Page 59 of Destined to the Lycan (The Shadow Realms #3)

Her face softened, and she gave me a stiff nod. “Only a fool would not worry about giving a part of them that could be used in a devastating way against them, especially by one such as I. But our affair is concluded.”

“Thank you for saving our lives,” I said sheepishly.

“No, child. Thank you for saving many more lives than you realize,” she said in a mysterious tone.

My tongue burned with the urge to pry further as to who she was referring to. However, Remus addressed the Weaver, reminding me of the last important topic I had forgotten to bring up.

“Before we go, I found the Lover’s Blight that was hidden in my mate’s workshop. But we have no clue who was bringing it there, how to find them, or how vulnerable my mate might be to another similar attack,” he said in a concerned voice.

The Weaver smiled and absentmindedly ran her hand over her single long braid.

“You met the would-be assassin outside the Haunted Woods,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“So it was her!” Remus exclaimed, anger seeping into his voice.

“Mmhmm,” Cliona said with a mysterious expression. “She wanted to stop you from saving Amara.”

“But why?” I exclaimed, baffled.

“And where can I find her?” Remus demanded.

“To prevent you from giving me this serum,” the Weaver said to me with a shrug while waving at the ampule in the box. She then turned her attention to my mate. “As for you, you don’t get to find her.”

“WHAT?! But—”

“No, Remus Beltaine!” Cliona said in an imperious tone that made me want to wither in my chair.

“Your part in this story is done. The witch is no longer your concern. You had one chance to defeat her in the forest. As it was extremely slim, you made the right choice by leaving. Now, it falls onto another to make her pay for her many crimes.”

“But she threatened my mate!” he exclaimed, outraged. “I will not sit by idle fearing the day she will strike again!

She made a disdainful gesture. “The threat to your mate has passed. Killing Amara before her rebirth would have prevented me from securing this serum. Had Amara’s father survived, the Wheels of Fate would have likely caused him to provide this serum instead.

The witch has no quarrel with you or your bloodline, Amara.

You were just a casualty in a greater war. Your part is done.”

“So we’ll never see her again?” I asked, shaken and furious at the callousness with which this stranger had destroyed our innocent lives.

Cliona shook her head. “She’s already shifted her focus to another in a vain effort to prevent the inevitable.”

“Just promise me that you won’t let her get away with this,” I said with a hardness that took even me aback.

I had never been the vindictive type. But this woman caused too much harm to simply get away with it and not face the retribution she deserved.

The malicious, almost evil expression that settled over the Weaver’s face sent a cold shiver running down my spine.

In that instant, I almost felt a sliver of pity for the witch.

Almost…

“Have no fear, child,” the Weaver said in a chilling voice full of the most lethal promises. “She will pay a thousandfold. Even Death will feel sorry for her.”

I swallowed hard, glad that I hadn’t gotten myself on her enemies’ list.

“Thank you, Weaver. Thanks for everything,” I said, rising from my chair.

“Yes, thank you,” Remus echoed.

Her face took on an extremely soft expression that I never thought possible from such an intimidating female. It was almost maternal.

“You may call me Cliona,” she said with a strange expression, leaving me speechless. “Be happy, Amara. Take good care of your mate.”

Something about her troubled me. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what. I gave her a smile, slipped my hand into Remus’s, and turned to leave. As the door opened before us, I froze, and turned to look at her, shocked by my sudden realization.

“Your eyes,” I whispered, stunned. “They’re just like his!”

“Like whose?” she asked, her face suddenly closed off.

“Lyall,” I replied, studying her reaction.

Remus recoiled and looked at me with confusion.

“No, my love,” he said softly, a hint of concern in his voice. “Lyall has red sclera with no irises. The only thing they have in common is the vertical pupils.”

I placed my hand on his shoulder in an appeasing gesture while shaking my head, my gaze still locked with the Weaver’s.

“That’s the way they looked by default,” I conceded. “But when he’s happy, when he shows his more vulnerable side, they change to look exactly like hers, with the white sclera, purple irises, and vertical pupils.”

The strangest expression crossed Cliona’s face.

“Lyall showed you his true self?”

Although she worded it as a question, it was more of a statement to herself, as if she was trying to digest information she never expected.

“I believe so,” I said carefully. “He was beautiful, with a divine aura and ethereal wings… or at least luminous forms behind him that reminded me of wings.”

“The silly boy truly loves you that he should reveal himself to this extent,” she said pensively.

“So you do know him! Is he your sibling?” I asked.

She snorted, her wistful expression fading to be replaced by her usual mocking demeanor. “My sibling? Oh, how you flatter me child! No, Lyall isn’t my brother.”

“Do you know of his whereabouts?” Remus asked. “We haven’t seen or heard from him since the night of the full moon. I just want to make sure that he’s well and unharmed.”

