Lily felt her body growing tired once again as she sat on the side of the bed and wondered if Net was the cause. It would make sense considering the same thing happened the last time they were together.
“Are you the reason I’m weakening?’
Yes.
“Well, at least you didn’t try to deny it.”
It is the truth, whether either of us like it or not.
That statement made Lily wonder. “You aren’t doing this intentionally?”
No. I don’t wish to harm anyone.
“Then why kidnap me? What do you want?” She had to want something. There was always one thing or another.
I did not kidnap you. We needed to talk without someone getting hurt.
Why did Lily get the feeling Net wasn’t talking about Lily being hurt? “I still don’t know what you are. My guess is a god?”
Perceptive. Unfortunately, I have not been among their ranks for almost three hundred years.
That was a familiar number. “The former alpha died around that time.”
Yes, an unfortunate event.
“I’m sure the woman would appreciate her death was ‘unfortunate’ for you.” Lily was having a hard time keeping her eyes open and lowered herself to lie on her side. “We’re never going to be able to have a conversation if you keep knocking me out. How does Bain manage to stay awake when he visits the forest?”
I never approach him. I stay away.
“Lucky him,” Lily replied as she fought back a yawn.
Indeed.
Net’s shadow floated closer and Lily couldn’t move her body to get away.
Instead of draining your life force from you, I will share this memory instead. We will talk again soon. Net’s shadowy hand settled on the side of Lily’s face. The pain made her cry out before the room filled with gusting winds and her world went dark once again.
She was really getting annoyed with this shit.
***
Net knew time was running out, and her only hope, the entire pack’s only hope, lay unconscious yet again. Every day, Net fought to keep what she took to a minimum but after all this time there wasn’t much left to take. She floated through the streets unseen by all.
Sure, she could simply project herself back to her forest, but today she was selfish and wanted a look. Like a moth to a flame, Net followed his scent until she found him once again with his books and maps surrounding him.
Bain, the man she could never have, but would forever love.
A knock on his front door had Net retreating through the patio wall. She watched from her position outside Bain’s living room window as a young woman with long black hair walked in carrying a large baking dish. The adoring smiles they exchanged tore at her even after so many years. She wanted to vent and rail against the injustice, but time tended to put perspective on things.
Right now, perspective was all that remained.
***
Lily felt as if she were inside a dream. She was still on pack lands but everything looked so different. The sunset brought the warm glow of yellows, dark oranges and reds over an area covered in lush greenery. The pack house stood to her right but people continued to walk by without appearing to notice her.
Frustrated, she reached out to tap on a nearby woman’s shoulder. When Lily’s hand travelled straight through the person’s body, she couldn’t help the small cry that escaped her lips. What the hell was going on?
The woman turned and walked through Lily while she talked to another man. She realized that she recognized that voice and ran after a young Diane as she climbed the steps to the pack house.
“Now, Diane, our family has been given the honor of caring for this house since the beginning of Evergreen,” the older man explained as he wrapped his arm around Diane’s shoulder.
“Yes, father.”
“You’re nearing your three hundred and fiftieth birthday and it is time for you to carry on this duty and privilege. Your mother is ready to retire after over six centuries of caring for the alpha’s home.”
“I will make you both proud, father.”
“I know you will, sweetheart.”
The two disappeared into the house but for some reason Lily could not follow. By the time she made it back out to the square the sun had set and twilight blanketed the area. She could make out buildings she’d seen before but now they were new and nicely painted. The lawns were green, and trees were covered in leaves, their branches laden with fruit. Was this what the Evergreen pack used to be like before it began dying?
She had to admit it wasn’t a big reach to assume so, considering she’d seen the younger version of Diane.
Lily carried on into the backyard, marveling at the bountiful lands and forests surrounding her. She didn’t know how anything so lush could become barren. What happened here?
The sound of a sliding door opening had her turning to watch as a stunning woman hurried down the porch steps, shifted, and ran into the forest. By her markings, the woman was the alpha, meaning if it was her, she wouldn’t be returning from the forest if the stories were true. Lily had no idea why she knew this was the night that everything changed in Evergreen.
Before she even thought about it, Lily shifted into her white wolf and followed the alpha. She kept her distance at first then realized the other woman wouldn’t even see her, and sped up. The alpha was a large, black wolf and ate up the distance. When they finally stopped, Lily recognized the place almost immediately. The lake where she’d seen fish clamoring at the shore and the first place she’d met Net.
“What are you doing here?” Lily spun around at the question but quickly realized they weren’t talking to her.
A willowy woman with golden hair and eyes stepped out from behind a tree.
“Net, I felt your brother’s presence in the area,” the alpha said after she’d shifted. “You have to leave.”
The look of fear on Net’s face surprised Lily, considering Net had to be a god. “Can you sense how far away he is, Beth?” Lily hadn’t realized until that moment that she’d never heard the alpha’s name spoken before. Odd. Were Net and Beth friends?
“No, but he’s near.” Beth’s head whipped around, scanning the area.
Net turned around as Bain walked out into the open. “You have to go, my love. Beth, please take him with you.” Lily was not only shocked by the fact that Bain was here, walking, but that he appeared to be the same age, though this happened centuries before.
“I will not leave you here to face him alone,” Bain argued but before Net had a chance to respond a sudden gust of wind whipped through the clearing sending Bain crashing into the side of a stone-covered ridge.
Beth ran to help Bain while Net turned to face the new arrival, placing herself in front of him. The man had the same golden eyes and hair as Net, but that’s where their similarities ended. His smile seemed almost vicious and the sneer on his pale face only highlighted the three healed claw marks that ran from his eyebrow to his jaw.
