She was so calm. I had no idea how she remained so calm. The longer I was around her, the more I could see the changes within her. She had been terrified in my pack territory, especially when the pack surrounded her but now she had no fear. It was as if it had simply disappeared. She showed no reaction to being pinned down with the eyes of a shifter. There wasn't a flinch, not even an ounce of her wanting to run or hunch away from the predators that watched her.

She had defiance and that terrified me.

This was no place to have that type of attitude, shifters were not creatures one could be defiant to when one was essentially a mundane. I didn't want her hurt and shifters could be notoriously aggressive when given defiance from a weaker creature. I knew it was an issue with me as well but now I had Lynn to think about and all I could think about was that the shifters here were not going to take kindly to her attitude.

The large Alpha in the doorway shifter, his eyes focused intently on me. "She will be fine." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I will be informing the pack that if she is harmed, my female will have issues with it. There won't be any trouble." His mouth quirked upwards slightly as he glanced at Lynn before back at me. "It's you that will have the most issues. We don't allow weakness in the mountain packs, so you are going to have to fight for your right to be here." I looked at Lynn and she scuffed her foot by the door. Her safety was everything to me.

"You are sure that if you tell them to leave her alone... that they will?" I could deal with being thrown around but I couldn't bear the thought of her being harmed in anyway.

He shook his head. "No. I said I would tell them that if she is harmed, my female will have an issue with it. They won't test the issue." His mouth quirked up, amusement making his eyes dance with mirth. "You know my female, would you test her like that?" The memory of that dominance shoving down on me made a cold shiver run down my spine. I shook my head and he chuckled. "No one will harm your female. She is safe." He said as if he knew how agitated I was.

I looked up at him, meeting his gaze and he quirked an eyebrow up. My wolf refused to look away and kept our eyes locked. "Keep looking at me like that and you will be the one hurting." His posture straightened and his demeanour went cold. "I am the Alpha of this mountain and I will take no disrespect. You have no claim, no footing in this world. Remember that and lower your gaze." There was a deadly rumbling from him and I struggled with my wolf to get him to stop. We had been born to be an Alpha, the thought of being subservient to another Alpha and to be kicked to the bottom of the social order was grating.

"Why do all you guys posture like that? Who are you impressing?" Lynn's tone was twisted with disgusted confusion and I glanced at her at the same time Azrael did. She looked between the two of us as if expecting an answer.

"I have stated before that posturing and radiating dominance is nothing but a showing of masculinity for the viewing of other males. And once again I shall repeat, it speaks of latent homosexual tendencies." At the soft but sharp edged voice I immediately deflated as the small, blonde female emerged from around the large Alpha. Even he deflated in her presence, a testament to her dominant position.

Lynn laughed loudly at her words, the sounds full of mirth and amusement. "I will have to remember that one." She smiled at the female but it faltered on her face. I was instantly on point, taking a step towards her until I saw what had caused the reaction. The small female had a baby in a sling that pressed the child against her chest. My eyes fell to Lynn as she turned her face away, her lips pinched together.

Her pain called to me, asking me to remove it and I found myself moving across the room to stand beside her, letting my arm slide around her waist and my lips to fall to her head. I wanted to comfort her, to give her the support she needed to get through that pain she was experiencing. She leaned against me, as if accepting my touch and comfort and that soothed my instincts and soothed the bond between us.

"How is my boy?" Azrael bent down, kissing the downy head of the baby in the sling before kissing Lace's head.

"He is fine. The pack is waiting." Her words were clipped before she tilted her head up and drew her teeth across Azrael's jaw. She looked down and smoothed her hand down the baby's head with a soft smile on her face. Lynn's face turned further towards me and I brushed my lips across her hairline, holding her a fraction tighter.

"Alright, let's go." Azrael nodded to me and I gave a slow nod of my own as I looked down at Lynn. She stiffened in my arms and pushed away from me. I was hesitant to let her go but I let my arms fall down, knowing she would just get aggravated with me if I ignored her unspoken request.

