“My sister made sure of it.”
“Did I cause his death?”
“No,” Nafri answered. “His fate had been written in the books. You only took over from where his string ended. The same as Fox Morgan when he died in the fire as a child...and all the other lives you’ve lived.”
“Why did you let me retain his memory?” He was not supposed to remember any of the lives he lived. Fox looked at Nafri, and the answer was written all over his face. It had been his mothers’ wish.
They haven't forgiven me one bit. What I did was for love, yet I was punished and forced to forget.
Fox sighed and picked up a rose, smelling it. “My powers sent me back here, didn’t they?”
“Yeah. Now that your heart is complete, your powers have returned and simply need time to bond with you.”
“I can’t stay here. I have to go back to Alistaire. After all this time and all the lives I’ve lived, I’ve finally found him—my heart is whole again.”
He was the god Tokala, meaning Fox, who had fallen in love with a human—his soul mate. His lover had died far too quickly, leaving Tokala with a broken heart he later shattered in pieces—unwilling to live without the other half of his soul and scattering it all over the human realm.
As punishment for his deeds, his mothers’ had taken away his godly powers. They’d separated his soul into pieces, spreading it all over the realms, forcing Tokala to search for the pieces of his heart and his soul as well by living and experiencing different lives. Thus he would reincarnate or transmigrate—collecting shards of his heart and soul. After each death, he would never remember his past life. The only exception was his last death—where his soul was lost.
“How many lives did I live?” Fox finally understood all the dreams he’d been plagued with. They were lives he’d lived before. He’d been searching for his lover in each life, only meeting men who had the same eyes.
“How big is your heart and soul?” Nafri shook his head. “All those lives you’ve lived had a piece of you inside of them, and it was up to you to collect them. You angered your mothers for what reason? Love? The drastic measures you took after your lover's death were ridiculous. He was one human when you could have had millions at your feet—which is why I’ll never fall in love. Over the past few years, I’ve watched the majority of our family succumb to the weakness that is love.”
“Love is not a weakness, Nafri. It’s our strength.”
“If you say so.”
Fox looked down when he heard purring at his feet. He chuckled when he saw it was Emma. Thinking back to all the lives he’d lived, Fox realized there had always been a black cat by his side—mostly when he was about to die. She must have been his guide from one life to another.
She must have been a gift from my mothers.Picking her up, he rubbed their noses together. “How many of your lives have you spared for me?”
The cat purred, and a voice that sounded like Marie Laveau’s whispered in his mind. “As much as I was ordered to.”
“Thank you.” He cuddled the cat in his arms and looked around the garden. As beautiful as it was, he couldn’t stay. He had a life and family to go back to. He had a mate waiting for him.
“I have to go back to him. I’ve made so many mistakes from the beginning. If only I could have told him who I truly am—was—none of this would have happened.”
“I know, but you can’t go back. Not yet. Your body needs time to heal,” Nafri said, getting his attention.
“It can heal while I’m by my mate’s side. So, why are you keeping me, Nafri?” Fox stood, stomping his feet.
“Damn it, after all this time, you still haven’t grown up!” Nafri yelled. “Listen to me, Alistaire has to finish this, or you’ll always be wondering and searching for him.”
“What do you mean?” Fox sat back down. Nafri didn’t say anything, and Fox got a sinking feeling in his stomach. “Is he going to die?”
“The next soul I collect won’t be your mate’s.”
“Then who’s going to die?”
“The one who used magic and took lives against the will of the fates,” Nafri answered, shaking his head. “I’ve always said don’t fuck with fate—especially when she has death on her side.”
Fox had to agree that both his mother of fate along with her sisters were very unforgiving when anyone went against them.
* * *
Alistaire was aboutto walk into Fox’s hospital room but stopped when someone called his name. Turning, he saw Loki Boroson standing behind him. Alistaire wasn’t in the mood to talk with the other man. He was more focused on his mate at the moment. The thought of bantering with the other man over a job offer was the least of his worries.
“What do you want? If you’re here to talk about the job I…”
