Page 221 of May: Bloom & Bane

“Shapeshifter,” the other beast growls, blood dripping from his claws. “He’s wearing my thrahking* face, Lumi.”

“Lumi—” the other beast’s voice cracks. “Please, I just wanted to⁠—”

“Get away from her!” He lunges. They collide again, but the rhythm has changed. Micah is weakening, his movements growing heavy and sluggish.

“You touched her.” He roars. “You dared to wear my face and lay your hands on my mate?” His claws sink in, and Micah chokes.

“NO!” I scream.

“Andrik, stop!” the woman sobs.

Andrik hesitates, and that hesitation is all Micah needs. He twists, driving an elbow into Andrik’s wounded ribs and wrenches himself free, stumbling through the shattered wall.

“This isn’t—” He coughs, spitting blood into the snow. “This isn’t over. She’s mine.”

He disappears into the night, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

The cottage starts to dissolve around me, and I’m dropped into an open clearing in the early morning, snow drifting lazily over my shadow. In the center of the clearing, there’s a ring of blue flames. Lumi and Andrik are wrapped around each other inside of it, her small body curled into his. There’s a black stripe running down the front of his white fur that wasn’t there before.

“Why am I here?” I scream. “I don’t understand.”

Far in the distance, something drags itself toward the firelight, hauling itself inch by inch across the frozen ground, leaving a long smear of blood in the snow.

He’s not dead. Gods, he’s still alive.

With a heavy sweep of his arm, Andrik catches Lumi across the waist and tucks her behind him. The fur along his nape bristles, claws extending to a lethal length.

“Lumi. Please,” Micah rasps. “Look at me. Really look at me.”

Andrik takes a step forward, and a warning growl rings through the air. Micah doesn’t even flinch. He just keeps stumbling forward, dragging his ruined body toward the fire.

“Mark?” She chokes.

“I’m not Mark,” he rasps. “I’m Micah. I’ve always been Micah.”

“You—” She struggles to get the words out. “You’ve been⁠⁠—”

“I was protecting you.” He takes another swaying step, and Andrik snarls. “I saw you in the snow, Lumi. All those years ago. And I knew. I knew you were supposed to be mine. Not his.”

“You’re delusional,” Andrik spits.

“No!” Micah shouts, a wet, rattling sound filling the clearing. “I loved her first. I watched over her. I kept her safe before you even knew she existed!”

“You terrorized her,” Andrik roars, the fire lapping higher in response to his fury.

“I saved her!” A fresh spray of blood spills from Micah’s mouth. “From falling⁠—” He collapses to his knees.

Andrik steps toward him, claws raised.

“Wait,” she screams.

“Lumi—”

“Just—give me a second. I need to know.” She moves around the shield of Andrik’s body, stepping slowly until she’s standing directly in front of Micah.

“Why?” she whispers. “Why me? Why go through all of this… for me?”

“I fell for you the moment I saw you. It was this bone-deep pull—a gravity I couldn’t fight, a resonance I didn’t understand. I knew we were meant to be together, but my brother...” He chokes. “He didn’t understand. Mark had always been twisted and unpredictable—an unfortunate side-effect of our upbringing—but he was my twin. My other half. I thought I could contain him. I thought I could keep his darkness from touching you.”