Page 36

Chapter 35

Courage, Strength, Commitment

LENNOX

I watch from the doorway, my arms crossed as Charlie tells tales of real-life firefighting rescues to a rapt audience of four. Surrounding her where she sits on the floor of our suite are Luke and Sarena, and Sarena’s children, Ebony and Winter.

The twin wolf shifters are five years old and usually quite a handful, except at the moment they’re peaceful and quiet. Ebony is in her wolf form, sprawled out on Luke’s lap where he absently scratches her ears, both listening to the story with rapt attention. She’s been obsessed with Luke from the moment the older human child entered the castle.

Winter is in his human form, leaning against his mother, yawning widely as he tries to stay awake to listen to the story.

For her part, Sarena is captivated by Charlie’s stories of her time with the New York Fire Department. “Did you really carry a man twice your size out of a building?” she asks, interrupting the story.

“I did!” Charlie says. “Stand up and I’ll show you how.”

Sarena claps her hands and gently sets Winter aside, standing. Though not twice the size of Charlie, as a wolf-shifter Sarena is significantly larger. Standing in front of Sarena, Charlie pushes her leg between Sarena’s legs, then grabs Sarena’s right arm and drapes it over her shoulder. Charlie bends and sticks her head under Sarena’s right armpit, wrapping her arm around Sarena’s left knee.

I watch, utterly fascinated, all of the children staring with breathless anticipation as Charlie squats, positioning Sarena’s body across her shoulders. Then, slowly and steadily she straightens, lifting Sarena off the ground.

With her arm looped between Sarena’s legs, she uses her right hand to grip Sarena’s arm, steadying her. She waves her left hand, saying, “This stance frees up my other hand so I can use it to get us out of the burning building.”

“Show me how to do it!” Sarena demands excitedly as Charlie sets her back on her feet.

They practice on the children, much to everyone’s delight and I quietly leave the room, content that my family is safe for the moment. Intending to make my way down to the Great Hall for a pint of Wolf-Haven brewed beer with whichever brother is hanging about, I lope down the castle stairs.

“Lennox!” A woman’s voice stops me in my tracks.

“Magdalene.” I give her time to join me on the stairs. When I catch sight of her worried expression, I ask, “What’s wrong?”

“I have to tell you something.” She looks around and then says, “Privately, if you don’t mind. Rush is in our suite so we can’t talk there.”

It’s never good when my sister-in-law is keeping something from my brother because it’s usually something that’ll piss him off, which means it’s more than likely going to piss me off too.

Still, if this involves Charlie, I have to find out what it is.

“Come with me.” I lead her to the castle library, a dark, dank place in desperate need of a good renovation. Neither Lock or Sarena are big readers and the large tomes contained in the library are mostly made up of castle records and history books.

As Magdalene walks through the door I open for her, she stares around with wonder. “I didn’t know this was here.”

“Most people don’t.”

Several tables litter the room haphazardly, a couple of ladders make the higher shelves more accessible and a truly embarrassing amount of dust and cobwebs coats everything.

I’m about to apologize for the accommodations when Magdalene exclaims, “I love it! I wonder if Lock will allow me to move Rush’s and my suite to this area. I could happily live in here forever. Maybe I’ll have some books moved from the magical library in the Shadow Realm to here…”

“Magdalene,” I interrupt her. “What did you want to tell me?”

“Riiiight…” She turns to face me, guilt twisting her features.

“What have you done?” I demand.

She looks offended, her hands going to her hips. “I’ve done nothing but try to help this family at every turn. I’m getting a little sick of you wolf brothers being so suspicious all the time. I’m here to help you and Charlie, the same as I helped Vanessa and Keenan.”

She’s right. I shouldn’t insinuate she’s done something wrong without proof. Feeling guilty, I say, “I apologize, Magdalene. It’s been a long week. What do you need to tell me?”

“Promise you won’t get mad.”

My guilt evaporates. “Out with it.”

She sighs heavily and pulls out a chair, sitting with a plunk and sending up a cloud of dust. “I’ve been fucking around with Destiny and now she’s pissed. Oracle sent me a message letting me know Destiny is on her way here and I can’t think my way out of this globular cluster of a situation.”

“Destiny is a person?” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Since Magdalene joined the family, I’ve learned many new things about our magical world and beyond.

Magdalene waves her hand dismissively. “Sure, if you want to call her that. I’d call her a…” She looks dramatically around to make sure no one is listening in as she points at the letters on her shirt.

“What does Destiny want with you?” I ask impatiently.

She jumps up from the chair and rings her hands as she paces. “It’s not me she wants.”

