Page 17 of Pack Reclaimed (Blood and Moonlight 3)

“I am,” I agreed as I fought back the tears threatening to break free. She wiped her own away, then laughed.

“It feels so silly, but it just feels so good to know that we were all meant to be together. I’ve felt like I ruined this relationship for weeks because of my pact with Torryn. I guess now I know why I couldn’t let it go, let him go.”

“He was just as fated as we were,” I agreed. “I don’t have the same bias as the other guys, I know how hard former lives can be. Those without specializations were looked down on in our coven. I was ridiculed from the time I knew I had to hide my powers until the day we were taken. Here, I never had to question if I was less.”

“And you never have to again,” she promised me, placing a quick kiss on my lips before someone catcalled. She laughed and pulled me with her. “Come on, let’s go get dessert before the rest of the festivities start.”

As we ate our brownies and looked around at everyone talking and laughing, I’d never felt more at peace. This was our pack and honestly… it was perfect.

ChapterEight

Vanya

Inever expected the outcome of the ceremony to be that I was fated to all five of my men. I’d expected Holt and Torryn to be chosen mates and I was coming to terms with that. But this just further proved that we were meant to be together. All of us. Torryn had definitely proven his worth by saving Emma’s life while almost ending his own in the process. The fear I felt watching him tumble over the edge was something I would never forget. I could still see his terrified face when I closed my eyes, my chest feeling like a gaping hole all over again as panic and loss took over. Yet here he was, healed and fated to me for life.

The fact that Holt helped us find him and connected us with allies in the process just proved fate was a crazy and amazing thing.

Now Callum was giving his final speech and the wolves were moving to the edge of the forest, ready for our run. The moon was bright tonight, brighter than I think I’d ever seen it. I don’t know if it was just my new heightened senses or not, but it was breathtaking.

As I waited at the tree line, I could still feel all five of my mates. The tethers that now bound us were as strong as ever, not fading along with the runes that were once glowing on our palms.

The emotions that came through felt different than my own. Separate and distinguishable, but unexplainable. The texts at the archives talked about us possibly being able to use a mental link to speak, but we hadn’t exactly had a chance to try. Until now.

‘Can you guys hear me?’I asked, trying to project it their way which felt strange.

“What the hell,” Nyx gasped as he spun around while simultaneously clutching his head. He looked like he was having a mental breakdown and it had my laughter joining everyone else’s.

‘You would, little wolf,’Callum sent back to me. His amusement came through, loud and clear. I let out a small laugh, the excitement at having such a deep connection hitting me fully. If we were separated, we could likely still communicate, if I was taken, I wouldn’t be so alone. This changed… everything.

‘Can you hear each other?’I wondered.

‘I can hear you both,’Holt answered back.

‘If the others are talking, I just hear you,’Leven answered at the same time, the voices in my head overlapping. Okay, maybe this had some downfalls, I couldn’t imagine all of them talking over each other at once. This will definitely be a complicated learning experience.

‘I apologize in advance for all of the random thoughts that I send your way accidentally.’I laughed out loud at the thought of them being in my head. It’s pure chaos on a good day and on a bad day, a jumbled wreck.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach all of you how to shield each other. Nobody wants someone in their thoughts at all times,” Holt promised. “But, for now, I’m going to join the witches. It’s time.” He gestured to the line of witches already heading to the clearing they’d claimed earlier today. There was a large rune circle waiting for them along with the crystals and moon water jars they’d collected. It was nice to see their faces light up at all the help we’d given, it seemed most expected us to treat them like the witches would have treated us. From the stories I’d heard, they weren’t even kind to their own people.

We followed their lead and met along the edges of the forest. I didn’t even have to try to shift, my wolf taking over the moment I’d stripped down. The moon call was so strong tonight, I didn’t bother to check on my mates before bounding into the forest. My muscles burned as I pushed my wolf to the limits, and it was an exquisite feeling. It had been too long since I shifted and ran without fear. The tracker had tainted the last few runs, and I was ready to run without restraint as we were made to do.

My body felt stronger than ever, my energy rising with each slap of my paws on the forest floor. The pack moved around us, saying hello as they ran along with us, like they could feel the uptake in energy as well. The connection to our pack was strong, and I felt that sense of community and safety in every cell of my body.

On the third lap, I paused my run and rested on my haunches just outside of the rune circle so I could watch the witches. A soft glow spread from the moonlight to each of them like tendrils, connecting them to the moon itself. As they drew runes in the air, it seemed to add to the intensity of the moonlight. The fact that they were drawing from the moon and using the energy around them like a tangible thing was amazing to watch. Each swipe of their hands or draw in the air moved the light, manipulated it. Soon they had an entire audience of wolves watching them move.

A nuzzle in my side had me looking over to see Callum, pressing his wolf to mine and settling down next to me, watching our mate.

Holt turned then as if he could sense us, looking around at the wolves before his eyes landed on ours.

‘Is that you?’Holt’s voice echoed in my mind and I let out a small yip in answer. He walked over, hesitant at first, but he grew steadier when we ducked our heads to show him we meant no harm. His fingers were shaking as he touched our fur, then as he stroked with more purpose, I shivered, the feeling so strange. No one had ever stroked my fur before and it felt strange, but amazing. Callum rolled over, exposing his stomach which had a laugh bursting out of Holt.

“I have to get back, go run, this is boring,” he said. Clearly he didn’t see himself how we did, as an amazing witch with power and charisma that drew us in.

We took his warning, running again through the dark forest, pockets of moonlight guiding our way. Reaching inside of myself, I followed the bond, finding my mates across the Bluffs and cutting through town to catch up to them. Just being close to them had my excitement building all over again, their energy thrumming through the bond. Nyx was the first to surge forward, tackling me the moment I was in sight. I rolled over, nipping at him so we tumbled through the forest. Leven joined in, tackling us both and flipping us over so he was on top. Callum didn’t want to let that slide, tackling Leven the moment he let out a triumphant huff.

Torryn stood aside like he didn’t belong, but I wasn’t having that. I snuck out from under the puppy pile and tackled Torryn. We never played in our old pack, and he let out a surprised grunt when I tackled him. When I nipped at him, he tried to kick me off with his back paws. I let him get the upper hand before tackling him again. This time, he bit me back, tugging on my tail. It was a moment of ridiculous silliness, but by the time we were standing again, I was breathless and happy. Tonight was ours, with nothing getting in the way.

When we got to the edge of the forest, I shifted back. The others followed suit and like the bond brought him here, Holt walked up, eyebrows raised to his hairline at the sight of our naked bodies.

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