The snow still fell lightly as we walked back to camp. Personally, I was enjoying the opportunity to stretch my legs, but the human beings looked thoroughly miserable. They didn't have shifter metabolism to warm them, so it must have been freezing, even in winter coats.

Carter was too tired to carry his sister anymore. The older girl settled herself on Leo's shoulders, and Fion held Ellie in her arms. I had offered to help and been turned down, my sister assuring me that I was terrible with children. She wasn't far wrong. The bundle was heavy enough on its own anyway. I was beginning to wonder if Jeff had just filled it with rocks for a laugh.

It was tempting to open it, but I also wanted to wait until we were back. That way I had something to look forward to for the long walk. And long was a good way to describe it. In wolf form, ten miles was a laughable distance. But with two legs? I regretted not taking the car.

Carter whined the whole way back. Everything annoyed him — his legs hurting, the cold, and mostly his visit to a dangerous psychopath. For some reason, I found myself defending Jeff. "Leave him alone. He didn't hurt you. And people can't help being crazy."

"He threatened to cut out my tongue!" Carter complained loudly. I resisted the urge to do it myself. At that volume level, any werewolf within a mile radius would have heard him, and with the ferals roaming around so freely, I didn't want to attract attention.

"You threatened to shoot me," I reminded him. "So grow up. You don't change the world by shouting at it."

He scowled viciously. "I can damn well try."

"Okay, how about this? Shut your mouth, or we'll go back to Jeff and make that threat a reality."

Funnily enough, he went really quiet after that, though I did have to put up with his stomach growling and the pointed looks that suggested his hunger was my fault. I did actually have food in the rucksack, and I made a show of eating it in front of him. Ha.

It came as a relief, then, when we reached camp and I could hand him over to the first patrol I found. Or rather, they found us, if only because I wasn't trying to be sneaky. Ollie had tightened up the patrols considerably after Shadowless and the Alphas got through, and we had tested the security by challenging the best raiders to sneak past. Only Syd Jacobs and a chill guy called Aaron had succeeded, which I knew was as good as we would get for the meantime.

When Rhys or Rhodric got back, who were the most proficient trespassers I had ever found, they would be able to help us close the loopholes. If they got back, another part of my brain whispered. My wolf growled at that little voice until it fell silent.

The patrol appeared from the trees, quiet enough that I could have mistaken them for ghosts. They spread out to surround us, even though every one of them knew whom we were. Part honour-guard and part precaution. It was only sensible when we had guests.

By scent, I recognised the leader, a battle-scarred and grizzled wolf. It was Emmett, who I had fought in the command rooms only the day before. He had eventually submitted to me with a blade against his ribs, but I was still wary of the guy. He must have been settling in well, though, if he had already joined the patrol rota.

"Hey, boys," I greeted them. One of the younger wolves wagged his tail in reply. "This is Carter. He's a cowardly runt who hates us. Any volunteers to escort him to the cells?"

I wasn't going to order them. I wouldn't. That wasn't how rogues worked. I wasn't some kind of Goddess for them to look up to and obey blindly. My job as leader was simply to make suggestions, and the rogues could choose for themselves whether to listen. That way left us all free and equal in the pack.

Emmett flicked his ears and paced forwards, which I took as assent. A deep voice rumbled through the link, "It would be my pleasure."

Leo shoved the boy in his general direction, letting Emmett herd him like a sheep. I watched the rogue bare his teeth in a grin and revel in Carter's fear. He had done this before, I guessed. Another wolf, whom I knew by scent as Ryker, joined in with obvious relish.

"If he gets mouthy, feel free to remove a few body parts," I said carelessly.

Emmett's grin widened. But the human boy turned to fix a furious glare on me. "Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm tucking you into bed with milk and cookies," I said in exasperation. "Just shut up. You're only making things worse for yourself."

Ryker's wolf took the opportunity to snap at Carter's leg, reinforcing my words. His teeth missed cloth and skin by a hair's breadth, and the boy went as pale as the snow we stood in. The two rogues advanced until he was backed up against a tree.

I smiled at the new silence. "Much better."

And trusting that they would deal with the prisoner, I carried on through the trees, on a direct track to the castle. The rest of the patrol fell in around us as an escort. The excitable wolf with the endlessly wagging tail kept glancing over at me, almost shyly.

I racked my brain for a name, but he was obviously years younger and so unfamiliar. I asked aloud, "What's your name?"

He brushed the mind-link, tentative and nervous. I opened the connection the whole way to let him speak. "Owen."

