Wolf's Essence Chapter 12 - Luke

Chapter 12 - Luke







It had taken us little over an hour and a half to get to Old Faithful, where we had spent our time scouting the area for anybody that looked suspicious or to be a possible hunter. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be relieved or concerned when we hadn't spotted anyone out of the ordinary. After that, we had found a nice secluded area to wait until the sun had gone down. Being a group of people, whose town resided within the park, we each had special stickers placed in our car window so no park rangers could try to kick us out after nightfall.

Once night had fallen we made our way to where Miles said he had parked before he had hiked in and found the Hunters with Gordon. I gazed around at my towns members as they exited their vehicles and gathered around me. Tyler had done a great job at picking who to bring along, and I couldn't help but feel content with his choices.

He had done as I asked and brought two healers, Eilon and Elizabeth, they were brother and sister, twins to be exact. They were both in their early 30s, with sandy blonde hair, and both Naturists chosen by the element of fire. Eilon's tall thin figure made him look as though he barely ate. Whereas Elizabeth was barely 5 foot 5, and had the body of a figure skater. They didn't look too impressive, but they were two of the best healers we had in town, and I was grateful to have them with us.

Four other sorcerers stood alongside them; Felix, a stout man who had been chosen by the earth and granted the ability to control all plant life. Samuel, a gray haired gentleman who was older than I by at least ten years, was slim and no matter where we went he insisted on wearing an all black suit. One would usually find this odd, if Samuel were not a Warlock and gifted with the ability to control shadows. Next to him stood Elina, a middle-aged woman with her dark curly hair sticking out in an afro, her dark skin and black outfit helped her blend into the dimly lit night, which was going to be key for her as she was the only witch we had brought, granting her telekinetic and telepathic abilities. Us werewolves had the ability to communicate mentally with each other while in our wolf forms, but we were unable to communicate with anyone who was not in wolf form. With that being said, Elina was going to our best means of communication while on this mission. The last member of the sorcerers we had brought was the youngest of everyone who joined us tonight. Azurohra was a very skilled wind Naturist, able to control the currents of any breeze and use it in very powerful defensive ways. With his ability to manipulate wind currents, this would allow him to warn us of incoming threats, or direct us toward an enemy we hadn't noticed.

Aside from the sorcerers, Tyler had gathered Miles, who would direct us to where he had seen the Hunters with Gordon. Along with him stood Hank, a white bearded burly bear of a man. Jacob, a crazy haired man whose name started with a yaw sound instead of a jay sound for some unexplained reason. Mathias, a muscle head who craved nothing more than a good fight and growing his muscles, which I doubted they could grow any bigger than his ego already had. Stan, with his brown beard down to his chest. Viego, a latino man who I had been a lone omega wolf I had met in Chicago and managed to convince him to come to Wyoming and join my pack. Cho Lin, a sweet Japanese woman I had met down in West Yellowstone and had ended up moving to town ten years ago. And lastly, Kalista, a brown haired young woman who usually watched over the Training Grounds in town. Bringing our numbers to 16 total.

The first five wolves, along with myself, were some of the best fighters in my pack. Tyler and I had spent years training with our father and had grown to understand it was always a good idea to bring warriors on a quest away from home. . . Okay, we played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons when we were younger and had learned from our mistakes of having poor party members. But, just like any good adventuring party, it was smart to have a few trackers, ranged fighters and a healer. That was where Miles, Tyler, and the last three wolves and the sorcerers came in. Miles and his three trackers would lead the way and keep their eyes, ears, and snouts on the lookout for any unwanted guests. While the sorcerers would be at the center fending off enemies at a distance and protecting our healers in the middle.

"I want to thank each of you for being willing to join us tonight.” I said with a voice which seemed to carry in the warm night air. “We’re going to leave the vehicles here and hike the two miles in. I want Miles and Cho Lin in the front, leading our way. Kalista, you'll be in the back, keep your senses peeled, I don't want any surprises on our flanks. Healers in the middle, the rest of the Sorcerers around them. Tyler, behind the front trackers with me, you'll have the backpack on, and I'll need your help when we find Gordon. Mathias, you'll be with Tyler and I, when we find Gordon's body we’re going to wrap him up and tie him to your back, using the tarp and rope that's in the backpack. Aside from me you're the second biggest wolf we have, we'll need you to carry him out. I would do it, but with me being the fastest and strongest of us, I want to be able to protect you all if I need to. The rest of the wolves, I want you spread out evenly around the group, and ready for anything. Sorcerers, do your best to aid us while staying in formation. If it comes down to it, take out their guns or bowmen if you can. Move with the healers, we need them in peak performance. Wolves, I know it's been a long time since we've done this, but we're all going to strip and leave our clothes behind, we can leave them in my truck as it requires a code and not a key.”

