Page 10 of Fated In Winter

She had been heartbroken and had forced the soul of the human to realize what he had done by merging it with the soul of the wolf.

From there, wolf shifters were born and spread all over the world. There are hundreds of Packs, all with their own histories and hierarchies and abilities to do much good and much terror in the world.

But with all of that, in order to create the new generation and to build upon a Pack, there were mates.

The one person who could be the other half of your soul. Or third of your soul when it came to my parents and their triad.

You didn’t have to follow your wolf’s needs and desires when it came to creating a bond.

You could walk away. You could realize that there was someone else for you. The potential to mating was just that, a potential.

But my wolf was standing on alert, and he wanted the wolf in front of me.

And I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

Romy gave me an odd look, as if she could read my thoughts, and I truly didn’t want her to. I could barely keep up with my own needs just then, and I couldn’t focus, so I pushed all those ideas away. I would deal with it later. Or never. Maybe never.

And fuck, I just wanted to talk with Kaylee.

“Shall we go then?” she asked, studying my face.

“Yeah, sorry. Woolgathering.”

“A wolf woolgathering, now that’s an interesting thought.”

I snorted. “How many wolves in sheep’s clothing jokes do you think we get a year?” I asked, as we made our way through the forest.

“Probably not enough. We need more puns.”

“That sounds about right.”

I nodded at a few soldiers who walked past, and we made our way down the trail.

The Redwood Pack was located in the Pacific Northwest against that a face, but the Pack den itself was a series of homes and larger buildings amongst the trees. It was very nature-driven, and our entire goal with our den was to keep it eco-friendly. While the Pack was growing, we tried not to increase our environmental footprint. That meant we were on the front lines of ecological awareness. I loved the den. It smelled of earth, trees, and home.

Although far enough away, the Talon Pack was close enough that it was easy to visit every day. Our Packs were in the process of building a connection, a set of underground tunnels, to make it easier to connect the two Packs in case of war.

Through new technology and perseverance, our dens felt closer than they ever had before.

However, each den had its own set of wards. When the wards had been struck down during the war, all of our innocent had been vulnerable. But then, thanks to the sacrifice of some of my family members, and Romy’s Pack members, the wards were back. They were magical in nature, and it meant that it forced those who didn’t know the Pack existed to turn away and kept those who weren’t invited in out.

“Did the wards just let you in? Or did Quinn?” I asked.

Romy blinked, and since I had realized we hadn’t talked for a few minutes, she must’ve thought I was angry at her.

I cleared my throat. “Sorry, once again, woolgathering.”

“No, it’s fine. And the wards just let me in. I did go through the sentry’s area so that way they knew I was here, but the wards are magical, and just like you can easily go to the Talon den, I can come into the Redwood den.”

“But like you, I always go through the gates, so that way people know I’m there.”

“Exactly. It’s not like the Talon Alpha can feel you through the bonds and tell where you are in the den.”

“No, but I should ask my Uncle Kade if he can feel me if I’m in the Talon den.”

“He probably can. Gideon said that he could feel us if we are far away, but he wasn’t able to feel such long distances until Fallon came along.”

Fallon was the Alpha’s daughter and future Heir of the Pack.

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