Fated in Winter

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“I’m not doing it.” I shook my head and stared off into the distance. “It just doesn’t feel the same without her.”

My brother Nico sighed heavily next to me and leaned further back onto the rock face. We sat at the edge of a cliff, our feet dangling but decently safe. We had been doing this since we were kids, both of our fathers coming to our rescue and teaching us exactly how to sit, as wolves and in our human form, and not fall to our deaths.

The Redwood Pack was located against a giant rock face, the tallest peak of the den not quite as tall as Mount Hood, but close enough. When the sun shone, that flat edge of the face of the mountain sparkled and glowed and seemed otherworldly. It was the perfect match for a Pack of supernatural wolves.

Nico and I were near the top, at the flattest part where you could sit and perhaps even have a picnic, although no human in their right mind would make it up here.

The fact that my witch mother and nearly human dad had done so was more a testament to who they were and their love for my other father, who happened to be a wolf shifter, than anything else.

“She’s mated. That’s what you do. You find your mate. And if they’re not in your Pack, sometimes you stay there.”

“But she’s a Redwood.”

“Yes, she is a Redwood. She will always be a Redwood. But Kaylee is making decisions. She’ll be back soon.”

“This will just be our first holiday without her if she’s not back in time.” I knew I was grumbling, but my twin was the closest person to me.

Considering I had six siblings and three parents in a loving triad relationship, there were many people in my life. I had over a dozen cousins, all of us having grown up together and still growing up together. Considering that wolves were long-lived and could live to a century or more, my parents and the rest of my aunts and uncles were probably not even done having children yet. Most just liked to have children all grouped together so that way their kids could grow up feeling like siblings rather than farther apart, but my mother had been mentioning how much she missed having babies in her arms.

Considering that my twin Kaylee was the first one to get mated, and had done so at a decently early age since we were only in our thirties, I didn’t know if my mother had been talking about grandbabies or babies for herself.

I wasn’t sure, and I would welcome another sibling, but no matter what they would never be as close as I was to my twin. We had a literal twin bond that connected us. It wrapped around the bonds we had to our Pack and to our Alpha.

All wolves were connected to their Alpha with a strong bond that could either be woven into the Pack bond itself or a separate entity, depending on what your wolf needed. My cousins, the Heir, Beta, Omega, Enforcer, and Healer, all had similar bonds to our Alpha, but the way they were connected to the Pack wasn’t necessarily a bond, more like threads that wove together a giant web. At least that’s how I had always pictured it.

I didn’t have a connection to others like that. I was an enforcer, a lowercase E. It meant that I worked directly for my cousin Gina, the Enforcer, capital E. The moon goddess blessed her to be the one with heightened senses to the bond and her wolf in order to sense if there was an outside threat to the Pack. It was her job to protect our den and the Alpha. It was my job to ensure she had protection and helped her in everything that she did.

I wasn’t chosen by the moon goddess, but by our Alpha. It was just how things worked. If I had wanted another job in the Pack, I could’ve worked towards it. I could’ve gotten a job outside of the Pack, made money that way, and helped the Pack blend into the human world that knew we existed even better. There was always a role and duty for each Pack member to make them feel as if they belonged. That was who we were. We were wolves. We were Pack.

Right then, I felt far too off kilter for my own good.

My twin had gone to Texas to find a lost Pack member. She was a Tracker and had the same power that our father, Josh, did. They could see a photo or image of anyone in the world and search for them. It worked better with those you were fated to meet. At least, that’s what they said.

Sometimes it was hard to imagine that fate could be real. Even though we were blessed by a moon goddess, much like other shifters—that we were just now learning about—were blessed by other goddesses.

It was hard to believe that there was a purpose in the rogues, in the ones that were so close to their wolf that they lost all accountability, all sense of who they were, and attacked without resistance.

It was horrifying and something I wanted to talk to my twin about.

Yes, I loved Nico, yes he was a steadying force in my life and in the lives of so many others, but he wasn’t Kaylee.

“You’re pouting. And a pouting wolf isn’t an attractive wolf.”

I flipped Nico off. “Fuck off.”

“No, I’m not going to. Yes, you miss Kaylee. We all do. But she’ll be back.”

