With one eye on the shifter and another on my brother, I let out a deep breath. “Yes and no,” I admitted. “You’re not fae, and if this is ancient magic from my kind, it might only be broken through other fae magics. On the other hand, you’re a superpower, so it’s always going to be a worry when you fail at any magical task.”
Shadow nodded, his gaze moving to Mera. “I went at maybe seventy percent, knowing my mate would have broken me into little pieces if I’d permanently hurt her friend.”
I would have broken him into little fucking pieces. “Mera would never hurt you,” I said, forcing myself to remain calm. She adored Shadow, and what they shared was everything I could have hoped for him. A true, unconditional mate bond. The sort of bond I’d taken my mate walks to find but had never happened for me.
Except maybe it had, and some fucker had messed with our minds, stealing precious time from us. Clearly Samantha and Tabitha were the reason I’d been feeling a call to Earth. They held the answers, and I had to hope we had time to uncover them all.
“Are we ready for dinner?” Mera asked as she settled in beside Shadow, bouncing Aurora in her arms. Their child, with her ancient golden eyes, was the future of our pack. All the young were. I had to marvel that Tabitha would be part of such a strong pack.
A pack that only grew stronger by the day.
Samantha held our daughter gently, looking upon her constantly, as if checking she was okay. She often leaned in and brushed her lips across the top of her silvery-blond hair, and down on her cheeks, cherishing the child as if she were the most important thing in her world.
If I hadn’t already been destroyed by the revelations here today, I was now.
“I’m ready forafterdinner,” Shadow answered Mera’s question from before. “So, let’s get the food part over with.”
Mera paused, her eyes widening as her ownappetitetook over before she got herself under control. “After dinner, mate,” I heard her murmur. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Shadow smiled. It was fucking disconcerting to see that big bastard so happy. I should be used to it by now, but there had been decades of him barely showing emotions, and it would take a long time to adjust to this new version.
The gods help us all if anything ever happened to Mera or Aurora.
Shadow and I exited first, a habit to check that there was no danger before the others emerged into the Library of Knowledge. The females could handle themselves just fine, but it was our jobs to stand between them and danger. Not the other way around.
No matter how often Mera argued with us, we stood firm in our resolve. This didn’t weaken them in any way, and if anything, it showed how important and strong they really were. Queens who deserved to be sacrificed for. They also needed to live for their children, and the future of the world.
I would never shirk in my duty to protect those who deserved it.
Not while there was breath in my body and magic in my veins.
15
SAMANTHA
The dining area was full when we entered, most of the tables taken up by those who utilized the Library of Knowledge from the worlds of the Solaris System. But there was always one table that remained free. The Shadow Beast’s table.
Only, today it had some occupants. A familiar shifter popped up from one of the chairs, and my chest squeezed tightly at the sight of her beautiful face. With her blue-black hair streaming behind her, Simone sprinted for me. “Sam,” she cried, throwing her arms around me. “I can’t believe you’re here!”
She was squeezing me tight when she appeared to notice the baby in my arms. Her hug gentled immediately, and I let myself sag against her. Simone and Mera felt like old friends, the sort where you could go years and not see each other, but when you were back together it was home.
When she pulled away, her hands still on my arms, she looked me over. I did the same, noticing subtle changes in her that spoke of a power glow-up, just like Mera had.
“Friend, you must tell me everything that has happened to you since we last spoke.” I shook my head, taking in her ethereal glow. She’d always been beautiful, with her tanned skin and dark eyes, but now she burned brighter. A literal glow infused her essence, and it wasn’t a natural shifter evolution. It was more.
A tall and blond, not to mention hot-as-hell and vaguely familiar dude, slid in behind her, and when he flashed fangs I knew this was Lucien. Simone tilted her head back, her glow increasing as she shot him a smile. “I ended up in Valdor, the vampire world. And the masters forced me to enter a damnfind a matecontest.” She turned back toward me, words spilling out faster as she continued. “Turned out I did find a true mate, and it was this fucking guy, coming out of nowhere to claim me like the master vampire he is. I also happened to die a touch and come back as some sort of lycan shifter hybrid.”
The tattoo on my side flashed in my mind, and I understood what Mera had told me about that tattoo predicting the future in some ways. “You look amazing,” I told her. “Strong and so perfectly sure of yourself. I can feel your new confidence.” From previous conversations, I’d learned that Simone’s parents hadn’t been the most caring, and when Mera ended up in this world she’d felt so alone.
That clearly wasn’t the case any longer.
Lucien wrapped a possessive hand around the back of his mate’s neck, and Simone’s expression was one of pure bliss as she turned back to meet his gaze. “I feel stronger,” she admitted. When she finally dragged her eyes from Lucien, she returned to me. “And you have a baby. How do you have a baby, friend?”
A small laugh escaped me; it was a little hard to believe. “This is my daughter, Tabitha.” A brief pause. “I have a lot to explain, and since half the story I don’t even know, it’s going to be odd, but with Len’s help I’ll do my best to fill you in.”
Simone and Lucien both shifted their gaze to Len, who had been standing like a quiet, lethal shadow just behind me. Yeah, I knew exactly where he was at all times, that icy energy familiar as it beat at my own.
Their brows furrowed as they examined the silver fae. “Len?” Lucien drawled. “What does this have to do with you, brother?”
