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I can sense her resistance. No doubt she wants to believe, to hope, but she’s been hurt and is fearful. Being rejected by her own blood, the very mother who birthed her, and the father who was her only example of what a good man should be… It will take time and acts of service to gain her trust, to make her truly believe that not only can she achieve her dreams, but that she is already more than worthy of them.
Her brilliant violet eyes are haunting, but behind their purple depths hides a strength that maybe even she doesn’t yet know she possesses. I want so badly to reach out and touch her face, caress her milky skin, and run my fingers through her fine, breathtaking white hair. Despite her sickly and neglected appearance, she is no less than perfect in my eyes. I see the jewel that she is, shining bright from within, with or without the polish of good health and finery.
With respect for her vulnerability and state of mind, I resist.There will be time. Be patient.“Hold tight, Asha. Home awaits.” Without waiting for an answer, I shift, no longer the bare man but the imposing black bear. I meet her gaze and lower myself to the cool earth, allowing her to climb on more easily.
Asha purses her chapped lips before pulling herself up and molding herself to my soft but strong shifter form. “I’ll give us a chance,” she whispers in the stillness of the night between breaths. “Let’s go home.”
My heart swells with joy at her words. Every fiber and muscle in my body tingles with a soul-deep strength born of possibility and an innate trust in Fate. As I launch myself into the darkness, the cold air ripples through my fur, and I feel morealive than ever. Careful with my precious cargo, I avoid fallen trees, snaring obstacles, and seasonal pools with ease.I need to get my mate home safe, and make her warm before she catches her death out here!
Chapter Five
Asha
I can’t believe this is happening…There’s nothing but free air above me—an eternity of glittering stars and twisting shadows for as far as the eye can see. The cool night air kisses my cheeks, a simple pleasure so easily taken for granted.I’m riding an enormous bear shifter through the Rosewood Forest.I’d never have dared to dream such a thing. I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet. I’m afraid to believe it, to give it credence, lest I wake up to discover it just a drug-fueled dream.I’m actually free.No more sedatives. No more straitjacket. No more ice-cold baths. And most crucially of all, there are no bespelled walls to suffocate and repress my Chaos. Not anymore.
I might be the only free Chaos witch in existence.The thought strikes me in the chest with the force of a sledgehammer. It’s sobering. I’m free. I’m really free.
I’ve been looking at this all wrong.I’m free while Maeve remains imprisoned. She freed me! Who knows what it cost her? I’m free … and now Erik and his whole clan are in danger because of me, and he knows it. He knows that my being here could bring down the wrath of The Five. It could even start a war.
My stomach drops, and I clutch Erik’s fur tighter. I’ve spent so long feeling bitter and hard-done-by that I didn’t think to be grateful. It’s been so long since someone has shown me even the smallest kindness or taken a risk for me that I’ve forgotten how to react. I’m so used to every blade being double-edged. So used to everything being a cleverly disguised deceit. Erik is risking his life and those of his family to be with me.Fate or not, that’s a choice. He’s choosing me. Choosing to protect me.I owe him a modicum of gratitude and decency for that, at least.
I don’t know if I can adjust to all of this. My head spins.Discovering that I’m someone’s Fated mate and being thrust into the world of shifters. But I should try. I want to. This is my hope for a new beginning. It’s a gift. It might not be anything like what I’d imagined for myself, but life is full of surprises. I see that now. The tide can turn when you least expect it. And perhaps this isn’t all about just me to begin with.
Maeve saved me, and maybe it was for a greater purpose. Perhaps it’s precisely for what I swore in the darkness of my drug-induced stupor. This could be my chance to right the wrongs of the past, the crimes against my Sisters, and the Unbalancing of the world. It’s time for me to keep my word.
****
We crest a final rise amongst the peaks of the Rosewood Valley, and the maw of a great cave yawns wide before us.
Erik comes to a stop. Before he can lower himself, I slide down of my own accord.
A moment later, Erik shifts and offers me his hand.
Swallowing my fear and reservations, I accept, and our fingers intertwine.So naturally.The simple touch feels shockingly intimate, and my breath hitches in my throat.
Erik smiles. “Are you ready to meet your true family, Asha?”
I take a deep breath and offer him a small smile of trust in return. “As I’m ever going to be.”
We enter the cave and are swallowed by the darkness within. Erik squeezes my hand. “I’m sorry about the dark. We don’t usually shift until we’re further in. We don’t like to leave burning torches alight in here to advertise the entrance to our lair. But there’s no need to fear, I know the way like the back of my hand.”
“Would you mind a compromise?” I ask.
“What did you have in mind?”
I hold my free hand out before me and bring my desireinto reality with a thought. Flames erupt from my open palm, dancing merrily without harming me. I hear Erik’s sudden intake of breath and smile. He looks so roguishly handsome by firelight.If he’s not the most beautiful man in his clan, I’ll be surprised.
“Well, that’s handy.”
“After all these years without practice, just be grateful I didn’t set you on fire.”
Erik’s eyes widen in mock horror.
We both burst into laughter. It feels indescribable to wield magic again after so many years … and to laugh!I can’t remember the last time I laughed. “Chaos means I have dominion over all of the elements,” I explain. “Chaos envelops them, like the embracing circle that turns the pentastar into our pentacle.”
“And that’s why our world is Unbalanced,” says Erik. “We’re missing the most crucial element of them all.”
I nod appreciatively.He understands.We continue onward in an unexpected but comfortable silence. The earthen tunnel above us, strengthened by deep, tangled roots, gives way to stone. Soon it becomes apparent that the clan’s home has been hewn from the very mountain itself. The tunnel descends, opening up into a vast cavern. At its heart—the clan.
