As we get closer to the pack land and the area begins to feel more familiar, my wolf starts getting excited.

I start jogging, the familiar scents in the area drawing me in until I smell my mates on the wind, spurring me on. I forgot all about Jake, Rick and Eli, the need to see my mates overriding everything.

We end up in the training arena. The moment I see Jonnie, Mitchell, Jason and Cam all training, my heart stops. They look different. How could a week change them so much?

Jonnie and Mitchell’s biceps are larger, and their hair has been cut short while Cam looks like he’s lost weight. It makes me sad, seeing the difference, knowing it was my fault.

As soon as they see me, they freeze and their attacker sends a kick knocking Jonnie down. I don’t think, just act. In a fraction of a second my wolf takes over, shifting and leaping over the rope and have their attacker gripped around the neck with my muzzle, growling viciously.

“Dani, it’s ok, let him go. We were just training,” Mitchell says soothingly, approaching me slowly. I growl, staring at where Jonnie lies on the ground, unmoving. Mitch follows my gaze, “Jonnie, get the fuck up before she rips Josh’s throat out!” he demands.

Jonnie chuckles, rolling over so I see his grin. I let Josh drop and pounce on Jonnie, licking his face excitedly. Mitchell comes over laughing at my joy. Cam meanwhile stands to the side, watching me warily. I climb off Jonnie, walking over to Cam. He drops his head, refusing to meet my eyes. It was his pack that betrayed us. His pack who showed they were loyal to his father rather than him. His own brother who betrayed us.

Once I’m in front of him, I shift back to human, ignoring the gasps and growls behind me, “Cam?” I say gently.

A sob escapes and he drops to his knees pulling me close, clinging for dear life. I stroke the top of head soothingly. “Hey, it’s ok,” I murmur, watching him break before my eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Dani,” he gasps out. “I should have listened to you, trusted your instincts but I wanted to believe not all my family was bad. Please forgive me,” he begs, squeezing me tight, his tears running down my stomach.

“Hey none of that. You wanted to believe the best of them, there’s nothing wrong with that. Come on, let’s all go inside. I want to know what happened while I’ve been gone,” I coax him, helping him to his feet. I still haven’t seen Pete or Nate and my wolf is dying to find them.

Jonnie, Mitchell, Jason, Rick and Jake follow me as I take Cam’s hand, ignoring the shocked gazes of everyone who has gathered around.

We make it to the front door without interruption. I open it not caring how it looks me walking in with my entourage of mates and enforcers behind me. I run into Lily at the bottom of the steps, her eyes popping open in shock. After a beat, she rushes to me, pulling me into a hug. I refuse to let go of Cam’s hand, not wanting to part with him, “Where are they?” I ask her, my eyes looking upstairs.

She grins seeing my gaze, “They’re up there moping around. Go,” she gestures with a wink. Cam and I take the stairs two at a time, Jason, Mitchell and Jonnie following me. Jake and Rick must have stayed behind to let me have the reunion I need. I pause, wondering where Eli is, only to plough on to see Nate and Pete.

I pause at the bedroom we shared, nervous to see them. Nate and I had a big argument before I left and I’m not sure how well I’ll be received. As I reach for the handle, I hear their voices and I hesitate, wanting to hear what they’re talking about.

“I wish she was here. It feels like I can’t breathe without her,” Pete says, sorrow lining his voice.

I hear shuffling, “I know man. You have no idea how hard it is for me, living with the thought she hates me. What if something happens to her and I don’t get the chance to see her? To tell her I’m sorry? To tell her I love her more than anything in this world? It kills me,” Nate sighs and I can imagine him slouching in on himself, his hands covering his face. “I just want to see her again,” he says, his voice muffled.

I can’t take it anymore. I open the door, tears in my eyes, “Hey guys,” I murmur into the silent room.

Pete is sprawled out on the bed, hands folded behind his head, staring up at the roof. Nate’s over on the chair by the window, head in his hands. At the sound of my voice, they both shoot up, gazes immediately going to mine. I smile softly, unprepared for how fast they move to get to me. “Dani? Please god, tell me you’re real,” Nate asks, reaching me first.

I laugh, reaching up to cup his cheek, “Yeah babe, I’m real,” I say, watching his eyes tear up. “Hey, it’s ok.” I can’t believe how much they missed me

“No, it’s not. Dani, I said some things, things I regret. It wasn’t fair of me,” he begs, his eyes showing his sincerity.

“You said what I needed to hear. It wasn’t right of me to do that to your parents with the baby on the way. And it wasn’t fair of me to take my anger out on you,” I apologize, hanging my head in shame. At the time, I was too frustrated to see I was wrong but the time apart from him has given me a new clarity.

