Oathbound
1677 Words
Wrenna POV
“Would you just calm down and tell me what Calista said?” Damian caught her wrists, halting her trembling hands before she could shove more into the half-open bag.
Why was she even packing? She needed to go. f**k the clothes. f**k everything.
“She said…” Wrenna’s throat closed for a second. “The Oathbound stormed the pack. They’re rounding up everyone—women, children, warriors—and they brought Seers. Seers, Damian!”
His fingers slipped from her wrists and dragged through his hair. “Oathbound? s**t. Did she say why?”
“No. She doesn’t know. She just—” Wrenna’s breath hitched. “She begged me to come back. They’re demanding to see me. The Alpha in charge.”
“Do you think that’s wise?” he asked quietly.
She’d asked herself the same thing a dozen times already. But how could she stay here while her people were being dragged out of their homes? The Oathbound might not harm them… might.
She opened her mouth to answer—
A knock at the door cut her off. Both their heads snapped toward it as the handle turned and Brad stepped in.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he began, eyes flicking from her to Damian to the open bag on the bed. “But what’s going on? Half the Alphas are getting calls—everyone’s panicking.”
He stepped closer. “Are you okay?” His voice was softer this time, the anger from the morning gone.
“I—”
“She’s fine,” Damian snapped, sliding protectively closer to her.
“Mama!”
Brenley’s tiny voice broke the tension as he barreled across the room, curls bouncing, straight into her legs—his little body wedged between her and the flood of testosterone.
Wrenna bent down and picked him up, kissing the top of his head.
“It’s okay, Bren,” she murmured, trying to steady her voice—then shot the two men a look sharp enough to cut. They had the decency to look ashamed.
She exhaled shakily, bouncing Brenley once before turning toward Brad.
“The Oathbound hit my pack,” she said, the words tumbling out too fast. “Calista called—they’ve rounded up everyone. Warriors, women, pups—she said they brought Seers.”
Brad’s expression darkened, disbelief flickering across his face. “The Oathbound?” His voice came out low, stunned. “That doesn’t make sense—why would they hit your pack?”
“They’re demanding to see me,” Wrenna said, breathless. “The Alpha in charge.”
Brad blinked. “That’s not a summons. That’s an invasion.”
Damian stepped forward, his voice steady but tight. “Then you’re not walking into it alone. If the Oathbound are involved, this isn’t some routine check-in. You need backup.”
Wrenna let out a shaky laugh. “Backup? Damian, it’s fine. They wouldn’t hurt anyone. The Council doesn’t just… show up and start rounding people up for no reason.”
He didn’t smile. “Wren, you said they brought Seers. They don’t bring Seers for paperwork.”
She swallowed hard. He was right, but part of her still refused to believe it. This had to be some kind of misunderstanding—something that could be fixed if she just showed up.
“But if you come…” She glanced toward Brenley, her voice softening. “We can’t bring Bren. If you’re right—if this is something more—it’s not safe.”
“I can take him. Keep him here. Safe,” Brad offered quietly.
Damian’s jaw tensed, and Wrenna’s entire body went rigid. “No. Absolutely not.”
Brad’s expression fell, but he didn’t argue. Wrenna’s thoughts spiraled. Could she really trust him with her pup? And what about Sienna? The idea of that woman anywhere near Brenley made her stomach turn.
“Wren… maybe that isn’t such a bad idea,” Damian said, surprising her.
“He doesn’t like strangers,” she argued immediately. “I can’t just leave him.”
“He’s not a stranger.” Damian exhaled, the words sounding like they hurt to say. “As much as I hate it… he’s Bren’s father. Even if Brenley’s too young to understand, he’ll feel that bond.”
“I said no!” she snapped, clutching the boy tighter to her chest.
“Wrenna,” Damian’s voice softened as he reached up to cup her face, his thumb brushing her cheek. “What if we put him in more danger by taking him?”
Brad stayed still, his eyes dropping to where Damian was touching her, and for a moment ,Wrenna swore she saw his gaze darken before he looked away.
“I’d never hurt him,” he said firmly.
As much as I hate him, we need to think of Brenley, Damian murmured through the link.