“Slumming with dogs again, dear sister?” The sound of his voice grated on Lily’s nerves.
“What do you want, Gamal?” Net asked. Her body tensed and she placed her hands out to her sides at the ready.
“Don’t call me that.”
“It is your given name.”
Gamal’s eyes turned sad for a fraction of a second as he ran the tips of his fingers along the scar on his face. “My name is Vengier, and you of all people should remember that. Gamal represents beauty, and thanks to your pet dogs I am no more.”
“That was millennia ago and we were at war. You were the one to escalate everything when you attacked Fenrir’s mate.”
The god of all wolf shifters has a mate. Information flooded Lily from somewhere or someone. She felt her gut clench at the realization that in fact the god’s mate was dead.
“War is war. No one escapes it.”
“Fenrir’s mate was a mortal shifter and off limits in a battle between gods. You knew that, yet you sought her out and the moment Fenrir was called away you attacked. There was no honor in what you did.” Net’s voice sent a chill down Lily’s spine. Deadly was an understatement.
“They’re dogs, nothing more,” Vengier stated coldly as he opened his right hand to reveal a small glowing orb.
“How did you get that?” Net asked as she backed up closer to Beth and an unmoving Bain. “It does not belong to you.”
“I disagree, and I believe now is the time to test it out.”
Net turned to Beth and yelled, “Get him out of here.”
Beth took Bain into her arms and stood, but before she had a chance to run a beam of light shot out of the orb and slammed into the alpha. Bain fell back to the ground as Beth was lifted higher into the air.
“Let her go,” Net demanded as the ground rolled and roots burst through, headed straight for Vengier.
With a wave of his hand, the roots turned to dust. “Such a weak attempt.”
Boulders rose into the air and began to pummel at Vengier, but when the dust cleared, he stood untouched.
“My turn,” Vengier hissed as the beam of light surrounding Beth turned black.
Lily doubted she’d ever be able to get the sound of the screams out of her mind. Beth’s body crumpled as the life was sucked out, leaving what the pack members stated looked like a mummy.
Net continued to fight until Beth’s body fell to the ground. She ran to Beth, her hands glowing as Net placed them on her friend’s face. Lily could see the glow from Net’s hands going into Beth and almost instantly the alpha began to morph back into her previous self.
Lily hadn’t even seen Vengier move before he was looming over his sister. With his empty hand, Vengier fisted Net’s hair and ripped her away from Beth before slamming her to the ground.
Lily struggled to help but was stuck to the spot. She kept trying to remember that this happened hundreds of years ago and there was nothing she could do. However, the rage and anguish she felt was real.
“You and your love for these creatures disgust me. You’ve made your choice. Now I must make mine. Let’s see how much they love you back.” Without a second thought, he punched the orb into Net’s chest. A language Lily didn’t recognize flowed from his thin lips as Net struggled to break free. As Vengier spoke the last word, Net’s chest glowed even brighter before closing around the orb, making it part of her body. Then it healed as if the trauma had never happened.
Vengier stood back, a smug expression on his face. “Net, the Divine Mother no more. The giver of life is now and forever more the harbinger of death. You will pull the life out of every living creature you near. Nevertheless, don’t worry, sister. Considering you love these animals so much, I’ve cursed you to remain here among them. Slowly, over time, you will drain the life out of this pack and its people.”
“Bastard, I’ll kill you myself,” Net roared as she jumped to her feet and raked her nails across the uninjured side of Vengier’s face before grabbing his arm and throwing him across the clearing.
She ran toward Bain but her brother’s words stopped her. “Touch him and you’ll destroy what little life he has left.”
Net froze, and she reached out to the leaves of a nearby maple tree. They dried up and floated to the ground at her slightest touch. The stricken look on her face made Vengier laugh even louder.
“Enjoy your new prison, baby sister,” he jeered before vanishing.
Net slumped to the ground, causing the grass around her to turn brown and die. Her sobs tore at Lily and she wished she could comfort her. A flash of light appeared beside Bain before taking shape into the biggest wolf Lily had ever seen. She wasn’t sure how his black fur seemed to pulse with light, but it was stunning.
“Fenrir, don’t come any closer to me. I’ve been cursed and am no longer safe to be near,” Net warned as Fenrir moved closer to Bain. “Is there anything you can do to save him?”
He is past that stage, Net. I am sorry. A deep, calming voice filled the area.
“I would do anything to save him.”
Would you sacrifice your existence?
“Yes.” There was no hesitation.
Fenrir seemed to study Net for a moment before saying, I believe you would. He would have to be reborn, but the damage to his spine may not repair itself and he would not remember you or what occurred here. No one in the pack will remember him and Bain will no longer be your mate in this life or any others.
Lily felt the agony, the longing as Net raised her hand as if reaching for her mate before pulling it back. “Agreed, you may take my life.”
No, but I will accept your physical existence. Net’s body seemed to evaporate into the shadow Lily was more familiar with. In this form, your touch will not be deadly but there is nothing I can do about the ‘Zura’ inside you. I’ve slowed the pace at which you’ll draw life from this land but I alone cannot reverse its effects.
Net hovered closer to Bain’s body, careful not to touch him with her shadow. Thank you, Fenrir.
As the world dimmed around her, Lily was consumed by the need to see Jensgar. She wanted to be back with her mate. She’d let her pride and fear consume her, always pushing herself to prove she was good enough, strong enough. Lily had always tried to make herself worthy—worthy of her omega powers, worthy of true love, worthy of Jensgar and of leading a pack.
Now, all she wished for was her mate.