Page 15 of Dawn Unearthed

“Come on, let’s assess the damage and see what we can do.”

The others began speaking in turn, going through everything that had happened since our last circle, while Alden slunk off to the side. I peripherally kept my attention on him and knew Trace was doing the same. We would have to deal with the triplet problem soon, but not now. Right now, I needed to ensure that everybody was safe.

I looked over to the other side of the circle, my lips twitching as three cubs came rolling in bear form towards me. I knelt and hugged them all close, watching their little paws waving in the air.

Others laughed, clucked their tongues, shook their heads. We continued our serious discussions of what we needed to do to clean up after the storm and going over any other pack business there was. All the while, three of our youngest members rolled around on the ground, their tiny little bear forms so small compared to the adults around them.

“You’re interrupting,” I warned after a moment. The littlest one, Honor, waved her little paw at me before scrambling up my leg. Jackson and Henry curled around my feet, so I sank to the ground and let the bear cubs climb all over me. An alpha on the ground in the middle of a pack circle might look odd to some, might not look like strength, but my father had always taught me that an alpha was only as strong as how they cared for their pack.

The bear triplets yawned widely at me before falling asleep in my arms, feeling completely safe and protected. Their parents were off to the side, shaking their heads. They trusted me with their perfect babies. I figured that meant I was doing something right in this whole alpha business.

“We’ll meet again in a couple of days,” I said after a moment. I stood with all three bear cubs curled around me, Honor leaning into my neck, Jackson and Henry against my chest.

“Keep vigilant. Something’s coming, and we all know it.”

“We’ve got it,” Ariel said.

Trace nodded tightly. “We’ll keep on the lookout.”

I moved to hand the cubs to their parents, a small smile playing on my face as Honor let out a chuffing noise. I shook my head and answered a few more questions before walking away with Trace.

“I’m glad the cubs came,” I said after a moment.

“They seemed to know that you needed a hug,” Trace said.

I laughed. “If you say something about a bear hug, I will have to hurt you.”

“You’re all bears, and they were hugging. But I’ll refrain. The pack will feel your bear’s unease soon. They’ll know something changed. Alden might already.”

I nodded tightly. “And if those who don’t want a witch in the pack find out first, Sage might be in danger,” I said after a moment, fisting my hands at my sides as my bear growled within me.

“We’ll protect her, but you should probably let her know what’s happening so she knows why she needs to be protected. She’s a new witch and doesn’t even seem to understand her power or the fact that magic is real. This probably isn’t the best time for you to say, ‘By the way, we’re fated mates, and you’re going to be mine forever.’”

“No, not even a little bit.” I let out a curse and growled again. “Something’s coming, I can feel it. And yet, all I want to do is go see where Sage is and make sure she’s safe.”

“I don’t envy you, brother. Not even a little.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but my phone rang. I looked down at the readout and answered.

“Jaxton, what’s up? Everything okay?”

“I took care of your little witch’s car, and Laurel is going to come and pick it up. Though I didn’t call to talk about that or the storm.”

I froze, uneasiness sliding through me. “What’s wrong?”

“As I was checking out the damage, I flew over and saw something we need to talk about.”

“What is it?” I asked again.

“Someone disturbed the graves. Disturbed them enough that I don’t think everything buried over time is still there. We’ve got a problem.”

I cursed. I knew that Jaxton was only stating the obvious.

Because if someone had disturbed the graves, we had more than a problem.

We had death itself.

And it was here. Waiting.

---