There were several protests, which I quickly silenced with a raised hand and a nod. “I know, I know. It's been a while since many of the pack have stripped for a shift, as I know many of us have gained the skill to meld our clothes into the transformation. But that takes concentration, and that's concentration on something that could be focused on something else, like keeping each other safe. We don't need a slip up if we have to shift back and forth quickly. We need to be quick and precise. Now strip.”

I took the initiative by taking off my own shirt. By the time I was taking off my boots the rest of my pack members were following my lead and taking off their own clothes. Soon all of us, aside from the sorcerers, were naked and stuffed our clothes into my truck. I then turned and face them all once again.

“Now, wolves, shift. Elina, please make the connection.” I took a breath and focused. Instantly I felt my bones break and reform, elongate in places and shrink in others. My face extended and my ears moved up and grew into points. Warmth spread throughout my body as thick dark and gray tipped fur sprouted across my flesh. When I was younger, the shift had been painful, but now it was exhilarating and I welcomed the shift at any chance that I could. Within seconds I was on all four paws, standing taller than my fellow wolves with their thick fur coats ranging from solid gray, brown, black, and even some with mixed colors. My fur had originally started as solid black when I was younger, but as I got older my coat had adjusted to mimic my speckles of graying hair.

Now, I know you may possibly be thinking “but the full moon already passed, how can they shift without it?” To answer that question: the shift on full moon is a common misconception. The rumor of werewolves only being able to shift during a full moon had originally been spread by werewolves hundreds of years ago, in order to reduce public fear and allow themselves to be able to hide easier among the humans. The truth is, if someone has been changed by a bite, their first several changes are forced by the full moon light, until they learn how to control their shift and accept the wolf within. For those of us born with the gift, or those with plenty of experience, we can change whenever we choose by simply concentrating and welcoming the change. There are other things that can trigger a change, but none that an experienced wolf, such as myself and current company, had to worry about. However, werewolves are indeed stronger during a full moon and thus is the reason that hunters decided to use it to spread fear throughout the world, claiming we become blood thirsty animals. Which is complete nonsense, and anyone who knows a werewolf would agree.

Once we were all shifted I felt as through an odd new space opened within my mind, and it tingled slightly. I knew this to be the mental connection which Elina used to web us all together mentally. I looked across my pack members and sorcerer companions and gave a nod of my head. My deep voice seemed to shimmer in our minds as I spoke mentally. “Let's move out.”

It wasn't a long hike, for a wolf at least, especially not for one as large as myself. Most werewolves were a bit larger than a normal timber wolf, which when on all fours and measured from paws to tip of the ears would be about three feet tall. An average werewolf could measure anywhere between three and half to four feet tall. An Alpha, on the other hand, usually measured to be about five feet tall. Oftentimes, Alphas were mistaken for Dire Wolves, which always made me laugh as Dire Wolves always had glowing fiery crack-like patterns spread throughout their fur. But being as large as I was allowed me to simply step over most of the fallen trees and holes, when the rest of my pack, including the sorcerers, usually had to leap over them.

It took us about thirty minutes to arrive at our destination, and had been little more than an average walk for me. The others, however, were panting slightly but didn't seem too exerted. Once at our destination Miles directed us all to a small area where we could crouch behind several bushes and trees to look out over the boiling mud pots.

Being as large as I was had its advantages, but it did come with a few disadvantages as well, such as being such a large creature that I couldn't really crouch well behind the bushes like my companions. So, I had to resort to shifting back into my human form for a moment. Miles shifted as well and pointed toward a mud pot about fifty feet away. Even with my wolf senses diluted in my human form, I was still able to spot a figure laying next to it, covered in dried mud and metal chains that reflected the waning moonlight, and the smell of death and decay reached my nose.

My heart lurched at the site of my beta’s fallen body. I took a deep breath and gave a look to the others as I mentally spoke.

“Felix, can you sense anyone in the area disturbing the plant life?”

