AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What is wrong, my brother? You do not seem like you are feeling well.”
“I do not know,” I admit, looking up at him. “I have never been afraid to die, and I am not afraid to fight. I am not used to thinking of a future. I am used to surviving day to day. I am not sure I am cut out for a life where everything is more … comfortable.”
And I do not know if that explains the entirety of my bad feeling, but it is all I have in me that I can find the words for. I do not expect Scar to understand. He has always known what it was like outside of The Abyss. I have only known this life.
“You are used to a life you never should have had to live, Scratch. Change can feel hard, but it is always possible, and it is needed to grow. We cannot grow any longer inside this place. It was never meant to sustain us.”
“You are right,” I murmur, knowing it is true but unable to connect that truth to the way I am feeling.
“Do not worry if you are uncertain now. It will take time, but you will get there. Even if you don’t see that, I do.” He locks gazes with me, and I feel a little better knowing he has faith in me.
It has always been this way. He is more than a brother to me.
He raised me virtually from the moment I was born.
He has always cared for me as if he was my father.
I would do anything for him.
That is why I do not allow my concerns to crush me into inaction.
He wants me to push past this feeling to help him start a new life outside of this prison.
I will do this for him. Whatever happens later is a problem for another time.
For now, I fight by his side.
“You will win this battle,” I tell him. “And Nightshade will be yours.”
He shakes his head as the portal swirls to life in front of us. “We will win it together, and Nightshade will beours.”
“Are you two done making eyes at each other yet?” Fox asks. “The portal is open.”
I frown at our feline brother. “Do not be disgusting. We are not behaving like lovers.”
Fox shrugs. “You are having an emotional discussion about feelings. It is close enough.”
“Fox, I do not want a word out of you once we leave the forest,” Scar says, staring him down with those icy blue wolf-eyes. “I am reminding you this one last time. I will not do so again. If you speak, I will send you back here. Tell me you understand this and promise me you will follow this instruction.”
Fox blows out a breath, his shoulders slumping. “I understand and I promise. Now, while we’re still in The Abyss, are we going to see our mate once the fight is over?”
I can’t say I’m not curious about that, but I’ll be surprised if Scar gives him a definitive answer.
Snake starts to hiss next to him, clearly trying to hurry Scar’s response along.
“We will need to establish ourselves as the Alphas when he is dead,” Scar says. “And we will have to weed out any pack members who are against us before we can be sure it is safe enough to be around our mate. It is not going to be a quick transition.”
He glances at me as Fox screws up his face, ready to complain.
“But if it is possible, we will visit her briefly before we announce ourselves as Nightshade’s new Alphas.”
I feel a little lighter knowing there’s a chance that we’ll get to see her.
“Until we are in charge of Nightshade, I am still your leader,” he tells us, his gaze on Fox. “Once we are all Alphas together, things will be different, but I will make the rules until we have adapted to all of the changes. Clear?”
“Clear,” I murmur.
“Clear,” Fox drawls in a bored tone.
