Death Song (Tales from the Tarot)

19. Rex

Chapter nineteen

Rex

I nearly fall to my knees as a pulse of strange power rattles through my body, making me stumble and trip over the branches that litter the ground beneath my boots. I grab at my chest, warmth spreading throughout my ribcage like my heart itself is on fire, threatening to burn me to ash from the inside. I can do no more than stand stock still as the echoes of the burn rattle through me, then center on my heart, simmering down to a low, solid warmth. My head spins as a gentle caress soothes through my body as if Charlie’s hand has just touched my skin from the inside.

“What just happened?” Finn asks, rushing to my side, worried expression on his face. “Can you feel him yet?”

He’s been asking me that since we awoke in my smashed up car to find that Charlie had been taken from the passenger seat. Our wounds healed quickly given our nature, but I know that Charlie will not heal from whatever harm came to him when we were struck from behind and that has placed urgency at the forefront of my mind. We must find him before it is too late, though despite Finn’s insistence that I could find him using the faint bond between us I have failed until now.

“I think so. I’m not sure.” I rub at my chest where the pulse decided to place itself, closing my eyes and trying again what he’d suggested before to track down Charlie. I inhale a deep breath and try to make my consciousness move outwards, seeking the source of the warmth inside me, but without any idea what I am doing, I cannot seem to find him.

I can feel him though, I think, and in trusting that this warmth is my Charlie, I continue to move forward, hand on heart.

Overhead, the trees cast shadows on the ground, the moonlight streaming through them. We are deep in the woods now, creeping through Hollycreek Pack territory as a group, hoping to not catch any unwanted attention. It is an interesting crowd that joins me on this journey to find my mate. Finn woke up first in the back of the car, having taken less of the impact that appears to have aimed for the passenger side where Charlie and Emery sat, and placed numerous phone calls to summon our friends to come aid us. Along with Bowman who has taken the lead and appears to have caught some scent I cannot find, I have Finn, Emery and Gibson, as I assumed I would. Caius and Tyros follow our rag tag group through the trees. The last two are the biggest surprises. I hadn’t expected Caius to close Borders and join us in seeking out Charlie, nor had I ever anticipated Tyros would also be on board with helping. I had not thought to include them, but Bowman brought them with him and I wasn’t about to turn down assistance.

We will need all the help we can get.

Bowman circles back to me as we sneak along a path carved in the trees, his wolf form nearly hidden by the cover of night. He nudges me with his cold nose, then gives me a meaningful look, eyes glowing in the darkness. I stop walking to find out what he needs, but he takes off again, clearly wanting us to try and keep up to his speed. Though we could be going faster, we move carefully and slowly through the thick trees, attempting to follow the path he is taking. There is no noise around us, not even owls in the trees, as we walk, following Bowman’s lead until we come upon a dilapidated barn tucked into a small clearing. A dirt road leads to and from it, and though it appears abandoned, Bowman starts spinning in circles, sniffing at the ground. He looks at me, then makes a beeline for the barn, disappearing into the darkness of the interior.

“A freaky barn,” Emery whispers, coming up beside me. “Awesome. Love that for us.”

“Oh, no way,” Finn says, still in human form. He stares at the barn, eyes wide. “This is the place, dude. Where Bowman was left to die. It has to be, he told me all about it. He was tied up to one of the beams and couldn’t get free until some old dude took pity on him and let him loose. I can’t believe he just ran in there like that.”

And he did for Charlie. For me. My heart warms as I look at the gathered crew around me, all staring at the barn Bowman disappeared into.

“We really going in there?” Gibson asks, eyeing Finn carefully.

“Sure are,” I respond, feeling the bond with Charlie ripple and warm inside me. He’s somewhere in there, I can tell, though I couldn’t say exactly how. I turn to Gibson, seeing the mixed emotions playing out over his face. “But you can stay out and keep watch if you’d like. I know being here on pack lands is tough.”

“Don’t know,” he grumbles, eyeing Finn again. “Not sure who to trust around here.”

