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Daylight was blinding as we left the mountain, but it wasn’t enough to block the scene that was playing out in the valley. That horrible sound had been coming from those zombie shifters, the ones that my brother had used life force and mayhem to bring back to life. Their bodies were melting and shrinking, like I’d taken their lives along with my brother’s.
“No,” I whispered.
“Lars, it’s for the best.” Bibi did her best to comfort me.
“Tanyth.”
I ran to the spot where I’d last seen her. The bodies of the briefly resurrected lay around her. She was still there, as still as I’d initially found her. Bibi was right, this was for the best. All along, when Leif had made the outrageous suggestion of bringing her back to this realm, I knew I’d never be able to keep her. The logical part of me was glad that her suffering would be brief, and that she could return to a place where she truly knew peace. But my heart felt like it was taking every blow I’d given to my brother.
I lay beside her, with my arm around her. My fur was bloodstained, and I was careful not to get any of it on her. She let out a sigh.
“You’re still with me?” I asked, keeping my voice as low as possible, so as not to startle her.
She looked at me with those horrible, undead eyes. But there was something about them that was still her. “I’m so glad I got to see you before I have to go.”
“I wish there was another way—”
“There isn’t.” Her voice was so soft, barely a whisper. More like a dream. “I don’t belong here anymore.”
“But.”
“Lars.” Her chuckle was like a breeze. “It’s okay. We had a beautiful life.”
“We did.” We hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye before. Not like this, because neither of us believed that she could actually die. Now we were welcoming it. Sweet moon, how could there be such a silver lining in this cruel twist of fate? “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” She closed her hand over mine, but didn’t have the strength to squeeze it. Her body was losing heat. We didn’t have much more time. “Take good care of her.”
“What? Who?”
“The human.” She let out a long breath, one I feared could be her last. “Leif showed me the two of you together. On some device. She has the prettiest hair. I like her.”
“I knew you would.”
“It makes this okay. To know you’re not alone.” A dreamy smile played on her lips. “Goodbye, my love.”
thirty-three
Hannah
I had to concentrate on the task at hand to keep the image of Tanyth out of my mind. Sweet moon, she’d looked so helpless lying there. Leif was an absolute monster for bringing her back like that. This was Lars’s worst nightmare, the absolute cruelest thing his brother could have done. None of those animals had been well. I didn’t know what we were gonna do about that, but right now, I had one job, and that was to find Zoe, whoever else was with her, and get them the hell out of here.
Best case scenario. I couldn’t think about the worst.
Including the one where I lost Lars. I would never keep him from Tanyth if there was a chance she could survive. It wasn’t just raw pain on his face when he saw her, there was this naked adoration that shattered my heart.
It wasn’t the same way he looked at me. Not that I’d ever felt anything but love and desire from him, but their connection was next level. The two of them were supposed to spend forever together, but not like this.
Lars’s mountain was a castle, but this was a freaking nightmare. On so many levels. I was in good hands, with Marissa, Tina, Bjorn, and a few other crew members with me. But they’d all shifted, and I couldn’t communicate with them.
The stench was unbelievable. I didn’t want to think about what it could possibly be, because I’d lose my lunch. The pathway was dark—the shifters in the party had the gift of night vision, but all I had was the flashlight that Bibi and Lars insisted I bring with me. Because they’d known things I couldn’t even comprehend until this moment.
I wished they were here. My current posse was fierce and amazing, but there was that communication barrier. And somehow, I’d been elected the leader of this voyage. I needed an adult. An adultier adult.
Tina nudged my leg before she headed down a pathway I hadn’t even seen. I was more than glad to let this fierce mama wolf take the lead. She must have been able to smell or hear something my dull and completely inefficient human senses missed. I’d often wished I was a shifter, but never more than right now.
After what I’d seen in the valley, I wasn’t sure that was what I really wanted anymore. If I should walk away from Lars and let him be with Tanyth. If I even wanted to be on a reality show anymore if my friends got hurt simply because they’d wanted to support me.
There was a light shining at the end of the hallway. In this complete blackness, it was hard to tell how far it was, and moving fast was impossible because the footing was uneven and unreliable. I’d tripped more than once, managing to stay upright, but scraping my arms against the craggy walls. There was screaming and howling coming from all directions.
