Sean’s lips still tingled long after he left the alpha werewolf. No, not just an alpha werewolf—a double alpha. There could be no other explanation for the way his body reacted to the man before him. He never kissed men he didn’t know.

Then again, he’d never met such a handsome man as Mihai. And he wouldn’t mind meeting Mihai again for more than kisses next time.

“Stop thinking that,” he muttered to himself.

Mihai was a werewolf under the control of Phaeron. Even though he had helped Sean escape from the Eastern Hills, away from his pack, Mihai should still be considered the enemy.

One that Sean had willingly kissed.

“Stop it,” he chided himself again, giving a slight shake. He needed to focus on trying to bolster the spell he’d used to cloak his omega scent. His ability to use his natural magic was limited—he’d never had any real training—and if he had any hope of getting to the mansion undetected, he had to be on high alert and ready for anything that came his way.

Dawn was cresting the top of the Eastern Hills behind him as he made his way west with nothing but his pack on his back. He stuck to the main roads that connected the villages and towns throughout Pristat, moving out of sight if he sensed anyone coming down the road. He learned a long time ago to keep close to the roads—because he got lost way too many times otherwise—but to hide from people. Drelos, werewolf, human, or otherwise, he couldn’t trust anyone.

Not even a double alpha werewolf.

Sean couldn’t blame himself for his thoughts continuously drifting back to Mihai. Not really. After all, he’d been alone for the last four years when he escaped his family from a village in the south. When Phaeron’s edict to find every living omega warlock was blasted all over the land, his alpha father tried selling Sean to the vampire king. Luckily, Sean had run away before Phaeron’s forces arrived.

He knew that his father hadn’t been so lucky. He tried to not think of it, his father’s fate since he had run away. He knew that Phaeron wouldn’t be pleased. But he also knew that the responsibility for whatever happened fell upon his father.

Sean just wanted the freedom to live without fear. To live without wondering what lay around the corner.

The napkin that Mihai had shared with him only had eight words on it when he used a spell to be able to see the ink: House in Drelos village beyond Lord Cormac’s Stronghold.

Sean knew exactly where that village was. He’d traveled around Pristat in his four years on the road, seen much of the country, so he knew exactly where the castle formerly held by Lord Cormac lay. He remembered the castle rising in the distance, a black stain upon the land. He hadn’t dared get too close to the place—he had no idea what lay beyond there.

He had heard, though, that there was a Drelos village where Pyt had built a new home—his mansion, where he could be safe.

And now he knew that if he kept the Temavo Forest to the the north of him as he followed the roads west to Norburry, then northwest to the castle and beyond, he would get there in a few days.

Another few days alone. But maybe he’d finally be safe once he arrived.

Not that he had any real reason to trust Mihai. But he had never felt such a strong connection with any other living thing. Sean knew enough about magic to believe there wasn’t such a thing as coincidence.

He knew there was a reason why he had approached Mihai.

He closed his eyes. “Deep breath, Sean,” he told himself. “Take it easy. Okay.”

Being alone on the road for so long, he tended to talk to himself all the time. It no longer seemed weird to him that he was his own companion on this journey. Even though it was lonely, he was at peace that the roads he traveled were his own. He didn’t have friends. He didn’t have family.

He didn’t trust anyone after everything he’d been through.

“But you trusted a werewolf,” he said with a low snicker.

And here he was. At Norburry, apparently, as he saw the thatched roofs of the village over the hill. Halfway there. Taking the roads from here would lead him to the mansion.

He welcomed seeing civilization, although he stepped off the main road and skirted around the village. After everything, he knew that it would be too big of a risk going into a village. As an omega warlock, he couldn’t pass as a normal human to too many people, except from a distance. And if one person needed money, the bounty on his head would be too good to pass up.

He wouldn’t risk it. Even though he could use a warm bed and a warm meal.

As if in answer, his stomach grumbled. The last time he ate—was it yesterday? He should eat some of his rations. When he went into hiding in the Eastern Hills, he hadn’t counted on going on a journey across the country, so he had been nibbling on the stale bread and jerky he managed to grab, eating berries on the road and fishing where there were streams.

But he hadn’t passed a stream in two days, so he didn’t have any leftovers. He’d gotten leaner on the walk, his skin taut across his muscles. Good thing he made sure to fill up his water reserves, even though they were heavy to start with. He guessed it worked that the canteens got lighter the more he drank.

His stomach grumbled again.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he muttered. “I hear you.”

He tried to ignore the shake in his hands as he dug around in his pack for the bread. He’d gone too long without sustenance. Even so, he forced himself to break off a small piece and eat it slowly. It did little to stop the hunger, but it did take the edge off.

It would have to do for now.

Sean sighed and sat back, frowning as he looked at a wagon as it passed by him on the road to Norburry. He was hidden well enough from sight, but he could see the family inside, led by a man he presumed was the father of the clan. An old horse pulled the wagon behind him, and he could dimly hear the mother and father talking to each other.

But that wasn’t what gave him pause. In the back of the wagon, he saw a girl no older than five sitting by herself, watching as the night descended upon the hills. Her feet dangled from the opening and she hummed to herself, dreaming about what lay beyond.

He never had a family like that. Even before he ran away from his fathers, he had been kept under close surveillance, because he was never supposed to be “tainted” by others—his alpha father wanted him to be pure for whatever purpose lay ahead.

No wonder that same father jumped at the opportunity to sell him to Phaeron. No wonder he didn’t have fond memories with his family.

If he could find himself a family, maybe he could make up for lost time. Be the best father he could ever be. With someone he loved.