“You’re not in any danger from Finn,” I whisper as the younger wolf shifter hops over to Emery and the two of them fall into conversation, pointing at the barn and whispering with their heads together.

“I will keep guard,” Tyros announces. “I have good eyes.”

“You always have.”

He grunts knowingly, nodding like he expected that praise, then moves to take up a post at the mouth of the barn’s open door. He leans back against a beam along the door, then crosses his arms.

Bowman pops his wolf head out of the door and gives a soft, though forceful yip, like he’s waiting for us to join him, and I figure we better get a move on before he loses all his patience. Stepping forward though, I become aware that our group has grown by one member. My heart trips over itself in fear as with horror rattling inside me, I turn to find a shadowed figure hidden among the trees, staring at the barn.

“Thomas,” I whisper, as the reaper moves forward towards the barn, his feet not even leaving a sound behind.

“Someone will die tonight,” Caius comments, looking around at the group of us. “Let us ensure it is not one of us. We bring death, not take it for ourselves.”

Everyone nods an agreement, but the reaper’s presence is unnerving. My stomach swoops as Thomas disappears at the edge of the barn, vanishing into nothingness. I take a deep breath then move forward, placing my hand over the spot in my chest where I know I am tied to Charlie. Though it has not led me directly to him, I am relieved to feel his presence, knowing that Thomas has not come for him on this night. At least not yet. I move as fast as I dare, leading my group of friends and found family towards what I hope is not their ending.

As we near the barn, Caius’ body ripples, his clothing shredding as he takes his panther form. Finn attempts to follows suit, shaking his human form away from the wolf contained within, but his transformation is far less sleek. His pants get caught around his legs and turning him into a wolf wearing pants, and I bite back a laugh, wishing I had a camera with me to take a picture for Charlie. I’ll have to tell him about it when he’s back in my arms, and I make a mental note to do just that. Emery snickers softly, helping Finn out of his clothing, and Finn leaps upwards to nip his cheek as a thank you before bounding off towards the mouth of the barn, Caius in hot pursuit.

The rest of us on two legs make our way there with less speed, unwilling to chance tripping over branches or stems that may be poking out of the grasses at our feet. We finally make our way there though and give a nod to Tyros who has not moved from his post by the door before entering the barn itself.

The scent of rotten wood meets my nose first, followed by the scent of rotted flesh. My stomach rolls as I look around the space, trying my best to gather my bearings to figure out where to go next, but there is no need. There is a wolf shifter among us who is sadly well acquainted with the place we now find ourselves and scanning the room, I spot him, seated in a darkened corner.

Bowman sits below a beam, his head cast down towards the ground beneath his feet. Over his head dangles a frayed rope and my heart squeezes tight as I walk over to him, now knowing what this place must be.

“This is the spot, huh?” I ask, reaching down to put my hand on his head. “Finn mentioned something about it. If this is too hard, I understand. You can stay out with Tyros, if you’d like.”

Bowman rises, knocking my hand off his fur and gives me what can only be considered a glare, his eyebrows furrowing and teeth showing. He growls softly, then stamps at the dirt with his paw. I hold my hands up in the air, smiling gently down at him. “Pack. Okay, I get it. Charlie’s your pack and you’re coming.”

He gives me a small snort of approval or perhaps agreement, then heads for the far corner of the barn. When he gets there, he starts frantically scratching at the dirt, pausing to look at me every so often. This kind of stuff is a lot easier when he can talk, that’s for sure, but I follow his lead and join him in the corner.

“Well, damn,” Gibson says, kneeling to wipe dirt away from the ground beside Bowman’s paw. “A hatch. An underground hatch at a shifter compound. Nothing wrong with that at all.”

Bowman rolls his eyes, but there isn’t much else he can do since he doesn’t have the hands needed to grab the metal latch and pull the wooden door open. Gibson does and he reaches for the handle, pulling it open and revealing a set of metal stairs that lead down to a concrete floor. The moment the hatch opens, I am struck by the scent of Charlie, and it takes every ounce of strength within me to keep myself from throwing my body down the stairs and into possible danger. The craving and need for him rises inside me, the warmth in my ribcage growing and spreading through me like water.