“Hey, stop hogging her, it’s my turn,” Pete interrupts, snatching me from Nate’s arms before he can argue. “Hi, Firecracker,” he grins down at me. “Hi,” I smile up at him, relieved to see happiness in his eyes.

I don’t know what I expected, but I guess part of me was thinking they wouldn’t be as welcoming. I figured they might have actually believed what Sonja said. Not that it would have really mattered.

“Where’s Eli?” Pete asks, looking behind me, as if expecting him to appear.

Jason saves me the job of answering, “He, uh, stayed down stairs to give us some time,” he whispers softly so as to not upset anyone. I think he is the only one who can see that Eli has the same effect on me that the others do. He helped me, and tried to sacrifice himself for me. He was also there for me when I was trying to deal with James’s death.

My wolf and I know it’s our fault James died the way he did. He saved us and lost his own life in the process. I swore I would make Luke pay for causing us all so much loss and pain.

I bury my pain, knowing something more important needs to be done.

“Alright guys, as much as I want to lounge around all day in your arms, you need to fill me in on what’s been happening, where Luke is and how long it will take me to get to him? It’s time for his reign of terror and pain to end,” I announce, dominance oozing from me in waves.

My wolf has lit a fire of rage deep in my soul. The guys all shiver, feeling my power. Jason pulls me into his arms, rubbing his nose along my neck breathing in my scent. “Jase, that’s very distracting,” I murmur, leaning back into is embrace.

“Oh, what’s this? You’ve given Jason a new nickname, have you? Did something happen we should know about?” Pete asks, a cheeky grin on his face.

I smile up at Pete, “Nope it just slipped out. I prefer Jason. It’s a much manlier name don’t you think?” I ask, looking up into Jason’s eyes with a grin.

He smiles down at me, sensing where I’m going, “Oh yes, much manlier than something like… Pete.”

The grin slips from Pete’s face replaced with a scowl. “You son of a bitch!” he glares at Jason until he hears my giggle, “Oh you cheeky little she-devil! I can’t believe you played me like that!” He pouts, crossing his arms and turning away as if upset.

“Aw Pete, don’t be like that. You know she was only messing with you just as you do to her. If you want to blame someone, then you should blame yourself for teaching her your ways,” Mitchell laughs, making Pete pout worse than before.

God, guys really can’t pout well. It just makes him look childish. He sighs as if realising it isn’t working and lets his arms drop in defeat. “Ok fine, it’s all my fault. Dani learnt her bad behaviour from me like some kind of contagious disease. If I want her to stop, I have to stop being a smartass,” he sighs with exaggerated sarcasm.

The humor drops from my voice, “Seriously guys, tell me what happened,” I ask, feeling guilty when everyone’s faces drop.

Cam looks at me in the eye and I know he is going to tell me some bad news. “Well, after you and Eli were taken, Sonja showed up telling us you had deserted the packs and run off to be in a relationship with Eli and that he had killed James when he tried to stop you two from leaving. Then Adam came out saying Dad was back to rule the pack after the false queen abandoned us. Naturally, none of us believed him and we told him so.”

Oh thank god. I was terrified they’d think I couldn’t handle it and run off.

Jason smiles down at me, “We told Luke that we didn’t believe him and that he would have to kill us before we let him lead any of the pack, to which he responded, ‘So be it,’ then all the wolves of the pack attacked us. Some were on our side, defending us while others were out to kill us. It was a bloodbath.

“We were chased from the pack, Tim, Laura, Monique and Walter too. Jake and Rick got out but Jake was severely wounded in the attack trying to get to you. It took him five days to heal. We ran until we got here, it used to be an old pack home. Walter said this place was gifted to your mother but it went unused when she left with your father.”

Jason stops and Mitchell takes over. “We set up camp here and started calling for reinforcements. Lily sent most of her pack to us, only leaving a small number to defend the property but Tim ended up leaving half his pack behind to help if Lily’s needed it. Liam called us and told us to be prepared for you. That someone he knew found out where you were.” I relax into Jason’s arms, enjoying the feeling of safety my mate’s presence brings. All of us together like this makes me feel content but now, without Eli, it’s like I’m not quite complete.

“Do you want to tell us what happened?” Jonnie asks softly, telling me with his eyes it’s ok if I don’t want to.

I smile, walking from Jason’s embrace into Jonnies. I kiss him softly, telling him through our connection how much I care. “So much has happened and you all deserve to know. I’ll start with us being taken. James and I were running back to the house when twenty wolves took us by surprise. We fought them off but James was taken down and I knew they were going to kill him unless I stopped fighting.

