Slater rolled his eyes but clapped him on the back. “I’m proud of you, brother. You’re exactly where you’re meant to be. Being on the Supernatural Council with your mate is exactly where you belong. You were always meant to be something.”
I smiled, tip-toeing to give Bram a kiss on the scar over his cheek. “He’s right.”
Bram blushed as Reed and Dex made their way over to me with a plate of cut up steak.
“I’m telling you, he needs a friend, and so do I,” Dex whined, handing me the plate. “Let me just get him a friend.”
“Absolutely not.” Reed handed me my water bottle. “Axolotls get aggressive with friends. You can get one in a tank next to his, but your axolotl is not getting in Gumdrop’s tank.”
Dex hummed thoughtfully, leaning against me in that way that made my heart flutter. “Sounds like a good idea to me.”
Skel crossed his arms as he made his way back, a mischievous glint in his green eyes. “If we’re adding to the family, I vote we adopt more cats.”
“I agree.” I laughed, the warmth of the moment sinking into my bones.
“I don’t,” Hunter commented playfully as he came back over. “Cats are vengeful.”
This—Thiswas what I’d fought for, what I’d been scarred for and what Nebula had sacrificed himself for—family. A home.
I had love in its purest, rawest form, and it was truly all thanks to Nebula.
61
PANDORA
As soon as my head hit the pillow after my mates and I had thoroughlycelebratedgraduating, I was sucked into an otherworldly space that wasnotReed’s dreamscape.
It was a magical realm suspended in a golden glow that wasn’t like the desert sun—it was more like the Fates had promised, where the sky shimmered in hues of lavender, gold, and deep velvet. Stars twinkled and moved above like slow-moving fireflies.
I felt weightless, as if my soul had momentarily slipped between the pages of reality and the afterlife. The ground wasn’t solid, similar to Reed’s dreamscape, but what I stood on was just air with a golden void beneath my feet.
I had no control here.
That thought didn’t scare me like it should’ve—instead, I only felt peace.
The air was thick with the scent of blooming moonflowers—a scent I’d only faintly smelled once in my life. My breath hitched as I remembered where I’d smelled it before:when I’d hugged Nebula for the first time in that cellar.
My heart ached painfully as my gaze raised toward the sound of soft padding paws against the air.
A sleek black kitten strode forward, its fur shimmering with an almost ethereal glow as it walked on an invisible path straight for me. Its piercing, luminescent eyes—golden like the void beneath us—locked onto mine with stark familiarity.
“This can’t be real,” I rasped, my hands flying to my mouth as I fell to my knees with a painful sob. “You can’t really be here.”
As he drew closer, the air crackled faintly with unseen magic. “But I am, Pandora, and the Fates have given us a rare gift—an exception specifically made becauseyouhave sacrificed so much. The Fates have seen that. They wish to reward you and me for what we have done to banish the dark magic from Kalista.”
“What?” I croaked, blinking away the falling tears, but more sprang back as soon as they rolled down my cheeks. “Why?What gift?”
Nebula wasted no time curling into my lap with a soft sigh. “We had no idea how close Kalista was to being lost to the Veil, Pandora. The Fates have blessed us with a familiar bond.”
“Demons don’t have familiars, do we?” I couldn’t understand what he was talking about or why. I didn’t know where we were—all I knew was that my best friend was curled into my lap, and I couldn’t stop myself from wrapping him into my arms and inhaling his moonflower scent with a sob.
“Only you,” he answered, nuzzling into me. “The Fates have seen our bond, and they’ve given us a full familiar bond. And Pandora, the best part happens when you wake up.”
“Wake…up?” I rasped before my heart felt like it’d splinter all over again. “No,no! Don’t make me go—I can’t—I can’t lose you again, Nebula. Please don’t make me lose you again!”
A soft chuckle rang around me. “Pandora…wake up.”
“No!”I was ripped away from the beautiful scene and of Nebula in my arms the next instant.