"Aaron's brother, aren't you?" I realised. This kid had trailed after us occasionally, never quite able to keep up. But I remembered him affectionately as bashful and eager. I also knew he was one of Mortimer-from-the-council's many children.

"Yes!" he replied. Delight that I knew him flooded across the link. And I couldn't help it — I already loved this boy. He was one of those people that everyone is driven to protect from the world.

"You're doing a good job, Owen. Trying out for the fighters?"

We often put youths of his age — fifteen or sixteen — on patrol to test them. If someone proved brave and capable, one of the elders would point them towards Ollie. If they weren't already attached to a raiding team, he could have a quiet word with one of the leaders. Everyone found a place sooner or later.

A sudden damper in spirits. "I hope so. But Aaron says I'm better at tracking."

"I'll bet Aaron just doesn't want his little brother showing him up. Screw him. You do what you want," I told him. It wasn't strictly true. Aaron was as good a fighter as I had ever met, and this boy was still a pup. But if it encouraged him, the half-truth was worth it.

It worked well, and he chattered happily for the rest of the walk. Some of the other boys joined in too, eagerly telling stories about their training and families. I listened without interrupting much, glad for the opportunity to be distracted.

When I reached the courtyard, I saw that Carter wasn't here yet. As he was an enemy and human, Ryker and Emmett would spend an hour leading him around in crazy circles before they returned. We didn't want anyone knowing the way to the castle, let alone a hunter. Although the castle was quite hard to miss...

None of the rogues paid much attention to us. They were largely moving about their own business, but a few had stopped to watch a small pack which had gathered near the gate. The fighters were shifting and gathering for something. I just wasn't sure what.

Before I could holler for answers, Tally stalked up to me with a scowl on her face. "Where on earth have you been? You were due back hours ago!"

"Snowstorm and humans. It's a long story," I said dismissively.

Kyle wasn't far behind her, and Ollie saw the commotion and joined us. My second-in-command waved our escort away, although Owen left reluctantly and with many backwards glances. Now there wasn't an audience to the Shadowless girl's anger. "Not good enough, I'm afraid. We were about to send out a search party."

"Mind-link?" I suggested inquiringly, tapping the side of my head.

"Ollie tried twice. You were too far away to notice, I think. That or blocking." She gave me an accusing stare. "So where did you shelter?"

I shrugged the duffel bag and rucksack from my shoulder and rubbed the sore skin where they had been. They found a new home by my feet. That thing was damned heavy. "We spent the afternoon with old Jeff."

Tally obviously didn't know who that was, as she hadn't grown up with us. Kyle and Ollie, though, looked horrified. The younger twin whinged at me, "What the hell were you thinking, Skye? Everyone knows that guy is a killer."

"I was thinking that cold kills slower," I said shortly, gesturing at the two children who stood shyly at Fion's heels. I knew my friends were just concerned, but I was also tired and not in the mood to answer a hundred questions.

Ollie sensed that, maybe with some help from the link. He just said quietly, "Jeff's crazy."

Not completely, I thought, just misunderstood some of the time. But that answer wouldn't reassure him, so I improvised. "I'm crazier. Look, I'm alive, aren't I? What more can you ask for?"

"Some communication," he said, not ungently.

This was another difference between rogues and packs, I realised. Rogues had absolutely no fear of talking back, trusting me not to punish them for speaking their minds. Whereas flockies were too afraid of seeming insolent. Alphas would often lash out, especially if their critics were right. And mine certainly were.

"You're right, and I'm sorry. Next time I'll tell you if we're delayed," I promised.

Ollie glanced to his right, mind-linking, and the pack of wolves dispersed. They had been the search party, I guessed. Unnecessary now. Tally and Kyle left with them, probably in search of food. It was getting near dinnertime, and the scent of roasting meat wafted temptingly from the canteen.

I found I didn't have the energy to go with them, though. I didn't have to either, because Ollie caught my hungry glances and murmured something about bringing trays to us. I thanked him the only way I knew how — a grateful feeling across the link, and I began dragging my discarded bags towards my bed.

Fion took Kathy's hand for the walk to the alcove. Leo scooped up Ellie with energy he didn't really have, swinging her high before settling her on his shoulder. Despite her own exhaustion, the girl shrieked with delight.

Wait, he was good with kids? How had my mate ended up so damn perfect?

The five of us navigated the streams of people to the quiet corner where we bedded down. There, my sister took charge of the girls. She sat them on blocks of fallen stone and went in search of Maggie. That woman would know some mother with a kind heart who could take them in while their brother rotted in our cells.

