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Once I’d determined Lyka was in sync enough with his wolf to pose no threat to Celeste or Liana, I shifted as well. For once, my wolf’s urges didn’t overrun my own. It was a pleasure to see my brother like this again, and my tail waved lazily over my spine as Celeste approached us to smooth her hands over my muzzle, whispering to me how handsome I was.
Rumbling happily, I gently butted Celeste’s hand away. Liana didn’t reach out to Lyka, but she didn’t look frightened of the large wolf at all; instead, she looked on in wonder. If my brother felt comfortable with his wolf after this run, I’d suggest she reach out to touch him next time. But today we’d run.
I turned and nipped at my brother’s ear, then took off before he could retaliate, my laughter a bark in the wind as the sand churned beneath my feet. As I heard my brother behind me, I flattened my ears against my skull and stretched out further, lengthening my stride over the sand as we flew over it, racing to the opposite side of the island. The trees whipped by us as Lyka drew up to my flank, but he couldn’t pass me.
We were running so hard, we went straight into the ocean on the other side of the island. The momentum carried us several feet into the water before we came to a stop. I looked over at the sound of Lyka’s laughter. He’d already shifted back, and was laughing and shaking his head, kicking at the waves before walking back towards land. I followed suit, shifting once I was on dry terrain.
“You see? I knew you’d do fine.”
Lyka gave me a wry look.“So you did,”he said.“You have changed, you know. It suits you.”
“What suits me?”I asked.“Shifting? That’d make sense, Lyka.”
He laughed and shook his head.“Do not be smart with me. Lunar Lordship. You handle the responsibility with grace and a level of calm. It’s good.”
“Perhaps. I have kept myself…removed for a long time. An outside view to me was the best way to keep an objective opinion, but now I wonder. You were a much more compassionate leader, and sometimes I think you handled issues with more finesse than I do. Did.”I looked out at the ocean, aware my brother was still studying me.
“I did what was needed as Lunar Lord during my time. And you are doing what needs to be done as Lunar Lord now.”
“This will not last forever. Your…your more compassionate style is needed.”
“You’re right. This will not last forever, but you don’t give yourself enough credit. You have grown and changed, and I am sure your style has changed, too. Now you will have your mate by your side to even you out.”He shrugged.“With the curse lifted, I imagine that will become even easier for you.”
I frowned.“You’re just being my brother.”
Lyka rolled his eyes.“I will always be your brother. But between the two of us, I always believed you felt things more deeply—so deeply that you struggled to express it sometimes. Sometimes, when we were young, I wondered if you were meant to be the Lunar Lord, not me.”
The confession startled me. I pressed my lips together.“Did youwantto be Lunar Lord?”
“No.”Lyka shook his head, and his expression fell.“But someone had to be. I valued upholding the line between the normal and paranormal worlds. Some of the other wolves in our pack….”He trailed off and shook his head again.“They would have been terrible for the world.”
That I had to agree with.“You did a good job,”I said.
“I did the best I could.”Lyka looked back at me.“Fenris, from everything you have told me, you’ve done what you could. You removed yourself from the public eye to defend those you cared about, reemerging when needed to protect the paranormal world from humans—or humans from the paranormal world. You are doing agoodjob, my brother. You have been putting others first for centuries, even if you cannot see that yourself.”
I paused, tearing my gaze away from the ocean to stare at my brother. We’d never spoken so plainly aboutthis, and I didn’t know how badly I’d needed to hear it.
I felt so soothed, and I smiled.“Thank you,”I said, feeling more content than I had in a long time.
Chapter 17
Celeste
Fenris’s Private Villa
Isla Lobo, Panama
Time Until the Eclipse: 10 Days
Despite living close to the ocean most of my life, I’d never been a big fan of seafood. But living with Fenris on a private island was starting to change that. We were sitting at a small corner table in the master bedroom with a large plate of seared scallops between us, dressed with lemon-browned butter sauce, capers, and fresh greens. Walter never ceased to amaze me with his culinary talents, though he insisted this meal was quite simple. I didn’t really believe him, but I wasn’t about to argue.
We’d fallen silent as we ate, at least for the first few bites, then finally Fenris spoke up. “Are we feeding you enough?” he asked softly. “I know you’ve been using every moment to study, but I hope not at the expense of meals.”
“No,” I replied. “Val made it clear early on that neglecting self-care affected magic—both in the short and long-term. If you don’t sleep, you become distracted, and magic takes the pathof least resistance. If you don’t feed yourself, you start to have less energy, and that means your work will be less powerful and drain you more. You get the idea.”
Fenris nodded. “Good,” he said simply as he took another bite.
“And what about you?” I asked. “You’ve been running around all over the world—literally. You’ll need your strength at the eclipse, too.” Fenris wasn’t studying like I was, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t working himself too hard. He just had the gift of rebirth if he worked himself to death, where I did not.