Cliona looked at my mate as if she was seeing him for the first time. “You truly are unique, Remus Beltaine. Whatever resentment you may bear Ranael, he has passed on to you his protective and kind heart. Most other males would wish ill on one who coveted their female.”

“We owe him a lot. Without him, we likely wouldn’t be here,” Remus said.

She smiled. “No, Remus. Without him, you would both be dead,” she said with an unnerving finality.

“But yes, Lyall is fine. There was no point for him to linger and torture himself staring at what he can’t have.

But don’t be sad for him. You helped him make the right choices.

” She glanced at a bare section of the wall behind the spinning wheel and appeared to examine something before returning her attention to us.

“Thanks to you, the path to his happiness now lies before him.”

I blinked in confusion before looking at the wall. Like on my previous visit, it was completely bare. But this confirmed that she could see something there that remained invisible to our eyes.

“Safe journey to you both, and enjoy your new extended life Amara,” the Weaver said.

With this, she turned her back to us, and the stool she was sitting on glided silently back to her spinning wheel. I shook my head, unsure as to what feelings I felt towards Cliona. Fear, awe, respect, but also an inexplicable affection.

Remus gently tugged on my hand, snapping me out of my wandering thoughts. Hand in hand, we walked out of the room towards freedom and a new life filled with possibilities.

REMUS

H eart pounding, I pushed open the heavy doors into the Howl Inn.

The boisterous voices inside turned quiet the moment they saw me standing there with my mate by my side.

More than eight weeks had gone by since I walked out of here with Amara on our way to what was deemed not only impossible but flat out suicidal.

Although we were returning victorious, the whole way here, I dreaded the type of welcome we would receive.

After years of being treated as a pariah, I had made my peace with the fact that I would never really be welcomed.

But now that I had a mate, things weren’t the same.

I didn’t care about disrespect towards me, but I wouldn’t tolerate anyone treating my soulmate the way they had treated me.

Granted, her poison had never been a threat to others, but they could be mean to her simply because of her association with me. My back tensed as we entered the room, every eye leveled on us. To my surprise, they were curious, not hostile as had previously been the norm.

“Remus!” Misty exclaimed, rushing from behind her counter towards us.

We smiled, her infectious joy spreading to us. She drew us both into her embrace, kissing our cheeks in turn, before giving each of us a separate bone crushing hug. Amara giggled at the excessive demonstration of affection from the older woman.

She held my mate by her shoulders, examining her from head to toe before leaning in and taking a good whiff. Under different circumstances, this would have been deemed an extremely rude behavior. But throughout the room, everyone else was doing the same but in a more subtle fashion.

“I knew you would come back! I knew you would beat this,” Misty said, her voice suddenly thick with emotion. “There’s no more sickness in you! There’s no more sickness in either of you!”

As one, everyone started muttering their shock and disbelief.

“Yes, Misty. We’re both cured,” I said, stunned that I could still speak without my voice cracking.

“And the full moon will no longer turn him rabid,” Amara said proudly, slipping an arm around my waist as she leaned against me.

The mutterings went up another notch as the same incredulous expression could be seen on every face.

“All thanks to you, my love,” I said, the adoration I felt for her audible in my voice.

Then I turned to the crowd, my eyes locking with the man who had been my brother for many years before things turned sour.

“And to you, Ulric. I wouldn’t have made it back in time without your help. I am forever in your debt,” I said.

A strange emotion crossed his features before he lifted his chin with a smug expression.

“The pack always stands for its members,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Hear, hear!” everyone replied in unison.

I froze, too stunned for words. His gentle, almost apologetic smile snapped me out of my daze.

I blinked back the tears pricking my eyes.

With that single sentence, he had reclaimed me as a full member of the pack, no longer the pariah.

As the future leader of the pack, his word weighed heavily.

But more importantly, the others loudly express their agreement with his statement.

Too quickly…

Normally, someone would have questioned, challenged, or balked at his claim. No one did. In that instant, I realized that Ulric had likely started paving the way for my return the same day he escorted me back to the Weaver.

“Come then,” Rolf said in a semi-grumpy tone, gesturing for us to sit at their table. “Introduce your bonded mate to the rest of the pack and then share the tale of that wild adventure you embarked on.”

“At least, that will be one wild story likely to hold more truth than the tall tales Ludvic loves to shove down our throats at every turn,” Ulric said mockingly, looking at an older member of the pack, well-known for his over exaggerations.

His protests drowned under the deluge of friendly jeers and teasing from the others.

I exchanged a glance with my mate, my heart filling with love for the woman who had given me everything.

“I love you, my Flame,” I whispered telepathically.

“I love you, too, Remus,” she replied.

Hand in hand, we rejoined our pack.

THE END.