Rise of the Underdogs: VALIK

XV

Seeing home from the tiny airplane window was like taking a breath of fresh air and swallowing arsenic at the same time. Fresh air because it felt like returning to a life I had to put on pause. Arsenic because knowing I had to face Andrast again felt like swallowing poison.

The plane dipped lower, cutting through a blanket of clouds that looked too soft for the weight in my chest. Below, Deer Lake Regional Airport came into view, tucked into the forested edge of western Newfoundland, just off the Trans-Canada Highway. The runway stretched like a gray ribbon between the trees, and the terminal looked small and quiet, surrounded by long-term parking and patches of gravel.

I leaned my forehead against the window, watching the landscape blur past as we touched down. Ehno stirred, restless but steady.

‘We’re home,’ he said.

‘I know,’ I replied. ‘I just don’t know what kind of home it’s going to be now.’

The plane taxied slowly, and I felt every bump like a heartbeat. When the engines finally cut, I grabbed my bag from under the seat and slung it over my shoulder. The pendant around my neck shifted slightly, and I pressed my hand to it for a second, grounding myself.

Inside the terminal, everything felt familiar but distant. The air smelled faintly of pine cleaner and coffee, and the walls were lined with tourism posters for Gros Morne and Marble Mountain. A few travelers moved through the space, quiet and tired, but my eyes locked on the trio waiting near the exit.

Jake was the only one there. Alone, eager, and hopping from foot to foot like he was hyped on sugar cane. I stopped for a second, just watching him. Jake waved like a maniac, already halfway to the door. I stepped forward, my boots echoing on the tile floor before Jake slammed into me. His hug was strong, grounding, and exactly the kind of welcome I’d missed for the last twelve months.

He let out a breath that sounded more like a half sob. “Welcome back, V.”

“Gods I missed you guys. I made some new friends, but Russia wasn’t home. Not really,” I answered.

“You bulked up quite a bit,” he laughed.

“I didn’t think military-style training would really help, but it works,” I said, grabbing my bag. “Anyway, how is everyone?”

“Uh, good. They’re good. We have to get to the school, though,” Jacob said, his tone soft.

I scowled. “Why the school? The only ones still there are… What’s wrong with Heaven and Ember?”

“Lo and Selene are gone to the school due to a bullying incident,” Jake paled, his eyes searching my face. “It’s funny.”

I scowled deeper, “What?”

“The fact that Ehno and that girl’s wolves were basically calling out to each other across a vast distance,” Jake told me.

I stopped, blinking as I dropped my bag into the trunk. “Excuse?”

“Said what I said,” my best friend replied. That’s not at all what happened, but then I caught the sheepish look on his face.

‘Let it go,’ Ehno yawned in my head, his tail thumping steadily and his blue eyes full of promise and hope. Things that were foreign to us both. ‘I think he knows who our Mate is.’

‘Yeah, but I won’t pry,’ I said.

Hopping into the car with Jacob, we swapped stories about the year we were apart. Getting back to our city, he immediately turned down the road that led to the public high school.

That’s when it happened.

Ehno had been lounging in the back of my mind, tail flicking lazily, ears low and relaxed. His body was stretched out like he had all the time in the world, eyes half-lidded and calm. Then something shifted. One ear twitched. Then the other. His head lifted slowly, nose tilting toward a scent only he could catch. Muscles rolled beneath his coat as he rose, deliberate and smooth, like waking from a dream. His tail stilled. His eyes sharpened. The lazy rhythm of his breathing broke, replaced by a quiet intensity. He stepped forward, ears perked, every movement precise, like the world had narrowed to a single point and he was ready to chase it.

‘What’s wrong?’

His tail swished harder. ‘Take a nice sniff, Valik.’

I did and felt a strange mix of anticipation and fear rise in my chest. The scent was soft but distinct, curling through the air like a whisper meant only for me. “Mate.”

“Qué fue eso?” Jake asked, slipping into the Spanish Logan had taught us all.

“I can smell my Mate,” I repeated. Inhaling again, I took in the scent of lavender and chamomile. It was earthy, crisp, and floral, like fresh air after rain mixed with the warmth of a quiet room. It settled deep in my lungs and refused to leave.

Jacob’s phone rang, and he absently put it on speaker while turning into the parking lot of the school. “Hey.”

“Where are you? I need my Delta A.S.A.P.,” Logan’s voice, starkly sharp and harsh.

“We’re just pulling in right now. Location?” I said, already undoing my belt.

He inhaled, dragging the breath out as much as possible. “Old playground area. The merry-go-round.”

By the time Jake hung up, I was already running at full speed in the direction Logan described. My boots hit the pavement hard, each step echoing with urgency. The smell that hit me as I turned the corner was intoxicating, wrapping around me like a wave of warmth and static. It made my heart flutter with anticipation, my chest tightening with something that felt like recognition and adrenaline all tangled together.

Jake passed me as I stopped to wait. Stopped to figure out which girl was mine. Seeing Logan lift Heaven from the old rusted children’s ride, Ehno grunted in my head.

‘She’s not his! That’s my Mate. Mine!’

‘Calm your furry ass down, Ehno. He’s my brother, our Alpha, and he’s Mated,’ I snapped.

Heaven Grey was my Mate. Perfect, sweet, caring, and family-oriented.

With her soft light brown hair, pretty hazel eyes, and a curvy hourglass figure that made my chest tighten with something I didn’t want to name…

I shook my head. No. Please no.

Don’t get me wrong. I wanted her. I just wasn’t looking forward to having the conversation with Paul. He was the Beta, and just as lethal as my brother when it came to protecting the people he loved. I blurted the first thing that came to mind.

“What? But why? Why would the Goddess do this?”

When Logan asked if I wanted to take her home instead, I accepted the task faster than I probably should’ve. If I’d had a tail, it’d be wagging like a puppy about to get a treat.

My breathing hitched slightly as I held back a sob. Reflecting, I told him I didn’t think second chances existed. But then again, Kayleen found hers in Paul. I didn’t know if I wanted to believe Heaven was real. That the girl I’d crushed on before Andrast came along and ruined everything I thought I understood about love and fate.

It was then that Jake pulled another of his snarky comments.

“What makes you think she’s not?” he asked, a chuckle slipping through his words as he grasped the gravity of the situation. “Listen, the only person in the family that would be breathing down your neck is Paul, and I’ll handle that.”

I gave him a tearful smile as I walked behind him. Heaven’s exhausted body in my arms felt like the beginning of the rest of my life.