Eden’s POVZara ran, dead south. Miva followed close behind. Zara had picked up Slade’s scent again. She was hoping and wishing that this time, his scent would lead us to the Falcon Crest Coven. So she followed it, optimistic but wary.Thistlethorn, I thought to myself.Zane had come to see me when I was on the island. By magic, I now realized. It made sense since he was with witches. Somehow, he’d cast a spell that allowed him to travel through the nether region to come and see me.That made sense. Of course he wanted to see me. I was his mate. And his presence had given me strength. Courage. It had allowed me to escape being raped by Demetrius.But what didn’t make sense is why Zane would be at Thistlethorn. According to Zara, he was though. In spirit form.I was very, very confused.Where had Zane been all this time? Why was he traveling through the nether region, visiting obscure packs? Was he being forced to do that?Zara let out a low howl, pulling me from my thoughts.We’d come
Eden’s POVWe left the deserted castle, with the intention of picking up Slade’s scent again. We were planning on going to the coven first to rescue Zane and the others. Then we’d go back to the palace and gather our defenses, so we could launch a surprise attack on Alpha Sylar’s army, just like Astrid had planned.The problem was, we didn’t know where the coven was. And Zara had completely lost his scent. We knew it was somewhere South, so we were heading in the right direction, more or less. But we didn’t know exactly where.So we just kept running through the forest, hoping that we’d pick up something sooner or later.That’s when we ran into Skylar’s army.We hadn’t meant to. We weren’t looking for his army. It was a complete accident. But as soon as we saw his army, well, we REALLY wished we hadn’t.We were running along the top of a canyon when we glanced down. At first, we only saw a thin line of warriors. We wondered if they were heading out to attack another pack. But as we we
Eden’s POV“What do we do?” I asked, my voice low.At first, Astrid didn’t answer. She knew it was bad. And she knew that I knew that she knew.We didn’t have Zane. We would soon, moon goddess willing, but even then, we had no idea what sort of shape he was in. Beta Brighton could very well be dead. Which left Storm and Astrid to run everything.And me.Some of this fell on my shoulders.My baby rolled just then. I put my hand on my stomach.Plus there was that.My baby was growing bigger by the day. In fact, I was precariously close to going into labour now. I wasn’t quite due yet, but if the baby wanted to come early….“Astrid?” I asked. My voice sounded small. Unconfident. Scared.“I can’t believe how many packs turned against us,” Astrid sighed, looking down. “Why?”Below us, the warriors moved in slow succession. From our vantage point up on the cliff, we could see them weave their way miles down the canyon.“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe he offered them something? Something they
Eden’s POVGoodbye?“Zara, what do you mean he said good-bye?” I asked. She looked frazzled. The tears streamed down her face, wetting her fur in large, damp streaks.“He doesn’t have much longer. He found me. Reached out. Because he wanted to say goodbye.”This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.We needed to find this coven and we needed to find it fast.“Zara, can you pick up his scent?” I asked.“It’s no use,” she said softly. “Eden, I think it’s too late.”Astrid watched me with a concerned look on her face.“Zara, we have to try. We’re close. I know it. Please, just try to pick up his scent.”“We need to shift again,” I told Astrid. “It’s Slade. It’s not good. We’re running out of time.”Astrid said nothing. She only nodded quickly. Then she started removing her clothes. I did the same. We tied our clothes around our legs and let our wolves out.Zara was forlorn but she sniffed the air. She couldn’t smell him though. So she tried again. We tried running back into the forest, a
Eden’s POVOdd. That was the first word that came to my mind.Astrid continued to inspect the small cave. There was some food hidden in a crevice. Stale bread and berries. She also found some bloodied, dried leaves. She peered into the pot and dipped her finger in it. Then she licked her finger with the tip of her tongue.“Uck,” she winced. “Whatever that is, it tastes like shit.”“What was going on in here?” I asked, bewildered.“Honestly, it looks like someone was taking care of him. See? Someone was using these dried leaves as bandages. He must have been lying over there. On that pile of grass. Where the blood is. And this?” she pointed to the small pot on the ashes. “I think it was some sort of witch’s elixir. Maybe for healing?”“Huh,” I replied.For healing? So someone was taking care of him in here? But why would Zane be holed up here? And with a witch? That just didn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t the witch just bring him back to her coven?The thought of Zane lying here, in this
Eden’s POVAstrid looked away for a moment. I was still on my hands and knees, but I repositioned myself to a sitting position.Zara was still there, in the place of grief. She needed to stay there and I understood. I couldn’t stay there though. It was more her grief than mine.That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt though.Her pain was still mine, in a way. Even though she wasn’t with me, I could still feel remnants of her awful, crippling pain. It still ebbed and flowed inside of me.He was dead.Slade had died.I think I was in denial at first.How could that be? How could he be gone?Astrid said nothing. She only came around behind me and wrapped her arms around me. The torch cast shadows on the wall. The smell of herbs was still thick in the air.How odd, I thought, as I rested my hands on Astrid’s forearms. She rested her head on my shoulder, pressing her cheek into mine. How odd that we’re sitting here, in this cave, and Slade is dead.That was the first thought in my mind. It didn’t
Zane’s POVThere is physical pain. Brutal. Awful. Mind-blowing physical pain. Physical pain so acute it literally makes you pass out from the force of it.And there is emotional pain. Gut-wrenching, horrible, emotional pain that rips your heart in half and makes you lie in bed for days.I’d felt both. The very worst of the physical pain. The very worst of the emotional pain.But nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can even come close to the pain of losing your wolf.I couldn’t even understand it. Not having Slade. I couldn’t comprehend my life without him. He was a part of me. An extension of me. He WAS me, in a sense. It would be like suddenly losing your heart. How can you go on living without your heart?I sat there, on my hands and knees, in front of Lucinda and Sullivan and Brinsle and Callie, with this inexplicable pain ripping through me. I understood why people take their lives when they lose their wolves. Why they’re driven to madness. Why they’re never quite the same again.This wa
Zane’s POVThe bolt of light hurtled towards Lucinda. I watched, shocked. What the hell was Brinsle doing? Was she…was she trying to hurt Lucinda? But why?Before the light could hit Lucinda, though, Sullivan stepped out right into the trajectory of the light. She held up her hand, palm out, and the light hit her palm. Sparks flew everywhere. But Sullivan seemed unharmed.“Enough, Brinsle. Calm yourself,” Sullivan instructed. She was now facing Brinsle. Lucinda was behind them both, standing in front of the fire. All the witches were watching, huddled together, clutching each other, shocked looks on their faces. I raised my eyebrows at Calista to ask ‘what was going on?’ But Calista looked as confused as I felt. “You’ll let them go,” Brinsle said, calmly, her hands still up in the air. Leaves swirled at her feet.“What are you talking about?” Lucinda snapped. “Let who go?”“Zane. And that man,” she pointed to Alpha Miles. “And my brother. You’ll let them go.”“Have you lost