As I refreshed my finger, dabbing more and more blood from the fruit into the tiny pup’s mouth, I heard them.

That buzz that was close to a pneumatic drill in strength.

Quickly glancing over my shoulder, I saw their approach, saw the wolves start to dance out of the way, even as their yips and howls serenaded us at their disgust over the swarm approaching us.

Moving from Sabina, I took the other pup that had been born and placed it against its mother’s belly.

It was stronger, but still weak, so I did as I had for its sibling and nourished it with a few drops of blood.

When the buzzing grew louder still, I dropped the fruit in front of the mother, letting her snatch it and chomp down on the ‘treat’ before I grabbed the pup and placed it beside its twin.

Then, I got off my ass, dragged Sabina into a standing position, and hauled us both away.

She struggled for a second, but when I hefted her over my shoulder, there wasn’t much she could do.

I let her beat me, let her hands bang against my thighs, even as the buzzing grew to a fever pitch.

When the bright light shone, burning so hotly that it was like a supernova, I had no choice but to close my eyes.

Only, when I opened them, we were no longer in the clearing.

We were in the totem’s circle.

I released a shaky sigh, relieved to be back home, away from that weird ass place, even as I was left wondering what the hell was going on.

When I heard Austin mutter, “What the fuck? Where did they come from?” I quickly peered around the circle.

Unfortunately, even though I’d closed my eyes against the dazzling light, I was still a bit blinded, and I knew Sabina was the same because she rasped, “Austin? What’s wrong?”

My twin muttered, “A she-wolf and her pups, as well as a massive pack of naturals, just plopped into being, babe. That’s what’s wrong.”

My mouth dropped open. “You mean they came with us?”

“You knew about them?” Eli countered, and I glared at him. Even if I was half blind, I still knew where the prick was and where to aim my stare.

“Yes. I knew about them. No, I didn’t realize they’d be coming back with us.”

A cry escaped Sabina, but before I had the chance to freak out, she whispered, “They’re all alive, Ethan!”

My hands were caught and held in hers, and I had to laugh when she bounced up and down, especially when Austin said, “Babe, will you do that for me back in my bedroom at home?”

I grinned, snickering as I told her, “I’m so glad, love.”

“I can’t believe you knew what to do.”

“I didn’t.” I reached up and wiped my eyes with my forearm. “Damn, I’m still a bit blinded. Aren’t you?”

“No. I turned my head into your butt.”

“Aren’t you the lucky one,” Austin teased, making me roll my sore eyes at him.

Sabina giggled, which made my heart happy, then asked, “What do you mean, you didn’t know what you were doing?”

“I didn’t. Someone guided me. Just as they guided me to help you that first day we landed in Oz.”

“Kali Sara,” she whispered, “that’s so strange.”

“Not going to say it isn’t.”

“I mean, did I eat the fruit?”

“You were in your wolfskin. You saw how the bitch wolfed it down. Why wouldn’t you in that form?”

“Everyone’s a comedian,” Austin muttered.

I tugged one of my hands free and wiped my eyes, rubbing a little harder to try to get them back online.

Surprisingly, though I didn’t expect it to work, it did. I peered through the shadows marring my vision, and muttered, “Mother.”

“My reaction exactly.”

Eli’s dour words didn’t make me tense up. I knew what he was thinking.

We already had a pack of naturals living in the woods, roaming around. This pack was twice the size. There’d be challenges, and that was a damn shame, because we couldn’t afford to lose the naturals.

They were slowly going extinct from the way the humans kept on taking their territory, so we worked hard to bring them here, to tether them to this safe space.

“Maybe they’ll be okay,” Austin murmured softly. “I mean, these are freaky wolves. They’re not like the others, are they?”

Sabina tugged me over to the she-wolf who was licking the little pups, tending to them.

When her belly started contracting once more, I pulled a face as she tensed and released a keening cry.

A couple of minutes later, she birthed the placenta, and Austin muttered, “Well, that’s some shit I didn’t expect to be seeing today.”

He wasn’t wrong. I’d never anticipated this either.

Hell.

What I didn’t expect?

For Sabina to reach over, grab it, then wander over to the totem.

“She asked for yours—”

Sabina shrugged at Eli’s statement. “Doesn’t matter. I think the totem needs this too.”

Who the hell were we to argue?

At least she seemed to know what was going on, while we were just in the dark. Still, I could stand being in the dark so long as she was here with us.

The center around which we all orbited.

Our very own sun.

Thirteen

Austin

I sensed the council’s disdain the second we wandered into the clearing, but I ignored it because, as always, they looked at me and Ethan like we were pieces of shit. There was no change there, but I was looking forward to Eli bringing them down a peg or two.

I wasn’t sure when it would happen, just knew it would.

And that was a day I was excited about embracing.

As we stood there, beside the pedestal, with me at Sabina’s back, Ethan on her left, and Eli on her right, I watched as the pack trounced in, the totem messing with them, as was its way.

When they circled us, the supernatural pack of wolves, in turn, circled them, which immediately had tongues wagging.

“Brothers, sisters,” Eli declared, the second we were all in place. “I bring you here with great news.”

I could feel the anticipation in the air, especially since I knew people were still reeling from Brandon being taken off the beta pedestal.

While Ethan wasn’t a popular choice, Brandon was a prick, so he wasn’t that popular either.

And if I could compare popularity to one of us, that meant Brandon had been hated by the regular folk in the pack.

My lips twitched at the thought as Sabina took a slight step back, not stopping until our bodies purposely collided.

In her ear, I whispered, “You doing okay, sweetheart?”

“I’ll be glad when this is over. I’m nervous.”

My lips curved as I slipped an arm around her waist. Behind me, I heard some padding paws, the rustle of leaves behind the totem, and I knew who it was.

Or what.

The she-wolf.

The bitch was like my woman’s second skin.

I wouldn’t lie, my nose felt like it was pushed a little out of joint now that she had the bitch at her side, but how could I be unhappy that she had a constant guard? Someone who’d keep her safe no matter what?

I couldn’t be upset about that. If anything, I was fucking relieved.