Page 109 of Fated to the Lone Shifter
I roll through the dust and phase back, limping, panting, my body a patchwork of blood and ash.
Behind me, Marcus is dragging my parents down from the poles. Sera is collapsed in the dirt, sipping from a glowing vial, her magic a thin shimmer barely holding form.
We’re alive.
Barely.
But alive.
The fire crackles behind me as I drag Bode’s mangled body across the circle.
I don't flinch at the sound of his bones scraping against the dirt. His head hangs by a thread of flesh, arms limp, what’s left of his legs twitching from the last nerve impulses of a monster who refused to die with dignity.
I stack his remains atop the others. The wolves who followed him blindly. The ones who made sport of killing. The ones who forgot what it meant to be a pack.
Sera is already on her feet. Pale, swaying, but upright. She doesn't speak as she pulls a small crystal from her pouch and lifts it to the sky.
The fire familiar returns—his molten eyes meeting hers as he emerges from the trees like a god summoned from the underworld. The air around him pulses with heat and power, a divine reckoning in fur and ember. With a gentle, reverent nod, he steps forward, padding over to the pile of bodies.
He breathes.
Flames ignite instantly. Hotter than any fire I’ve ever seen. They swirl with intention, with vengeance, devouring the bodies with a roar that drowns out everything else.
Sera lowers the crystal and whispers, “Thank you.”
The familiar vanishes, the smoke curling behind him like a promise kept.
Marcus drags my mother to an outcrop of rocks, supporting her on one side, while I rush to my father, pulling him with my one good arm and leg. They’re conscious now. Weak, confused, but alive.
I glance over at Sera. She meets my eyes, the gold in her irises still glowing faintly with the last embers of her magic, like coals that refuse to die. My chest tightens—not just from the pain, but from the weight of everything she’s endured to keep us alive. I don’t know what to say. So I don’t say anything. I just nod.
She nods back.
For now, that’s enough.
I squeeze my father’s hand as I settle him on the rock’s surface, my limp heavy, my ribs screaming. “We’re going to be okay,” I say, half to him, half to myself.
And for the first time in a long time…I believe it.
But as the night wind picks up, carrying the scent of burning fur and old magic, I can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t over.
Somewhere out there, the curse still lingers.
Watching.
Waiting.
Chapter thirty-three
Ever After Ashes
SERA
Marcus helps the Bensons sit up as they blink against the fire’s lingering glow, their movements groggy and uncertain. I stand nearby, keeping my expression calm as I watch them take in their surroundings—the scorched earth, the chaos still hanging heavy in the night air.
"The last thing I remember is Bode," Mr. Benson murmurs, dazed. "He was in the house. Grabbing us."
I step forward, careful with my words. "There was a struggle. You were taken, but we found you in time. You’re safe now. That’s what matters."
