Page 66 of Sinful Shifters

Maybe next time he'll think twice before he raises the dead.

Wiping the blood off my paws, I shift back to my human form and stride over to my guys.

Grinning, Adar slaps me on the shoulder and sweeps me into his arms. "Job well done, Precious. That was an excellent bit of violence you enacted there."

"Thank you."

He kisses me, passionate and deep, a spring in his step now that his pack has been restored. "Do you feel better now?"

Glancing over my shoulder, I watch as the body is consumed by the earth beneath it. Thale uses his magic to summon plants and sink Klaus beneath the earth, turning him into worm food, which is far more useful a purpose for him.

I was so afraid when he had me captured. I even tried to submit to him, as much as it made me shudder.

Now I have nothing to fear at all.

At least, almost nothing. Teller is still out there, and so is his dark future. But he's weaker now, his army decimated—and I know now that I can stand up to men like him and fight back.

"I feel loads better," I tell Adar, looking up into his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes. "In fact, I think I'm ready for anything."

Together, I'm certain we can conquer the world.

Which means the future will be easy to change.

Chapter55

Rina

When we get back to Mountain Pack and gather in the middle of the Mating Circle, it feels like everything is different now.

Teller is still out there. He could still show up and try to take the wellsprings away. But we're stronger now—strong enough to beat him.

And he doesn't have his army.

The land between the River Pack territory and ours is clean of blood rot. We felt it as we traveled home, marveled in the smell of it on the air and beneath our feet.

The Appalachian Mountain Destiny Packs have been fully restored. Not just to their former glory, from before Teller's first attack, but to a state of being even better than that.

Our people are going to flourish under new leadership. I can feel it.

Yet I still fear the future, even as I dare to believe that it can be changed.

Our leaders come together, including Victoria, Rhea, and many of the warriors, and we discuss the future of the packs. Fury Pack shares their culture with the others. River Pack marvels at the Mating Circle, since their own wellspring doesn't have one. We agree that all Mating Ceremonies will be hosted here at Mountain Pack, which has the biggest territory and the strongest wellspring.

But after that, we have to figure out what the Destiny Packs will look like. A former Mountain Pack member who's joined the Fury Pack asks if he should get a second rune. A lone wolf who's just joined River Pack doesn't know if he wants to stay in the territory full time. Fury Pack warriors ask if they'll ever return to their former members.

And the gods propose a solution: a shared pack rune. Pack members can travel freely, mate with each other, trade back and forth, and leave their pack for another, if it feels right.

Drawing out the pack rune on the ground, they squabble and discuss it, while I watch with the hair on the back of my neck raising.

The rune they come up with is the one from my vision.

Which means that some part of the future may not be changeable after all.

Chapter56

Rina

Ali is at the edge of the Mating Circle, drinking honeyed wine and laughing with a Sky Pack warrior who has stories to tell about the ways witch spells go wrong at high altitude. I hate to interrupt her joy, especially after she's worked so hard to save us all, but I can't let this rest.

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