“Charlie,” I whisper as Bowman bounds down the staircase, his nails clicking on every step. Caius and Finn take off down the steps next, and I glance at the vampires who have been my brothers since the moment I found them both and brought them home to my house.

“I’m with ya,” Gibson says with a curt nod.

“Samesies.”

“All right,” I say as I take the first step. “Let’s go find my mate.”

“And my friend,” Emery adds from behind me.

Yeah, that too.

I lead my friends down the staircase, taking care to step lightly on the metal steps. When I reach the concrete floor at the bottom, I find myself in a wide-open room, filled with strange cubes of glass. There are at least six of them along the walls, but I cannot see Charlie. I scent the air, lifting my nose as the warmth inside my bones deepens even more, but my mate is not inside one of the glass cubes. Confused, I look to Bowman and the shifters who have come with us to find my mate. Perhaps the smell of him in the air is an old scent, though I swear it is new.

He is present, somewhere. I am sure of it, though I can’t say where.

Bowman stands at the front of one of the glass cubes, his nose pressing against the glass. Finn and Caius flank him and on the other side of the divider stands a wolf shifter in his fur. He is smaller than Bowman’s large black and grey mass of muscle and sinew, yet not quite as slight as Finn’s silver furred form. The pelt that covers him is a rusty reddened color, mixed with the odd black strand scattered throughout his body. As I step over to the glass, Bowman’s tail starts wagging and he pounces at the glass with his paws, trying to break this new wolf free. He stops as I approach him, intending to ask where Charlie could be, but recognition threads itself through me as the wolf in the glass connects his deep, green eyes to my own.

“Charlie?” I whisper, kneeling before the wolf.

He lets loose a small, excited noise, spinning in a fast circle before moving to the glass again, looking deep in my eyes. His tail wags, thumping on the floor as he sits down, his eyes full of happiness and a love so profound, I am shaken where I crouch.

“Holy shit,” Emery comments, coming to stand beside the glass. “He is a wolf.”

“Vampires don’t have mates,” Gibson adds, gesturing towards Charlie. “But their kind sure does.”

The revelation that the bond between us is not driven by me, but by Charlie’s true nature makes sense with what we have always been told of vampire kind. Emery exhales a sad sigh though, and my heart aches for him. He so wanted to have a mate waiting for him somewhere out in the world. He takes a step back and Finn butts his head beneath his hand, providing comfort.

Charlie stands suddenly, letting loose a soft whine. He heads for the far corner of his cube and sits down again, looking at me intently. He whines again, looking at the cube next to his, and I take a step sideways to peer into the depths of the cage.

Then I see him.

A figure curled into the corner of the cube beside Charlie’s. He’s pale and gaunt, tucked in a ball on the floor with his hand on the glass between him and Charlie. Charlie whines again, pawing at the glass, and the man lifts his head. He stares at Charlie, his red hair falling over his cheeks, but as he turns his face to look at me, I stumble backward from the glass. I glance at Charlie, my heart in my throat, and he nods his wolf head once, before I can even find the words to ask.

It’s Marius.

“How? What?” I sputter, my eyes moving between him and Charlie, then back to him. My heart does a strange thud as he connects his eyes right to mine. Marius tilts his head to the side like he’s trying to figure out who I am, and I’m absolutely frozen in place at the sight of his face after so many years without it.

“Who are you?” he asks, glancing nervously at Charlie.

“I’m Rex,” I offer, confused as to how he doesn’t instantly know my face. “Adhrexos? Your little king?”

None of what I say seems to resonate with him, and he gives me a blank stare before nodding. “Charlie said you would come for him.”

“Do you remember me, Marius?”

“I don’t remember anything.” Marius sighs, curling into himself again. His eyes meet mine once more though, before he hides from my view, but there’s no joy in them, no life, and it aches inside that he has returned somehow when he should be resting in the heavens among the gods.

It doesn’t hurt as bad as the mournful expression on Charlie’s face though. Although he hasn’t come back to his human form, I can see the sadness inside him. He slumps where he stands, head hanging low as he looks down at Marius where he sits on the concrete floor. My heart squeezes uncomfortably as his worry reaches me, settling into my stomach like a lead weight.