They would be allowed to roam around freely as long as they stayed within eyeshot of an adult, I knew, having once been the abducted child myself. We didn't exactly have a young Rhys to play guide and protector, but I did know one friendly six-year-old, and so I called him through the link.

Sammy hadn't been far off, so it took five minutes for him to appear by the eaves. His smiling blue eyes found me quickly. "Hi."

"Hi," I replied, then crouched down to his level. "I've found some friends for you. Think you can look after them for me?"

He bit his lip and made a child's solemn promise. "I'll try."

Then it was just a matter of introducing them. They got on remarkably better than Rhys and I had at first, to be honest. We had started a fistfight, if I remembered correctly. But Sammy played the perfect little gentleman, immediately offering the girls a place to sleep in his tent. Kathy clamped her mouth shut, full of uncertainty, but little Ellie beamed and agreed in a second.

"Remind you of anything?" Fion asked, obviously thinking like me.

"I wasn't that small," I insisted, which made her laugh, of course.

"You were smaller! And you're still a midget, Skye."

Bullshit, obviously. I cleared five feet by a least a few inches. And I now used that height to peer past Fion. I had guessed right — she had Maggie in tow, and the old woman surveyed the girls with obvious disapproval.

"They're skin and bone!" she exclaimed. "Come on, girls. Let's find you some dinner, eh?"

Sammy, Ellie and Kathy followed her like a line of ducklings, without even a backwards glance. That easily, we were forgotten. I couldn't say I minded. I liked those girls, but I didn't really have the patience to look after them.

Ollie stopped by just long enough to drop off the promised food — roast beef and potatoes. We wouldn't have been able to afford it usually, but Alpha Jace had kept his promise, much to my surprise. The details for Last Haven's new bank account arrived with a flockie messenger, and it was overflowing with money. Maggie was having a field day with her new spending budget.

I wolfed down the food faster than both Fion and Leo combined and then retreated to the warmth of my sleeping bag. Or I would have, if the bundle wasn't carelessly discarded on my bed. I finally picked at the cloth, undoing the coarse ropes which held it together. When I got bored of fiddling with knots, I sped up the process with my switchblade.

The wrappings fell aside to reveal pieces of shiny metal. I picked one up for a closer examination. It was thin steel, I reckoned. One surface, the convex of a curve, was inlaid with golden decorations. The whorls and swirls met to form a wolf sigil. Odd.

The shape was incredibly specific, which I found intriguing. And they were all different shapes and sizes, some thin rectangles and some broad and curved. Most had either buckles or strips of leather attached, and that made me suspect that they fit together somehow.

I spent a good half hour trying to decipher how that worked without making any real progress. It was impossible to fit together a puzzle with no idea what it was supposed to look like. Finally, I gave up and shouted for Leo. He and Fion had been playing a quiet game of I-Spy under the eaves outside. My sister had used the opportunity to make veiled threats and hints about what Rhys would do to Leo when he found out we were mated. I had been listening without really paying attention.

Why Leo? I thought to myself a second later. Fion was hella smart and more likely to know werewolf lore. But my wolf wanted Leo's company. I queried how she could be missing him when we had spent the whole day together. She just whined in reply.

He ducked into the alcove instantly. I suspected his wolf was being just as needy as mine. I patted the bed beside me and made room for him to sit there. Once settled, he took one look at the metal plate spread over my sleeping bag and smiled in wonder.

"Where did you get this?"

"It was in Jeff's present," I explained with a shrug. "Doesn't look very useful to me."

"Don't you know what this is?" Leo asked. I shook my head mutely, and he grimaced. "Sorry. I guess no one ever told you bedtime stories, did they?"

That wasn't strictly true. "Rhodric tried sometimes. But he didn't know any of the usual northern ones, and we weren't very good listeners."

"That's weird... You think he didn't grow up around here?"

I ran a finger across the golden crest. The mention of Llewellyns on Anglesey sprang to mind. That island was isolated enough to have different customs and legends. "I don't know what to think. He's a mystery to all of us. But forget Rhodric. What is this?"

Leo's smile reappeared. "Well, that's the amazing thing. I didn't think there were any complete sets left. Must be worth a fortune."

"As much as I'm loving the drama, just spill."

He paused, as if deciding how to explain it. "Years and years ago — and I'm talking fifteenth century — the knights weren't the only ones who went to extra lengths to protect themselves. Wolves adopted the idea of armour for themselves, having it specially forged to fit their wolf form. There isn't really a technical term ... it's just wolf armour."

