Page 41

Anders

A red haze of fury falls over my eyes. It feels like I am a passenger in Jamie’s car, watching through a window in horror at my own actions. Against my will, I lash out. First at Helga, then at Wulfric. Wulfric’s bones crack. His blood hits the air and makes my mouth salivate.

Why am I doing this? Stop! Please, stop!

Lyall screams, “Anders, don’t!” His hand looks so tiny as he clutches at my arm. Oh, how his fingers tremble. How sweetly they’d crunch beneath my fangs. How his blood would water my tongue, quenching this thirst that’s burning in my throat.

Another scent washes over me, tugs at my mind. Mate. My roar sends birds fleeing from the treetops as I whirl toward Jamie. As our eyes meet, my stomach lurches. Jamie’s sweet face is bone white, eyes impossibly wide, and the scent of fear rolls off him in waves.

My mate is terrified… because of me.

“A-Anders,” Jamie says, voice breaking. “Please, stop. Just listen to me.”

Jamie is here. He came for me. Joy tempers my rage. A whimper of sweet relief rises from my chest. Gods above, how I missed him. I thought I’d never see him again after he…

After he broke my heart. Rejected me.

Fury burns anew in my veins. A growl rumbles up my throat.

“Jamie, get out of here!” Lyall shouts, tugging my arm. Trying to pull me away. To separate me from mine .

My twin screams again, this time in anguish. His bones crunch just like I knew they would, the sound musical. Blood gushes onto my tongue, and I slurp it down like a starving beast. It’s not enough. Why aren’t I sated?

“Anders, no!” Wulfric bellows.

My twin’s howls of anguish pierce my ears.

Oh gods. Lyall. I am so sorry. I can’t stop. I can’t!

Snarling, I throw Lyall away from me. Gunnar shoves Jamie behind him. How dare they come between me and mine? No one is taking Jamie from me!

Jamie gasps. “Wait, everyone get away from me! Quickly!” Panic spikes his scent. They’ve scared him. Unacceptable!

I charge, spraying snow. The edges of my vision darken as my sights narrow to anyone who dares to stand between my mate and me.

I slam into what feels like an invisible wall.

The force of the collision sends me flying backward, spots bursting before my eyes.

Whining, I cradle my head in my claws as my skull aches.

Blinking until my blurry vision adjusts, I glare at a shimmering wall veined with red.

The stench of blood magic makes my lip curl.

The witch holds out his palm, blood dripping from a slit in the center of his hand. A grimace of pain flickers over his face. “I can hold him for a time. We need to figure out what to do, fast, before the spell takes its toll on me.”

I’m surprised when Gunnar’s eyes widen. “Are you in pain?”

The witch offers a cocky smile. “Don’t you worry, stud. It doesn’t hurt too much.”

I swear to the gods, my brother blushes like a maiden.

A growl rumbles from me as I rise, claws sweeping through the snow as I approach the barrier. Slowly, I lift my hand and touch it. It doesn’t hurt, but nor does it give when I smash my hand into the shimmering wall. A flinch creases the witch’s face.

They think they can contain me? Laughable. I will break free and become the villain they always knew I was. Whatever it takes, I will get what’s mine.

“Speak to him!” the witch says suddenly, turning toward Jamie. “If you really are his mate, you could calm him down enough. He isn’t so far gone yet. My magic could still help him.”

Jamie’s throat bobs. “What do I say?”

“At this point? Anything. But it needs to happen quickly, before he falls even deeper into his wolf.”

Twisting his shaking fingers together, Jamie comes closer to the barrier.

The growl in my throat cuts out as traces of his scent waft through the barrier keeping us apart.

Lifting my clawed hand, I press it to the shimmering wall.

Eyes glistening, Jamie reaches out and presses his palm to the barrier.

The space where our hands should meet makes me whimper.

All I long for is to touch him. Would he let me?

Or would he reject me again? I couldn’t endure such agony, not again.

A whimper tears from my throat, pitiful and raw.

I tug my hand away and clutch it to my chest.

Jamie makes a soft, devastated sound. “Anders…” A tear spills down his cheek. “Come here. Please. I won’t push you away, puppy dog. Why do you think I came all this way?”

Hope tries to lift my broken heart, but I hold fast.

Leaning forward, Jamie touches his forehead to the barrier, damp eyes caught in mine. “I’m here to bring you back home where you belong. With Jace. With Jess and Bailey. With me.”

“We’re not…” The words crawl as a guttural growl from my throat. “F-family. Said so yourself.”

“I was wrong!” Jamie cries, shaking his head.

“I was scared and guilty and… and I let my own guilt and grief come between us.” He tries to touch me and scowls when the barrier keeps us apart.

“I’m sorry, Anders. So sorry. I’ve already lost most of the people in my family, and I won’t lose another one.

I let the pain of my past dictate my future with you, and I’m here to tell you that I choose you.

I choose us and our family over everything else. ”

I try and fight it, but hope takes root within my broken heart. My mate is here, saying everything I wished he’d told me that horrible night.

“I’m ready to fight for us,” Jamie vows. “I want to be yours.” He tugs down his collar, baring the spot between his neck and shoulder. “Now and forever.”

Joy casts away the darkness. My mate has chosen me. Chosen our family. I tip my head so my forehead touches the space where his would be if we were not divided. I place my hand to the barrier over his splayed palm.

“Let me in,” Jamie says, already scratching at the barrier.

The wall shimmers, dispersing like mist, and my mate falls into my waiting arms where he belongs.

As sobs shake Jamie’s body, I wrap him in my arms, mindful of my claws.

His scent, like sunshine, washes over me, like rays of light bursting through the darkest of storms. My body trembles as it fights the shift.

A whine escapes me. Something is wrong. I can’t change back. I can’t!

“Anders?” Fear makes Jamie’s voice hitch.

“C-can’t,” I snarl, panting as panic takes hold.

What if I’m stuck this way? If I can’t shift back, then I’ll never be able to return to his world. I’ll be exiled, not only from my pack in this time but from Jamie’s world. I can’t. Not again. I can’t be alone again. Closing my eyes tight, pitiful whimpers escape me.

“Hey. It’s okay.” Warm hands frame my face.

Jamie gazes at me with such tenderness, seeing through my beastliness to my very core, like he has from the beginning.

“If you can’t shift back, I’ll stay as a wolf the rest of my life for you.

I’ll bring Jace, and we can just stay here.

Or if you’re exiled again, then we will come with you.

You will never be alone, Anders. Not again.

You’re stuck with me, remember? I love you, Anders.

” He leans in and presses a kiss to the tip of my nose.

His words, his kiss, they transform me. Fur falls from me like ash.

My body ripples, becoming smaller, softer.

Fangs become blunt, claws retract. Lifting my bare arms, I throw them around Jamie and pull him close.

His lips find mine, and I weave my fingers through his soft tresses and breathe him into my lungs, drowning in his taste.

“I love you too,” I whisper against his mouth, unable to stop my smile as I wipe tears from his face. “My family. My pack. My mate.”

The sky shimmers with green and blue light, bathing Jamie in breathtaking color as he leans in and captures my mouth with his.