Violet's Shadow, page 14
She was saying something to her. Something about hiding in the shadows.
It didn’t make any sense so Rayden stopped struggling so he could hear what Veronica murmured to her. “You are so strong, my daughter. So brave. And a heart filled with compassion. I tried to keep you away from this. To protect you. And the pack. I never wanted anything but to keep all of you safe.” She shook her head and glanced over all the Shadows standing by. Her gaze landed on Rayden and she smiled before looking down at Violet again. “You and your mate deserve a chance. You deserve a life together. A family. And the pack needs you both. Sometimes fate needs a little bit of help. And I’m going to use my gift to make it right.”
A thundercloud formed overhead, throwing the entire courtyard into shadow.
Lightning struck somewhere nearby, and all the hair on Rayden’s body stood on end. “Morrison, what are you doing?”
“It’s not me, man. I’m not doing anything.”
Whatever was happening Veronica controlled it. Darkness fell all around them, as if an eclipse blotted out the sun. Violet’s body arched off the ground, and Rayden fought anew.
“Get off. I have to get to her. I have to—”
A blinding ball of light emanated from the mother-daughter pair, knocking everyone back a step.
Rayden blinked frantically. Scared out of his mind of what he’d find when the white faded from his eyes. Scared to believe. Scared to hope that some miracle could be had and his love would find her way back to him.
There Violet lay with her mother slumped beside her, still holding her hand.
Air filled Violet’s chest as she sucked in a breath and then another as she struggled to sit up. Coughing, she fell down again and turned on her side, facing her mother.
“Let me go.” Rayden told the Shadows holding him. As soon as they complied, Rayden was on his knees at Violet’s side. Holding her up. Holding her close.
She was real.
Alive.
Whole again.
Her fingers curled against his skin and she snuggled into him. He tugged on her hair so he could kiss her lips. To see the life shining in her eyes. Feel her breath whisper past his lips.
“Rayden? What happened? I found a shadow to hide in like you told me, and… ” She moved a bit and looked around. Her gaze landed on her mom. “Mama?” Scrambling to her knees, she took her mom’s hand and squeezed.
Her mother stared at her, so proud. But her skin was completely devoid of color as if it had all been leached away. “You are so brave.”
Violet shook her head, almost violently, wiping at her eyes. “I’m not brave. Not at all. I’m terrified. I have no idea what I’m doing. What happened? The entire pack and all their homes are compromised now. And I’m supposed to save them all? I’m not brave.”
Veronica took a deep breath and touched Violet’s cheek. “Being scared and facing things head-on is the definition of courage, my daughter. You’ve always done it. Always.”
Her hand fell, and Violet caught it before it hit the ground so she could hold it to her cheek. “What happened? How am I here again? I…died.”
“Yes, you did, but I couldn’t let it be the end. I couldn’t let Mathias steal another Alpha from this pack.”
“I hid in the shadows when I couldn’t see anymore. No. I hid in one shadow…”
“The shadow of death,” they whispered together.
Violet seemed to be lost in thought for a few seconds. Maybe a vision. “You brought me back to life.”
“I gave you my shadow. That was my gift.” A faint smile lifted her lips. “I failed you in life too many times to count.”
“You didn’t, Mama. You didn’t.”
“I did. Trying to protect you and all the rest was no excuse. Failure on this was not an option. I couldn’t protect you in life, but thankfully someone else is going to step up to the plate now.” Veronica looked up at Rayden, command clear in her voice. “Take care of her.”
“Gitrbrt.” Forever.
She nodded once and relaxed.
“Don’t go, Mama. Don’t leave me. Not when I need you most.” Violet brushed tears from her mother’s cheeks, imploring her to fight the inevitable.
“I will always be with you in the shadows.” Veronica closed her eyes and uttered her last words. “Love them all, my Violet. Love them like…I couldn’t.”
Between one breath and the next—she was gone.
Simply gone.
At some point, Hannah had sat beside Violet on the other side. Hannah touched Veronica’s leg and her eyes turned white. “You will run, but you will be found. You will hide, but what you protect cannot be hidden. At the end, what you stole will be your legacy as you give it life, again. The shadow of death will keep it safe and then it will take you home.”
