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His words landed hard in my heart, and I was once more reminded that my whole life had changed since my first shift. It would never be the same again, and I had so much more to learn.

I hated not having Riley’s input or her consent, but the trauma would plague her forever, post-traumatic stress disorder chasing her through her life in Willow Creek. That sounded worse than taking a risk on preemptive treatment, but indecision held my tongue.

“Well, what do you think?” Logan’s thumb tenderly stroked the back of my neck, and every logical thought fled.

Finally, I nodded. “I thinkyou should try, Torbin.”

His large hands practically circled Riley’s head, and he peered down at her forehead. Several minutes ticked by before Torbin lifted his hands and nodded.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“It’s the best I can do.”

Logan grinned. “Which is to say it’s good enough.”

Flynn stepped forward and lifted Riley into his arms. “I’ll get her back to Willow Creek since I’m headed there anyway.”

“Checking on your shifters?” I asked.

He gave me a grim nod.

“Let me know if I can do anything,” I offered. “Healing, whatever.”

“That I will,” Flynn said before carrying her out of the bunker.

“You ready to go home to Red Tail? Maybe for some more training?” Jasper asked with a sly grin.

“Now you can fuck right off, Jasper,” Logan said, punching the fox shifter’s shoulder. “She’s coming home to Six-Mile. With me.”

Home to Six-Mile…

Withhim.

Yeah, my life’s never going to be the same.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

logan

I’d shared my strength with her, all of our strengths…

Before Acheron burned me through, before he killed me…

Then I’d died, and she’d healed me.

Silently, we rode along the country roads in the SUV, Torbin and Marcus in the two front seats. Olivia, Emma, and I were in the backseat. We’d tucked Riley in the spacious rear, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. Flynn and Jasper had opted to shift and meet us back at Red Tail since the corner edge of their territory was the closest to Acheron’s bunker—if we traveled in a straight line at least.

Emma checked on Riley every few minutes, agitated over her nursing assistant riding in the back like she was. “Are you sure she won’t fit here in the seats?” she asked for the third time.

“It’s not far, and she won’t remember any of this,” Isaid, tugging Emma back down into the middle seat beside me and pressing her as close to me as she would go. “It’s the only way to get us all back at the same time.”

“I know, I know,” she murmured.

My hand smoothed over the place where the hole had burned through my chest, and I shuddered. Maybe bringing me back to life was a big deal, but I wasn’t ready to think about that yet.

Her primal power would get out to the clans, and we would have a whole new set of problems on our hands. I wasn’t ready for Six-Mile Manor to turn into a pilgrimage for our kind or a place to beg the multimorph to raise anybody from the dead.

I studied the faces around us. Maybe we would keep a lid on it.