Lynn moved towards the door, slipping on her shoes. I followed her, putting my boots on as the Alpha pair walked away from the house. Lynn looked back at me, stopping in the doorway for me as she crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing at her arms. I didn't like how she felt she needed to wait but I was also highly aware of just how limited and slow I was. My wolf bared his teeth at me, he understood that it was my leg that was holding us both back. Not just in speed but our very lives. I was the reason we had been forced to give up our Alpha claim. His agitation for what he had lost was growing worse and more uncontrollable.

"You look snarly. One might have thought getting your rocks off twice in one day would have made your mood improve." She raised her eyebrow, her cheeks turning a tantalizing shade of pink. My wolf both softened and grew more agitated with her words. Softened because she was his female and agitated because she was deriding us again. There was a heavy need in him to make her submit, he needed to reassert himself as a dominant creature and, in his mind, she needed to understand the hierarchy. She was a weaker creature and he felt that she needed to be put in her place.

"Don't look at me like that." She shuffled her feet and narrowed her eyes in my direction and I shook my head. My wolf needed to understand that she was delicate, that she couldn't take rough treatment like that. She wasn't a shifter but he didn't understand that. She was his mate and that made her just like him in his animal mind. However, his agitation was grating to me as it showed a callous disregard for her wellbeing. "You ready to go?" She held out her hand, her cheeks going red and I blinked in surprise but didn't hesitate as I moved over and took her hand before she could change her mind.

Her hand was soft and delicate in mine and it made me happy to hold her hand. I wanted to puff up with pride that she had offered her hand to me at all. No matter how my wolf felt, no matter how upset he was that her mouth threw venom at us, she was our miracle and she was our mate. I could ignore her words when she did actions like offering her hand for being hold because I knew I would only be driven crazy if I focused on the words she said.

There was something in me that knew not to take it seriously. Her emotions seemed to be on a pendulum, swinging from one extreme to another. One moment there was heated hate, then next she was in tears, before she moved into wanting to be close to me. Not that I minded the last one, it just felt odd, like I was taking advantage of her mood swings for my own benefit.

"So what is this ritual about?" Lynn looked up at me and I frowned slightly. I was nervous, I didn't want to show it but I was.

"It's a ritual that is going to bring me into the pack." As much as I hated the fact I would be under another Alpha with no claim to my name, I missed being part of a pack. The silence in my head was abrasive. Shifters were social creatures and even after Amanda's death, my pack had always been there. Their presence might have been thin and weak but the pack had always been there. Now my head felt so empty, there was nothing there, it was too quiet for both me and my wolf.

She was slowing her pace for me and I was once again hit with a wave of self-hatred. My female shouldn't have been forced to slow down for me. She should have been able to boldly walk without a change in pace with me at her side. "What about me?"

Her question pulled me away from my self hate for a moment. "It won't have any affect on you. You are mundane so you can't have a connection to the pack." I would never hear her in my head and it had me holding her hand that might tighter. I only had the physical with her, we didn't share much of anything else.

I looked to the back of the Alpha pair, they walked side by side, their pace never faltering, never changing. She moved fluidly beside him and he stood strong beside her. Envy filled me that I couldn't do that with Lynn, she didn't have a strong male to walk beside. Her hand shifted in my grip. "Well what does it do to you?" She looked up at me, curiosity making her eyes bright and it was enough to calm my thoughts.

"I don't really know. I have seen it done a few times and I can only guess it gives someone a really bad headache." That was all I truly remembered from those moments. The shifters gripping their heads, needing to lie down in the dark for a few hours. The thought was enough to make my nerves flare up once more, my stomach twisting harshly. I couldn't focus, my thoughts were all over the place and I limped beside Lynn, the movement more pronounced.

"You okay?" The question was asked low and quiet as if she didn't want to alert the Alpha pair of the question. I pressed my lips together and I wanted to appear strong but I found myself shaking my head. I wasn't okay. I had my claim taken away from me, my wolf was growing more aggressive with his inability to be what he was born for, and my nerves were eating away at me. The mountain shifters were large, larger than I had been even at my peak. That just made my wolf that much more aggressive and agitated. "Do you mind elaborating that?" Lynn squeezed my hand, bringing my attention back to her.

