Page 83 of Fated to Monsters

Was I wrong to bring him back here?

We weren’t supposed to be able to get hurt in astral projection, and yet I have gash marks on my arm, and Dash is quite literally fucking dead.

I should have listened to my original instincts and charged the wendigo the second I saw him, but I thought I could try a new tactic and convince him that we should align.

I did, ultimately, convince him, but it was too late.

As I crouched to the ground with Dash in my grasp, tears welled in my eyes and I told him that in seconds, I would confirm to him that cross-realm travel was possible. I pleaded with him and made him promise that if I were speaking the truth, he would leave Pippa and Gary alone.

He assured me the feud was with me and my mates, not with them, so either way, I felt somewhat sure that their safety would remain. At least, there would be no threat from him—I couldn't stop the wrath that Parla insisted on inflicting on them.

I explained that I had traveled to Arthlia and found refuge there with others. I went on to confess what I had learned from Balial, and that the only way Prania would be a free realm is if Parla was eliminated. I vowed to return, to see things through, and despite him laughing at me, he gave his word that he would fight on our side if given the opportunity. He claims he would rally those that remained in my absence and await my beacon once I have returned.

But how can I go back there when Dash still hasn’t resurrected?

Have my worst nightmares come to life with the final death of this beautiful and broken man?

“According to this text”—Sydney says from his spot on the couch with that ancient book from the library at Harper Shadow Academy in his grasp—“the phoenix is made from the death of two very specific angels. Their DNA, and theirs alone, combined, is what created the phoenix. Their death would result in them rising from the ashes to be reborn again, a result of the potent angelic blood running through their veins. They are said to be a myth, and that they do not exist.”

I stare at him, blink, look at Dash, then back to Sydney. "Are you telling me Dash isn't a phoenix?"

He shakes his head. “No. I’m telling you Dash isthephoenix. The only one in existence. There are no others like him. There is limited information on the subject, at least from what I have gathered.”

“Does it say anything in there about their resurrection?” I stalk over to him and attempt to read the foreign text on the page. “A limit? Something that kills him? How can I protect him if I don’t know what his weaknesses are?”

Sydney shrugs and lets out a sigh. “I don’t know. I wish I could be of more assistance. This is all new information to me. I’ll try to continue to decode the text and fill you in every step of the way.”

Wes enters the room and walks right over to me. He grabs my shoulders, steadies me, and looks into my eyes. “He’s going to be fine. It’s Dash.”

I glance behind him. “Where’s Bo?”

He infuriates the ever-loving shit out of me but I crave for him to be near, especially in times like this, when so much is uncertain.

“Off stewing.” Wes slides my hair off my face and tucks it behind my ear. “He was fuming about the mate bond.”

“Right, yeah. He’d rather go live in hell with Balial than be with me.”

Sydney perks up from his textbook. “Wait, what?”

I lean into Wes’s embrace but turn toward Sydney. “Yeah, Balial told him he’d eliminate the alpha mark on my neck if he pledged his allegiance to him.”

“I thought you were with all three of them.” Sydney flits his attention between Wes and Dash.

“Bo claims the alpha mark is the only reason I like him and said the only way he can prove that to me is to remove it. Because apparently if he does it himself, the removal, he must mark me as his fated mate, and he’d rather die than be stuck with me.” I ignore the tugging of my heart at saying this all out loud.

It’s no secret that Bo and I have a futile relationship. What’s the point in hiding the truth that he would rather run away than be fated to me?

“Balial is so desperate for company he’d do anything to procure it.” Sydney runs his hand through his hair, the pencil he was holding, still in his grasp. “So let me get this straight. Bo marked you, and because he’s an alpha, it became an alpha mark. Bo thinks you only like him because of the mark, and refuses to replace it with a fated mate mark, because he thinks you both would have no control over your feelings for each other?”

I nod and point to Wes. “He thinks the same about me and Wes, too. That the only reason we love each other is because of the mate bond.”

Wes stares down at me, his eyes glowing a bit redder than they were. “You love me?”

I smile up at him. “Duh.”

Not being bothered that Sydney is right here, or that Dash is still lying motionless on the floor, Wes presses his lips to mine.

He breaks away, resting our foreheads together. “I love you, too.”

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