“I dunno, when the knot releases? Sheesh. She has bad timing all around. This entire period has been beyond strange.”

“You’re in a different world, and I’m not just talking about this realm. Once you’re back on terra firma, things will resonate more. You’re connected to the earth in a different way. I’ve heard no omega say she can hear heartbeats. Your powers aren’t physical, but emotional, don’t forget.”

“Don’t forget?” I immediately complained. “How could I remember? You guys didn’t tell me much.”

He sighed. “You’re an alpha in strength, in power, but you’re the softness to an alpha’s hardness. Where he can only protect and defend, where he will be aggressive to maintain those two stances, you are the mediator. You want to protect and defend, but not with aggression.

“Rather than start a fight, you’ll start a discourse. All while calming your alpha, whose instincts will be triggered, and all while managing to ease the fears of the pack—”

“Sounds like a full-time job,” I rasped, feeling slightly overwhelmed by just what he was saying.

Sure, there couldn’t be that many times when I needed to mediate, but thus far, Eli was butting heads with everyone on his council, which had to mean there’d be arguments in the upcoming days.

The pack probably wouldn’t like that I’d taken on three mates, two of whom were the loathed twins, who were suddenly in higher positions of power, and throw in the fact that I’d been transformed against my will?

None of that looked like it would make my days peaceful.

His hand moved over to my belly, and he tucked me tighter into him. “There is no need to worry,” he rumbled, sounding sleepy now.

Typical man.

“We’re here for you. That, even more than being the leaders of the pack, is our main role in this life.” He kissed my shoulder, and within seconds, was asleep.

And the truth was?

With his words? With his demeanor and behavior?

I could rest too, because even though the forest suddenly had a pulse, even though I could sense the animals wandering around, some of whom were warily eying the resting predators in the pool, I knew he was right.

Everything might be upside down, but he and my other two mates would always ground me.

And I thanked Kali Sara, and not the Mother, for that.

Twelve

Ethan

I stared at her, watching her watch the forest. We’d picked this particular tree so she could look at some rabbits…

Yeah.

Rabbits.

If Austin ever found out about this, I’d never hear the end of it, but what was I supposed to do? Crush that joy in her eyes? Spoil something that made this stressful time a pleasure for her?

Definitely not going to happen.

That was why I was sitting up in a tree, bark digging into my ass crack, all while I tried to figure out how the predator was watching the prey not like it was its next meal, but as if it was a documentary.

She was fascinated though, and not just by the rabbits.

No one really knew what an omega truly felt or didn’t feel unless they were an omega themselves, but I’d never seen Merinda sitting and looking at the local wildlife with that expression on her face.

Bewitched.

Enchanted.

More than that, relaxed. Contented.

I knew she hadn’t had much time to relax in her life, and that she was doing so now filled me with joy, even if I knew both of us were waiting on the next step.

We both knew that something was hiding in the shadows for us, but it didn’t seem to matter, and I was glad. It could have been a shitty time for us, what with what had happened beforehand, but instead, we were making it our own, and I’d admit to feeling a soul deep contentment that I never had before, simply because she was mine and I was hers.

The claiming was rock solid.

Not even a thing anymore.

It just was.

We were mates.

Simple fact.

I pursed my lips as I rocked back into the branch and, adjusting my dick to permit the maneuver, hooked my ankle around the thin spindly end so I could keep myself planted. I rested my hands on my lap and tipped my head back as I closed my eyes.

Ever since she’d started hearing the heartbeats, she’d wanted to find the animals she hadn’t known about thus far.

It told me her she-wolf was still weak if she hadn’t been able to pick up on the enticing scents in the forest, or maybe she just hadn’t wanted to hear them.

Even now, she knew…

Mother.

I just knew she was going to turn vegetarian or something.

I wasn’t even sure if shifters could be vegetarian, but if anyone would try, it would be Sabina. The way she was purposely wishing for food rather than going hunting… I knew I should make her, help her adapt. It was what we did. How we worked, after all.

We were hunters, for Mother’s sake.

But I wouldn’t make her do anything.

I liked watching her discover things for herself, and if anyone was going to decide that now was the time to start eating meat fresh from the source, that was on her. Not me.

And I’d get in Eli’s and Austin’s faces over that too if they gave her trouble. I doubted they would, mind you. It was clear from how we hovered around her that we were all whipped, and none of us gave much of a shit about that.

I sighed, appreciating the constant warmth that felt good on my bones, and the twilit sky that was comfortable on the eye. We were sensitive to light as a species, so this was perfect for us.

It fit.

This was our paradise, I supposed.

The Mother had built it for us, hadn’t she?

Was it somewhere like this where shifters came after they died?

I wasn’t sure I appreciated that thought process as much—

“We have too much living to do before we think about the end,” Sabina murmured.

My eyes popped open at that, but before I could reply, she straightened on the branch next to me. I watched her, cautiously wondering what was wrong. Her back was stiff with tension, and she reeked of worry. Considering she normally smelled beautiful, that instant change had me tensing and sitting up. Peering around, I tried to figure out what she’d seen, but even as I tried, I couldn’t see shit, so I asked, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Something’s here.”

Her words were low, measured, but I knew her focus was elsewhere.

I frowned at her, then gritted my teeth when she dropped down to the ground, sinking nine feet as though they meant nothing.

Considering I’d had to help her get that beautiful ass up here, that she could drop down so quickly and with no fear stunned the shit out of me.

I acted seconds after she did, dropping down behind her, but as I approached her, I heard her whisper, “I need a bow and arrows.”

When she was armed with them, I watched her stack them on her body, setting up like she was a pro.

All the while, I just stood there, gaping at her, because what the actual fuck was happening here?

My mouth dropped open, and I had no choice but to stare at her, gawk in fact, as I wondered what the hell she was doing.

Then, of course, I scented it.

A fox.

And the rabbits here were defenseless. Two parent rabbits, four little tiny…hell, whatever they called baby rabbits.