"I don't know. Everything is...." I let out a heavy breath. I didn't know what to say, didn't have the words to properly explain what it was that I was feeling.

"Change is hard and I don't want to be a bitch but you are probably experiencing what I have been for the past five days." She looked up at me, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. I clenched my jaw as she stopped walking. I could see the gates to the pack's compound and she moved to stand in front of me. "I wouldn't wish what I was feeling on anyone but I won't lie, I am happy that you are." That made me wince and my wolf to bare his teeth. I didn't like the thought that she was relishing in this. I went to pull my hand from hers but she tightened her grip. "I say this because your arrogance on what I was experiencing, your inability to see how it was devastating me, cut me deeper than anything else. I am happy because it gives you empathy to understand just how shitty this entire process is for me." Her gaze was firm and strong as she met my own.

"I lost everything that mattered to me, Bastian, and you just kept telling me that I needed to accept it, that you would do it again a thousand times over because it benefited you. Well now its not benefiting you and you are feeling what I did, what I am feeling." Her focus was intense and I could feel that look deep down to my soul where her's shone so brightly. "I need your empathy because I don't know what is going on with me, Bastian." There was a faint fear to her gaze that made my urge to protect her jump to the forefront. "I can't control myself anymore. My moods are swinging from one extreme to the next and it won't stop and I don't know why." She swallowed hard and looked away. I inhaled deeply before stepping closer to her and brushing my lips across her forehead in an attempt to comfort what I didn't know.

"It's because the bond was claimed by force." At the loud voice both Lynn and I jumped. The large Mountain Alpha was once again close to us, his eyes intent on us both. "Its why your emotions are everywhere, little mundane. We shifters understand this, our wolves are there to help us, you do not have the preparation you required to understand this new world. Your emotions are lashing out in a subconscious struggle against what was forced onto you." His voice was a low rumble as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh..." Lynn turned around to look at him, her back pressed against my chest.

I flicked my eyes to the Alpha. "I didn't claim her by-"

He shook his head, cutting me off. "Not you. You didn't create and seal the bond. Mene did but it doesn't stop the effects from being the same." His mouth twitched slightly, up or down I couldn't tell. "Perhaps it is the best she doesn't have a wolf. I can't imagine how sharp her teeth would be when her words can cut a male to his core." His amusement was clear as he looked down at my little female. "Enough talk, the pack is waiting." Her jerked his head towards the compound and turned. His movement was clear in his order to have us follow.

I couldn't help but bristle against it. I had been born to be an Alpha and here I was, subservient to another and ordered around. I swallowed my pride and shoved my wolf's away. This was what we had to do, this was our penance for what had been done and we would pay it. I moved around Lynn, holding my head up high as nerves frayed and tore in my wariness and uncertainty. I tried hard to walk straight and true but my leg gave out a little each step I took. A limp that would never be removed.

A hand grasped mine and when I looked towards Lynn she was looking away, her cheeks that alluring shade of pink. "You looked like you needed it, don't read too much into it." Her words were meant to bite but they held no viciousness. I felt my mouth turn up at my female's sudden understanding and I squeezed her hand. The action made me feel better, not a lot but enough for me to keep my head held high as we entered the compound.

The eyes of the shifters that lived there landed on us both and I could sense their judgment from their gaze alone as we moved closer. Several lips curled upwards and I shifted so Lynn was behind me, returning the silent snarls with a curled lip of my own. I refused to have those looks on her as I followed Azrael through the sea of quiet hostility.

There was a stiff silence as we moved forwards and Azrael stopped moving at the edge of the group and turned around. "I received a call from Altia that alerted me to a situation that required my help. I was told my help was non-negotiable, that it was going to happen, and I would have to accept it." There was an edge to his tone that let me know he did not appreciate being ordered around by the goddess's territory. "The situation was this, Mene saw fit to pair a mundane with a shifter and as we mountain shifters are known for being open as love is love and a mating is sacred, we were chosen to take the pair on as pack members." There was no sounds after his declaration and he looked over the crowd before he held his hand out towards us.