I watched as the stout man closed his eyes, his brow wrinkled as he concentrated for a moment before he opened his eyes again and shook his head. His own taut voice echoed in my skull. “No, I'm sorry I can't sense anyone. I think it's because most of the plant life in the area is either dead from exposure to the heat below, or has no real connection to a source of earth that isn't sick with sulfur.”

I gave him an appreciative nod. “Very well. Tyler, Mathias and I will go in first. Once we're there, give us to the count of sixty before you follow. If you spot or hear anything out of the ordinary, don't hesitate to bring it to anyone's attention. If this turns out to be some sort of trap or ambush, do not hesitate to take action. I expect you all to watch each other's backs and keep formation.”

With that said, I gave a nod to my brother and Mathias, and shifted back into my wolf. We took off at a cautious pace around the mud pots, we twisted and turned and slowly wound our way across the small field. Several times I had taken a step and felt the ground give by an inch or two and figured we were over a small mud pocket, so we had to find a new route. Eventually we were able to find our way to Gordon's mutilated corpse, and the stench was nearly unbearable.

Mathias, Tyler and I shook our heads with disgust as we took a step back. Gordon hadn’t even been dead a full 24 hours, but with the way his body had been boiled and mutilated had caused him to begin to stink much faster than we had anticipated. We did our best to breathe as little as possible as we stepped forward and stopped next to his body. His face was unrecognizable on one side, where his flesh had been boiled and had begun to peel before he had been murdered. I shifted into my human form and told Tyler to do the same.

I took a weak breath, doing my best to not breathe in the stench too much. I then rolled Gordon's body over onto his back. Rigor mortis had already settled in, stiffening his body like a board, which made rolling his body over an irritating bitch. I eventually gave up and just let him lay on his side as we had found him instead.

I looked his body over, searching for a way we could possibly get the chains off of him, when I noticed something that filled me with anger. A brown handled hilt protruded from his chest. The kill crazed mother fuckers had left the dagger in his chest. They had been so pleased with their hunt, and torture, and kill that they had lost all sense of decency or respect and hadn't even removed their own fucking knife.

I growled loudly, I didn't even attempt to hide my anger, as I withdrew the knife from my fallen beta’s chest. I threw the dagger into the boiling mud pot next to us, with any luck the heat would melt it down or at least it would sink to the depths of the earth. I then reached forward and grabbed at the chains wrapped around his body. The metal instantly hissed as it made contact with my skin. I withdrew my hands rapidly, I did my best to shake the pain away as if they were covered in water and I was trying my best to air dry them.

“Fuck,” I hissed, now I was both in pain and angry. I turned to my brother. “I forgot they used metal chains when I saw the video. I guess it’d be too much to ask if we brought any chain cutters, huh?”

Tyler shrugged, “sorry, I didn't think about it. Maybe we can just unwrap the chains from him?”

I shook my head as I pointed to a heavy duty padlock that held each section of chain together. “No, they locked them all together. It looks like I'm going to have to break them off.”

“Are you crazy,” Tyler exclaimed. “That's silver. It'll fuck your hands up good, and are you sure you'll be to break them? They look pretty thick.”

“I have to at least try. I don't want Mathias to have to carry all that extra weight. Besides, Gordon deserves better. It also goes without saying, that I'm pretty fucking pissed.” It’s true that werewolves have a frailty to silver, but anger was a great amplifier for physical strength, and now was a better moment than any.

I winced as I took hold of the chains and growled as I began to pull. How dare these hunters come into my territory. How dare these hunters abduct my own beta, my own friend. How dare they wrap him in chains and treat him like an animal. How dare they torture him in such an appalling, sickening way. How dare they kill a member of my own pack, in my own territory. How dare they leave their own filthy blade in his chest. How dare they leave his body here to rot. They were going to pay for this. Even if it ended up costing me my own life, I was going to do everything I could to make sure they paid for what they had done. How fucking dare they!

I roared loudly from the pain, but mainly from the rage that was growing to consume me. My muscles strained, I could feel the silver burning my flesh. I didn't even care that I could smell it. With a final mighty tug I heard the loud KINK as the chains loosened and fell free from Gordon's body. I sighed with relief as I released the chains, but winced the moment my blistered and bleeding hands opened to the night air.

