“I’ll text you later. Better yet, I’ll call Katy and Larkin. I owe them a call, or I might be coming home with two less best friends than I left with.”
He chuckled, the warm sound curling around me like a blanket. “I don’t think you’ll ever be able to shake those two.”
“Good. I’ve been a pretty shitty friend.”
“We’ve all been dealing with a lot,” he said with a shrug. “They know that.”
“Try to get some sleep, okay?” I bit my lower lip. “I’ll see you soon.”
His gaze softened. “See you soon, babe. I love you.”
“I love you,” I repeated fiercely, and ended the call.
I spun around to see Lulu leaning in the doorway.
“Did you get your answers?” I asked her.
Surprise crossed her face before she schooled her features.
“Not all of them,” she replied. “That’s why Nikolai asked me to come along for the trip.”
“Speaking of,” I said with a sigh, “he wanted something?”
“He wants you to meet him downstairs.”
“Does he?” I murmured, shaking my head.
The man had someone executed in front of me less than an hour ago.
Yeah, the guy was a traitor who was part of a plan to kidnap me, but now I was stuck with the image of a guy with a knife in his eye for the rest of my life.
“I know things got crazy at dinner,” Lulu said softly, “but he’s hoping you’ll still meet him. There’s something he wants you to see.”
I exhaled the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and nodded.
Nikolai was sending an army to help protect me and my pack. The least I could do was hear what he had to say.
The sun was starting to set when Lulu led me out the back door off the kitchen area. The snap of cold air rushing at me stole my breath.
Nikolai turned, smiling when he saw me.
“Thank you, Lulu,” he murmured, lifting his eyes to hers. “Give us a moment?”
She nodded and gave me a quick smile before ducking back inside.
“Holy crap it’s cold,” I stuttered, my teeth already starting to chatter.
“I know I asked for tomorrow to show you around, but I was hoping your wolf might join me tonight,” he said quietly.
“Now?” I asked, looking around. The sun was setting over the far mountain peak, the first glimmers of twilight appearing as orange and purple streaks across the sky now that the storm had cleared out.
“Yes.” He watched me, waiting for an answer.
I felt my wolf pushing to get out. She wanted this, craved this. Something about this pack and this land called to her, and she wanted to explore it.
“Okay,” I agreed, nervous butterflies taking flight in my belly.
“You can shift inside, if you like,” he said, inclining his head towards the door.
“Okay,” I repeated, going back inside as he started to shed his jacket.
“You said yes?” Lulu asked, hopping off of a barstool at the massive island in the center of the room.
I nodded mutely.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wooden bangle. “Put this on before you shift.”
I gave her a weird look. “What is it?”
“It’s charmed,” she said. “Not like the silver one. This one will let you communicate with Nikolai once you’ve shifted. He has a matching one. You can take it off yourself when you come back.”
“Oh.” I took it from her and slipped it over my wrist.
“I’ll turn my back and make sure no one comes in,” she promised, spinning on her heel.
I slowly tugged off my clothes, folding them into a pile by the door until I was naked. My bones popped as I shifted, everything heating in my body for a flash of a second before my shift was done.
Lulu turned and smiled at me. “Ready?”
I dipped my head, trying to keep a little control while my wolf had a field day trying to figure out all the new scents that were overloading our nose. Looking down, I noted that the bracelet had formed a cuff around my leg instead of sliding off.
Huh.
Lulu opened the door and I hesitated seeing the massive black wolf in front of me. He was huge, several inches taller and longer, with the same shape marking on his chest that I had on my head, but his was white. The very tip of his black tail was white as well, the colors contrasting starkly.
Ready, little wolf?
The question caught me off guard. I wasn’t used to anyone being in my head except Remy when I was like this.
Yeah, I agreed, putting a paw into the deep snow. The texture felt slightly different than when I was home in Blackwater or even at Granite Peak. It was softer, but with a harder bottom. Likely layers of snow that had melted and refrozen into thick sheets of ice.
“I’ll put your clothes inside,” Lulu said, gathering Nikolai’s stuff quickly. “Have fun.”
Try to keep up. Nikolai’s amused voice ghosted through my head before he hurled himself into the impending darkness with a playful growl.
My wolf immediately gave chase, and I happily took a backseat as her competitive streak pushed us faster until we were on Nikolai’s heels.
The terrain was different and we slipped a few times until we found our footing, but the peace I felt settle around my heart was unlike anything I had ever known. Everything about this place felt right.
The best part was under it all, I could feel my bond to Remy. It felt like he was inches away instead of miles, just under the surface of where I could reach.
Nikolai swerved right, pushing us higher up the mountain peak. I had lost count of how long we had been running, our breaths puffing white clouds into the night air as we went.
He turned another corner and slowed, finally stopping at the edge of a cliff.
My wolf flinched. This icy drop off looked too familiar. Too much like when I had tackled Cassian off of it.
I stepped back with a low whine.
Nikolai turned, his gray eyes alert.
Trust me, he said simply.
With a huff, I stepped up to the ledge again and looked over.
There was a clearing in the middle ringed by trees and sharp slopes of the mountain. In the clearing were wolves. At least four dozen of them. Some were burrowed into the snow together, sleeping. Most were playing, chasing and nipping at each other with high pitched yips and teasing growls.
Dimitri told you of our system, yes? He sat down and watched me with those eyes that looked like melted silver.
I sat down, too. Yes.
He dipped his head at the wolves beneath us. These wolves are in the final night of their lunar cycle. They shift back tomorrow to rejoin their packs.
They aren’t from here? My head swung in his direction.
A chuffing noise rumbled out of his chest. No. Only a dozen are from Narodnaya. The rest are from neighboring packs. They will go home tomorrow.
This is what Elias was trying to do? I asked.
A low growl escaped his bared teeth. Yes. He tried to take this and force it on others in your country.
There’s magic involved in this, isn’t there?
He sighed, sliding his front legs forwards so that he was laying down. Lulu helped me. She binds their human so their wolf can run free for the lunar cycle. Every woman down there is a willing participant.
Shock hit my system. They’re all female?