Page 51 of Wild Fires

The shock of that realization hit me even harder than her death.

Mine, I thought. Gracie had been mine all along. Maybe that's why I was so attracted to her and why I'd welcomed her into my space so quickly. It had never been like that with any other woman, but then again, no other woman was Gracie Montgomery, my mate.

My body was cold and I was shaking all over. I knew I was going into shock. It would certainly be ironic if I just died from the shock of everything.

I had no idea how long I'd laid there or exactly when I'd fallen asleep—as I was plagued by nightmares tinted with hope—but at some point, I awoke in total darkness. The only sign of light was the sliver under the door.

The door flew open, and I realized there were loud voices coming from the other side. Likely that was what had woken me. All I wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep. I wasn't ready to deal with reality again.

“Found him,” I heard Elias say.

Dean peeked his head in next.

“Go away,” I told my brothers.

“You scared the shit out of everyone, dude. Have you ever missed a Congress meeting before?”

“No,” I grumbled, not even feeling guilty about it because I wasn't sure I could feel anything at all.

“I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“No.”

“You didn't know, did you?”

“Know what?”

“That Gracie is a phoenix.”

“A phoenix isn't real, dumbass.”

“It's what they call her powers. Fire can't hurt her, and it doesn't exactly kill her. I guess she sort of dies and then her raven is reborn amongst the ashes. Drives Clarence nuts, but Andrew thinks it's the coolest thing ever.”

“So you knew?”

“And clearly you didn't.”

“They call her a phoenix. It's not unheard of in fire witches, but rare. One surfaces every hundred years or so and that's Gracie.”

I shook my head. “Go away. You sound like an idiot.”

“No, you're being an idiot. Your girl’s fine, so get your ass out of the closet and go to her. She's a hero. Guffy wouldn't have survived if she hadn't jumped in that fire to save him. And it's certainly not the first time she's done it. Andrew says she's always saving their asses like that.”

“I can't. I can't work with her. I can't be with her,” I argued.

“I don't think you have a choice,” my brother said. “Clarence says she's the best and that you two have been working great together.”

“She's reckless, Elias. And she's going to get herself killed. I don't think I can just stand by and watch that happen. Not again. Not ever.”

I shivered, remembering in horror how I'd stood there and watched her burn. She should already be dead, but apparently her fire powers wouldn't allow it. I'd shifted to fly away from the carnage, but then she rose from the ashes, and when her raven took one look at me I knew she was made to be mine.

I'd flown away like a coward, angry with myself, angry at life, and unable to face her. Couldn't he at least try to understand that?

She was my ultimate weakness, and I wasn't sure I'd survive watching her die like that again.

“I just can't, Elias.”

“Stop being a prick. I've never seen you so hung up on a girl before. She makes you happy.”

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