Chapter 131: The Shiftless Female Wasn’t Lying (bonus)

Tera slammed into the walls of muscle and warmth, and four arms closed around her before she could even take her next breath.

She buried her face into the space between their chests, and her body shook with a little laugh as the weight of everything crashed down on her.

She had only been gone for more than a night, and she had missed them.

"I missed you both so much." Tera’s smile grew wider.

Xavi’s arms tightened around her until she could feel his heartbeat hammering against her cheek. His chin pressed against the top of her head, and a deep, shuddering exhale left his chest as though he had been holding his breath for days.

Ermin’s face was buried in her hair. His tail wrapped around her thigh, and his hands gripped her waist with a possessiveness that bordered on desperation. He was trembling, and it was the first time Tera had ever felt Ermin shake from anything other than anger.

"We are just glad you are safe," he whispered against her hair.

"I am here." Tera pressed kisses against whichever chest was closest. "I am fine. I promise."

Xavi pulled back just enough to look at her face. His golden eyes were glassy with relief, and the expression on his face was so raw and unguarded that Tera’s chest physically ached.

He cupped her face with those massive hands, tilting it up.

"Don’t disappear again," he rumbled. "I cannot find you without a scent. I could only feel you through the bond, and it was so far..."

"I know." Tera’s voice cracked. "So sorry about that."

Xavi looked panicked. "Don’t—"

Ermin beat him to it, leaning in. "What are you doing? Don’t say that. It wasn’t your fault."

Ermin shifted to press his lips against her temple. Then her cheek. Then the corner of her jaw. Each kiss was soft and lingered, and his tail tightened around her thigh as if anchoring himself to her.

"The twins cried all night," he added quietly, and Xavi nodded.

Tera’s heart fractured.

"I guessed as much." Her smile faded as her chest ached even more. "Oh, I want to see them."

She reached up and cradled Ermin’s face with one hand, stroking his jaw while she did the same to Xavi.

Both males leaned into Tera’s touch, and she laughed before pulling them close again.

She had forgotten how safe it felt to be between them.

Behind her mates, the six Dow clan males who had come along were watching with visible relief. Bessier’s eyes were suspiciously wet, though he was doing his best to pretend otherwise by aggressively inspecting a nearby tree.

"Sorry for worrying you all too." Tera stepped away from her mates to look back at the others.

The other males drew closer, their faces relaxed with such relief.

"Bessier, are you crying?" Tera nearly chuckled.

"NO!" His voice cracked. "There is sap in my eyes!"

’Sap?!’

[Sap indeed]

[(¬‿¬)]

Tera laughed and greeted each of the males warmly, and they all expressed just how worried they had been, their tails and ears betraying their relief in ways their words tried to downplay.

Meanwhile, every single wolf in the Glimmer Pack had gone completely still.

They were watching the reunion unfold with expressions ranging from stunned disbelief to existential crisis.

The shiftless female who had commanded them through the night, who had shouted about nipples and sprayed magic liquid onto rocks, was nestled between a bear the size of a boulder and a panther with a face that belonged on a painting.

And both of them were treating her like she was made of something infinitely precious.

The bear had cupped her face with hands that could crush a skull. The panther had pressed his lips to her temple with a tenderness that made several of the wolf females clutch their own chests involuntarily.

What was that strange greeting?

Six beast males from another clan stood behind them like a personal guard, and every single one of them was looking at the shiftless female with the devoted loyalty of soldiers who would die for their general.

One wolf turned to the wolf beside him. "She was not lying?"

"Which part?"

"I am starting to think none of it."

Another wolf whispered, "What sort of males would follow a shiftless female?"

They all looked at the massive bear and the sleek panther currently wrapped around said female.

"Those sorts, apparently."

"I would also follow her if she made me that meat every night."

"Shut up!"

Greymaw’s face was twisted in a deep scowl, and Girruk stood beside him, looking equally uncomfortable but hiding it better.

Calis stood apart from the group, watching.

The shiftless female was cradling the bear’s face and pressing kisses to his cheeks while the massive beast’s eyes closed in pure contentment. Then she turned to the panther and stroked his jaw, and the fierce-looking beast had visibly relaxed again.

Something twisted in Calis’s chest.

He did not understand it. He had met this female less than a day ago. There was no bond, no history, no reason for the hollow, restless feeling that stirred in his gut when he watched her touch someone else.

It was probably just confusion, as he had never seen such a display before. Why was everyone so touchy? She was even touching and patting the other beasts too, but in a different way than her mates.

She kept defying every expectation he had ever held, and his mind was beginning to process too many new things at once.

Ermin’s body had relaxed now that Tera was in his arms, but his gaze lifted over her head and found Calis.

The warmth in his eyes vanished.

He gently released Tera’s waist and stepped forward.

Xavi’s arm tightened slightly around Tera, keeping her close, but he didn’t move. His golden eyes watched Ermin with quiet trust.

Ermin stared Calis down, and the wolves stood on alert.

"You took her," Ermin growled.

His green eyes held Cali’s crimson ones, and the wolf leader felt a slight guilt. It was another odd feeling he wasn’t familiar with, and it made him uneasy.

"I did not mean to—"

Ermin’s tail gave a single sharp lash. "To take a mother and someone’s mate—"

"Ermin."