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“Do you want to live?”
“What I want doesn’t matter. If I die, then that isHisWill. I knew the consequences when I chose to save Malic, and I was right to do so! They all must live, and now they will. My sister can carry on what I started.”
I didn’t much care who this was speaking to me. Of course, I wanted to live if that meant I got to find someone who finally saw me. I got to experience a man who could look past my gifts and just see me! I didn’t have that feeling long but saving Malic wasn’t a question. A Hunter protects all beings on this earth from evil no matter the form it takes.
“You have taken the first step in the redemption of House Okar. You may not have been the Hunter who chose not to helpMY WOLVES, but you have been chosen to walk in both worlds as Hunter and Shifter. Your fellow Hunters may choose to turn their backs on you, but you will bear that cost. You will bring both together. If you choose this path, there will be much agony. Everyone has a choice, and now is your time to choose your destiny. Will you, Hunter, fix the wrongs that your House has committed by becoming the very being they turned their backs on?”
His wolves? What did that even mean? And who…it was as if every lesson, book or conversation I had about wolf shifters kind slammed into my mind. I knew exactly who this voice was and what he was asking. The voice speaking to me with this much power had to beKannuck.
“I cannot fix wrongs that were done before my time. I could only work to regain the trust now, and hopefully, my death will show everyone we need each other and will bring Hunter and Shifters together.”
It wasn’t that I wouldn’t walk this life. It was more that I felt if I took this lifeline, it would be meaningless. I would be looked at by others as if I took this as another grab at life, but my death will show wolves what Hunters will do to protect and Hunters what they should have been doing, so something like this will never happen again. If we were together, a demon would have been hard-pressed to gain control of a shifter. We would have been called in at the start of this situation.
“This is your cross to bear, Devana Okar. Would you leave a Mate who would risk your hatred just to save your life?”
I opened my mouth to speak as a sharp pain ran from my neck and down through my entire body. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t make a sound. It felt like my bones were being crushed and like every organ was being remade while I was awake. My blood burned inside my veins, and it felt as if my skin was too tight. I couldn’t move, as the pain in my mouth felt like my teeth were being drilled.
“Devana, you will not leave me.” That voice I knew for sure. That voice was full of command and… “Devana!”
I screamed at the pain in my body and cried at the pain in the voice of my Mate. Just the thought of that word had my mind focusing. I didn’t care what anyone thought, said, or accused me of doing. I may not believe I was the one for this destiny, but I knew I would not leave my Mate. Whatever the price I had to pay to get back to him to be with him and save his Pack, I would pay.
“Then it is done.”
The deep growl of words sent another wave of pain through me as my back and neck pressure increased horribly. I felt like my skin was being ripped to shreds. As if someone was taking a blade and digging it into my bones. All of my bones began to move and shift as if I was regrowing my entire body. I couldn’t tell if I was screaming aloud or if this was still all in my mind. Sharp stabs of pain raced down my right shoulder, and my back like it was running from something. I felt like my skin had been torn off and was slowly knitting itself back together just for it to happen all over again. I didn’t know if I was still crying, but I held on to what I knew was waiting for me. Dax would be on the other end of this pain. Light began flashing around me, and I could hear voices and noises that were too loud. I could hear the crackling of the fire and smell the dead or dying. That couldn’t be right because I couldn’t figure out where I was or what I should be doing. I tried to move, but I felt the weight of something holding me still. I tried moving my body, but it felt wrong, like I had too many arms and my head felt too heavy.
“Devana, baby. Open your eyes.”
“Is she…”
“Quiet!” I knew my sister’s voice, and I felt myself calm slightly because she was safe. That meant she could carry out what I started when…shit! My eyes were so heavy, but I had to open them. I needed to see Dax and make sure he knew that everything would be fine, and Dali would make sure his Pack took out that demon before…
“Devana! Open your eyes, Mate.” Dax’s voice weaved around me like a caress, but I also felt the commanding ring laced in it. I had the immediate urge to bite him for even trying to order me around, but that settled when I felt his touch and smelled his scent. As that thought played over in my head, I wanted to know why I would say scent. I felt when my brain kicked in, and the words of what the wolf deity said came crushing over me. My eyes flew open, and everything looked the same but also different. Things I wouldn’t usually see became more precise, and the pain I experienced seemed almost a dull ache. I lifted my arm and expected to see a hand, but all I saw was a white paw.
“Devana?” I knew that voice was Dax, but when I opened my mouth to respond, all that came out was a howl.
Istood up when a gigantic man stepped out of the smoke with glowing terracotta eyes. He looked us all over with a deep frown and then back at me. He was an Alpha, but he wasn’t the one I saw in Aeron’s visions.
“None of you are Pack. Why didn’t you leave with your True Alpha?” Disgust was laced through his voice as he crossed his massive arms across his chest. He talked to all of us, but he was staring at me.
“That is not the True Alpha, nor is he my Alpha,” I snapped. I was tired, irritated, and wanted to get these women and children somewhere safe. I looked up, realizing I was speaking to an Alpha I wanted help from, and they usually would take my tone as a challenge. The man dropped his tattooed arms, and he laughed. His smooth, bronzed skin seemed to gleam in the light of the fire, and when the glow of his eyes dimmed, they turned a dark brown.
“What are you doing here?”
“Who are you?”
“Who exactly are you? I can tell that you shouldn’t even have been caught up in this mess, but I think I understand why you didn’t just escape on your own. So again, why are you here?”
“They need a safe place. I couldn’t leave them with…that piece of shit that calls himself an Alpha. My name is Maeze Aiman of the Savir Pack.”
“Savir!”
“Yes. I was born into the Savir Pack and have served the Pack of the True Alpha.” I heard the gasps and whimpers behind me, and I turned to the females. Before turning back, I looked at the pups, making sure they were all still accounted for.
“You are not an Alpha or a Beta, but you are not just a normal wolf…” His head cocked to the side, but I could tell he was still watching for threats. He was checking us over, and I could also feel him press against my mind. My mental shield held, though, and I saw his eyes on me again. He pulled back and looked around as if he sensed something.
“My name is Alex Rayne, and what I can sense so far, you all aren’t a threat. About the safe haven, that is usually what we do here. Yesterday I would have said this was a safe place, but as you can see…”
“Yes, but this is better than with him. At least better until I can track down the True Alpha.”