“You’re such a dreamer, Sean,” he whispered to himself. There was no way that would happen with Phaeron’s edict to find every omega warlock in the land.

He wouldn’t find peace.

And to ease the ache in his chest that wasn’t from hunger, he treated himself to another morsel of bread.

If Mihai had told him the truth, then maybe he could find that happy ending.

“Just a few more days,” he told himself as he watched the wagon disappear into Norburry, the family on their way to whatever destination lay ahead.

For now, he had to go northwest and just hope for the best.

***

AS HE PASSED IT, HE realized that the castle wasn’t as sinister as he remembered it. True, he had passed by in the dead of night his first time and he could feel the stain of it in the soil, like some sort of old wound in the earth, but as he looked at it from the lip of a cave, he could almost sense that it felt...lighter somehow.

Like the horrific events that had once transpired here were masked by happier memories and times.

It took him almost a full day to reach the Drelos village, but when he did, it was obvious which house was Pyt’s.

The mansion was enormous, surrounded by forest on one side, its onyx stone gleaming in the daylight. Spires stretched northward, and there were plenty of windows dotting the side.

It seemed like a different place entirely. Sean stretched his magical senses to see if there were any animosities he could feel, but...

Nothing.

“I’ll be damned,” he whispered, putting his hands on his hips. Maybe Mihai had been right that there were free wolves here.

Was this the only place in all of Pristat where he could live a normal life?

“Time to find out,” he said, gathering his courage. He may have been a big man—tall with broad, muscular shoulders—and he knew that he was considered good-looking, but his status as an omega warlock had made him shy of people and crowds.

He was so tired though. Four years of running, and the renewed interest in the werewolf packs that were beholden to Phaeron meant that he hadn’t been able to sleep very well this entire time.

That may have been why he’d been so willing to believe Mihai—he finally needed a rest and a break from it all. He was so ready to find a place where he could just sleep peacefully.

His tummy growled.

And a place where he could eat.

“Then again, why would the castle gates just open up for a stranger?” he asked himself as he closed the distance to the front door. Sure, they may have welcomed free wolves, but that didn’t mean an omega warlock would be invited here.

“At the very least, they could give me some food,” he decided. He had a few coppers left. That was good for a meal and a night’s lodging.

Beyond that...well, he just wouldn’t consider the alternative that he may be turned away outright.

Birds chirped and sang as he walked to the front gate. That was another thing that was different—he didn’t remember any sort of wildlife when he had been here earlier. A beautiful blue bird flitted past him, trilling a melody.

How had it all changed from before?

A growl cut through the afternoon air, and even the bird banked a hard right to get away from the noise. Sean recognized the sound—recognized it from the nightmares he’d been having for four years.

A werewolf.

It was louder, closer, and more menacing than any wolf he’d ever heard before—which was how he knew it was a sentient werewolf and not some wild animal. In all his time on the road, he learned to recognize the difference.

But this growl was directed at him. And it was meant as a warning.

He froze, wondering if there was any way he could plead for safe passage with the werewolf, because this wolf must have still been in Phaeron’s service, why else would he be growling at Sean?

Sean held up his hands in surrender, not daring to breathe or even turn around.

“My name is Sean,” he said slowly. “I was told that I could be safe here.”

He heard a loud grunt, a sniff, and then he felt the tinge of magic in the air. After a moment, a woman stepped out, wrapping a cloak around her to cover up her naked body. So this was the werewolf that had found him. This woman was older, and had definitely been around for a while.

She watched Sean as suspiciously as he watched her. “What do you mean you could be safe?” she asked.

“Someone told me,” he started, his voice trailing off. He noticed with a start that she didn’t have dog tags around her neck, like Mihai had worn that day in the alley.

Weren’t those what bound him to Phaeron? So if this woman didn’t have any, then...

“You’re a free wolf,” he murmured in amazement.

The woman narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t explain who you are. And what you’re doing here,” she said.

Sean hadn’t worried that if there were free wolves here, that they might not be interested in a visitor. This entire time, it had been a gamble of truth: if there were free wolves, he’d be safe. If not, then he’d still be on the run.

Not somewhere in the middle like this.

“I came all the way from the Eastern Hills,” Sean explained, trying to think of a way to tell her how important that it was to keep him safe. He stopped, considering his words with a frown. “Actually, I came from a place much further than that, but that doesn’t matter. What matters, is that I’m in danger. And I was told that you could help me. Keep me safe.”

“And why should we keep you safe?” the woman asked.

Sean opened his mouth to answer, but another voice cut him off. “Because he’s an omega warlock, as well.”

Sean watched a man step out from the trees behind the woman. He was a little older than Sean, and something stirred deep within Sean, like a familiarity that he couldn’t quite explain. Dark, intense eyes, and a scruffy beard growing on his chin. Sean was sure he’d never seen this man before, so why...?

As their eyes met, the peal of childish laughter rang throughout the clearing, and the female werewolf groaned and rolled her eyes. “Marissa and Briley, stop running!” she barked as two children—twins, based on their nearly identical looks and ages—ran out from behind the man and chased after each other. They were perhaps four years old with unbridled joy on their faces as they ran barefoot across the grounds.

For a moment, Sean thought they were the werewolf’s kids. No, not her kids. He looked back at the man again with renewed interest and realized why there was that sense of familiarity.

“You’re an omega warlock too,” he whispered in amazement.

The other omega smiled tiredly. “Was it my kids that gave it away?” he joked. “They do get to be quite a handful, and their birth wasn’t that easy.” His expression was wistful with longing. “My name is Martin and I’m here visiting an old friend.” He held out a hand for Sean to take. “Welcome to freedom.”