“Charlie,” I say, but he cuts me off with a sad glance, and I can feel his grief deep inside me joining his worry. He is mourning the loss of me already, like he can feel me slipping away the longer I stay in Marius’ presence. Charlie turns his eyes away from me, laying down on the concrete, his muzzle pointed towards Marius as if he believes he is cupid’s arrow, pointing me towards my heart’s true desire.

“How about we get them free, then when Charlie feels safe and is back to his skin, maybe he’ll be ready for a conversation, yeah?” Emery murmurs softly, placing his hand on my shoulder.

Gibson has already started the work of trying to find a door on Charlie’s glass cube, but he seems stunned as he smooths his hands down the panes of glass over and over again. “There ain’t no door.”

“There’s no door?” Emery whispers, as Bowman starts digging at the corner of the glass like that will somehow help. His claws are strong, but they are no match for concrete and glass.

“You won’t get inside that way. I have sealed it with my blood,” a voice says, taunting and vile in its tone. I turn from Charlie to the staircase, watching with horror as my brother, the one who took my throne and spread wickedness through my court, steps down into the basement, throwing Tyros’ limp body on the concrete before him.

“You were burned in the sun,” I blurt, unable to think of anything else to say. “Junius and Gallio saw it themselves. They reported your screams to me as you died in the flames.”

“So they did. Yet here I am. Have you missed me, dear brother? I am much ashamed to admit that I have not missed you.”

I take a step back and brace myself for a fight as Nikandros moves to stand in front of me, stepping over Tyros’ prone form and kicking him in the side as he does. A blond man scurries down the stairs behind him like a rat, also pausing to kick at poor Tyros, but the vampire on the ground curls into a ball to protect himself. He will need time to heal, but he will live. Nikandros reaches for the blond man, placing his hand on his head as the man preens under his touch and attention.

“How are you here? Only blood can bring back blood.”

“Why, Colin, of course,” Nikandros says with a grin. “Just because you failed to secure your bloodline, brother, doesn’t mean that I failed to secure mine. A whore with a womb can still make a child, and I did what was needed to retain my title and crown. An heir and a spare.”

“The Bloodrend Court fell into ruin, my dude,” Emery says with a small laugh. “Nobody gives a shit about your old ass anymore. Welcome back to the nothing you created, I guess.”

Nikandros’ eyes flash hatred at Emery, but he smiles, that slow vicious curl of his lips sending a ripple of discomfort down my spine. “I have created much since I was brought back to this realm, little vampire. Much indeed.”

I glance at Marius’ cube, then back to my brother. “Must you still seek to have what was once mine? All these years later?”

“Poor Marius.” Nikandros sighs. “I tried my best, but sadly he has a mind of melted butter. He didn’t come back quite right, but that is not my fault.” He gestures towards Charlie, surprise registering on his face for a split second before he regains his composure. “Oh, not my fault indeed. This is quite an interesting turn of events, little seer. Had I known your blood was tainted by wolf, I would have sought other means to bring my Marius back.”

Charlie growls behind his glass wall and when I look back, I can see the hatred in his eyes. Marius hasn’t moved an inch, save for the shivering his body now does tucked into the corner of his cube. I had caught the similarity between them the first time I saw Charlie, but that they are truly related in some way makes even more sense.

“Must we do this paltry fighting business, Adhrexos? Bend the knee, give me your head and welcome the sunlight you are long overdue.” Nikandros sighs.

A low growl meets my ears and out of the corner of my eye, I see Bowman creeping up behind Nikandros. Before I can let loose a warning or make him stop, he pounces forward heading for my brother, but he doesn’t make it there. A pained yelp echoes through the air as silver flashes through the air. A long handled, expertly curved dagger, swung by Colin, jams deep into his ribs and Bowman lands in a heap on the concrete as vampires wearing the colors and sigil of the Bloodrend Court walk down into the basement.