Hannah removed her hand from Veronica’s leg and leaned against Violet as she sobbed. “She never left the pack. We were all locked in her heart, kept safe, until she could fulfill her prophecy. Until she could bring you to us where you belong.”
“I’ll make you proud, Mama. I promise.” Violet kissed her mother’s hand and held it close to her heart.
Her howl sliced through Rayden and he held her close.
Her pain would be felt to the ends of time, and Veronica’s sacrifice would be shared for generations.
The pack cried with her, each of them mourning the loss of the Alpha who’d never actually left them.
Violet’s howl stopped abruptly. “I know what I have to do.” Her eyes turned black. Pure black. Pure shadow. She stood, and he let her go.
Stepping to the center of the courtyard, she held her arms out straight and stared up at the sky. Her eyes closed as Rayden stood with Hannah, the hair all over his body stood on end. “What’s she doing?” he asked his sister.
“Saving us all.”
And then the entire compound—
Started—
To—
Shimmer…
Chapter Fourteen
“But what you did is completely impossible!”
Violet smiled again at Hannah’s disbelief. “Yes, it was.”
“Then how did you do it?”
“No clue.”
Hannah shrugged and smiled. “No clue.” She shrugged again and laughed. “And now I can remember things. Prophesies, and we share visions. Again impossible.”
“I’m starting to think there’s no such thing.”
It had been four days since her mother died. It had been four days since she’d sacrificed herself to save her.
It had been four days since Violet shaded the entire compound, and all the Shadows, and everything within its footprint to the banks of a river in central Virginia.
Why there?
She didn’t really know. Probably somewhere she’d read about in school. A place she’d always wanted to visit. Densely forested. Good amount of water. Temperate seasons. Beautiful.
Perfect.
What was truly incredible about the move was all of the infrastructure still worked as well. The utilities. Satellite. Phones.
What Hannah said was true. It was impossible.
She knew it, but she’d done it anyway. Apparently, magic still existed in the world. Much more than any of them thought.
And then they’d buried their dead. Sorrow assailed her, and Hannah gathered her in a hug somehow knowing she needed it. “Wish my mom could have seen it.”
“Are you kidding me? You know she saw it.”
Violet shaded Mathias and the rest of his fallen pack into the shadows when she moved the compound.
He would never touch their home. None of his rogues would find them again. She’d make sure of it.
Then they’d buried their dead. Her mother. Several other pack members. Shadows she’d seen for years but would never get to know.
“Not your fault, nsyr.” Rayden’s voice wrapped around her and soothed her in ways she thought only lived in books.
Hannah stepped away. “I’ll leave you two alone for a minute. We’re ready to start as soon as you are.” She squeezed Violet’s hand one more time, winked at her and then walked away.
They were all in the courtyard again.
But this time it was for something much different. Nerves tingled along her limbs and she nibbled on her lip.
Rayden gathered her close and the fever she hadn’t even known raged through her, dissipated at his touch. “It’s not your fault,” he repeated.
“What’s not? I didn’t say anything.” They’d been together almost every moment since she’d died and came back. He didn’t like to be far from her, and she didn’t mind his nearness at all.
“The ones who died. It’s not your fault. Sometimes fate catches up to us when we least expect it. But I’m learning it’s all the moments leading to it, which are so important. Someone taught me that recently.” He touched his forehead to hers. “And I can hear your thoughts. It’s a mate thing.”
After what had happened, he’d changed, no longer punishing himself for something he had no control over. Amazing the difference when someone wasn’t carting around eight hundred pounds of guilt all the time.
“I can hear yours sometimes too,” she whispered and hugged him closer, inhaling his scent. “I particularly like the ones you have when you’re inside m—”
He kissed her, and she giggled against his lips.
“There you go again. Trying to get my Shadow card revoked.”
“Never.” She kissed him this time. “Just want to share what an amazing Shadow you are. And an amazing mate.”
“Mate.” When he said the word, he closed his eyes and she felt him smile. “I’ll never be able to say thank you enough to your mother for saving you. For bringing you home.”
“You were part of why I survived, lover.”
“How can you say that, much less believe it? I’m the reason you were shot.”
