Page 68 of Sinful Shifters

"Iwant to know more about Fern. About how omegas died off. I don't understand what her sacrifice meant or what happened afterwards."

"None of us were right there at the end," Thale says, his voice sad and brooding. "There's only so much we can give you in terms of answers. I wish we could say more, Darling, but..."

"Tell me what you do know. All of it, every detail."

What they do know is that magic was dying out when Eli stepped in. Though the wellspring's then-guardian was supposed to restore it, somehow it wasn't working.

Eli sacrificed the way things were in order to restore the wellspring. He sacrificed their very way of living, the strength of their alphas. That sacrifice spurred the packs to be restored, but it was going to take even more magic to restore the wellspring. Something wasn't right about it, and the guardian had disappeared entirely.

The elements were acting up, and the local covens came to believe that an elemental repair was needed to save the wellspring. So the four gods sacrificed their human lives to becomefourguardians and save the wellspring. It was meant to be temporary, a few decades at most.

But then Klaus came along. He wanted to steal his brother's power. And he saw that Fern was in love with him, and was jealous. He found a way to steal her, by using magic to draw her to him.

It didn't work for long, because the little omega could see through his magic. She was talented that way. But she could also see that Klaus wouldn't give up, no matter what she did.

He had to be stopped. So Fern sacrificed herself to drag him into the wellspring, keeping his soul there. When Eli died, he was so mournful of their loss, he wound up in the wellspring as well.

But Thale says, "We were never able to interact with them. As guardians, we had our own... dimension, as it were. The souls in the wellsprings, including the elders that often watch over the Mating Ceremonies, lie dormant in their own area."

"So you never met Fern?"

"Not really," Adar says. "We knew of her, and knew that her fate was seen by a witch with foresight. But werewolves back then didn't believe much in witch foresight."

"That's ironic, given how close our pack is now with the coven."

Lucian theorizes, "Things must have changed while we were guardians. When the witches diagnosed the problem with the wellspring, the four of us were the only ones to believe it and step in. Others didn't buy it at all."

Everett is watching me closely. "Have you gotten any of Fern's memories?"

"I haven't." It burns to admit. "Even the glimpses I got early on are gone now. I used to feel a connection to her from time to time, but now it's like she's gone altogether."

That seems to trouble them. "You connection to them through the mate bond should've restored the memories. If nothing else, restoring the wellsprings should've done it."

Something must be wrong. I wonder if it's me—if I'm the one who's getting in the way.

Shaking his head, Adar declares, "Fuck that bullshit. We can't fix any of it now. Let's forget about tomorrow's problems and enjoy being alive today instead."

I'm more than willing to do that.

Chapter58

Lucian

Our little omega wants to have all of us before we do anything else. So we take her home and strip her naked, laying her out on the sectional sofa in her new living room.

"You're so beautiful," I tell her, appreciating her lithe form and her subtle curves. "I've never felt so alive as I do now, with you as my mate. I love you so much, Caterina."

"And I love you." She pulls me to her and kisses me, even as Thale kneels in front of her and parts her knees. "Stay with me. All of you—I want all of you."

"As you wish."

As Thale goes down on her, I stand by her head and strip naked. Watching the expressions of pleasure on her face, I tell her, "I want your mouth."

"I'd love that." She reaches for me and draws my cock to her lips. "Take what you need, baby."

She's more than happy to suck me off. Her skills are improving, and she takes direction well. I hold myself back, but as she stretches out, pressing her thighs against Thale's ears, she sucks me down.

As she strokes me up and down, she draws back to tell me, "Don't hold anything back. Fuck my mouth and my throat. I want all of it, all of you."

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