Page 86 of Shifting Fate

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Epilogue: Arias

Two days later, we paid our respects to our fallen packmates.

We wrapped their bodies in blankets and buried them in the woods, where sunlight dappled the frost-covered ground. In the trees above, the birds sang happily, as if carnage hadn’t just happened here. As if blood hadn’t just soaked this earth.

My father was dead and the birds didn’t care.

I swallowed and dropped my head. Beside me, Dallon gently squeezed my hand. Tashi stood next to him, dwarfed by her massive bear of a mate. True to his word, Claude hadn’t left her side once since the attack.

Not far from us was Espen. He had one arm looped around Mom’s shoulders, holding her as she sniffled into a tissue. I couldn’t begin to imagine her grief. First, she’d lost Findlay and now, she’d just lost her fated mate. She needed us now, more than ever before.

As the bodies were gently lowered into the holes we’d dug, Merrick cleared his throat and said a few words. “Our hearts may be heavy, but that doesn’t mean we abandon hope. These brave wolves gave up their lives for their packs. We owe it to them to carry on, to bring an end to the bloodshed, no matter the cost, and we will.” He squared his shoulders and gazed up at the clouded sky. “We will mourn them, but we’ll keep moving on. That’s just how life works.”

All of a sudden, Tristram groaned and gripped at his head. It sent a jolt though me. Another vision? So soon? He swayed on his feet and I cursed, lurching forwards just in time to catch him before he hit the ground.

“Easy.” I eased us to our knees. His body shuddered, then went rigid in my arms. His face was twisted in a look of horror, his lips peeled back away from his teeth in a silent scream. His dark eyes were milky, clouded over with the sight. I held him to my chest as he spasmed and whimpered, until finally, it passed.

He went lax in my arms, but let out a broken sound, halfway between a moan and a sob. Blinking furiously, he gaped up at me with tears streaming down his face.

“I saw him,” he rasped out, barely a whisper.

A chill settled over me. “What?”

I leaned in closer. He gripped my forearms in both hands with surprising strength. “I saw him. I saw Finn.” He gasped, then pinched his eyes shut on a whine. “We have to save him, Ari. Oh god…”

He began to sob, deep soul-wracking cries, and nausea stirred at the pit of my stomach. Whatever he’d seen, it wasn’t good.

I looked up to find Espen staring at me, his blue eyes fierce, and I knew. The fates had shifted. For better or for worse, we would find our little brother.

I only hoped he was in one piece.

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