Charlie howls, slamming his body against the glass that keeps him hostage as blood pools beneath Bowman’s still form. I can feel his anger and fury pooling with my own hatred inside my blood, and I have to temper it, so that I do not do something foolish and react without thinking, but the task is hard.

“I never liked that fucking dog,” Colin says with a sneer, walking over to pull his silver dagger from Bowman’s side.

Finn growls and snarls as he surges forward, heading right for Colin, and all hell breaks loose in this basement. I make a dash for the glass walls as vampires start throwing punches and shifters start leaping onto backs and tearing holes in necks. I am nearly to my mate, intending to set him free upon this evil that has brought him here, knowing my own blood should do the trick and unlock the locks keeping him captive, when an errant fist catches my jawbone. I am rocked off course, reeling back as I spin to face a vampire I do not know, nor care to. He is but a young thing, though his wicked smile speaks to a lifetime of depravity.

“The sun will rise and with it, a new dawn for our kind,” he says as he stares at me. “The true king, Lord Nikandros, will make it so and all who oppose him are doomed to burn in his wake.”

“You’ve lost it, dude,” Emery says from behind him as he leaps onto his back and digs his claws into his neck. I am heartened to see that my instruction in his early days of being a vampire has stuck in his memory. Neck or heart, by any means necessary. Emery’s teeth soon join his efforts and despite the vampire trying his best to get him off his body, he rips and tears at his neck until his spine is exposed. I reach forward and grip it in my fist, giving a sharp yank upwards to sever the column in two, ending his immortal life.

“Teamwork tastes like shit sometimes.” Emery grins, his face coated in blood.

“Well done, Em,” I say with a hint of pride. He grins and turns, heading back into the fray, leaping on another vampire’s back. Between him, Gibson and the shifters, they’re making quick work of these ones my brother has brought with him, and I start wondering if they’re newly turned. They have the size of a vampire, yet their strength seems to be sorely lacking.

I move to the glass cube holding Charlie and tear open my palm, wiping it across the borders as I search for the hidden key to open it. Finally, a rune lights up beneath my blood smears and a portion of the wall whooshes open. Charlie bounds out, pausing to gently press his head against my thigh before he snarls and darts forward to help Caius who has been caught by the tail. My heart clenches as he leaps onto the vampire holding onto Caius, but my fear and worry isn’t needed. Instinct has taken over, and though he isn’t the biggest wolf, he is fast, and his teeth are sharp. The vampire doesn’t stand a chance, and once Caius rounds on him, he is ended in a fury of teeth and claw.

I leave Marius where he is, not willing to endanger him as he doesn’t seem capable of fighting, and instead glance around the bloodied basement for Nikandros. I find my brother standing in a corner of the fight, simply watching, as he always has done. Not one to fight his own battles then and apparently not in this lifetime either. I head for him, hatred burning inside me for all he has done and for coming back to make the world a worse place with his presence.

“We had peace,” I shout as I near him, reaching to grab his beautifully tailored suit. “We had comfort without you. You are an abomination, Nikandros. You don’t belong here.”

I move to sink my teeth into his neck, but instead of struggling in my grasp, he merely grins at me, shaking his head. “You are the abomination, Adhrexos. Undeserving of the crown you wore.”

A sharp pain hits my calf, and I fall to my knee, losing my grip on him. I glance behind me to find Colin, the little shit, with his hand on a knife that’s lodged in my leg. He grins like a madman, then pulls it free and makes a move like he’s about to dart away again. I am far too fast to let him get far though, even with one leg. Pain shoots through me, but I rocket upwards, gripping hold of him tight as Nikandros swiftly heads away from where I stand.

“And now you will pay for your crimes,” I murmur as I hold him aloft. He is terrified, his eyes wide as he looks around for someone to help him. He connects eyes with my brother from across the room and screams for help, but Nikandros merely narrows his eyes and heads towards the stairs like the hounds of hell are nipping at his heels.

But he will not go far. I drop Colin to the ground and leap for my brother, gripping his back and pulling him onto the concrete. He scrabbles against the floor beneath me but I hold on tight to him, pinning him to the ground with my knee on his midsection and hands braced against his shoulders.