Moments later Elizabeth was kneeling next to me, as her and the rest of my comrades had finished counting and joined us. I watched as Elizabeth's palms filled with a warm glowing flame. She then cupped my hands in hers, and I winced again as the flames began to lick at my flesh. But just as the pain had come it vanished just as quickly and began to south the soreness in my own palms. I watched in awe as the flames snake their way over my skin to my injury, the fire burned deep into my wounds and began to meld into my flesh, as it did the blistered openings in my hands began to glow and rapidly close. Within seconds my hands were unscathed and feeling warm. I smiled at Elizabeth as she lowered her own hands, now empty of their flame.

“Thank you, Elizabeth.” I gave her an appreciative while and she gave a nod. I then turned and with tyler’s help, we pulled a small tarp from the backpack and several feet of rope. We wrapped Gordon's corpse in the tarp before using the rope to tie him to Mathias's back, who had been patiently waiting in his wolf form for us to do so. About half way through tying Gordon to Mathias I heard the faintest sound of a twig as it snapped nearby. That was when all hell broke loose.

There was a high pitched yelp as one of my wolves cried out in pain. I turned to see Stan in his wolf form limping with a silver arrow bolt sticking out from his leg. Eilon, in his dark red t-shirt and blue jeans, ran forward and yanked the bolt from Stan's leg. With a flick of his wrist his hand caught fire, but before he could administer the healing flame to Stan's wound the semi-quiet night air was shattered as a shot range out across the dead fields as Eilon howled in pain and fell onto his back. He threw his hand to his left shoulder, pressing flames to the bullet wound he had suffered. Instantly, Azurohra waved his hands through the air in a broad circular motion before thrusting them outward, as he did a blast of air surged out from his location in all directions. I gasped as the air rushed over me, threatening to rip the oxygen from my lungs. Within seconds my little squad was enveloped in a bubble of swirling wind, only visible by the loose dirt and grass if picked up upon its creation.

“Eilon, are you alright,” the gray haired daddy, Samuel, called out. Eilon grunted from the ground as his flames sealed his wound and pushed the bullet out.

“Ugh, I'm fine,” he said as he tossed the bullet aside. Elizabeth gave her brother a quick once over before attending to wolf Stan.

I was barely able to notice to arrows that bounced off the wind bubble before they too were picked up and joined the swirling air current. Muffled, though still audible, another gunshot range out. There was a slight buzzing whistle in the air a split second before a small CLANK echoed a few three feet away from me on a rock.

“Azur, what the hell?” I practically growled at the young man.

“I'm doing my best, Mr. Mitchell.” He said over his shoulder. “Arrows are easy. Bullets, much harder. I'm throwing them off course, but barely. It's just a matter of time before they get a lucky shot. I suggest we-"

He was cut short by a muffled groan, which instantly turned into a war cry as a middle aged man pushed through the wind wall and into our (sort of safe) bubble. The man roared louder as he swung a large machete down onto Azur's startled face. Inches before it collided with its target the blade stopped in mid air. I looked to my right to see Elina holding up a hand, and I knew that she was the reason the attack had failed, using her telekinetic abilities to stop the blade at the last second. Samuel then clapped his hands once, and while still keeping his hands touching, he then thrust his hands forward with palms facing the machete wielding man. As he did this quick combination of gestures a small mist of darkness swirled up around his arms and then surged forward, the shadow collided with the machete man and instantly carried him back through the wind wall in the direction he had come. The actions of my team were so quick that the man barely managed a yelp before he vanished from my site.

I had been on plenty missions outside of town and knew that it was always a good idea to go in with a plan. But, I always expected plan A to go off the rails, and this was definitely off the rails. I had hoped we would be in and out smoothly and quickly. But now it was obvious that that wasn't going to happen. So I always made sure I readied a plan B, C, and even D. Plan B would've worked, had the Hunters only been wielding melee weapons, such as swords and daggers, as they had on several occasions when I had run-ins with them in the past. Plan C would've been best, had they only brought bows and crossbows for ranged weapons, as they are much easier to make silver tips for. But, being that they had brought a gun, and possibly several, plan D was going to have to do.

Another shot rang out, followed by the whistle and KINK of the bullet as it landed within two feet from me this time. Thankfully, my father had raised my brother and I around guns, he had made sure to train us in how to use them, so we would know the most vulnerable spots on a person wielding a gun. By the time I was 18 I had memorized almost all types of guns. I had never been more thankful for my training as I was at this moment.

