“Edvana,” she heard Danshak calling out to her. Although he was right beside her, she seemed to hear his voice from somewhere far away. “My love, my mate. I am here now, look at me, Edvana. Please, stop crying. I am here now.”“I don’t want to be here anymore,” she wept. “I want to go back home. I want this to be over now. I don’t want to stay here anymore.”“I know,” he said softly. “I know, my beloved mate. Come, let me carry you. I will take you to somewhere safe.”“Nowhere is safe here, Danshak. Look around you, look at the madness surrounding us. We are doomed!”“No, my love. We are not doomed. The Prime Alpha is still alive, so there is yet hope. Stay with me.”Erin wanted to believe his words so badly but the reality around them was so bleak and so hopeless. She managed to gingerly get up to a sitting position on her hind legs with his help, and as she lifted her head, she saw a sight that terrified her. The white werewolf on the hill was no longer howling, but instead, it was
With eyes glinting victoriously, Nikjin prepared to sink his fangs into his brother’s neck and drink his blood, and finally become the Prime Alpha of all werewolves. His teeth were a hair’s breadth from Vak’s hide when someone rammed into him, knocking him off balance. He had been so fixated on killing his brother that he did not see his assailant from his side-eye before he was tackled. Nikjin whipped his head around to see who had interrupted his moment of glory, and his insides burned with rage when he saw that it was his newly married nephew, Danshak.“How dare you?” He whispered angrily, as he slowly regained his footing. “I promise you, Danshak, you will not survive this night.”Nikjin lifted his head and let out a loud howl, and instantly, all the beasts stopped fighting the werewolves and zeroed their attention on Danshak. As soon as their master stopped howling, they ran toward Danshak in a maddening rush, knocking one another down in their haste to get to him.Realizing wha
Now, that made sense to Erin. If the Prime Luna died tonight, and Danshak somehow survives too, he would need her by his side to comfort him and grieve with him. But surely, Edvana could manage that, couldn’t she? As far as Erin was concerned, she had witnessed enough pain and grief to last her a lifetime, so why should she stay here for more of that?“When can I go back?” She asked.“When the war… is over,” replied Olna Raven.“When will that be? Did the dream stone show it to you?”“No… but if… you stay, you will… know.”Erin sighed and lay down again. She suspected that the Prime Luna knew something that she was telling her. Was there something that Erin was supposed to know before she returned to her reality? And if there is, what would be the importance of such information?Gradually, the sky began to lighten on the horizon and Erin noticed that the moon had almost completely faded into the clouds. Dawn had come and with it, came the hint of daylight.“It’s morning already,” Erin
When they finally reached the battleground, Vak and his other sons were relieved to see Danshak standing beside his mother and his mate. Just like the rest of them, he was injured and blood was dripping from different parts of his body.“What a relief it is to see that you are still alive,” said Vak as he approached his son.“I am glad you all survived too,” replied Danshak. “Except Mother. She is barely alive.”Vak looked down at where his wife lay and his heart squeezed painfully in his chest. His once beautiful Olna Raven was gone and was replaced by a hideous caricature of mangled bones and ripped skin. She was all blood and gore, and merely seconds away from giving up the ghost.“My love,” she whispered when she saw Vak staring at her with a pained look in his eyes.“Olna,” he whispered back before dissolving into tears. He could no longer be strong, he could no longer hold his feelings back. His world was crashing down right before his eyes and he did not have the strength to pi
His words brought back the memory of Olna Raven’s words during the final hour of the Prime Luna’s life. She had begged Erin to stay here and console Danshak as he dealt with the grief of losing his mother, and although her mate sounded brave as he talked about fighting to keep her safe, she knew he was hiding his emotional pain with anger. She knew he was the type that dealt with grief with physical activities, in this case, combat.“All right,” said Erin. “I will stay safe behind your guard of warriors but on one condition.”“And what is that?” He asked, sounding a bit relieved.“That you promise to return to me in one piece.”Danshak chuckled. “I shall try my best.”Erin smiled against his chest and marveled at how their relationship had transformed so quickly within a short time. Only a few days ago, they could barely stand the sight of each other, and now, they couldn’t stand the thought of not being together. One minute they were both resisting the idea of being true mates, and t
“I wish I had the chance to show her how much I loved her,” he said softly behind her. “She was always so forgiving, so loving, but I didn’t make life easy for her with the way I always opposed her suggestions.”Erin remained silent. She knew this was a moment of healing for him, so she didn’t want to interrupt him by saying empty words that might distract him now that he is trying to pour out his pain.“When Father said he wanted me to marry you, I resisted,” he continued speaking. “He was so disappointed by my refusal and called me a selfish son. I was hurt and vowed never to marry you. And then Mother called me aside and told me that she would support me no matter what I decided because my happiness mattered to her more than anything else. When she said that, I realized that my marriage to you would mean a lot to her too but she was not going to force me to go through with it because she was more concerned about my feelings than securing an alliance.“You can imagine Father’s surpr
“I do not know what you just did here, Edvana, but it feels as if we have just performed a ritual and you have taken my soul,” said Danshak, softly.Erin chuckled. “I was thinking the same thing,” she said.“Do you believe in soul ties?”“I don’t know,” she replied candidly. “I’m not sure it’s a real thing.”“I think it is,” he said pensively.“Why?”“Because after this amazing experience with you, if I die today and if there is another life, my soul would recognize you when we meet because your soul has mixed up with mine.”A shiver ran up her spine at his words because they took her mind back to Devon and how he’d been so certain that she was his mate. He knew he would meet her even before he did and that was the inspiration behind that remarkable painting at the gallery. What had he called it? A Werewolf Fantasy?That painting finally made sense to Erin; it was Devon’s way of interpreting a message he knew in his soul but could not express in words. He had used the dream stone to f
Danshak chuckled. “Your father was right. You always know the right things to say. I am the luckiest werewolf alive.”“Don’t make me blush,” she laughed.When they got to where Zanisck was sitting on a tree stump, they found Weruona sitting by his feet, idly sharpening his spear.“Ah, here she is. The she-wolf with the words of wisdom,” said Weruona. He couldn’t keep the bite off his tone because he was annoyed that his reasonable explanations were not enough to convince his little brother that he was about to ride to his death if he continued on his solo quest for revenge.“There is nothing anyone can say to change my mind, so do not even bother,” said Zanisck. His jaw was set firmly in a look that Erin recognized. It was the same way her brother, Eric, looked whenever his mind was made up even when what he was about to do was totally foolhardy.“It would be a terrible thing for your father to lose his mate and his son within hours of each other. I’d say that’s a very mean thing to d