“I am your brother,” he says, eyes filled with fear I am glad to have put there. “We can reclaim the throne together. We can bring our power back. Listen, Adhrexos. I am your blood.”

“You are nothing to me,” I respond, with a small smile. “I have all I need without you, Nikandros. A family I have chosen for myself, that is loyal because of the love we share not because of a crown I once wore. I am whole and complete without you.”

I lower my fangs to his neck, tearing a chunk of his flesh out and spitting it onto the floor beside me. He screeches in pain as I rip into him adding claw alongside fang to remove his head from his shoulders. The last words he squeaks as I grip his head in my hands echo through the room, his pathetic cries being his last words fitting the sort of creature he always was.

“Adhrexos, please listen!”

Pulling upwards, I revel in the popping of his spinal cord and the severing of the last few tendons holding him together. As light faces from his eyes, I throw his head to the corner like the discarded trash he is. Breathing heavy, I cast a glance around the room to ensure my beloved chosen family is still hanging in there and am heartened to find that despite being bloodied and battered, they have done well.

A sharp shriek meets my ears as I look for my mate, and I turn to find Colin, face up on the floor with Charlie’s teeth lodged in his belly. Charlie growls and shakes his head, coating his muzzle in Colin’s blood, tearing at his tender flesh. I walk over to them, stepping over the bodies of the dead, as the few who remain turn tail and flee up the staircase like cowards.

“You can let go, Charlie. He’s done for,” I say, as Charlie shakes Colin again, his eyes filled with distress and a fear so deep I can feel it in my own body. I reach out and gently place my hand on Charlie’s head, stroking behind his ears until the tense muscles there loosen and he finally lets go of Colin. “He won’t hurt anyone ever again. I promise.”

Charlie throws himself into my body, leaping across Colin’s prone form to bury himself into my arms. I hold him, breathing in his honey scented fur as he stuffs his nose beneath my arm, sniffing at my armpit aggressively. I laugh as he pulls his head back, then licks my cheek with his tongue. “Armpits, huh? That’s your new thing?”

“Smells,” Emery says with a knowing smile. “You stinky vampire, you. Gimme your blood.”

I tear a hole in my palm, then drop some of it into Emery’s cupped hands. He cradles it carefully, heading over to let Marius free from his glass cube. A hush settles over those of us who remain with heartbeat and breath in our bodies as little purple lights start glowing in the chests of those who have neither. I can catch the movement of reapers in blackened cloaks, but unlike how I can fully see Thomas, they are but shadows to my eye as they reap the souls of the fallen vampires. Bowman lays on the ground, unmoving with his tongue lolling out of his mouth, but visibly alive, still with Finn standing guard over his downed body. I do not know if he will continue to live much longer, his breaths are staggered and shallow. Silver is a wolf shifter’s worst enemy, and the blade Colin struck him with has done damage his blood cannot repair.

Thomas steps into the room, the flash of a portal closing in his wake. He moves towards Colin, stepping through bodies as he moves, compelled to complete his mission. Colin coughs, blood spattering from his lips and landing on the ground as he turns his head up to look at the reaper. He recoils slightly from Thomas’ presence, but he doesn’t have the energy to move much anymore. So instead, he begs. “No. No, you can’t take me. I’m going to be the king.”

“He never would have given you that,” Gibson offers. “Rest as easy as your soul will allow.”

Colin’s eyes slide shut as Thomas approaches, taking his glove off and resting his hand on his chest. A purple pulse of light emerges from beneath his hand, and then Colin slumps onto the ground, gone forever from this realm. Thomas disappears from sight, and I breathe a sigh of relief that cuts off as he returns, his hand still ungloved.

He moves towards Bowman and Finn can do nothing but hang his head, shuffling back on his paws. My heart sinks, and I look down at my Charlie, his alert eyes following the reaper’s path. With a growl, he leaps off my lap, but I grab him and pull him back. He fights me, but I do not let go of him. Given no chance to bolt to Bowman’s aid, he lets loose a mournful, angry howl that echoes through the basement.