I closed my eyes and strained my ears, I listened for the next shot, which rang out moments later. The bullet whistled through the wind bubble and landed inches from my feet. With how long the gunman took between shots, I figured he had to be using a bolt action weapon, which required a reload on between shots. To match that assumption with how quickly I heard the gunfire before the bullet whistled, I figured he had to be within 100 yards, because if he were further I would hear the bullet whistle and land before I heard the gunfire.

I grabbed my brother by the shoulder and pushed him and Mathias, moving with them to the right by two feet, seconds before another shot rang out and landed exactly where I had stood a moment ago. I then turned and shouted to my team, “Samuel, we need-" another man rushed into the bubble, charging directly at me with two daggers in hand. Before he could get a slash out I shifted my hands just enough to extend my claws, which I slashed across his face. He yelped in pain and fell to his knees before I kicked him in the chest and sent him back through the wind wall. “Samuel, Blackout! Now!”

I watched the gray haired man give a nod before he waved his hands above the ground, darkness and shadows swirled around our feet, covering every inch of exposed soil. He then threw his hands up and the darkness followed. A dark cloud erupted from the ground and swelled into a massive cloud of pitch nothingness. I lifted my hand to my face and was impressed to see. . . Nothing. The darkness was so thick that I couldn't see my hand at all, even though it was what I knew to be inches from my face. I smiled as I sent out a thought, in which I knew Elina would relay.

“Well done, now make sure the darkness covers as much of the field as you can. Only create an area around us, so we can see each other. Elizabeth, I need to create a small flame that we can see and that won't penetrate the darkness.”

Instantly a small flame sprang to life and could see all my allies and friends. Azur was still holding the air current and I smiled at his determination. “Azurohra, you can let the wall down. It's just creating noise at this point, which is what we don't want.”

He gave me a glance before he let his hands fall along with the swirling air. “Now what?”

His voice echoed in my head and I rapidly became aware of everyone looking at me. We were vulnerable here and needed to move, it was only a matter of time before more hunters rushed in. “We need to move. Elizabeth, follow the trail that we came from. Viego, you're with Hank, in the front, lead the way and protect Elizabeth. Miles, Jacob, Stan and Cho Lin, you're gonna be behind her with the rest of the Sorcerers. Tyler, Kalista, Mathias and I will hold the rear. Trackers, keep your ears peeled for any movement aside from our own. Azurohra, do what you do, keep us aware of incoming attacks. Everyone needs to move as silently as possible. Eilon, I want you to create a bonfire in this area, start it small and weak, wait till away from it before you make it noticeable. Samuel, if you can, I want you to create your little friends here, try to make them look like us, when the bonfire goes up I want them to think we're still here.”

“It'll be tough to hold the blackout and make those. I'll need to shrink the area a bit in order to do so though.” His voice buzzed in my mind and I could hear the effort he was using to hold the blackout.

“Do what you can. Felix, when we get to the trees you need to make it impossible for them to follow us. Set up fake trails, create a blockade, anything you can.” All their voices chimed together in my head, each voicing their understanding. I then shifted back into my wolf and gave a nod. “Let's go.”

The pace started slowly as we inched our way out of the little clearing we had found Gordon's body, being that we could barely see anything, aside from the little light Elisabeth's flame gave off. Viego and Hank sniffed the ground a bit before they eventually were able to find the correct path. Once I felt we were far enough away from the clearing I gave Eilon the go. It was extremely faint, but even through the thick black cloud I could see the faintest light that had erupted into existence. Little silhouettes of what looked like people and wolves shifted within the light.

The moment that the flame was created a scruffy voice range out nearby, possibly as little as 30 feet away. “Over there!”

My heart seized at the man's words. Had I made the wrong decision about Elizabeth creating her little flame? I bore my teeth, ready for a fight. But it never came. Instead, shouts and battle cries rang through the blackout, and I heard the sounds of footsteps as they away from us and toward the bonfire and fakes of us. The battle cries were accompanied by pained screams, and I figured someone was bound to fall into the mud pots at some point within the extreme blackness. There was also the sounds of gunfire and metal clanging into dirt, if wolves could smile I would be grinning widely at the fact that Samuel's minions he made out of shadow had distracted and begun to fight the Hunters. Though I was unsure at how strong his minions truly were. I just turned and ushered my team to move faster.