“And she’ll be mated.”

“Okay, now you’re getting grossly grumbly.”

I winced. “That’s not what I meant.”

“That’s good, because you’re getting creepy.”

“I’m about to push you off this damn mountain.”

“You could try. You may be strong, you may be the wolf that can shift faster than anyone else we know and without as much pain, but I still have tricks up my sleeve.”

Considering our mother was a witch, Nico did indeed have some tricks up his sleeve. “You’re wrong about the pain,” I grumbled.

Nico frowned. “What?”

I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but since I had, and I was in a piss-poor mood, I shrugged.

“I have the same pain as you guys do. I just have it all at once. So it’s excruciating. I can shift quickly, so there’s that.”

Nico blinked at me, then shoved at me. I gripped the ledge of the mountain and cursed.

“What the fuck, man? You trying to kill me?”

“Of course not. I would’ve caught you if you’d fallen. What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn’t you say that you hurt? We all just assumed it didn’t because it was so quick.”

Shifting into a wolf wasn’t a bright spark of white light and happiness. It twisted your tendons, broke your bones, and altered your body from one form to another. The laws of mass and thermodynamics did not work when it came to magic. Sometimes our bodies didn’t want to listen to the magic and took it out on us painfully.

“Dad knows.”

“And Father?”

Dad is Josh, Father is Reed, and Mom is Hannah. They were the original triad of the Redwood Pack. Since their bond had been created, more triads had formed in our Pack and our neighboring and friendly Pack, the Talons. Their bond had served to protect the Redwoods during our war with the Centrals. With each triad bond, our connection to the moon goddess, and to the powers that be, intensified. It was a good thing. It made things a little complicated when it came to figuring out who we were talking about when we meant Dad or Father because sometimes we still slipped up, but we always knew.

Reed, our father, was a strong wolf with a softer side. He tended to be a little more insular and focused on his art more than anything. Well, other than his family and his two loves of his life.

Nico and I had never lived in a world where we felt like we were anything less than who we were. Our parents adored us, as did the rest of our family. We were blessed, and we knew it.

That didn’t mean we didn’t have hardships of our own, but they were different.

“You should’ve told me,” Nico whispered.

“It felt like I was making up excuses for being as quick as I was. I never wanted to be that person.”

“You’re a good guy, Conner. I know you miss Kaylee because she’s out there alone and could get hurt, but come on, what else is there? I hate that our sister isn’t here. I want to wrap all of our sisters in cotton wool and protect them, but they won’t let us. What’s wrong, Conner?”

I shook my head. “I just want to protect her.”

“And?”

“The twin bond helps,” I muttered, the words tearing out of me.

Nico cursed under his breath, then squeezed the back of my neck hard. “Does it? Or are you using it as a crutch?”

“I don’t know, Nico.”

“You’re not going to turn rogue, Conner. We’re here for you.”

“Yeah? Then why do I feel like my wolf is trying to tear off my skin more days than not?”

“Because you’re a damn fine dominant wolf, and it happens to the best of us. You have family here. Connections. You’re not going to turn.”

“And what happened to Darren? He turned on a dime. He has twin infants.”

Nico shook his head. “He was a lone wolf before that, and sometimes you can’t tell who’s going to go rogue. None of us can.”

“I don’t know. My wolf is stronger than his.” That’s what kept me up at night and on edge—something that made the whole idea of going rogue more real.

“And when we find Darren, maybe we’re going to be able to bring him back. He hasn’t killed anyone yet. That counts for something.”

“I don’t know, Nico. I’m worried. There have been so many damn rogues recently.”

I shivered as snow began to fall in earnest, and I looked out into the distance at the dark clouds. “We should head back in. Storm’s coming. We shouldn’t be caught up on this mountain ledge.”

“Probably not. Mom would have our hide.” He paused. “As for the rogue situation? You know the Alphas are on it. All of us are. We’re going to figure it out.”

“Maybe. It just seems like something’s pushing more wolves towards that, and I don’t know why.”

“We will figure it out. We always do. But you have us. I promise you.”

I looked at Nico and nodded before the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

“What is it?” Nico asked, before his eyes went gold. “Fuck. Darren.”