Death waits for no one, and if The Harbinger is calling Bowman home, he must go.

As Thomas approaches the dying wolf shifter though, he is stopped by Marius who steps in front of him, holding out his arms.

“Take me back,” Marius says through shaky lips. “Take me. Not him. I don’t belong here. I don’t know here. Take me.”

“I must take him, Husk,” Thomas says, tilting his hooded face up to look at Marius. “But you are paid for in blood and without a soul to reap.”

“Take my blood then. Pay it back in blood and take all of me,” Marius begs as he starts ripping into his wrists with fangs. I am startled to see that he has been turned, for when he died, he was human. Caius nudges him back with his meaty head, but Marius holds his bloodied hands out to Thomas who tilts his head down and away from the offering.

“I cannot,” Thomas repeats.

He gently steps around Marius and kneels beside Bowman. Charlie howls again, fighting my grip on him, and though my heart breaks for him, I do not let go. Thomas smooths his fingers through Bowman’s fur, drawing forth his life. A purple glow emanates from beneath his hand and then everything goes silent as Bowman breathes his final breath.

Finn lets loose an anguished howl, his mourning call answered by Caius who tilts his head back and lets a sad cry leave his own lungs. Charlie joins their voices, his cry filled will grief and anger, their death song carrying Bowman into peaceful rest.

“Please,” Marius cries out, falling to his knees and throwing himself over Bowman as the wolves howl their sadness into the basement. His despair ripples through the room, and I nearly fall over at the depths of it. I had never imagined to see Marius again, but that he has returned as he has is a cruelty I cannot bear. His frail hand grasps Thomas’ bare fingers and he shoves them against his chest over and over again but nothing happens.

His soul is no longer his.

Charlie wrenches free from my grasp in my moment of weakness and before I can grab him, he rushes over to Thomas, poking at his side with his wolf nose. Thomas pauses, then turns to look down at my mate.

“There you are. Not quite right, after all,” he comments, kneeling down in front of Charlie. “You have a soul I can reap. Would you give it up for his sake?”

Charlie looks at Marius, then lowers his head to Thomas’ exposed hand.

“Charlie, don’t,” I say, pushing myself up to get to him before he can touch the hand of death, but I am not fast enough. He looks at me for a brief moment, then bumps his nose against the exposed flesh of fingers that carry the end of life within them. To my horror, Charlie falls to the ground as a purple soul light leaves his chest, coming to rest in Thomas’ palm. I fall to my knees and grab him, cradling him to my chest as tears slide down my face.

This cannot be real.

It cannot be.

If losing Marius was hard, losing Charlie will kill me and I am wracked with grief as I hold his beautiful fur to my skin.

“Put it back, you asshole,” Emery shouts, taking off at a run across the basement heading straight towards Thomas. Gibson grabs him just before he can reach the reaper and hauls him backwards and away from him.

“I think you will find that your wolf will be quite all right with some rest. Perhaps even better now that the error of the fates has been corrected. They will not be pleased to hear of this, though The Harbinger will be delighted.” Thomas says, turning his hooded head towards Emery. Emery swallows hard, his cheeks flushing red as he stares into the darkened face. Thomas holds his gaze for a few moments, then turns towards Marius. “I will take you now, Husk. I have a soul that bears your name.”

Marius peels himself off of Bowman, his eyes wide though still carrying no sense of life within them. “I am going home?”

“To the cottage, yes,” Thomas offers, extending his bare hand. “Your garden awaits.”

My breath catches in my throat as Marius takes Thomas’ hand, a portal opening in the middle of the room. Beyond there is a lush green hillside that I know all too well. A tiny cottage sits in the middle and the gardens that surround it are filled with lush green grasses and brilliant red roses. A tear slides down my face as Marius steps into the portal, turning his face upwards to the sunlight that seems to brighten his pale skin to the peachy color it once was in his life. Thomas follows him, but the last thing I see before the door to the other side closes is my Marius, as he was, kneeling in his beloved garden.

And I know that he is meant to be there, as much as the wolf in my arms is meant to be here.

With me.

For always.