Page 52 of Season of the Wolf

“It won’t be like that,” he interjected, shortening my rant. That tall, foreboding frame of his stepped between me and the doorway. I glanced up when he went on.

“They’ll think the same of you that they did before,” he assured me. “That you’re their sister, the one their father named his heir, and above all else … they’ll love you.”

I breathed deep, letting his words sink in, praying he was right. When I nodded, he smiled, taking my hand again as he led the way.

I hadn’t ventured this far. The first I even knew of this space existing was when Hilda and Elise used Maisy to complete the spell. Needless to say, I steered clear ever since. Cinderblock walls lined the hallway and, just at the end, a brightly lit room where the others waited. We drew closer, and with each step, my pulse raced.

All the way to the door.

And there they were, six massive bodies, each with his back to me. Down their spines, tattoos that were so familiar—phases of the moon that stretched the entire length.

The tattoos … I didn’t expect to see them. Theirs were still present despite having been resurrected, while my own from the past were not. All having to do with the fact that, for the spell that broughtmeto life for a second time, Elise only had half the magic she needed. This lack was the reason I’d been forced to start over from birth, the reason I had no memory of the past.

The six who stood before me today, they were as whole as the day they breathed their last breaths.

Each was so different, and yet so similar to the one standing beside him. Skin varying in shade from nearly the same fair tone as Elise, to warm toffee. Three sported curls as tightly coiled as mine—one whose hung to his shoulders, another with his cropped close to his head, the last with close-shaven sides and a dark mohawk down the center. The fourth in line had inherited Elise’s bone-straight texture, while the fifth and sixth kept theirs so closely shaven it was impossible to observe any detail other than the dark shadow of its color.

I stood in silence while Elise addressed them, doing her best to explain where they were, how they were here, and what era this was. It was more information than they’d ever be able to take in at one time, but she was trying.

Each seemed groggy as I evaluated their stances, evenbeforeElise confused them with words like ‘talisman’ and ‘restorative magic’. It made sense that they’d be out of it. Two swayed a bit with dizziness, another rubbed the back of his own neck as he struggled to focus on her speech. One on the end braced himself against the stone wall. One leaned with his elbow propped on the shoulder of the brother beside him who stood strong, both arms folded over his chest.

Only some even had enough strength to put on the pants Elise brought down for them, so they still sported white towels secured around their waists. I tried to imagine how confused they must be by all this—their surroundings, seeing the faces of brothers some had witnessed being slain in battle, the modern surroundings, even Elise’s sleek, fashionable attire. At the thought of how disoriented they had to have been, I felt sorry for them.

Our experiences being brought back were different, but similar in that we hadn’t asked for any of this. While, yes, being given a second chance was a blessing, we were still here by someone else’s doing.

I stepped forward. Just a few inches, but quietly enough that they still hadn’t noticed me.

Which was how I wanted to keep it for now.

“I’m … I’m still not sure this is even real.”

My eyes stretched wide at the depth of that voice. The one who spoke ran a hand down his stubble-covered head. A heavy accent distorted the words considerably, but I understood him. His large arm flexed when he gripped the back of his neck, making his frustration apparent. Each matched Liam in height and stature, and I imagined that, in their day, the brood must have stricken fear in all those whose paths they crossed.

Elise passed a sympathetic glance toward her son, revealing his name.

“Caleb, it will take time, but I assure you this is all quite real,” she smiled.

In an unforeseen display of emotion, his gaze shifted to the right and I was grateful the shadows hid me as he stared at our brother. The one who, from here, seemed to most closely resemble Elise. Caleb stretched a hand toward his shoulder, but didn’t speak right away, just let his eyes linger for so long I thought he might not speak at all.

But then he did, and my chest felt tight at his words.

“The last time I laid eyes on you,” Caleb began, “I was carrying your body to the woods for a proper burial.”

My gaze went to Elise and it didn’t surprise me to see her eyes glisten with unshed tears.

The two embraced so tight it would have likely broken the bones of anormalperson, but these six were far from normal. They were the first lycan/dragon hybrids I’d ever met. The first beings I’d come across who were just like me.

My chest did that squeezy thing again and I swallowed. Liam’s hand was still in mine when Elise’s gaze shifted toward us. Suddenly aware it was not only her and her boys in the room, her eyes lit up.

“Where is my head?” she smiled, elation lifting her voice an octave when she gestured behind her sons, right toward Liam.

And me.

At the movement, my brothers all turned, all six sets of eyes landing on mine in tandem.

My heart stopped. I froze.

“Declan, Josiah, Ivan … you asked about Evangeline, and I said I would explain,” Elise beamed, not needing to add more than that.

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