Page 69 of Heart of Dawn
I broke, the tears coming hot and fast, my hands shaking. Fireworks of grief popped off in my chest, sending me staggering backward. I couldn’t take it, I couldn’t fight it, sorrow bursting out of me.
I’d not experienced anything like this since losing my family.
Sobs ripped out of me in loud howls. I collapsed, defeated, the flood defenses obliterated. The smoke of Dawn recoiled fromme as I wailed for Orion, for the loss of hope, for landing on a decision seconds ago.
I had to die to make this stop. I wasn’t afraid of death, but I was afraid of what I’d lose. But I already had. This was me going through the grieving process, letting things go.
No more fighting. No more clinging to hope.
What about my mate? How could I leave him in Faery with a knife in his belly?
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I roared for him, screaming my lungs out for failing him.
My pack gathered around me, huddling together, holding me through this outpouring.
It kept going, an endless earthquake with no respite on the horizon.
“We’re here, sir.” Paige spoke so gently it added to the turmoil.
This was it. The end. No more dreaming, the path ahead clearer than ever.
James stroked my back, Paige held my hands, Cate patted my knee. They were my family, my everything as much as Orion. Here with me through the good and the bad times, the last ones standing, always fighting, never giving up.
They believed in me, and I believed in them. They all deserved peace.
I would give it to them.
Cate grasped my knee, squeezing it tightly. I sniffled, rising strength choking off my sobs.
“What—”
Pink tendrils snaked into her nostrils, her eyes changing color, her mouth hanging open.
“Cate?” James said. “What’s… Oh no.”
My stomach rolled as her grip on my knee intensified.
Shit.
James took hold of his wife’s shoulders, staring directly into the Dawn-infested eyes. “You can’t have her. You won’t have her.”
Cate cocked her head, releasing my knee. She pushed James so hard he slid across the floor, crashing into a pile of dead bodies.
I jumped to my feet as Cate stood to meet me.
“You heard him,” I growled. “Get out of her.”
Dawn rolled Cate’s neck, tension popping. “Hello again, chosen wolf. I see you continue to have luck on your side.”
“Get the fuck out of my wife!” James bellowed.
I held him back for his own safety. He struggled against me; the guy incredibly strong.
I was stronger.
“Don’t get too close,” I warned.