“They let James come to me as Adam appeared from out of nowhere, telling me he was taking me to Luke. Erick tried to intervene but that bitch Sonja appeared, shooting him. I may have been stupid and badmouthed her. She told me to shut my mouth. Of course, that pissed me off and I mouthed off. She shot me, but James moved at the last moment, taking the shot, killing him.

“Adam continued bragging, going on about crap.  He told me his mother was dead.” I pause to look at Cam, feeling his sadness.  “I’m sorry Cam, I think it’s true,” I tell him as he nods quietly.

“The next thing I know, Sonja had wolves bring Eli out, tied in silver chains. I got agitated, said some things and bam.

“I woke up in a dark, cold basement, busting to pee. When I tried to get up, I immediately felt the chains holding me down. Eli heard me and told me I had been unconscious for five days to a week. He lost track because they kept switching lights on and off to keep us disorientated.

“They must have sensed I was awake because Adam came down to interrogate us. You guys must have already taken off and hidden away because all he wanted to know was where you were,” I tell them, my eyes moving to Cam meaningfully.

His face shuts down, as he fights a mix of anger and frustration. I continue my story, not wanting to stop to give him time to dwell. “He started with me, trying to get me to reveal where you would be hiding then, after I made him break his hand by punching a wall, he left in a huff.”

I pause taking in a breath, hating to continue this part because my wolf and I are so close to the edge, “Not long after, Luke came in. He walked over to me, and told me that I had to tell him where Cam was. I mouthed off and he hit me. He grabbed me by the chin forcing me to look him in the eyes as he told me he was going to make me his mate so he could have the children he needed by blood and there would be nothing I could do. Naturally, I got pissed and kneed him in the balls.”

I hold back the rage as best I can, but it’s getting harder and harder to ignore. “One of the wolves helped him to his feet and he made him and Adam hold me against the wall, rubbing against me to show just how much power he could have over me, that I had no say.”

I take a breath, hearing the growls in the room but staring blankly at a spot on the wall as I continue my story. “After he left, Eli started panicking, not wanting anyone to touch his mate especially not someone as vile as Luke, when a young pack member came in with trays of food to feed us. When he gave the trays to us, he slid a key to the chains into my hand and told me we didn’t have long.

“Eli and I weren’t willing to look a gift horse in the mouth so, as soon as the boy was gone, we took off the chains and made a run for it. We should have suspected it was a trap, but we were to relieved to get free.”

I lean back on the bed, no longer able to look at them as I tell them what happened next. “We ran through the woods, the sounds of wolves chasing us, spurring us on.

“We’d made it through a stream, hoping it would mask our scents a little, when a shot filled the air, shortly followed by a pain filled howl. I stopped going back to help Eli to his feet by wrapping an arm over my shoulders and took off again at a slower speed, when Sonja appeared from nowhere, gun in hand and fired at us. I pushed Eli to the side, my wolf snapping in my mind. Seeing her point a gun at my mate, I snapped. I attacked her, knocking the gun from her hands in the process. We struggled but I used my power against her, making her lose all ability to fight back, and ripped her head from her body without a second thought.

“Eli was dying from his wound but somehow I was able to access enough power to heal him which I’ll be forever grateful for. If I had of lost him, I’d never forgive myself,” I murmur the last part, forgetting my mates are here.

I hesitantly explained about what happened with Eli and my heat cycle appearing but told them how Eli turned me away, because he didn’t want to offend them. I admit I left the part out about us sleeping next to each other because there was something private about that moment, something I want to keep to myself.

“Eli made me realize, I want the mating to happen. I love all of you and I want the packs to know that. Though we should probably do the ceremony sooner rather than later. Would that be ok?” I ask nervously, trying not to look to at any of them too long but the tension in the room is pretty high.

Jonnie moves from his chair by the window, to stand in front of me, where I sit on the bed. I look up at him, expecting anger. I’m surprised however to see a smile on his face. “Does this mean you want the mating with all of us?”

I nod, a smile lighting up my face at his acceptance. He pulls me to my feet, placing his lips on mine in a soft kiss. I sigh, leaning into him relieved.

He pulls back to grin down at me, “As long as you want me too, then I’m fine with it.”

His words spur the others into action and as quick as it started, they’ve each given me a kiss and hug, agreeing.

I smile around at them, my mates, and know I would do anything to keep them safe. That means finding Luke and getting rid of him from our lives.

Cam hugs me last, breathing in the scent of my hair. Kinda creepy but still, it’s sweet. “I’m going to call the Elders. If we are going to fight my father, I want you tied to us first.”