Page 30 of Her Reborn Mate

As the torches lit up once more in the hands of the men behind us, a new life was breathed into the dark forest all around us, animating each shadow with light and creating a warm orange glow around the band of men making their way through the trees.

“I want you to tell me what you, as my right-hand man, think,” I asked.

“Okay, then you want the whole nerd version. Well, the way I see it, when Edward trapped you and did all those sick experiments on you, a meter started building up in your body. We can say that it was a meter of perseverance and tolerance, tolerating everything that was happening to you until it reached a tipping point. But that meter didn’t fill itself. You escaped, and so the meter just paused there. Later, though, when you fought Blair and Maurice, and Ralph, the meter started building up again, and eventually, when you were injected with that chemical, the meter started to overflow. But you didn’t know that because you were sort of dead. Tonight, however, when you saw that your pack members were in mortal danger, the meter broke, and you attained this new form. Everything terrible that has happened to you in your life contributed to your unlocking this form. I don’t believe it when people say that just about anyone can unlock this form. I think that the wolf within is a fated form, only given to those who have been destined to do great things or have already done immense things in their life. Such as you,” Vince said and then took a long break to catch his breath.

I patted him on the back as we came out of the forest. “That was one astute analysis, Vince.”

“Thanks. I just…I think a lot sometimes, you know? Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by all the thoughts that come into my head. It’s like…some of these things I can’t even say to anyone. So, it’s good to finally have a listening ear who can take all my bullshit and just accept it as part of me,” Vince said, his voice breaking a little.

“Is there a particular issue you’re talking about, Vince?”

“Of course, there’s the matter of my father being this villainous personality, but that’s not exactly what I’m talking about. On that particular matter, I’m very polarized. He’s on the bad side, as we’ve seen time and again. I have no sympathy for his actions. I couldn’t be more different than him. It shames me to call him my father. I hope that he gets what’s coming for him,” Vince said, breathing heavily. I could see that he was having quite an emotional moment and that it was not easy for him to talk about what was bothering him.

“You can talk to me,” I said. “I am your friend.”

“You’re more than that, Will. I consider you my brother.”

I stopped walking and turned Vince around so that he’d face me. Then I hugged him tightly. “You are my brother as well. And from this day forth, you are my permanent second in command.”

Vincent’s face lit up, and any signs of stress and worry that were lingering on the corners disappeared as he smiled at me.

“Your second in command? Are you for real right now?”

“I believe I’m being totally real with you,” I said, inflecting jokingly on that slang. “Now, would you like to talk to me about what’s bothering you?”

“I can’t really get into it, what with the whole thing being wrapped in layers of secrecy, but I’ll tell you this much. There’s this girl whom I’m in love with. And she’s…well, she’s having a hard time with things. Her family has kicked her out and banished her. They’ve also prohibited people from meeting with her. You know, they’re treating her like a pariah. And, well, she’s trapped, sort of. That’s as much as I can say without divulging more details. I can’t seem to help her break free from the curse of her family,” Vince said. I watched him closely. It was as if the weight was being lifted from his shoulders as he shared this dilemma with me. I wondered for how long he had been keeping this to himself.

“Is this a literal curse or something metaphoric?”

“It’s a little bit of both.”

“In that case,” I said, trying to dispense my best wisdom to my friend. “If you truly love her, you must believe that your love will be able to conquer any hurdles in its path. She will see that in time. Whatever is straining your relationship, whether it’s her family or the banishment, it’s not stronger than your feelings for her. Love is very much a tangible thing, capable of moving mountains. Let it guide you. There are few things as strong as love. Fate is one. Death is another. But wherever there is true love, you will see that it can conquer fate and death.”

I spoke from experience. I held strongly to the belief deep in my heart that the real reason I hadn’t died wasn’t because of some built-up immunity or luck; it was because I was in love with Alexis. It was why I fought so hard in that afterlife to come back, conquering fate and death in one move and coming back. Somehow, I had to trust my love for her to guide me in doing the right thing to make her see that I was sincere and that I hadn’t lied to her. It ached me to be away from her, both physically and emotionally. Instead of taking it as a brutal rejection, I reframed it as a challenge to my faith and love. This was merely a hurdle, and sooner or later, my love would have to overcome it.

“Your words console me,” Vincent said. “And I thank you for your discretion. Especially that you didn’t prod deeper into the matter.”

“I do well to stay out of other people’s business, especially when it’s a matter of love. However, if someone such as yourself asks me for counsel or advice, I give them the truth. When you look at me, you might see a warrior, a werewolf, a captain of the sea, but what you don’t know, what many people don’t notice at first, is that I’m at my heart a fierce lover,” I said.

“Speaking of which, I didn’t see Alexis. I thought you were going to find her. What happened?” Vince asked.

What happened, indeed? I had been so immersed in the battle that I had failed to consider the worst possibility. Alexis had been on the fence about returning when I left her in Bangor. Could it possibly be that she had not shown up to save the pack? I hadn’t seen her during the battle. It was possible that she might have been there, but I must have missed her due to being flanked from all sides by vampires.

“If you truly love someone, Vincent, you have to let them go. If they come back, they were yours all along. If they don’t come back, they were never yours, to begin with,” I said with a heavy heart.

“Tonight was a very important night for the pack, Will. You’re just overthinking it. Of course, she had to be there. I just know it. You wait and see. We’ll come across her at the commune with the rest of the women and children,” Vince said.

That tethered some hope to my heart. I did not want to appear overexcited or overzealous at the possibility that she might be there, so I remained quiet on the matter. By now, we had walked out of the forest and were heading toward the commune. On the way, I prodded Vince on the small of his back and aimed my finger at the car stranded outside of the forest.

“I need you to take care of this car for me, please,” I said. “You’ll find that there’s a dead body of an assassin in the trunk. Be discrete with it. You may bury it in the clearing, or you can throw it in the sea. Wipe the car of all fingerprints and everything. Change the plates. If possible, give it a paint job.”

“Umm, okay,” Vince said. “Is there something I should know?”

I briefly told him about Lawrence and how he had tried to kill Alexis. I told him just enough to give him the context without oversharing any details about how Lawrence had met Alexis.

“So this is like a revenge token,” Vince said, nodding slowly.

“Revenge token? I don’t understand,” I said.

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