Darren was a Packmate who had gone rogue four days ago. He had broken through the wards and left his infant daughters in their cribs, having not touched them, but hadn’t alerted anybody else that he was going. That in itself was worrying, considering their mother and Darren’s mate had been out at the time. It had been her first time with her family, just a moment so she could breathe.

And it had been the last time she had seen Darren.

He had turned without cause and nobody knew why. And now he was out hunting for something in the woods. The four Packs that made up this region and its vast territories were on the hunt for him, with no luck.

But it seemed that Darren had turned back.

“You got your phone?” I asked.

Nico shook his head.

“No, because it keeps going off and I wanted time.”

“Fuck. Okay, can you get back down quickly? Alert the others?”

“And leave you with a fucking rogue?”

“I can handle it. I’m an enforcer.”

“And what am I? Chopped liver?”

“You’re a very fucking fast runner who’s going to go get help. And next time, we will listen to our family and not leave without our fucking phones.”

“Deal.”

Nico gave me a gold-eyed look and then sprinted down the side of the mountain. He was fast. And I knew the only reason that he could move so far down a cliffside like he was doing was not just because of his wolf and agility, but because of the magic in his veins. Our mother was an earth witch, after all.

I pushed those thoughts from my mind and focused on the wolf coming at me. I could sense him, feel him along the bonds that told us we were Pack.

I cursed under my breath. I didn’t want to kill Darren, but I also didn’t want to be pushed off the side of the cliff. So I moved forward, distancing myself from the edge, and lowered my body to the ground.

I quickly stripped out of my clothes, knowing being in wolf form would be better for this. I could subdue him easier, mostly because I wouldn’t have to be making so many defensive moves in my human skin. The shift was agony, bliss, and a sweet ending all in once. While others needed minutes in order to shift, to break those bones and alter their body and transform, I didn’t. I needed moments.

I could shift back and forth pretty quickly, but only a few times. Much like any other wolf. And then I got exhausted and needed to sleep for hours while stuffing my face with food so I could replenish my energy.

I let out a slight chuff of pain as I finished the shift, left my clothes by the side of the cliff, and moved forward. I needed to pin Darren down, to knock him out, and hopefully we could turn him back. It didn’t always work, sometimes they were too far gone, but Darren hadn’t killed anyone as far as I knew. It had to be okay.

I hunted, following the sense, noticing not a single animal on the cliff’s edge made a noise.

I kept moving, following Darren’s scent, and twisted as a dark blur came at me. I rolled to the side and tackled Darren in wolf form. He clawed at me, and I pushed him back, spilling his blood slightly. I was faster, bigger, stronger, but I didn’t want to hurt him. I just wanted to subdue him. I refused to kill this man. I did not want those two twins to lose their father, or for Darren’s mate to lose him.

So I would do my best.

Darren lunged at me again and I shoved at his chest, snapping at his neck and trying to pin him down. Darren was smaller and wily. And, now that I recognized it, he was far too fucking smart for his own good.

I pushed at him again, annoyed that I’d gotten so close to the edge of the cliff. My feet scrambled off the edge, but I pushed forward, pinning Darren to the ground, then Darren bit me at the side, and I let out a howl, the coppery scent of my own blood hitting my nose.

At that moment, as his claws raked down my side and his fangs followed, I made a fatal mistake. My back paws slid off the side of the cliff, and I couldn’t find purchase. I growled, and Darren scrambled back, his eyes losing their gold shine, and for a moment, I thought I saw the man behind the wolf, not a rogue.

Then Darren was gone, and I was falling. In an instant of pain and agony, I shifted back to human, knowing I could catch myself better in human form.

My hands clung to the side of the muddy dirt. Snow was falling in earnest, and now ice was joining it.

My hands slid down the mud, unable to fully grip the edge of the cliff, and I knew that this could be it. I was falling off a cliff in the middle of the snow, naked. This was going to be how I died. Not by going rogue. By being a fucking idiot.

I nearly howled, cursing myself, and then a small hand reached forward and gripped my wrist.

I looked up into the most beautiful hazel eyes I had ever seen, and nearly fell in love.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

At the sound of her voice, I knew it. I had fallen in love.

And whoever she was? She had just saved my naked ass.