Page 52 of Sinful Shifters

"There's plenty of food in their storage. And the pack is thrilled to feed an alpha's mate. Beyond thrilled, in fact."

Sighing, I tell him, "Thank you."

It feels nice to be a part of a pack that's proud of me instead of hateful.

I can feel every single one of their bonds. It takes me a long moment to figure out that it isn't just the Mountain Pack I can reach out to anymore. The Sky Pack is there as well, through my bond with Lucian and his claim as alpha.

They're a hardy people, but they need fresh blood. "Speaking of the Sky Pack, how are we going to rebuild their numbers?"

"There are plenty of warriors out there waiting for them," Thale reassures me. "Just like Mountain Pack was rebuilt with lone wolves and warriors, Sky Pack will be rebuilt the same way."

I munch on a block of cheddar cheese as he goes on.

"They'll be drawn to the territory now that a new alpha has been installed. Many of them will be lone wolves, but others will come from neighboring packs. They don't realize it, but they're meant for this pack instead, and their pack bonds will bring them here."

A memory rises up, and I smack Lucian on the shoulder. He yelps, but I'm too wound up to care. "You lied to me!"

"What? I mean, I'm sorry about that, again?"

"Not about taking over the packs. When I saw the difference in the threads among the Mountain Pack warriors. You said it was nothing, but I was seeing something real."

Sheepishly, he admits, "You're right. You were sensing the fact that not all of them were meant to be with the Mountain Pack."

"How is that possible?"

Everett explains, "The four packs in this area used to be called the Destiny Packs. They were linked in more ways than one. They used to freely trade members, immigrating back and forth quite often."

"That sort of thing is common enough in packs," I point out, amending, "but usually it only happens after loss or tragedy, or if a pack has too many ambitious young warriors."

But Lucian tells me, "The four packs used to trade as much as a quarter of their population. There was free movement back and forth. It was so common that wolves would pick their pack first, and then their intended."

They continue to explain that the witches of our coven will move too, and the Sky Pack's stray witches will form a sister coven just like the Mountain Pack. They'll soon begin to trade members as well.

Ancestral magic-practicing witches will be drawn to the earth element of the Mountain Pack, while potions witches will be drawn to the element of water in the River Pack. Artificers will come to the fire of the Fury Pack, and summoners will arrive in the Sky Pack. Each of the elements has their strength, and with summoning witches rare in the modern age, Lucian expects to see more of them as he grows the pack.

"Of course, that will take decades," he says, making me nearly choke on a bite of ice cream as I luxuriate in the heat of my bubble bath. "Remaking this world is not a task for the impatient. Luckily we've all been around long enough to wait."

"Speak for yourself." Adar yawns and stretches his arms above his head. "My Fury Pack will be recruiting artificers from all over the world if that's what it takes to build up our coven. I don't care how far I have to stretch the pack's nomadic territory, we'll do what it takes to grow our strength."

Speaking of—I wonder how the secretive Fury Pack is doing. They're nomads, traveling through Appalachian territory and rarely settling for longer than a year or two. Even when they do stick to one place for a while, they're always roaming, nearly as mobile as lone wolves.

But far more powerful, and one reason why the vampire covens in the area have never taken a foothold, if legends are to be believed.

I've met only three members of the pack, each time when they arrived in our territory to trade. Which makes me wonder how we'll find them.

As if on cue, the doorbell to the alpha's house rings. Lucian heads out to fetch it, and I reluctantly admit that my skin is pruning. Thale helps me from the bath and kisses me sweetly, while Adar fetches me a towel he's warmed himself. Everett wicks the moisture from my hair for me, and I find myself wedged between three powerful, enormous men, their lust burning inside my belly.

I wonder what it would feel like to take three knots.

And if they'll ever cooperate enough to pull it off.

Before I can even so much as speculate on it, though, Lucian's alarm comes racing through the mate bond. I hear him in my head, and can tell that he's connected to the others as well.

The scouts I sent out looking for Teller and Klaus have found signs of their army. A straggler they interrogated with Ali told us that they've discovered the Fury Pack's location,he says, making Adar immediately tense and growl.It's... not good.

Chapter41

Adar

---