feet, but I was going to wait on that for later. A vision struck me. It was of an older Omega. She’d been gray haired and blue eyed. It was like she spoke to me in that moment.
She leaned against a wooden pole, like she stood on an old-fashioned porch. Dressed in a green dress with white gloves, I wondered if she was on her way somewhere where she had to look fancy, or if she’d ripped such a lovely dress off every time she’d had to shift. I might never put on good clothes again.
“The thing about a rope is that it can be pulled on both ends. You just have to make it taut and yank it harder. Sometimes, a Loup is still too connected to the Alpha that failed him to begin with you. Have to yank harder, you have to become the thing that they hold on to until you can set them right again.”
I loved the slight lilt in her voice. It made me wonder about her background, where she had to have picked up that way of speaking. As far as I knew, we’d all lived in the swamp area and then gone from there, but she would have had to have been somewhere else entirely to sound like that.
I smiled. There was so much knowledge lost in our history, and no one left to teach it to us. Centuries of werewolf understanding disappeared with the death of our people to the Accords. Thanks to the Loup still causing me a headache now.
I pushed myself back to the present. Rainer tilted his head looking at me. “You okay?”
“Just doing a little post-mortem communication.”
He shook his head. “So weird.”
“Yep. That’s a good way to describe it.” But I had something to do, and later, we could focus on how odd everything was. Maybe someday I’d just get to be a werewolf, shifting when I wanted to and living an otherwise normal life. Well…maybe. I was going to spend my life with four very hot men in a relationship that was more solemn than most human marriages. That was a different kind of normal.
In the meantime, I focused on the wolf my mother held for me. I had to disconnect him from his Loup and tug harder. My powers were like a wolf with sharp claws. I struck out with them, severing Ross from this man’s mind, and then I pushed my healing magic at him so strongly, it was like a growl surging from my mouth. With a smile, I healed him as he gave himself over to me. I lifted my head to Rainer.
“Got him.”
My alpha mate smiled, slowly. “I can feel him. You gave him to me.”
For now, that was how it would work. What was mine was, as it was, his. “Take him.”
“Will do.” He nodded. “Bring her the next one.”
I wasn’t the least bit tired. I could do this all day.
A roar sounded in my head. Everyone around us jumped, even in their wolf bodies, which told me that I wasn’t the only one who could hear it. No. I amended that thought. Rainer didn’t jump. He tilted his head in the way that he did when he found things interesting but not concerning.
“Someone is mad.”
The growls sounded everywhere. I didn’t blame them. It wasn’t any fun having Ross in their heads. They’d all suffered through that once. But this was different. It wasn’t control. It was projection. He’d yelled psychically loud enough through the link that we’d all heard it.
I imagined that was everywhere. Wolves who had no idea what was going on in the middle of who knew where must have heard that noise. A roaring wolf. I preferred the sounds of growls and howls. Much more natural. But Ross had put away everything that was understandable a long time ago.
Closing my eyes, I let myself see him in my mind’s eye.
“MacKenzie?” Rainer asked, wanting my attention. He wouldn’t like this, me giving any part of myself over to see that Loup.
I lifted my lids and patted his arm. “I’m okay. Ross is in his house. It’s very close. I can practically see him, but he’s going to wait because I’m busy right now.”
“Next up,” Rainer called. “Bring her the next one.”
I was an Omega. Ross would have to wait his turn for my attention.
When I’d yanked the last of his Loups away, I stood straight up, stretching my back. Anton shifted back and walked toward us as Preston