Page 94 of Shadows of the Soul

“He hurt me,” I explained.

“Dimwit.”

“Agreed.”

“Mistake,” Keverin said.

I sighed. “Maybe.”

“Stay.”

“I have to go. I have to save as many people as I can.”

“Mistake.”

“How about this? After this is over, I’ll allow him a chance to plead his case.”

Keverin’s indecision rippled through me as he weighed up my offer.

“If I believe he truly wants a future with me, I’ll give him one more shot,” I offered.

The plug popped open, and my molecules rearranged themselves before reforming in front of Hudson. I shook my head. Wow, that made me dizzy.

Hudson clung to my arms and held me steady. “You okay?” he asked.

“On a scale of one to ten, that registered as a twelve on my freaky shit barometer. Do you often absorb people into your animal?”

His eyes narrowed. “No, never. If he didn’t consider you his mate, it wouldn’t have worked.”

I fist pumped the air weakly. “Go me. Wait, you weren’t sure it would work?”

He smirked. “I was one hundred percent sure.”

I released his arms, feeling the solid ground beneath my feet and trusting my legs would hold me up. His hands hovered around me for a few seconds, ready to catch me should I fall. He would catch me, I realized. Always.

We were standing behind the main house, near the Mississippi River. The portal had breached my roof and was a glowing dome peeking out. I swallowed as the call of Heaven’s army thundered in my mind. They were close.

“What’s the plan?” Hudson asked. “I got the shifters off the property, but Stephen is still doing his mojo.”

“He’s opening a gateway to Hell.”

“For what reason?”

My instinct was to lie, because admitting I was responsible for an expanding portal to Heaven would give him further fuel to conclude I was too dangerous. I pressed my lips together and swallowed. Lying is easy. The truth might hurt, but it was the right thing to do.

“The shiny ball that’s expanding is a portal to Heaven.” I folded my arms and refused to look at Hudson. “Lucifer wants to use it to get access.”

Silence stretched like a taut elastic band. I glanced at him. His face was doing an excellent impression of granite. “How do we stop him?” he finally asked.

“I think we are about to receive backup.”

He blinked, and I started toward the front of the house, Hudson and Keverin flanking my sides. It was too late to run. I’d made my bed and now I had to lie in it, even though it may become a grave rather than a bed.

We rounded the building, and I struggled with the violent scene before us. Shifter bodies littered my lawn like carelessly thrown rubbish. I narrowed my eyes on Stephen. He would die. As we closed the distance, a figure emerged through the gates behind Stephen. Oh goody, Lucifer was here—now we had a party. Lucifer stared at the portal with barely contained glee.

“We have to stop him from reaching Heaven,” I told Hudson.

Hudson gave me a look reserved for idiots.

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