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over our fallen brother in case any more nomads tried to go for our weakest link.
    “What’s the verdict, doc?”
    Shadow snorted. “I’m a medic, not a doctor. Sandman’s pulse is good, and the damage the other wolves inflicted is healing nicely—all except for a massive goose egg at the back of his head. He must have hit a rock on the way down, which would be why he’s unconscious.”
    “So basically he gets attacked by three wolves and the most damage is done from a rock on the ground?”
    “Pretty much.”
    I shook my head. “Figures.” I leaned down to take a good look at Sandman. Shadow was our team medic and the one with the training to help in situations like these, but I hadn’t lived this long without learning a thing or two. I needed to see him alive and breathing for myself before I could move on. Sandman’s skin was a healthy color, his breathing even, and his skin knitting back together where the other wolves had clawed him. I figured three hours and he’d be back to his usual cocky bastard self.  
    “We’re going to need to help him out of here.”
    “What can I do?” Rex asked. “Should I call back my team? Or that Pup guy?”
    I shook my head. “No. I don’t want my mate left with so little protection.”
    The shifter looked completely gobsmacked. “You have a mate?”
    Rex’s question made me pause. For the first time in my very long life, I could answer that question in the affirmative. And yet, Rex was her brother, and I was uncomfortable talking about my mating with him before I spoke to their father.  
    “Kind of.” I turned away, an uncomfortable burning sensation in my chest. I hadn’t lied about my mate, but my words could have been seen as disrespectful or, in a worst-case scenario, a mate refusal. I would need to pull Rex aside once I spoke with Wariksen.
    Shaking off my discontent, I refocused on the situation at hand.  
    “I can hump Sandman out of here. We just need to find Magnus.”
    Shadow pointed behind me. “Last I saw, he was fighting off two wolves near that tree line.”
    I stood and headed in the direction Shadow indicated. “Rex, stay with Sandman. Shadow, let’s go find the boss so we can get the fuck out of here.”
    Once we were away from prying ears, Shadow chuckled. “Anxious to spend a little time with a certain female, are we?”
    I grinned, couldn’t help it, the thought of being alone with my mate making me happy, horny, and proud.  
    “I have much to do, brother. I need to officially come to her Alpha and make my courting request, and then I need to talk to Rex and explain why I didn’t tell him about the mating just now. Once those things are done, I will begin the traditional courting rituals.”
    “Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever—”
    His words failed as we came upon the site where a fight had obviously occurred. The leaves were tramped into the mud underneath; hundreds of paw prints pushed them into the murk, creating a sea of leafy mud. The brown mess was splattered with blood, some smelling of Magnus. But there was no sign of him.
    I spotted a piece of paper pinned to a tree across the field and hurried toward it. Shadow reached it first, handing the paper to me as he glared into the trees.  
    “I know he’s not the strongest leader, but I didn’t think a couple of nomads could take him down. It looks like he put up one hell of a fight, though.”
    I read the note, my blood turning to ice in my veins as the words sank in. Something was wrong...very, very wrong. And it seemed my new mate was stuck in the middle of it.
    “What’s it say?”  
    I handed him the note, too busy sorting through memories in my own head to reread the thing for him.
    “One by one or all at once, you all go down if we don’t get the white Omega. Bring her to us, or your Alpha dies.” He glanced at me. “But we don’t have an Alpha.”
    “They mean Magnus.” I grabbed the note out of his hand and strode toward where Sandman lay. He was one of