Once we made it to the treeline we burst forth from the dark cloud. Having had relied on such a small light source from Elizabeth, as I had asked, the moment we left the blackout and into the moonlight everything seemed brighter. I gave a couple quick blinks, hoping my eyes would adjust quickly, as we began to run. Felix turned and swung in hands in a wide arc before raising them, palms up with strained fingers. I knew this to be a common motion with Earth Naturists, including the strained fingers, and wasn't surprised when the roots of nearby trees and branches of plants sprung from the dirt and intertwined with one another. Rose bushes sprouted and grew rapidly in thick shrubs, lining the roots, along with plants I recognized as Poison Ivy.

Felix gave a chuckle as he ran past me and followed the others, “that'll keep the fuckers busy for a while, if not after.”

I gave a nod and followed the rest of my crew. Samuel gave a forceful grunt before he gasped heavily, he slowed to a stop and put his hands to his knees. “That's it, that's all I could do. The cloud and minions are down.”

“You did your best and it paid off,” I mind spoke as I nudged him with my snout. “But you have to keep going. We need to be as fast away as possible before they realize where we went.”

He breathed heavily and gave a nod as I pushed him past Felix, who wiggled his fingers and caused grass and bushes to rapidly sprout on the trail behind us. I heard rustling to our left and looked to see plants moving apart to create a fake path which headed away from us. I snorted my approval as Felix helped Samuel break into a job with the team. It wasn't too long before I heard shouts and cries of anger from the Hunters as they slashed their weapons on the wall of greens Felix had left. Many even cried out in pain from what I guessed to be the rose thorns catching them, others groaned in annoyance and hoped the poison ivy had taken effect.

Once I felt that we were far enough away to not have to worry about anybody following us, I gave the okay to slow to a walk. Everyone panted heavily while the healers gave everyone a once over, just to be sure everyone was alright. I took this time to check on Mathias and how he was feeling with Gordon on his back. His only response was a deep grunt as he pushed onward, which only gave me a sense of satisfaction that I had such a strong wolf in my pack that wanted nothing more than to do his job. But if he grew tired I would be here for my beta. Eventually I could see our vehicles in the distance. I shifted to my human form and looked over my small tired crew.

“Well done everyone. Let's get back to the vehicles and get home. I'm certain all of you are eager to be back home to your loved one.” And I'm eager to be back home to my mate. By the goddess I missed Theo. I hadn't even been gone 24 hours and already I ached for my mate, longed for his touch. I rubbed at the spot in my chest where I had felt a sort of empty pain start to form earlier in the day. It was bearable at first, but Ono got worse the farther I got from him and the longer I was away, now it almost hurts to breathe. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if I was gone for a week. All I could think about was getting home and holding Theo in my arms and-

“Mr. Mitchell!” Azurohra's voice range out over the fields and I felt a gust of wind pushing on my back, which I knew to be Azur's warning to move.

I took a quick step forward and turned on my front foot. I looked back just in time to feel a sharp pain on the left side of my neck as a silver blade sliced and burnt my flesh as it sunk an inch into my throat. The smile on a scarred face, moonlight glistening of the top of a sweaty bald head, crossed my eyes as I came face to face with the same man that had tortured and killed Gordon. He just smiled a sadistic evil grin as he withdrew his blade, which was now coated with my own blood. I tried to gasp for air, but immediately began coughing up blood. Not only had he punctured my throat, and quite possibly an important artery, but he must have also nicked my esophagus, as I couldn't find the air I needed and only coughed up more blood.

Several men rushed in from all corners, my companions instantly went to work. Wolves charged and gnashed at necks, sorcerers took targets down at range, and me? Well, my vision was rapidly growing black as I fell to one knee then into my back, my hand clenching my neck as tightly as I could, which wasn't doing much to stop the bleeding. I rolled my head to see Mathias and Tyler leap over me and chase the man that had injured me, who had decided to turn and run from battle after doing what he came to do. Take out the Alpha.

I looked up at the moon, its soothing loving light beamed down on me and wrapped me in its warm embrace, welcoming me to join it in the sky. My soul would become one of the many stars that speckled the night sky, where my own loving light would shine down on the earth, and Theo. Oh gods, Theo.

No, this can't be it. I can't die, not now. Not after finding my mate. I had to fight. . . I had to. . . I had. . . Fight.

My vision grew dark, and just before my world went black, I saw a warm orange glow, and I knew this was the light I needed to follow.