"Lynn." It was a low rumble and I hesitated, not wanting to let her go but she moved passed me, her head held high as she moved towards Azrael. "This is the mundane. Her name is Lynn." I could feel the gazes fall off me to land on her and I tensed, wanting to shield her from the looks but Azrael shifted his feet, his countenance once again cold. "I will let this be known once. Alpha Lace has taken a liking to this female. If any harm comes to her, she will be dealing with it personally." There was a heavy warning to his words and Lace snapped her teeth together once in a spine chilling sound. The pack, immediately and in unison, looked away from Lynn completely. I was rather in shock at the utter obedience and fear they had for the small Alpha Female.

Azrael gently grasped Lynn's shoulder, guiding her to stand beside his small female before his gaze turned to me. Lace held out a dagger for him that he took gingerly. He gave a jerky gesture for me to approach him and I did, doing my best not to limp underneath the eyes that landed on me. "This is Bastian, he is Lynn's male, their mating will be respected and they will be accepted as pack mates to you all." His voice was loud and it carried far. "I give my blood to acknowledge your sacrifice." He drew the blade down his forearm without a sound or a twitch to his face. He held out his hand expectantly, ignoring the blood seeping from the wound.

I could feel the burn of the silver from my position but held out my arm anyway. "Separabunt necessitudines. I take your blood to seal it." He drew the blade down my arm and I clenched my teeth to avoid hissing at the burning pain the silver blade cause. He pressed the wounds together as Lace took the knife away from him. I could feel the crackle of magic between us as he wounds touched. "I take you into the fold of my pack. I shall protect you, provide for you, and care for you as if you were of my blood. I accept you into Algus as if you were born into us. Accepto necessitudines." At the words there was a heavy wrenching inside my mind as I felt his acutely within my head. The wrenching turned to a burning as the new pack line was formed. "Brace yourself." His voice was low and I ground my teeth together, my body stiffening as I could hear the pack move behind me.

"Accepto necessitudines." The words came from them all and I nearly buckled at the burning wrenching inside my head as over a hundred pack links connected to my mind. It was like my head felt overly full and squeezed, as if too much was being put into a small space all at once. I held my footing, bracing myself through the pain, focusing on the only thing I had to keep me standing. Lynn's soul was there, calming and even in its presence. I clung to it, moved closer to try and keep it close and within reach. She was my reason for life and she was the reason I endured as I was.

My head throbbed angrily and I could feel the pack. The emptiness that had taunted me during the drive was no gone. I had a pack but as I straightened, slowly letting my muscles loosen, I understood where I now stood in the pack. Azrael let me go, breaking the connection before slapping my shoulder, nearly sending me forward. "Welcome to Algus." He grinned at me, teeth glinting in the light. "We shall discuss your jobs in the morning. Tonight we help you settle." He pushed me forward and to the pack and I felt a headache build in intensity at the base of my skull.

"Everything in the old car needs to go to their home. They will need food and gifts to welcome them to the pack." Azrael's voice echoed into the air and the pack started chattering as they moved away, some towards the vehicle and others to various other buildings. He gripped my shoulder again as I narrowed my eyes, trying to alleviate the pain from my head. "You and your female can meet everyone tomorrow, tonight you need rest." He let his hand drop and I stumbled forward, rubbing at my forehead.

Lynn appeared beside me, grabbing me around the waist and pulling my arm over her shoulder. "Don't like how they are looking at you." The words were muttered underneath her breath as her gaze darted around.

I shook my head. "Need to get use to it. This is our life now." Despite my words I could feel the calculating gazes on my back. The pack would make me prove myself and I knew it would be an uphill battle. I wanted to give a bitter laugh. Once the heir to the proverbial throne and now I was going to spend my time in the dirt in an attempt to make a life for me and Lynn. I was nothing and I knew this pack would let me know it every chance they got.