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Once again, Dawn and Joan invoked their magical powers. The green glow pulsed over Ava’s wound. Now, Lori sat down on the other side of Ava and took her hand. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes. “Selene, the all-seeing eye of the night, she who can bring light into the darkness, we humbly pray for your help. One of our own is too close to the veil. Keep her with us. We ask that you use your almighty powers, turning back the clock as only you can so that our dear sister can stay in our world. Selene, please hear us.”
“Selene,” Dawn and Joan echoed, “please hear us.”
Lori’s shoulders stiffened, and her head twitched slightly, but still she kept a hold of Ava’s hand. The green light continued to emanate from the other two women. The seconds slowly ticked by, and Sarah couldn’t be sure of what was happening. She leaned into Max. They might not be together, but they were both parents. They were both seeing this horrendous thing happening in front of them.
But then Ava’s eyelids fluttered. The blood was no longer dripping from the shred of Max’s shirt that he’d placed over the wound. The magical glow died out, and the women took their bloody hands from Ava’s body.
Dawn pressed her fingers to the inside of Ava’s wrist. “She’s coming back to us.”
Another sob racked Sarah’s body. “Can that really be?”
Lori stroked her fingertips gently over Ava’s forehead. “Selene has blessed you, Ava.”
Sarah didn’t want to believe. She didn’t want to feel hope if it was misplaced, only to be dashed once again.
But then Ava opened her eyes. “Mom?”
“I’m right here, baby.” Sarah darted forward and cradled Ava’s head in her lap. She covered her forehead in kisses and stroked her tangled hair. Joy and relief washed over her, but she continued to cry. She’d nearly lost her. She’d tried so hard to raise this dear girl in the best way she knew how. She’d fought as hard as she could against the horrific circumstances Ava had been born into. When the Greystones had come for her, Sarah had been willing to give them anything they wanted so that Ava might live.
In the end, though, it was Selene who had saved her.
17
Max knewthe Glenwood packhouse better than the back of his hand. Growing up, he’d played hide-and-seek in every nook and cranny of it. His heart had been broken, repaired, and broken again there. He shouldn’t feel strange about leaving it since he had a home of his own now, a place he could have his own routines and habits.
But Sarah wasn’t there. He wasn’t sure she ever would be.
Max crossed the bedroom to the dresser and checked the drawers. He hadn’t left any socks or pajama bottoms in there, but he was definitely leaving something behind. Sarah and Ava would remain at the packhouse. Max and Sarah had agreed it was best to take time apart, and there was no question that the pack would take care of them until they were able to get on their feet. Every question was answered, yet one continued to linger in his heart. Would there ever truly be a chance for them to be together? Or was he just fooling himself, using the idea of their eventual reunion to placate the pain in his heart?
“Can I come in?” Sarah stood in the doorway. Her eyes had been red and puffy for a solid two days after the battle with the Greystones. The swelling had cleared, but uncertainty still lived there.
“Of course. It’s your place as much as anyone else’s.” Max didn’t mean to sound so bitter, but he was sure he would, no matter how many times he tried. He’d found his mate, but he’d failed to keep her. Twice.
“Do you mind if I close this? I’d like to talk.”
“Sure.”
She shut the door gently and lingered near it, bracing herself on the trim. “I’m sorry.”
Anguish had continually sliced through his heart over the last several days. Having the same conversation over and over again wasn’t going to help. “I think we’ve both apologized enough for everything.”
“Not for this,” she insisted. Sarah pushed herself off the wall and came forward, putting herself in front of him to look up into his eyes. “I’ve apologized for a lot, and I’m sure there’s plenty more that I’ll still need to apologize for, but this is different.”
Inside, Max stabbed the bubble of hope that rose in his chest. There was nothing left to hope for, and it was time for him to be realistic. “All right.”
Sarah’s chest heaved as she drew in a big breath. “I never understood why your pack was still so devoted to Selene. I thought she was just this bizarre old myth, a wolf shifter legend that was nothing more than a story that was being taken way too seriously. I mean, none of the other packs around here still cling to the idea of her. It was impossible for me to comprehend how grown adults in this day and age could just look up at the moon and believe a magical lady inside it would solve all their problems. It’s like believing in the tooth fairy or Santa Claus.”
An argument against that notion threatened on the back of his tongue, but he swallowed it. He was done arguing.
“Maybe I just didn’t want to believe it was anything more than a story,” she continued quietly. “After all, how can someone believe in something so much greater than themselves when they don’t have anything like that in their life? How can someone feel that such an old, ideological tradition is anything other than a cage when all the other traditions they’ve experienced have felt the same way?” Sarah shook her head as she slumped onto the corner of the bed. “Max, I feel like such an idiot.”
“There’s no need—”
“Yes, there is. I refused to see the value in something that you held so dear. I can’t apologize to you enough for that, especially after seeing what Selene did for Ava. Our daughter would be dead right now if it weren’t for her. Everything the rest of us could do wouldn’t have been enough, but Selene stepped in and just—” She held her hands up helplessly. “She just fixed her. It was a miracle, and I’m so sorry I was angry and frustrated with you over your faith in her.”
He could see just how miserable she’d made herself over this. Max wanted to reach out, to stroke his hand down her hair, to wrap her in his arms and kiss her, to show her that he’d forgiven her. Given their agreement, the best he could manage was, “It’s okay.”
“It’s not. I’ve been a horrible person,” she lamented.
