Page 81 of The World Undone

Declan stood on the sidelines, biting her nails, half-excited and half-terrified. None of us wanted to get our hopes up just for them to come collapsing down, but I could see that battle clear as day in Declan’s face.

She wanted her cousin, her friend back. We all did.

The others looked on with less conflict, their concern for Max and her tendency to give too much of herself when healing at the front of all of our minds.

But maybe with more of us this time, it would be easier. Smoother.

It took a few minutes as Max patiently talked us through finding the link between me and Wade, and then both of us tracing that to Sarah. It was slippery, temporary, impossible to hold. But after a few tries, with Max’s guidance, we were able to concentrate on it.

We worked, for half an hour, trying to tease Sarah out of her nightmare, to bring her back to us. Just when it seemed like we were making progress, mine or Wade’s eyes would flash black, our skin growing clammy and breathing ragged, before the connection would snap altogether. And we were back at square one.

Max was patient, used to the non-linear process. She’d spent dozens of hours trying to bring Sarah back. This was only the beginning.

I felt Wade’s growing frustration with himself when he lost the thread again, his fingers digging into my hand like he was trying to rip out my tendons and hold onto those instead, like his grip on me would somehow save her.

Was he inflicting the same pain on Max’s hand too? I fucking hoped not.

When I went to say something, I realized I was doing the same to him. That I was clutching his hand and Sarah’s shoulder like I meant them more harm than good, every vein in my arm taut with tension as I fought to chase the power and connection just out of our collective reach.

But whatever connection we had to Sarah had either weakened too much or was never strong enough to begin with. That, and our ability to access this particular power was too nascent.

Max had only barely reached me.

I’d hoped that with three of us, with our bonds as strong as they’d grown, that this would be easier. But it wasn’t. In some cruel twist of fate, Max’s healing strength was far more difficult to wield and control than the powers that brought destruction. My brother and I were better designed to bring the world to its knees than we were to cushion and heal it from the fall.

Max’s eyes were blown pure black as she shook her head and stepped back, breaking our loop. “It’s not working. There’s something there, I can feel her better, through you both, but it’s not enough for me to grasp onto. I don’t know if—” she shook her head and took a few breaths, like she was fighting against the same frustration and anger I felt clutching my chest.

I was ready to collapse from the exertion, and a quick glance at Wade confirmed he wasn’t any better off.

“No.” She froze, the dark brown hues bleeding back through the black, as her eyes landed on Dec. “It’s you. It should be you.”

“No.” Dec leaned back, confused, then shook her head. “I wasn’t bonded to Sarah.”

“They aren’t either, not anymore anyway,” Max said, an odd sadness in her voice that I didn’t fully understand. Did she want our bonds to Sarah to be strong? I tried to ignore the petty part of me that would have preferred her jealousy in that moment. Now wasn’t the time. “But maybe it’s not just about mate bonds. I healed Ro. Maybe, with healing, it’s more so about connection.”

“Not to mention you’re the best of us at channeling Max’s power.” Eli nodded, coming around to the idea as he nudged her towards us. “She’s right, if anyone is going to find Sarah locked in her own mind, it’s going to be you.”

Dec’s lip quivered slightly, as she found her place between me and Sarah, her hand gripping mine.

I ignored the way her fingers trembled against mine, the way she cleared her throat, and laid a shaky hand on Sarah’s head.

But then, in true Dec fashion, she stood taller and nodded, “okay, walk me through it.”

Max did, and, while it wasn’t an instant connection, Eli was right. Dec tapped into Max’s power far more quickly than Wade and I had. After a few moments, I could feel her pull Sarah into the flow of power between the four of us, could feel her latch on with a strength that I hadn’t been able to muster.

Good, you’re doing really good, Dec. Max sent the words through to Dec, but connected as we were they reverberated in my thoughts just as loudly as if she’d pushed them to me. Think about a memory, one that gets at the core of your connection to her. Ground yourself to it. Try to feel, smell, taste, until the memory turns more material. Good, good, that’s it. Now locate your own essence, your power source. Good, there, you’ve got it. Siphon through to her, imagine your strength traveling through that connection, growing stronger, alive with energy. I’ve—I’ve never done this before, but try to pull from us all to replenish your own stores.

I grunted under the strain as what felt like a claw dug through my chest, carving me up. My heartbeat sped up until it reached a breaking point and started to slow, too slow. Wade’s hand loosened in mine as he fought to stay standing, his body trembling as he fought to keep giving.

Easy, Dec. Max’s voice was strained now, farther away than it had been. Something about that sent a flare of panic through me. I could feel the wolf’s energy pulse in alignment with my own, anxious and frantic. He felt cornered. The worst thing a wolf could feel when he was already more vulnerable than usual.

I dropped to my knees, and sensed more than heard Wade and Max do the same.

Fight against the pull, Dec. Max’s thoughts were more like a whisper now, transparent and carried off in the wind. Away from me. Too far away. Don’t give into the euphoria of it. Too much. Dec, pull back.

Eli and Ro started arguing, their voices tinny and difficult to parse. Darius’s low, warning growl echoed the one in my own chest. Someone grabbed my shoulders, attempting to maneuver between our clasped hands as they tried to break us apart. But this wasn’t a power that could be easily severed. Not until Dec was ready to let go.

Tears streamed down my face, though I didn’t remember crying, didn’t know why I even was. The sharp pain eased now, bleeding into a soft bliss that felt like swaying in a hammock on a warm, breezy day. I wanted to close my eyes, to lean back and rest. Just for a little while.

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