Page 52 of Mated By the Pack
“Two of my brothers have already claimed you,” Silas rasps. “I knew it was only a matter of time.”
“Yes,” I concede, a soft sigh following my words. “And the others will have me, too. Because I made a deal with them to save my friends. But why am I here? Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I want my pack to survive. My brothers to know happiness instead of heartbreak,” Silas answers. “But I didn’t bring you to The Aether. I have no real power here. I’m just a lost soul, like the rest of my brothers who perished before they could claim you as their mate. The Aether allows me to speak with you—shares things it thinks you need to see or hear.”
“Then how am I here?” I question, looking at the vine wrapped around my wrist. “If it’s not you doing it, then what is it? Mybracelet? This piece of The Tangle that doesn’t like being thrown away?”
“What matters is that you’re here,” Silas says. “And The Aether wants to share something else with you. Come. You should have enough strength to remain here a little longer this time.”
Silas beckons me to follow him. His heavy footsteps press against the grass as he walks, clearing a path that only lingers long enough for me to pass across it. Behind us, it’s like the grass is completely untouched. Silas leads me up a hill, then perches and points at a valley below.
“This is how The Aether is supposed to work,” he says, his voice haunting. “When a soul perishes, it comes here. Those ready to move on to the Eternal Paradise do so. Those that can’t, linger until they are ready. If they never find peace, they are absorbed back into The Aether—back into the fabric of creation.”
I follow his gaze into the valley, my lips parting with an awestruck gasp.
Massive stones have risen from the earth in a perfect circle. Ancient pillars, weathered by time, but still standing strong. They’re arranged with purpose, towering against the green grass, their shadows stretching over the mossy field as if they’re keeping guard over something sacred.
“Wait, I saw this in a book once,” I whisper. “Stonehenge? But that is on the other side of the world.”
“The last monument of a forgotten time,” Silas says. “But that isn’t what The Aether needs to show you.”
The Aether’s haze shimmers and takes shape below us. Ethereal forms that don’t fully materialize, much like the wolves Silassaid were his brothers. It’s a mixture of humans and animals, all congregated around the towering stones. A woman steps forward, turns to a man, and hugs him. Then she walks into the middle of the stones and melts into them. He wipes away tears and follows, sinking into the stones like she did.
“I don’t understand what I’m seeing,” I murmur, almost like I’m afraid of the spirits hearing me. “This is how The Aether is supposed to work? I’m seeing souls… move on to this Eternal Paradise?”
“Yes, Calla,” Silas answers. “Death is meant to be the beginning of something new. A cycle, really. Souls move on to the Eternal Paradise. The Aether creates new ones. Except now there are souls The Aether had no part in creating. Souls brought to life by man, trying to bend nature to their will. Those souls have no place in The Aether, yet this is where they come.”
“The genetic experiments?” I ask. “The hybrids?”
“Exactly,” Silas confirms. “Beings created for purposes nature never intended. Broken monstrosities filled with anguish. Too lost to move on. Too damaged to be absorbed.”
“Like you?” I ask, looking at him.
“The Aether doesn’t create souls that will only know suffering. It seeks harmony. Balance. Free will, with the opportunities needed to find purpose—enough for them to move on to the Eternal Paradise,” Silas continues. “The fabric of creation is a blueprint, but it wasn’t the one mankind was working from when they started down the path that destroyed everything.”
I continue to watch what The Aether is showing me. Souls moving toward the pillars. An entry point for the EternalParadise that awaits them. Some wander outside the stones, and I see a few dissipate, then get pulled into the haze.
“I’ve been here much longer than last time,” I remark, looking around nervously. “That’s okay? I’m not going to get stuck here?”
“You are in no danger yet. Each time you cross the plane into The Aether, your soul becomes more attuned to it. I can sense that, just like I can sense my pack’s essence inside you,” he says. “You’ve been claimed and marked, but you already crave more.”
A tingle of arousal shoots through me. I become aware of my nakedness. The dampness between my legs. The heat, vibrating from my core like the bracelet pulses on my wrist.
“If I’m claimed, does that mean you’ll move on?” I ask, motioning to the pillars of stones. “That’s what has kept you here, right? If I’m the one who can save your pack, then it’s already in motion.”
“Life isn’t growing inside of you yet, Calla,” he rasps. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to move on, even when that happens. The Aether is too broken. But you are the key. I can sense that, too. A whisper in the haze, guiding me to show you what you need to see. But nothing is predetermined or certain. It all depends on you.”
I look down, ponder what he said, and try to quell my arousal before turning my attention back to him. “Do you know what I am? A human? Some kind of hybrid, that… doesn’t show, like you and your brothers?”
“There’s only one word for what you are, Calla.” He narrows his eyes, and it sounds like The Aether itself is speaking throughhim. A haunting whisper lacking the intensity of Silas’s tone. “Hope.”
I sit up with a gasp. I’m no longer in The Aether. I’m back in the bunker. Alone in bed. A mass of pelts that still have the scent of the wolves. A trace of blood is matted into the fur where my innocence was claimed.
“Hope…” I mutter. “What the hell does that even mean? How can helping his pack undo all the damage that’s supposedly been caused?”
I get up from the bed and stumble over to a mirror. It’s the first time I’ve seen my reflection since the oasis. I look like a mess. The door behind me budges with a creak, and I throw my arms across my chest.
Vance pokes his head in and mumbles an apology. “Sorry, Calla. I brought you some water if you’d like to clean up. I also have some clothes that may fit you. Gideon said you would probably need them.”