“But what about Sienna—”
“She won’t be anywhere near him. I swear it,” Brad said quickly, stepping forward.
Wrenna’s voice wavered. “What if this is your plan all along? What if you’re just waiting for a reason to take him from me?”
Brad’s mouth twisted into something sharp. “Yeah, Wrenna, you’re right. I asked the Council to attack your pack. I coordinated a full-scale invasion—because I’ve known about him for years and figured this was the perfect time to steal him.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re an ass.”
Damian’s thumb brushed her jaw, drawing her attention back. His eyes begged her to do the right thing.
Her throat tightened, but she nodded. Slowly, reluctantly, she turned toward Brad—and handed him her son.
The way he took Brenley—careful, reverent, as if afraid to break him—made her chest ache.
“You’d better protect him,” she warned, voice trembling.
Brad met her gaze, all sarcasm gone.
“With my life,” he said, and meant it.
“The Oathbound are elite warriors bound to the Council—volunteered, or chosen from prisons.
Once the vow is spoken, the name is erased, leaving only the vessel.”
From The Tome of Council Law by Erista Landom
“It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.” She kept saying as they pulled up to there pack. Between the urgency in Callie’s voice and leaving Brenley behind with Brad—her nerve endings felt like they were about to explode.
She’d had to talk herself down from pulling over the car and shifting more than once to run off this nervous energy.
Damian, who usually calmed her, hadn’t said a single word since they’d left. His knuckles were gripping the steering wheel so hard they were white.
As they pulled up to the gate, a sinking feeling hit the pit of her stomach. “Where are all the guards?”
Damian shared a worried look with her, before they got out of the car, walked up to the gate and pushed it open.
The gate creaked open without resistance. No guards. No sound but the wind.
“They wouldn’t all just abandon their posts,” Damian muttered, scanning the tree line.
Wrenna stepped through, every instinct screaming that something was wrong. The pack grounds should have been alive with scent and sound—pups laughing, warriors sparring. Instead, the air was heavy.
And then she heard it.
A scream. Short. Muffled. Cut off too fast.
Without thinking they started running into the direction of the cry. It sounded so hopeless, so full of pain. They ran, the fallen leaves scrunching under their boots. They almost reached the packhouse when Wrenna was yanked behind a large tree.
“What the—?”
“Shh,” Rowan clamped a hand over her mouth just when Damian rounded the tree, ready to attack.
“Rowan, what’s going on?” Wrenna asked.
“The oathbound…they’re here… they’ve been pulling people from their homes while Seers forcefully go through their memories…” Rowan grimaced. “They’re tasting people blood, Wren, blood…”
“What? What are they looking for?” Wrenna gasped.
“s**t….this is bad,” Damian sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“They’re looking for magic in bloodlines.” Rowan grated out. “Dad has already forced mom to leave... she shifted and jumped into the lake. Wren, I can’t find Lyra.”
Wrenna paled. Their sister, where was she?
“Did she leave with mom?” Wrenna asked, trying to feel for her sister, but where the link between them used to be…now was just emptiness.
“I’m not sure. I can’t feel her.”
“You should leave too,” Wrenna placed on steadying hand on her brother’s shoulder.
“But I can’t leave you—”
“I’ll be fine. I don’t have magic in my blood, remember. You should go be with mom.”
Rowan gave her a look that screamed I want to protect you—but after holding her gaze for a while, he nodded.
“One more thing, uncle Jackson is already chackled…he lost it when they took Rea and Alex—our aunts are still in the other realm, along with Trista.”
Shit, if they’d been here when they placed hands on their offspring… half of the oathbound would have been dead, elite warrior or not.
“Get out of here, Ro, and stay safe.” Wrenna hugged him, before giving him a sad smile.
“You too. Be careful, Wren.”
And with that, Rowan crouched and headed towards the woods.
Wrenna placed a hand over her heart, trying to calm the erratic beating.
“What are you going to do?” Damian asked.
“I am going to do what every Alpha would. Demand they get the f**k out of my pack.” She said, unwavering conviction in her voice. If they thought they could f**k with Whispering Pines and their wolves, they were in for the shock of their lives.
- Writer
