Darkness surrounds me, and I can hear the witch’s spirit nearby, weeping. For a moment, it’s as if I can feel Owen stroking my hair, but I want to lose all sensation. I want to go behind the veil, so I don’t have to feel the pain anymore.
Fight, Trina. Please fight.
The words have urgency, but they are so very faint. They urge me back towards the pain I’m trying to run from, and I can’t go back. I continue to drift.
“No, Trina, fight it!”
Louder now, and I’m sure I can feel Owen’s hand in mine. Pain stabs through me, and a horrible scream tears through my throat, almost bringing me back to consciousness.
“I can’t,” I whisper.
“You can!” Owen’s voice booms, right next to my ear. I can feel his hand holding mine, the blazing, white-hot energy of his soul radiating from his body as he clings to me.
“Fight, Trina!” he yells. “Fight for me—with me. I am here with you, right by your side, and you aren’t alone. You will never be alone again.”
I’m so close to consciousness, but the pain and the darkness are still standing in front of me, blocking my way.
I’m sorry. You don’t need me. I’ve served my purpose here, and now I can go…
Let him love you…
Owen’s hand closes even harder on mine, and suddenly the light of his soul flows into me. At first, I fight it, telling myself I’m protecting him.
But who am I really protecting?
“No, Owen,” I mumble. “Don’t. The curse.”
“I don’t care!” he says, right by my ear. “I will go down to hell with you if that’s what it takes, but I will not let you go! We fight this together or not at all, and I will never let you fight alone again.”
Something in my heart turns over like a key in a lock. Warmth and light flow through me as I finally accept Owen’s love and what it means for me.
I will never be alone again.
Deep in my core, a white light begins to glow. It joins with the shimmer of Owen’s energy pouring into me, and suddenly I can breathe again. I take a deep breath, feeling the energy give me strength, and my heart beats hard and fast, pumping hot blood through my body.
I sit up and lean my head back, feeling Owen behind me, steadying me. Power flows into me, rising up from the ground, connecting me to the earth, the trees, and even the sky. Theperfect harmony of the elements contrasts with the dark energy of the curse, and for one tense, still moment, I feel both sides held within me in equal measure.
The curse shatters, the dark energy breaking apart in a shocking wave, as if I’m standing inside a high-rise building as walls of windows splinter into shards. The sound, the feeling of danger, none of it scares me as I lean back in Owen’s arms, the last of the sickness and pain leaving my body.
When I open my eyes, I see Owen looking down on me, and I feel his fingers softly stroking my cheek.
“Hey there,” he says.
“Hey, yourself,” I answer, smiling. There is no need for any other words because I can feel his heart beating, I can feel the shape of his soul, and I know that we are one.
“Is that the end?” Darla snaps. “I don’t feel any different.”
“We aren’t Diamond Springs,” Neville says. “It’s not our turn yet.”
I look up at Neville, and an understanding passes between us. Owen told me all about the council members some time ago. How having a shared council for so many years has assured peace between all three packs, but that structure creates unique challenges.
Darla turns away in disgust, and I just lay in Owen’s arms, feeling my strength returning to me through his touch.
“My phone is going bananas,” Thorne says. “All your people in the infirmary are waking up! Owen, I can’t quite believe this, but it worked!”
“You owe Trina all the praise,” Owen says. “She did it all.”
“No, my love,” I reply, shaking my head. “I couldn’t have done it without you. It was our love that broke the curse.”
