Page 33 of Little Howl of Moon

Someone had taken my mate.

11 /HER GHOST

Oliver

It was four in the morning, and I was sitting in an empty cafe with a creature that had introduced himself to me as Death.

I never thought that I’d sit at a table with Death, but then again, no one ever thought that.

But here I was, in Creature Cafe, seated in a booth across from a being that made my very soul shiver. And yet, there was a gentleness about them. For all of the terrible things I’d heard and all the fear they’d caused, I wasn’t truly afraid of Death.

I couldn’t really see their face. When I tried to look at them, they were nothing more than a blurred shadow.

“I’m sure you could have had a meeting with the Barista,” I said. “Without kidnapping me.”

A soft chuckle left them. “My agent is not happy to see me. Well, neither of them are. I needed to draw them here. I apologize for removing you forcefully.”

“And scaring me in the middle of the night.” He’d scared the fuck out of me after I’d nearly cried myself to sleep, which was mortifying on several different levels. Steel had left a piece ofclothing in my room, and I’d been cuddled up with it as if it were a baby blanket.

“That too. My apologies.”

I nodded, glancing up and out the window. The rain dripped down the glass, the clouds darker than I’d ever seen them. The thing was, while I had been technically kidnapped,Deathdid not frighten me.

“You wish to ask me something.”

I hesitated, but Death was right. “My wife. When she passed, I wasn’t . . . I wasn’t there for her. I hadn’t slept in four days and my daughters needed me. We took a break. I went out to my car to call them and I fell asleep in the backseat. I . . .” My throat tightened, my voice faltering as tears blurred my vision. I dragged in a breath, sniffling. “I don’t know how you work. You’re not a monster, you’re not a god, but you talk like a human. Were you there? Wassomethingthere? Or do humans just die and turn into nothing?”

Death’s face appeared clearly, and they—he?I wasn’t sure but their face was very handsome—gave me a sad smile. “You may ask her.”

What?Something soft touched my shoulder, a hand. I spun around and went still as I stared up ather.

A sob broke me but before I got up, she slid into the booth next to me, her arms sliding around me. “It’s okay,” she whispered.

It wasn’t okay. I couldn’t even find the right words, I had so much to say and nothing was coming out, nothing was coming up. “I don’t understand,” I cried. “I don’t understand.”

Alia smiled and wiped away my tears. “Death is friendly. I can’t tell you how it works, but it will be okay, Oli. I promise.”

“I love you. I miss you. But I . . .”

Her smile softened and she leaned over, kissing my forehead. “You’ve found happiness again, and that is all I ever wanted for you. Steel is yours just as much as I was.”

“I wasn’t there,” I whispered, everything breaking.

“You were there,” she said gently. “You were there for days by my side. You kept our daughters together. You finished raising them and you did a damn good job.”

I leaned into her, my head spinning. I’d needed to hear this for so long, but when it was all on me, there wasn’t anyone there to tell me thatyes, I did the thing. I did the hardest fucking thing and I survived it.

“Thank you,” I said. “I miss you every day.”

“I know. But now you’re not alone, are you?”

“No,” I whispered, smiling as I thought about Steel. “No, I’m not alone.”

Her hand slid into mine and she gave me a gentle squeeze. “I’ve got to go. I can’t stay on this side for long. But I love you, Oli. Tell our girls I love them.”

I nodded, holding her tight. “I will. I love you.”

I love you.And then I felt her slowly fade, the weight of her presence disappearing, my arms feeling nothing but emptiness. I stared at where she had just been, feeling as if I’d lost her all over again. My body trembled as more tears fell, and I let out another sob.