Page 84 of The Alpha's Mates

"All of which I will answer," Lyas promised, "But first, I need to give you a gift."

I tightened my arm around my mother's shoulders. "You've honestly given me the only gift I care to receive."

Lyas smiled at my mother. "Tenala's return isn't your gift. That was me honoring my vow to her. It was given in a dream as I wasn't able to come to you in person," she told my mother, "but it was valid all the same. I have a gift for each of you," she told us. "First you," she told me, "as this gift will impact all shifters as much as yourself." She motioned me forward.

It was difficult to leave my mother's embrace, but I forced myself to step forward and bow my chin to my chest. My goddess laid her hand on the crown on my head and I gasped when my mating marks flared to life. They burned like the fire of the sun that powered Elaria. I cried out, distantly hearing my mates echoing my pain. It was over in a flash. Jerking myself backward, I narrowed my eyes on Lyas. "What was that?"

"I've given you what so many have missed all these centuries. You and your mates have always been fated to one another. I saw to that, however my ability to finish the bond was taken when Arune trapped me on the ocean floor."

My eyes widened. "Wait. So, this means..." I turned my head and the feelings I thought I had before were amplified to the point where my knees buckled. My males were around me in a heartbeat, holding me. Touching me. Giving me strength. Lyas had just given us our fated mate status. And it was going to be possible for all shifters to find theirs once again. This was thereason we'd started the journey to begin with, but now I knew, we'd been just as desperate to have Lyas back. We didn't know it, because we didn't know her, but the love she had for us now resided there inside my chest. I would burn all of Elaria for her. I would face Arune a hundred times, just to protect the Goddess standing beside me.

I turned to look at the Goddess and she smiled at me. "You will always be able to find your mates," she said softly, "and they will always find you. You'll never be alone again."

"This is all sweet and tender," Katashi said, breaking up the moment, "but maybe we should do this somewhere less...open. We have no idea how much 'time' that little trick with the dart bought us." He looked over at me and winked.

"I don't think we're exactly welcome there," Calix said, motioning to where the Silvest village was.

"I'll never step foot there again," Tenala announced.

It didn’t matter that the Silvest men were dead. That village held nothing but bad memories, and enemies. Father would have had someone there, left behind, in case something happened to them all. Whoever it was would take over the Silvest Pack and build its numbers back up. I doubted they would change course and become one of the good guys. As much as I wanted to help the women and children who lived in my old village, they would have to want to help themselves first. I made a mental note to speak to Soren and the others about it later. Maybe we could come back, offer assistance, but for now, we had to get Lyas somewhere safe. She wasn’t going to be back to full power for some time, which meant she was vulnerable.

"I have somewhere," George offered to the group, wringing his clay hands together. “Very safe.”

Katashi turned and raised a brow. "The Moon Goddess isn't going to want to stay in your swamp, George."

The snort that George gave was equal parts offended and amused. "Don’t call it swamp, Fox Man. Missus won’t like."

That was the most I’d heard George speak. Intelligence shone in his eyes, so he wasn’t dumb. He just seemed to like to get his intentions across in the least amount of syllables possible.

“We would be honored to stay in your home, George,” Lyas told him. “And I’ve been looking forward to meeting your lovely mate for centuries.”

Katashi looked around our group, then shrugged. "Lead the way."

CHAPTER 37

Reese

George was right. This place wasn't a swamp. My mouth dropped open as I looked around. We were back inside the Dreiken Wood, and even though we were here with Lyas, Calix, Katashi, and George, I was still uneasy. A branch snapped nearby, causing me to jump and glare over my shoulder. It didn't matter that I was Lyas's High Priestess—she'd given me a promotion—or that I was a powerful alpha in my own right. This place freaked me out.

"Don't worry," Lyas reassured me, "most of what happened here before was thanks to Arune."

"She kept distorting reality," I told her. "Somehow taking me away from my mates so she could get me alone."

Lyas nodded. "Because you belong to me, and she and I are connected, she was able to reach you in a way she couldn't touch the others." She gave me an apologetic look, as if she had any control over what her insane sister did.

"After that first time, though, she wasn't able to fully take me from them," I replied, looking over to where my mates were talking with my mother, George, and the minor Gods.

Lyas's smile was blinding when I glanced toward her once more. "Back when I first heard Fate's prophecies about the wars that would be coming, I knew I needed to do something to protect myself."

"Wait," I interrupted, "so you knew someone was going to try to...kill...you?"

She nodded, the morning sunlight glinting off her hair. Thanks to Katashi's ability to distort time, we'd made it back to the Dreiken Wood right as the sun began to creep upward into the sky. He'd cut days off our trip, and I was grateful because now that it was all over, I was exhausted. It wouldn't surprise me if I slept for a week.

"Yes. I knew, but...there's only so much evenwecan do to mess with Fate's designs. So, I did what I could. I ensured my Priestesses would be born, hoping that one of you would be the one to find me." She reached out and touched my cheek. "Somehow I knew, as soon as I met Tenala in that dream, that it would be you. Fate doesn't like imbalances. She tries to give us opportunities to correct the way things could go when possible."

"But I thought you came to Mom in a dream because you'd already been captured?"

"I did. Arune found out I'd gone to see Fate and she moved up her timeline. She struck Celinda first, making sure that our sister couldn't assist me. She tricked her into the body of a shifter." Lyas frowned down at the ground.

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