"Wolf armour?" I was sceptical and not entirely convinced he wasn't teasing me.

But Leo was deadly serious as he reeled off the remainder of his knowledge. "Very useful in a messy fight, not so much one-on-one. Nowadays, it must be worth a fortune, if only because it's one of a kind. As centuries went by, the sets were damaged beyond repair or lost. This one, though" —he scratched a spot of rust— "it's nearly perfect."

"Needs a clean," I acknowledged. The steel was crusted with tarnish and rust, but there was little that wouldn't be solved by a good clean. Sand and vinegar first, I decided, then a good coat of metal polish.

"Someone must have made improvements," Leo noted. He snapped two pieces together in a demonstration. "There are magnets inlaid into the corners to hold it in place."

I hadn't even noticed, but I admired the shiny implants. With the magnets as a guide, it looked far easier to assemble, and I got a dangerous gleam in my eyes. "Let's try it on."

I shifted so Leo could do all the work. It still took a lot of trial and error to decipher which piece went where, almost like a giant, three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. But when we were finished, it was definitely worth the effort.

It didn't cover my full body, just the vulnerable parts. The back of my neck, my shoulders, and of course my throat. Scaled pieces curved between my front legs, wrapping around to meet the plate across my back. A single plate protected the front of my face, leaving my lower jaws were free to bite and tear.

"It'll slow me down a bit, but might be worth it in an open battle," I observed through the link. "Does it look ridiculous?"

Leo shook his head. He had stepped back to admire the full effect, and he stared wide-eyed at the pale steel and dark fur. "No, you look—"

"Beautiful and terrifying at the same time," Fion interrupted. I hadn't even seen her enter, but she was regarding me with open interest. Her eyes kept flickering back to the crest, which had turned out to be a chest plate. "I don't know that sigil, but it must belong to an old-blooded family. We'll have to ask around."

"The armour belonged to Jeff," I told her, rather unhelpfully because we didn't know his surname. Either way, it wasn't foremost on my mind. I rolled my shoulders and the metal moved with me. It hardly restricted my flexibility, but I felt like cyber wolf. I guessed bitterly, "Everyone will laugh."

I was wrong.

"They won't be able to laugh when you rip their throats out," Leo reasoned, which made me smile despite myself.

Fion was taking a more cynical approach. "You'll be targeted, you know. It sets you apart."

"Let them," I invited, sending an image of blood, guts and gore across the link. I had plenty of inspiration, with all the carnage that tended to be left in my wake.

"Oh, come on, I didn't need to see that," Fion whined.

"Seriously, we just ate," Leo agreed. "But if you want to try it out, we should wait until morning. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm exhausted."

She nodded. "Go to your bed then. We're about to."

"No, stay here," I suggested. "My bed is big enough for two."

Fion shouted that idea down before Leo could even open his mouth. "Oh, no. No, no, no. No thank you."

"We'd just be sleeping," I protested. I wouldn't have made such a fuss if it weren't for my wolf. She was constantly hounding my thoughts, impressing her need to stay with her mate.

She shook her head for the last time. "No."

"Fine..." I looked around for inspiration. "Rhys isn't using his mattress. Dump his bedding and stay there until he gets back."

Leo eyed the tangle of blankets and sheets. "I'm not sure. I'm kinda scared of your brother, you know."

"Aw," I cooed. "It's okay — I'll protect you."

And that settled it. Leo fetched his bedding from a nondescript tent while I shifted back and pulled on an oversized shirt which probably belonged to Rhys. My mate then hovered around nervously until I had thrown my brother's belongings into a messy heap. In the end, I slept there and my mate ended up on my bed, just because I didn't care either way.

The mattress was close enough to satisfy my wolf, and far enough away to convince Fion of our good intentions. She grumbled and glared as much as she could while we got ready for bed. Leo would have left out of sheer awkwardness if his wolf hadn't been as restless as mine.

I knew what it wasn't — her being overprotective or judgemental, but I couldn't quite work out what it was. Fion wasn't in a hurry to enlighten me.

We both fell asleep too quickly to realise that she tossed and turned for hours. It wasn't so much Leo that bothered her, just a male scent so close by. Near midnight she gave up trying to sleep there at all and simply dragged her bedding into a quiet corner of the cellars. But I didn't know that at the time, because she rose before me the next morning and never once admitted what was wrong.