Page 49 of Shadows of the Soul

Dave spun on me. His teeth were extended—he was fighting his wolf for control. “Dave, calm down,” Norbert instructed.

Dave prowled toward me. I edged around the table, trying to keep it between us. “Arm yourself,” he barked. My spine rippled, and the sudden pain almost tore a scream from my throat. I inhaled and forced back my beast that was trying to break free and protect me. She yanked harder at the chains, several of them snapping, their links falling to the dark pit of my mind. Shit, shit, shit.

“That is the consort royal you are challenging,” Norbert said, putting his arms up between us. I didn’t want to hurt a man already in so much pain. But I would protect myself.

“Move, doc, as you pointed out, she is the consort royal, and therefore liable to the same laws and challenges as any other shifter.”

“I am not the consort royal.”

Three things happened at once, only one of which I predicted. Dave pushed the doc out of the way and flung himself at me. The door flew open and Hudson charged into the room with a roar of fury that shattered the peace and made prey scatter for miles away. He yanked me out of the path of Dave’s claws. I stumbled, my hand reaching out on instinct to stop myself from face planting the floor and grabbed Mary’s hind leg. The world fell away, and I entered a void of terror and evil that sucked my soul.

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

There’s something in the water…

Sunshine streamed through the windows of the lodge as the boys ran around my feet, a wonderful combination of chaos and carefree. My mother floated toward me and handed me a bottle of apple juice. “Where’s Dave?” I asked.

She waved a hand in the air. “Off saving the world with Hudson and his new mate.”

I choked on my juice and wiped away the dribble with the back of my hand. “Mate?”

She smiled wistfully. “Yes, it seems the elemental our leader is smitten with has finally seen the light and decided to become his mate.”

“Good luck to her. He may be pretty, but he’s a lot to handle,” I scoffed. “Is the pack aware?”

“No, I’m not entirely sure she knows. But she will. What about you? Anyone caught your eye?”

I ran my hand down my face, over the bumps and imperfections of my childhood with a sickening, heavy sensation in the pit of my stomach.

She sighed. “You’re beautiful, Mary. Any man worth his salt will look past your scars.”

“I don’t want him to look past them, Mom. I want him to accept them.”

Mom turned to me, tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and smiled. “Wait for the right man. He will come along soon enough.”

The cubs ran into my legs and knocked the juice out of my hands, then began slurping up the spilled liquid. I chuckled and gave Frank a scratch on his head. “I’ll get a cloth.”

I took four steps toward the kitchen before the pain hit and I crumpled to the floor. My head bounced with a sickening thud against the wood. Fred and Frank fell beside me. They writhed and growled. What the fuck was happening? Agony tore through my mind, something insidious squirmed its way into my soul. I fought, but it was insurmountable—the torment, the despair, the heartbreaking loneliness. It made me want to die.

I sank into the emptiness. My eyes were open but I was sightless. I could only feel. Whatever was here enjoyed that. It sucked at my energy, it devoured every emotion departing my mind until at last there was nothing left—only a shell ready to be filled. Except for love, I held onto the slither of light like it was my lifeline. If I let it go, the monster would consume me. I would be no more.

“Dave,” I whispered. “Please, brother, hear my cries and save me.”

Shadows moved in the depths, a shape formed as it came forward, its steps purposeful but unhurried. Its outline solidified and my brother emerged. His face contorted with disgust.

“Dave?” I rasped.

His eyes were glacial, crystallized orbs of hatred. “You are an abomination, Mary. You don’t hold my blood. You are a pathetic little orphan that my parents took pity on.”

I shook my head as tears fell in hot splashes of pain down my cheeks. “No, Dave, don’t say these things. They are lies.”

He knelt in front of me and tipped my chin up to face him. I’d never seen him so cold. “I never loved you. You’re a broken, ugly bitch. That’s why you remain unmated. Nobody desires to be in your company. We tolerated you because we felt sorry for you. That’s all you will ever have, Mary.”

The last shreds of my humanity slipped through my fingers, and the void welcomed me with open arms. I stared it in the face, obsidian eyes rimmed with a striking red, studied me. A smile stretched its mouth. “Now you belong to me.”

Horrific scenes played in my mind, each more shocking than the last. The pack murdered, cubs and pups tortured, pack lands burned to ashes. It was apocalyptic and spoke of a dreadful future. All the predictions had a common factor. One person stood on the scorched earth covered in blood, with a malicious grin on their face.Cora Roberts.

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