Page 53 of Oracle
Caleb.
Wes.
Tian.
Jameson.
Milo.
Seth.
Morgan.
You don’t need to say goodbye to me. We don’t have to get all emotional with each other.
Yes. I do.
“Please, have a seat. I don’t have long to tell you what is going on and it’ll be the answers I know you all have been wanting from me,” I explained, hugging my blanket to me like emotional armor.
To my surprise, they all sat down without a complaint, and as I stood there gazing at them all, all I could think of was how grateful I was to have known their love, no matter how short it may have been. The majority of my life had been lived with a cold detachment and not knowing my own worth. Because of those in this tent, I could leave knowing they had brought so much love and light into my world. They taught me to never settle for worse. They taught me it was okay to make mistakes as long as you owned up to it and changed.
They taught me it was okay to let people in.
“Fuck, I just love you all so much,” I gushed as the tears began again. “But I won’t be able to stay around. Selene will be calling me back to live at her side as her Oracle.”
“Don’t joke like that,” Wes whispered, but I could tell from the dejected tone in which he said it, that he knew it wasn’t a joke.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I croaked out, “When Christofer stabbed me, I truly did die. I was with Selene in her home, but the Fates had planned for it, giving me the opportunity to be reborn as her Oracle and having a chance to come back and finish my prophecy here.”
No one spoke, empty gazes stared at me and for a moment, I thought they were angry with me. I supposed they had every right to be. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I couldn’t let it weigh on your minds and hearts like it has mine. It was my burden to bear.”
Jameson surged to his feet, face red as he yelled, “No! It is our burden to bear. We’re your mates. When are you going to accept that you aren’t alone anymore?”
Luca was quick to join him, “How could you hide this from us?”
Despite the anger in their words, I knew it wasn’t directed at me, it was at the situation. And I understood. I knew how unfair this felt. I had struggled with my own anger at this when Selene had offered it to me.
“We could have spent time searching for a way to fix this,” Tian whispered, tears falling from his eyes now as he looked at me helplessly. “We could have done something.”
Shaking my head quickly, I argued, “No. There is nothing any of us could have done. This is my fate and all I wanted was for the remainder of my time with you to be spent making beautiful memories, not living in fear of what we can’t change.”
“Why you?” Caleb asked, voice shaky. “Why does Selene continue to ask more and more of you despite you giving up so much already?”
There were no answers I could give him that would make the hurt lessen. I knew that firsthand.
Morgan stood slowly, walking over to me with her head hanging down, eyes on the ground until she came to stop in front of me. “You promised,” she muttered, “you promised you wouldn’t leave me. That you were my family now.”
“Oh, honey,” I murmured, reaching for her once more and holding on tightly. I closed my eyes, resting my head on top of hers as the tears continued. “I would do anything to change it. Anything.”
I felt the presence of my mates surrounding us before they even touched me. Their love and strength flowed through the air, so strong it was almost tangible. One by one, I felt their arms wrap around Morgan and I until we were all holding each other.
This was the moment I’d hold on to the tightest. We’d all finally come together as a pack and were supporting each other in the hardest moment of our lives. It didn’t matter who I’d known longer, or which guys had issues with each other. It was all so insignificant as we simply did the only thing we knew how to do right now: to love each other.
“I love you all so much,” I sobbed, “I’m sorry I couldn’t fix this.”
“You’ve done so much for us, for the world, Angel,” Tian cooed, “You have done everything you can. Do not be sorry. I only wish that I could take your place and allow you to stay here.”
Choked sobs and sniffles filled the air as Milo’s voice broke through, “Why can’t we go with you? I’d give up my life to go with you, Kira. I can’t do this without you.”
