Trepidation wrapped around me. I hadn’t really thought through what I was going to say. I tentatively took a step forward and bowed my head. I’m you. The part that’s still alive. I’ve come to bring you home.
She backpedaled slightly, sniffing the air. I can smell that you’re not of this place, but how is that possible?
I deferred my gaze slightly so as not to threaten her. Kahanov cut us with the Soul Knife. You died, but we were left alive.
My shard gaped at us. I can smell…truth. She began to look a little woozy. I remember…oh, fuck my life. Or death. Or just…fuck it.
Yup, if I’d had any doubts, that was definitely our soul.
The shard cautiously approached, sniffing the air. Kahanov was the last thing I remember. I was fighting him in the Dreamlands. I thought I’d lost. That I’d failed.
There was so much pain in her voice, my heart bent beneath the strain. What would it have been like to die believing that you’d failed? With my head lowered, I began moving to meet her. We won. We killed the bastard.
A familiar light twinkled in her eyes. Hell, yes. He was a bastard.
I paused, not wanting to spook her. Actually, he was being possessed by a ghost—a sorcerer named Victor Dragan. We killed him, too, but that took a little longer.
Mirroring me, she also paused and cocked her head to the side. You’ve—er, we’ve been busy, it seems.
I nodded. There’s a lot to catch you up on, and we’re not out of the woods yet. That’s why I need you to rejoin us, to come back to Magic Side.
She looked up and over my shoulder. I can’t return. I belong here, with the pack. Mom is here. I’m no longer afraid. I can just live.
With a lump in my throat and a sinking feeling, I followed her gaze. The whole ghost pack was waiting on the ridge, not far off.
Aw, crap. And I was on a clock.
I turned back to my shard, taking a firmer stance. Magic Side is in danger. Casey and Aunt Laurel, Sam and the whole pack. They need us. The Dark Wolf God is coming. They’re going to fight, but we’re the only one who can stop him.
My shard gave the slightest whimper of frustration. I don’t want to go back to fighting for my life every day, of always running, of always being afraid. I’m tired, and I just want to be at peace. My pack is here. Our family is here. Stay. We could all be together again.
My heart twisted. I longed to see my parents, and I wanted nothing more than to be at peace without having to fight for every breath, but I shook my head. Our pack is in Magic Side—Sam, Regina, Tony. As are Casey, Laurel, and Uncle Pete. Even Zara. There’s a whole roller derby team depending on us.
I turned to look back at Jaxson, and a flutter of warmth moved through me. And our mate. We have a life ahead with him if we can just get through this next tricky bit.
My shard’s eyes went wide. Our mate? But…
Oh, right. She’d been cut out before he revealed that juicy bit of information. You’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Trust me, it’s worth it. Like, very spicy.
Really? she asked, and I could smell her astonishment. And curiosity. Hell, I’d certainly been curious at one point myself. But there was more to Jaxson than the hot sex. And the amazing abs. And the low gravel of his voice, and the way he knew how to move his hands…
I cleared my throat. He’s thrown his life on the line again and again to protect me, and when my heart was breaking, he was there to hold and comfort me. Once, I couldn’t stand him, but now, I can’t stand the idea of being without him. I’ve never experienced life the way I have when I’m near him.
She gave me a wry look. Wow. The sex is that good, huh?
Oh, right, she knew me. I met her eyes with a smile. Out of this world. A dozen times better than anything I’ve had before. Trust me, you don’t want to pass on that.
My shard looked back to the alpha on the hill and the ghost pack. Was our mother somewhere out there? It didn’t matter—I had to push her over the edge.
I stepped close. I know this place is safe and that the pain and fear are over. But trust me, before we met Jaxson, we’d never truly lived—and we have a lot of living left to do.
My shard paused for a long time before she spoke again. Okay.