“Who does she want?”

Magdalene lets out a breath. “Charlie.”

I try to figure out what she’s trying to tell me, but I can’t. This is why wolves don’t usually fuck around with witches. It’s like pulling teeth getting anything out of them. “Tell me what you’re not saying, Magdalene, or I’m leaving you alone with whatever mess you seem to have gotten yourself into.”

She cringes. “The problem is I’ve also gotten Charlie into this mess.” When I give her a thunderous look, she says, “Okay, okay, I’ll say it as plainly as I can. According to Destiny, Charlie was meant to die when the bomb in the castle went off. I was tasked with watching over her to keep her safe until the big boom.”

“You were supposed to keep Charlie safe only to let her die?” I demand, furious, but not certain who to be furious with. “But you didn’t let her die.”

“No, I didn’t,” Magdalene says softly. “And now Destiny is pissed about it.”

I shake my head, trying to understand. “You interfered with Charlie’s destiny, am I getting this right? And now Destiny, the person, is coming to… what? Finish the job?” A chill goes through me. I can protect Charlie from a lot, but I don’t know how to fight Destiny.

Magdalene nods, her face pale. “Something like that.”

“What do we do?” I look at her blackened fingers, hands that hold so much power. “What are you going to do to save her?”

She shakes her head helplessly. “It’s impossible to fight Destiny. She always gets her way.”

I curl my hands into fists. “I’m not letting Destiny take Charlie.”

“And if you don’t have a choice?” The words, spoken by neither of us, whip through the room, sending cobwebs fluttering and giving the air a noticeable chill.

Magdalene and I look at each other, and I answer, “There’s always a choice.”

“Not always,” the faceless entity argues. “There is no choice in death. Eventually it comes to everyone, shifters included.”

“I won’t let it have Charlie,” I say fiercely as Magdalene hovers next to me. “Not yet.”

“What do you offer instead?” The voice holds no inflection.

“It’s best not to make deals with Destiny,” Magdalene warns me in a whisper.

“Hush, child! The adults are speaking now!”

The air in the room whirls and Magdalene spins on the spot before her bottom hits the chair with a thump as she’s forced to sit.

“You were saying, Prince Lennox Wolven-North? What do you offer in place of your beloved’s life?”

“Anything,” I say without hesitation. “Take my life instead.”

Magdalene makes a sound of protest.

“A noble sacrifice,” Destiny says, and I feel a slight breeze as something circles me. “But I can have any life I want with the snap of my fingers. I prefer something more… personal.”

What’s more personal than death? Though I suppose for a being like Destiny, death would no longer hold much interest.

Magdalene gasps and leaps to her feet. “I have an idea.” She looks at me with wide eyes, winking slowly, about as subtle as a flashing neon sign. If Destiny has eyes, she knows something’s up. “I know you don’t want to give it up, but I really think now is the time. You have to give Destiny something and it’s the most valuable thing you have.”

“What does he have?” Destiny asks, her interest piqued.

“Yes, Magdalene,” I say from between gritted teeth, positive I’m going to hate her answer. “What do I have?”

“You have your immortality.”

I open my mouth, about to remind her my immortality means nothing to me anymore, but she stomps on my foot, damn hard for a creature so much smaller than me.

“I know it’s a wrench giving it up, but you don’t have a choice.” Speaking to the room at large, she says, “Destiny, will you accept his immortality in place of Charlie’s life?”

Several long seconds of silence tick by, then Destiny says, “I am intrigued. No one has offered me their immortality before. It is a great sacrifice indeed. Magdalene, child, how do you intend to strip him of his immortality? It’s not something I’ve seen done before.”

“He’s going to give his immortality to another, which will help us maintain balance across the realms.”

“Ohhhh,” Destiny sighs, sending a gust of wind through the library. “I do love a good balancing act.” She falls silent for a moment, then says, “Alright, I accept Lennox Wolven-North’s immortality in place of Charlie’s continued existence. It is a life for a life, and you both will eventually die a human death, which satisfies me.”

My heart almost beats out of my chest. The idea of sharing Charlie’s life instead of watching it pass by is almost overwhelming. I envision Charlie and I sharing our lives, laughing, loving, fucking. I see Luke in my mind. See us playing ball together and all the other things dads and kids do that I don’t know about yet.

“Thank you,” I say, trying to keep my emotions in check so Destiny doesn’t realize this is a gift and not a punishment.

“Are you ready?” Magdalene says, gripping my arm as Destiny whirls around us faster and faster, sending books flying off shelves.

“Ready for what?”

“To gift your immortality to another.”