Chapter 34

Kade

Nightshade's territory announced itself long before they reached the pack house proper — patrol wolves falling into escort formation at the border with a discipline that told Kade, more clearly than any report ever had, exactly what kind of pack Wren had actually built.

"That's new," he said, watching a young wolf peel off from the patrol to race ahead, presumably to announce their Alpha's return.

"That's Denna. She joined us two years ago, half-starved, from a pack that didn't want her anymore." Wren's voice held quiet pride she didn't bother disguising. "We don't turn people away here. Never have, since the day Ezra didn't turn me away."

The pack house itself, when they reached it, was nothing like Kade had pictured — not grand, not built for show, but solid and warm and clearly, thoroughly lived-in, wolves of every age moving through the grounds with the easy confidence of people who genuinely belonged exactly where they were. A young man came sprinting from the main hall before Wren had even fully dismounted, tall and lean in the specific way of someone who'd grown into himself faster than expected, and Kade understood, before introductions, exactly who this had to be.

"You're back early." Milo pulled Wren into a hug that lifted her briefly off her feet, then pulled back, taking in her bandaged shoulder with visible alarm. "What happened? Are you—"

"I'm fine, Milo. It's shallow." She caught his hands, steadying him with the ease of long practice. "We found what we were looking for at Ashenmoor. More than we wanted to find, honestly. We'll brief the pack properly tonight, but for now—" She glanced at Kade, something warm and slightly nervous in the look. "Milo, this is Kade Voss. Alpha of Blackthorn."

Milo's expression did something complicated, several competing reactions crossing his young face in quick succession before settling, admirably, into careful politeness. "The Kade Voss."

"I suppose I am, yes."

"Huh." Milo studied him a long moment, something assessing and protective in it that reminded Kade forcibly of Torren at his most suspicious. "Well. You're here, and you're not currently doing anything I need to throw you out for, so I guess that's a start."

Wren laughed, real and warm, the sound of it settling something in Kade's chest he hadn't realized had been tense until it eased. "He's protective. Comes with the territory of raising someone from twelve."

"I'd expect nothing less." Kade meant it, watching the easy, obvious love between them, understanding with fresh clarity exactly how much of a life Wren had built in his absence — a life he had no automatic place in, whatever the bond insisted otherwise, a place he'd have to actually earn rather than assume.

That evening, the whole pack gathered in the main hall to hear Ezra's account of Ashenmoor, the mood in the room shifting from cautious welcome to real alarm as the details of the vault, the vision, and the ambush unfolded. Kade watched Wren field the pack's questions with the steady, practiced authority of someone who'd been doing exactly this for six years, and found himself, not for the first time since the summit, simply grateful to be allowed to witness it.

"We fortify," Wren said finally, addressing the gathered pack with the particular clarity of a leader who'd already made her decision. "Increased patrols, doubled watch rotations, and I want every wolf who can fight ready to do so on short notice. Whoever's behind this knows my name now, or close enough to it. I'd rather be ready for them than surprised by them."

The pack dispersed to their assignments with brisk, practiced efficiency, and Kade found himself, in the quiet aftermath, standing beside Ezra near the hall's dying fire.

"She built something remarkable here," Ezra said, watching Wren move through the departing crowd, steady and sure. "I want you to understand that clearly, Alpha Voss, before whatever this turns into between you two goes any further. Whatever place you're hoping to make for yourself in her life — it doesn't replace any of this. It only gets to sit alongside it, if she decides that's what she wants."

"I understand that."

"Good." Something almost approving in the old man's weathered face. "Then we'll get along fine."