“Finn...” I said, moving towards him.
“It’s OK. I’ll be OK.”
The fact he had to say that, that his eyes remained on the drinks he was carrying and didn’t meet mine, all said otherwise. When he had distributed the waters and was seated at the table as we were, he looked up, the same friendly, open expression I’d thought was an integral part of him on his face.
“So, Sylvan was it?” The other man nodded from where he slouched in his chair, watching us with a smirk. “How can you get me past the gate before they close it?”
“Us,” I said. I watched Finn grab my hand and squeeze, but he didn’t reply to what I’d said.
“You don’t actually need me. You have everything you need within you.”
“Is this one of those Gandalf moments, where you’re all obscure, and we have to find our own way towards the goal and discover we’re more powerful than we think? Because I’d prefer some more explicit instruction,” I said.
“Jules...” Finn said.
“I mean it quite literally. You connected with the Great Wolves during your little ‘moment’ before,” Sylvan said.
“Great Wolves?” Finn said. “You make it sound like there’s more than one.”
“Because there is.”
“So there’s more than just the goddess?” he replied, looking confused.
“Is she a goddess? That I don’t know. They are extremely powerful beings, that I do. I was always brought up to believe in the male, the Black Wolf you saw in your vision. I didn’t discover the female—your goddess—until I came into my power. The clerics that trained me, they tried to discredit her existence, resorting to demonising her as some kind of diabolical force. Both of our peoples have chosen one of them to follow, ignoring the other.”
“And that’s somehow important, right?” I said.
He shrugged. “I can tell you what I’ve seen, but that’s a guaranteed way for the end result to not take place.”
“So is that normal?” I said to Finn. “The light, what... happened with all of us.”
“The mated are often close-mouthed, but no one’s ever said anything about something like... that happening.” The professional mask slipped for a moment. Finn’s smile faltered, and he stared at me for a second, eyes wide. Finally, he shook his head. “What happened was... I don’t know if I’ve got words for it. The best I can come up with is magical.”
“Magical, that’s right,” Sylvan said, leaning forward. “Your pack is magical.”
“I think he meant more in ‘the earth moved for me’ kinda way than what you’re thinking,” I said. “What are you suggesting? Group orgy by the fence to unlock the gate? Be like a sexual Voltron, combine together using the strength of my vagina power?”
Sylvan shook his head. “You have the oddest turns of phrase. No, what I’m saying is you can tap into the power of the Great Wolf.”
“And risk the big black one coming to eat us all up?” I said with a frown. “Is this one of those ‘if you die in your dreams, you die in real life’ things?”
“If the Black Wolf catches you, you may as well be dead,” Sylvan said grimly.
“So, let me get this straight, rather than steal a key card that will get us—”
“Me. There’s no ‘us’ in this, Jules.”
“Us through the gate to rescue the dads, we have sex, tap into the mystical power of some overpowered mutt. Oh, and watch out for her Freddy Kruger counterpart, if he gets his paws on you, you're dead? That’s no fucking plan.”
“I dunno, the group sex part didn’t sound too bad.”
My head jerked up to see Slade had wandered in, Aaron, Hawk, and Brandon behind him. Just as Aaron was about to shut the door, Jack slunk in, looking super pleased to be there. The guys all took seats around the table—all except for Jack, who leaned against the couch, arms crossed.
“You go through that gate, you know I’m with you,” Slade said.
“And me,” Aaron said, “and my boys. No one’s happy about the way the matriarchs are dealing with this. A chance to do something covert and strike back at those pricks? We’re in.”
“I appreciate the support. Really, I do,” Finn said. “But it can’t go down like that. I need you guys here, looking after Jules. She’s our mate—”