Raised by Wolves(106)

The words became a high-pitched whine in my mind.

Do what you want, I told them. If you want to run, then run.

That wasn’t enough for them. It wasn’t what they needed. They needed me. They needed the assurance, the answers.

They needed what I’d sworn to give them a moment before—anything and everything to help them overcome years of Wilson’s abuse.

Run. The word left my mind an instant before it left my mouth, and on both counts, it came from the deepest part of me—from something ancient and pure and utterly confusing. I wasn’t a werewolf, but there was something inside of me. Something as raw and primal as the wolf inside of Chase. A survival instinct—and a protective one—and as I told the others to run, gave them my permission, I shuddered, and then I let their joy overwhelm me as I had that day with Callum’s pack. I let all of them in, felt each and every one of them through our newly formed bond.

The pack was brutal and beautiful and alive, and overcome with their energy, I threw my head skyward and howled.

I felt, rather than saw, the effect the sound had on Chase. He arched his back, and the wolf clawed its way to the surface, forcing him to Shift. Instinctively, I dropped down on my knees next to the midnight-black body beside me, and stared into the wolf’s eyes. Chase’s eyes. I buried my hands in his fur—silky, not coarse—and I felt his heart beat under my palms.



Run. Run. Run, I told the others. This time, my mind-words carried with them joy, as well as power. Lost to the connection and the drive and the urge to move as one, I scrambled to my feet and took off running, an entire pack at my heels, mobbing me. Wanting to be close to me.

The warmth of their bodies kept my skin from chilling, and the adrenaline passed from one member of the pack to another to another, like a stone skipping on the surface of a pond. Lake, tall and blonde even in wolf form, butted my heels with her head, pushing me to run faster, to let go of myself more.

And when I did, when the last of my walls crumbled away, that was when I knew.

The pack was together.

The pack was safe.

The pack was mine.

And this time, I’d die before I let anyone take that away.

An hour later, the Weres had settled reluctantly back into their human forms, and I’d managed to remember that I was human. Madison and one of the other older Resilients began helping the little ones into new clothes, and for the first time, I realized that some of the children weren’t that much older than the twins. The youngest was two, maybe three.

Red-haired and solemn, she toddled toward me the second Madison got her into a faded hand-me-down dress. I knelt and let the little one come into my arms, and I settled her on my hip with an ease that I never could have managed before Alex and Katie.

An ease that felt too natural even now, given that this girl should have been a stranger to me.

Lily.

Her name came to me, in the recesses of my mind, like I’d always known it. Her small head leaned contentedly against my chest, and what she knew of life passed into my consciousness. Wilson—sweet and scary and oh, he’d hurt her once.

Red. The bad color. Bad things. Blood. A ratty stuffed bunny whose neck had been ripped out. Cotton in her mouth. Not allowed to cry.

And then, there was me.

In her eyes, I was beautiful. Tall. Powerful.

I was safe.

Craning my head so that our eyes could meet, I breathed out slightly, and she sniffed like crazy, trying to absorb the smell of my breath.

“Hello, Lily,” I said softly. “I’m Bryn.”



Lily nodded, and then, with a tentative smile, she turned and pointed, a quizzical look on her face. I followed her finger directly to Chase.

He crossed the room in three broad steps, his motions flowing, as they always did, like water. He brought his face next to mine and rubbed my cheek with his. And then, silently, he turned to Lily, and with a small smile, he huffed out a breath, allowing her to catch his scent.

Through the pack-bond, I sensed that to Lily, Chase smelled like me. Pine needles and cinnamon.

I closed the space between my body and Chase’s, or maybe he did, and Lily laid her head back down on my chest, content to be nestled between us as my face and Chase’s found their way back together. Cheek to cheek. Forehead to forehead. Nose to nose. Then, lip to lip. As the kiss stretched out over a delicious, unbearable eternity, I felt myself folding into his mind and welcoming him into mine. For a single second, the world stopped rotating on its axis and the hum of the rest of our pack went very, very still.

And then, the silence and stillness were broken as I felt the Weres in the room stiffen and heard the beginning of a growl in the back of Chase’s throat.

Something’s coming.

We didn’t get more than a moment’s warning, or two, before the front door to Wilson’s cabin exploded inward, and Weres began pouring in. I broke away from Chase, and instantly, the sounds of the rest of my pack— Mine—were back, louder than ever before.