Page 2 of Poet & Protector

God, I hope not. Bryn stopped howling.

An unintended whimper slipped from me. Something’s wrong.

Ren began to pace restlessly before the altar.

The lead-up to this night hadn’t exactly been smooth. The arrival of a human named Shay Doran, who for reasons we couldn’t begin to understand was under the protection of the Keepers, had thrown our lives into chaos.

Shay wasn’t like most humans. He didn’t fear us instinctively the way he should have. And he’d fallen for Calla. Hard. I had no doubt he was in love with her, but he had no way of understanding she could never be his. She’d been born to mate with Ren and create a new Guardian pack. There was nowhere for Shay to truly belong in our world. Yet he was there. Every day. Challenging the laws we lived by. Challenging Ren. If our masters hadn’t ordered us to protect Shay, Ren would have killed him.

I wondered how and if Shay could fit into our lives after tonight. Ren and Calla would be mated, living together. In a way it was a shame; I liked Shay and I suspected Calla harbored feelings for him. My heart broke a little for both of them if they’d somehow become involved, despite everything. That would be an impossible situation.

Howls began to die out one by one. Then stopped altogether.

Our alpha hadn’t appeared.

Ansel, Bryn, and I exchanged looks, a sudden, shocking truth passing between us.

There would be no union tonight. Calla wasn’t coming.

NEV

When my voice joined Sabine’s in the warrior’s song, my mouth formed words about loyalty, duty, sacrifice. I no longer knew if I believed them, not after what I’d been through in the weeks leading up to this night.

All around us Guardians, Banes and Nightshades alike, gathered for the union of Ren Laroche and Calla Tor. The Keeper masters were present; Efron Bane and Lumine Nightshade stood together behind the stone altar where the union would take place. A few steps closer to the altar Logan Bane watched the ceremony unfold. He was the Guardians’ newest master, the one who would rule the pack that would be created tonight. Haldis pack. My pack.

Tonight was an end and a beginning. Ren and Calla, once independent alphas of the younger Banes and Nightshades, would now share rule of the blended pack. Rival wolves who’d been raised to distrust and despise each other were about to embark on a new journey where we would fight side by side, bleeding, healing, maybe dying for one another. And loving. Amid this tumult of conflict and change, some of us found love.

Two of our number who’d found their way to each other, Bryn and Ansel, stole glances at one another across the clearing. They were both starry-eyed and likely sharing the same wish: that someday they would be the ones to approach this altar and be joined forever.

Ren waited for his intended mate beside Logan. Outwardly, the alpha presented a perfect image of strength and calm. I doubted he was truly feeling that serene. The last month had been rough for him with Shay, the human our masters ordered Calla to befriend and protect, playing the interloper and Ren unable to do anything about it. Maybe after tonight, Ren would finally have some peace. I worried the odds weren’t on his side.

I suspected Calla wouldn’t be content in their union. Watching her interact with Shay, it was impossible to deny the two of them were drawn to each other, no matter how absurd that should have been. She was an alpha Guardian, Shay was human. A romance between them was a nonstarter from the first, but that didn’t change the truth. Shay wanted Calla and was probably in love with her.

As for Calla…it was hard to say. She was incredibly difficult to read, keeping her emotions muzzled so tightly sometimes I wondered if she could even hear them. Or maybe she did listen to the whisperings of her heart but believed she couldn’t follow where they wanted to lead her.

I was too familiar with the fear of wanting something I wasn’t supposed to have. Ren and Calla believed our masters’ dictates were wrong and had promised to protect Mason and I and our secret. For that I was beyond grateful. But some cruel twists of fate carried consequences not even our alphas could save us from.

It was impossible to miss the way Logan watched Mason during the ceremony and I had no doubt Mason was uncomfortably aware of the Keeper’s attention as well. Even as I sang, my canines sharpened in my mouth, protective instincts surging through me along with white-hot fury. I wanted nothing more than to rip apart the smug, golden-haired Keeper, but I couldn’t. Nothing could deter our new master from taking whatever he wanted from his wolves. The helplessness of knowing I was hamstrung by Logan’s power, unable to stand between him and Mason, was more painful than a knife twisting in my gut.

The warrior’s song reached its conclusion; Sabine and I fell silent. A new chorus rose as all the Guardians shifted to wolf form and howled, summoning Calla. Our wild song poured into the night sky, a sound so powerful the air seemed to shudder around us.

Ren, now in wolf form, swiftly moved past Logan to stand before the altar, waiting for his intended mate.

Howls wove through the dark maze of the forest, calling, calling.

Calla was meant to answer our summons by walking into the clearing and joining Ren.

But she didn’t appear, and as time stretched out my alpha began to pace restlessly, no doubt wondering when his intended mate would arrive.

The howling continued until at last a few voices faltered. The sound began to ebb, then it faded altogether.

Calla should have been here by now.

Something was wrong. Mason and Ansel were tense as they exchanged worried looks. I snagged Mason’s gaze and saw the fear in his eyes. But along with fear, there was certainty.

There would be no union tonight.

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