling and my core clenching like it was ready for more.

“Good morning, mate. I would ask if you slept well, but I know you didn’t. You can sleep in the truck.”

“Thanks.” I reached around to rub his lower back again. “All better now?”

“Mostly. It would feel even better if you rubbed a little lower, and around to the front…”

A flannel shirt landed on his face, and I was sailing through the air the next second as Brand picked me up and handed me my clothing, “Dean’s got everything ready. It’s time to go.”

Dean came up to us once we were dressed, shaking hands with Glen, giving a little bow to me, and handing over a set of keys to his truck. It was weird seeing him next to Glen. The two were wearing the same outfit, from the identical work boots to the Denver Broncos baseball caps that obscured their features from above.

I’d been confused about some parts of the plan, until Samuel had admitted that the Eastern pack was modern, which meant drones and maybe even satellites. “For all we know, they’ll have eyes on the front door of the Den.” That made sense, even if the idea of shifters using technology like humans made my wolf curl her lip. He went on. “Dean will be seen walking in. Then it’ll look like Dean is the one leaving, with Ida.”

“Ida?”

“You.”

My disguise was minimal, but effective, and it made me laugh when Dean handed me the pieces to pull on in the middle of the upstairs hall.

In less than a minute, I had one of Ida’s broad-brimmed straw sunhats covering my red hair, and a long-sleeved cotton dress over my own clothes. Apparently, Dean took Ida into a nearby town every week on this day to get baking supplies. We would leave the truck in the town and switch to another, older truck that Samuel had unearthed from somewhere on the packlands, and donated to the cause.

Dean bowed to Brand, murmuring, “Alpha.” Brand nodded back. I was glad Brand would have him as his Head Enforcer, or whatever they called it at Mountain.

Wait. Samuel wasn’t Alpha, so I wasn’t sure what Dean’s position was now. Had he lost his job?

“Brand? Who is your Head Enforcer going to be? Is it still Dean?”

“Mountain only ever used those titles in war, and when the Council insisted we have one for full Council votes. I’ve decided not to have one at all.”

Glen gave him a surprised look as we walked to the side door of the Den together. “We are at war, brother.”

Brand growled. “When we go to war, I may name officers. But I think those positions will be temporary.”

From our matching scowls, I knew we were all remembering the clusterfuck at Northern, when Glen’s parents had adopted wartime measures and kept them going, creating a permanent lower-class tier of vulnerable shifters who had no hope of rising to the rank their wolves deserved.

Still, the logistics of it confused me. Who would hold down the fort if Brand needed to leave the Den? “Won’t you need other shifters to help lead, when you’re not around or?—”

His grin stopped my words. “Flor, if everything works out, I’ll have plenty of help leading the pack. You, Glen, Finn, and Luke.”

I hummed, thinking, And Grigor, then winced as his smile turned into a frown.

“Do not bring that one back to the Mountain packlands. I know he claimed to be a suitor; I know he’s fascinated with you. But he’s a mass murderer, a conscienceless monster. Some of those books in your bag will tell you more about what he’s done. Read them. He’s not safe for you to be around. And I sure as hell don’t want him near our pack.”

My wolf bristled. Safe for me to be around? He was acting like I was some weak-ass bitch who needed a mate to protect her. Him calling it our pack was all that kept me from giving him a quick kidney jab as a goodbye present.

“Our pack,” Glen chimed in, opening the door. “I like that. I’ll pick my own title. Not Head Enforcer. Maybe… Chief Provider of Flor’s Orgasms? Senior Wolf in Charge of Flor’s Bliss? He Whose Name is Screamed Loudest by the Shared Queen— ow! Damnit, Brand! Now my shirt’s wrecked.”

I had to muffle my laughter as Brand pulled back his hand, the claws already retracting. Glen’s shirt sleeve was torn, and he was bleeding the tiniest bit, but when I pressed a kiss to his forearm, the cuts healed up instantly.

Brand pulled Glen close and murmured something in his ear, as they hugged in that way males did, where I wasn’t sure if it was an affectionate touch or if they were trying to break ribs. Our embrace was far more intimate, and painful in a way I had never encountered.

“I’ll miss you,” I croaked, when he pulled away, my face still tingling from his beard rubbing my skin as he kissed me.

“I’ll be right here,” he replied, tapping my head, and then my heart. “I’ll never be more than a thought away.” I nodded brusquely, then followed Glen out the door, fighting to keep my tears from flowing until I was outside of the pack’s borders.