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We turned back, saw the moment Jaya fell to the floor in what felt like slow motion, the crowd much slower to react.

They began to gasp and chatter, surging forward, but not too close, unwilling to disturb the sanctity of the ritual, even as it was turned into a mockery of its true purpose.

That was what sealed their fate—that reticence.

“The crystals are the purest form of conduits,” Shade said.

“No ego, no desire. They just reroute power where it needs to go, act as a receptacle for souls. We had them everywhere, in every part of the city, as a means to transfer the power we used every day, and that reliance resulted in the end of Oemis.”

The song of the crystals changed now, from a song to a discordant scream, perhaps because they did.

It was slow to start with, the many crystals around the plaza throwing out a web of light beams, and each time someone got in the way, they crumpled to the floor, their power and their essences being sucked away.

Which frightened the others, but the use of crystals was so extensive that there was nowhere to run.

Crystals in the mosaic floor lit up, shards on the top of the low walls send out multiple beams. The sound got louder and louder, the lights brighter and brighter, until it all fell away, the song abruptly dying off.

Branwen fell to the ground, her human body no use to her now she had become a being of pure power, and so did Lonan. But at what cost? The plaza, the city was a morgue now.

I blinked as the room reasserted itself, just staring at Shade until he moved closer, wrapping me in a hug, seeming to know I needed that deep bodily pressure to bring me back to the room, to them.

“That’s not us,” I whispered.

“No, that’s the magic with each reincarnation. We become something new each time. Sometimes we find each other and sometimes we don’t, but always, always, something new. I think we’ll be better at it now.”

It was that sentiment that I carried with me as I pulled away from Shade, pressing my lips to his as I went. He held me for just a moment, then let me go, knowing where I needed to be.

“Fuck…” Ethan said, the fear back in his expression, but my hands went to his hair, stroking it back off his face.

“You’re not him. You’re a mechanic.” He nodded slowly at that. “You like to hang out with your mates, have a beer or two.” The nod grew stronger then. “You’re a good friend.”

“A hot lover,” Axel supplied.

“You’re a good bloke,” Shaun said. “Cocky, full of shit, but there’s nothing mean in you.”

“You’re who you want to be,” Shade said last, and then finally, one last nod from Ethan.

“Who do you want to be, Ethan?” I asked.

“Yours,” he replied, without question. “Absolutely and utterly yours. I’ve felt the pull since the first time you stumbled into the garage, and that’s never changed.

” He took my hand in his. “I don’t want it to change.

I don’t want to cause the end of a fucking civilisation either, dying for a bloke who never even loved me. ”

“So don’t,” I replied. “We’ll make a pact. No dying for people who don’t love us, no decline of Western civilisation.”

I held out a hand, and he took it with a slow smile, then used it to pull me closer.

We hovered there for a second, just Ethan and just Bec, sitting there, breathing the other in before we leant in close and brushed our lips across the other’s.

His other hand slid up around the back of my neck, holding me close, a small rumble from his chest telling me exactly how he felt about this.

And I felt the same.

I crawled closer until I was finally straddling him, breathing him in, feeling that big hard body against mine, which only made me crave more.

Right now, I knew it was the weight of ages, of bonds formed thousands of years ago that thrust us together, hence Ethan’s fear.

If we let them stay in the driver’s seat, wouldn’t we just end up in the same shitty place?

But as I moved, readying myself to take him, to form our bond, to experience him, Ethan, not his other selves, I knew that was how we would move forward.

We had a connection, we just had to build on that, and as he went to steady me while I brushed his cock against my folds, I felt like I was in safe hands.

“We won’t hurt each other,” I said as I sank down. “Just look after each other. Keep everyone safe, happy…” He thrust up inside me, making me gasp.

“Keep everyone happy,” he added. “That’s all I want. Nothing world changing, just a good, happy life.”

“Amen, brother,” Axel said, moving in closer, but waiting for permission before kissing me, then Ethan, my thrusts getting faster, deeper in response.

I felt hands on my hips, hands on my back, as they all clustered close.

Lonan and Branwen might have created their gross web of power to drain everyone in Oemis, but we were much more modest in our aims. I closed my eyes, surrendering now to the feel of Ethan splitting me open, both body and soul, forcing me to let down my boundaries and let them in.

“That’s how it’ll be,” Shaun whispered. “Our pack.”

“Our pack,” Shade echoed.

“Yes…” Ethan sobbed out, our thrusts violently fast now. We rode that cresting wave of energy now, so much greater than it was before, because it was all of us fused together, with one part still to join.

I licked my teeth, feeling the burn of my venom, waiting until his eyes flicked open, a look of the most delicious pleasure-pain creasing his face.

“I choose you, Ethan. Do you choose me?”

We slowed for a second, but that didn’t stop our bodies from exploding.

“Yes, always.”

He turned his head away, baring his neck to me, and I grabbed that gift with both hands, sinking my fangs into him without a thought, which was perhaps a mistake.

Well done , an arch female voice said inside my mind, with a low purr of approval. This is exactly what I needed.

Branwen , was the last thought I got out before everything went white.