Page 3 of Shifters Reckoning

Marcus’s sister might be my birth mother. That’s my secret, her earnest voice whispered in my mind. Here, at the end of everything, I wish I had met her… before… before… this.

We should have made the time. Pain poured through our link, and tears welled in my eyes. God… what I wouldn’t give to go back to Vixen’s and Boss’s Buy Fridays.

Despairingly, I could only watch as my mate tried to beat Acheron alone… and destroyed herself piece by piece in the process.

Acheron threw balefire through her side, and she faltered, but she didn’t fall. She exploded the ground beneath the evil mage…

And achieved nothing.

He shrieked, his eyes wide with his madness. Then he launched himself at her, wrapped his hands around her neck, and squeezed. Soon, emptiness was the only thing left of the bond. My eyes slid closed, and I wished for death.

The image winked out.

“Isn’t that a lovely future?” Acheron barked, his face next to mine. His acrid breath burned over my skin and scruff. “I’ve seen the inevitable end to Emma Carter, and with her death, my triumph is assured. The glorious Age of Acheron will soon dawn.”

With a growl, I reached for his deceitful throat, already gleefully anticipating the crunch of his bones under my fingers, but he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving only the acrid taste of his evil in my mouth and in my mind.

Second by second, the shadowy smears whirled around me, faster and faster as though they writhed in anticipation of tainting my soul, yet they came no closer.

Wrath filled me, and I clenched my hands, shaking, convulsing with rage. I intended to erase Acheron from existence. Today, tomorrow, forever, Acheron’s end would become my sole purpose.

Emma, I’ll rid our world of him.

Miles away, Emma focused on a complicated task; her consternation filtered across our bond. The floodgates holding back her magic opened in response to my need, and the sensation of a barrier snapping vibrated through me. A massive amount of energy flooded into her before spilling over into me.

A rush of power engulfed me, and white-hot light slammed into my back, visible in my periphery. It exploded out from my chest, engulfing everything around me in frantic energy.

I will destroy them all.

So much power coursed through me.

So much hate-fueled power.

Not from her. No, not Emma’s.

Mine.

I hated Acheron, despised everything he wanted in the world he intended to build.

My surroundings luminesced in neon outlines. The trees shook, and the earth quaked as though the world itself feared. Bitter bile slammed into the back of my throat.

But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

If the multimorph was my fated mate, then I had dominion over all who might come against her. The natural world would bend to my authority. Every moment, every second had led to this. I stretched out my hands; my fingertips burned as though I’d dipped them in fire.

“Logan,” Olivia shrieked. She charged toward me. “No! Not like this!”

“Get back,” I commanded.

Olivia’s steps faltered, and she dropped to her knees, her head bowed.

Acheron cackled in my head, as though this was all a part of his plan. I had to save Emma from the future without her. All for her.

The air shimmered, and wind rushed inward. Trees exploded in my periphery as the moisture inside them vaporized, sending plumes of dirt upward. I scowled as I sought the hidden molecules of the living dead in the soil.

There you are.

A frenzied smile split my face. I knew who they were, could call them by name, link them to each entry in the list of the lost. Their ghostly faces swam in my head, pleading for salvation from eternal torment. Hot tears leaked from my eyes, searing my cheeks. This was the only redemption I could offer.