Elizabeth took a step toward me, her bare feet sinking into the snow. Her skin was pebbled with gooseflesh, but she moved with great deliberation until she stood before me. She trailed her fingers along my injured arm, running along the tattoos. The runes and roses glowed under her touch. She looked up at me, and there was never a moment in my life I wanted to protect her more than I did right then. “He found you again.”
I nodded, unable to speak.
“Did he speak to you?”
“He said he loves us,” I said quietly. “Loves you. And that I was his witch.”
Carter tilted his head back and howled mournfully. The timber wolf whined and rubbed against his side. The Omegas seemed agitated at the sound, but they stayed away, still moving slowly in a circle around us.
“You see now, don’t you?” Elizabeth asked, reaching up to cup my face. Her hands w
ere warm and kind.
“I think so. It… hurts. To know what I’ve lost. What we’ve lost. It hurts.”
“And it will. Maybe forever.” Her thumbs brushed over my cheeks. “But it will become a part of you, and one day it’ll be bearable.” A single tear fell from her eye. “But you will never forget your Alpha.”
“He said he was proud of me,” I whispered, fearing that saying it any louder would make it untrue.
And oh, how she smiled. “He is, Gordo. As am I. As we all are. You were lost, I think. For a long time. But you have found your way home. Though it was not without consequence.”
I winced. “That might be an understatement.”
“I know. But we will figure it out. We always do. You’re not alone, Gordo. And I promise you that you never will be.”
She stepped away, dropping her hands from my face. I watched as she shifted in front of me, and I remembered being told that it was easier to deal with grief as a wolf. Human emotions were complex. Wolf instincts were not. She was blue, so blue, but mixed in was green, wrapping around her, keeping her safe. She nosed Mark’s throat before she went to stand back next to Carter, who licked one of her ears.
“We will stay here,” Aileen said quietly. “Clean up what remains. There are enough of us who have come to Green Creek to rebuild your wards while you do what you must. Nothing will escape, not while we stand watch. You have many allies, Alpha Matheson, whether you realize it or not. You must remember this, because there will come a time when it’ll seem that the whole world is against you. You have powerful enemies. But I can see your strength. I will pray that it is enough to do what you must.”
Ox nodded. “Thank you. For coming for my witch. For us.”
“Peace, Alpha. May your pack one day know peace.” She stepped back.
Patrice reached up and rubbed his thumb over Ox’s forehead. A little trail of light formed a symbol on Ox’s brow, an inverted S. The Omegas rumbled around us. Carter yipped. Mark growled at my side.
Ox breathed in deeply. His eyes burned. “What did you do?”
“Focus,” Patrice said. “Dat’s focus. Dere tied to you, Alpha. All of dem. It’ll pull harder den you ever imagined. Tightened those bonds a bit. Not much, but it’s da best I can do.”
Ox bowed his head in deference. “Thank you.”
The witches moved away from us. The Omegas parted, letting them pass through without incident. They moved toward the bridge.
“Gordo.”
“Oxnard.”
“I—you need—”
“Shut up, Ox.”
He frowned. “It’s not—”
“Would you do the same for me?”
“Always.”
“Then shut up.”