“Mathias. His fault. No one else’s. Do you remember what you told me when you were teaching me how to shade? What the limitations were? What I had to use?”
“Of course. The shadows.”
She nodded and stared up at him. “You said I could escape any situation if I could get to a shadow.”
“But there were no shadows for you to use.”
“Wrong. The shadow of death. That was part of my prophecy and where I hid, because you told me to. It’s the only reason I knew I could use it.”
He palmed her cheek and tucked hair behind her ear. “You floor me with how smart you are. How much you just know about what you are. I was afraid it would be hard for you here after never having any knowledge of what we are.”
“No. Not hard at all.” She thought about how desperately she’d wanted a family. To belong. How she never felt as if she really fit in anywhere else. “I think I’ve lived here my entire life. I just happened to finally find it. My pack.”
“Your pack.” He looked on both sides of them. As the sun started to set, casting everyone in shadow, a hush fell over the assembled crowd. “Ready to make it official? Alpha?”
Knowing her mother had died for her to ascend made her pause.
“I can’t do it.” Panic welled inside her, along with the mating fever and all she wanted to do was run. “What if I let them down? What if I fail them? What if—”
“You are meant for this, for us. To lead us. You’ve clearly proven—”
“But I’m no one.” The confession left her mouth on a wisp of air and she couldn’t call it back.
“Violet. You are everything.”
Silence.
“Everything,” he repeated in her head.
“I’ve waited my entire life to hear that. To hear you.”
“I’ve waited my entire life to find you. As have all of them.” Motioning to the crowd, slowly, Shadow by Shadow, they all bowed and knelt to pledge their allegiance to her.
“I’ve been alone for so long.”
He kissed her and then turned her to face the crowd. Standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders. “And you will never be alone again.”
“Promise?” The needy question floated to him, and she looked over her shoulder to see his answer.
His growl vibrated against her backbone. “Yes, my love. I promise. And you remember rule number two?”
She smiled. “No lying. And rule number sixty-nine?”
The mating scent filled the air between them. “Fuck. Yes.”
Hannah walked up, holding a knife. She’d explained the ritual earlier in the day so Violet knew what was coming. “Ready?”
Violet took the handle of the blade that had been used at every ascension ceremony since the Shadows were created eons before. Holding up her hand, she uncurled her fingers to expose her palm.
Staring at her hand made her think of her mother and the scar on her palm she’d blamed on a knife slipping when she was cooking years before.
But now she knew the truth.
And she’d never been more proud to follow in her footsteps.
“I’ve never been so sure of anything. With you both by my side—” She sliced her palm and black blood rose to the surface. Shadow blood. “—I can do anything.”
And every time she’d look at it, she’d think of her mom and the gift she gave her.
Hoots and hollers filled the open courtyard.
Hannah took the knife from her, sliced one of her palms and then her eyes turned white.
The assembled pack members went quiet, each of them focused on the Oracle’s hand now hovering several inches above Violet’s.
Blood rose from Violet’s hand as the Oracle’s twined with it.
It was white.
Pure white.
Their blood wound around one another, making a helix, but they didn’t mix.
“It is time,” the Oracle avowed. She faced Violet, the weight of the moment held her in place as she stared into the eyes of her friend.
“I pledge myself to you. My Alpha.” She spoke it out loud, and something joined the connection they shared. Power. Trust. Love.
One by one each Shadow disappeared and then reappeared back in the same spot they’d just left. They shaded. One right after another, but they shaded through the helix, leaving a tiny piece of their shadow behind.
“I pledge myself to you.” It was a whisper in her head, but it was as clear as if they’d spoken it in front of her.
Adrenaline raced through Violet, as Shadow after Shadow accepted her as their Alpha.
Their gifts filtered into her mind, even the ones who didn’t know what their gifts were yet. They were there. Tiny bundles of hope and faith trapped in her blood. She knew them. Felt their fears, their joys. Their successes. Failures.
Everything their pack would be and could be filled her up.
The weight of the responsibility didn’t weigh her down. It boosted her higher, how each of them believed in her. Pledging themselves to her wasn’t something they took lightly. They truly believed she was there to lead them into the next age of Shadows.
As each of them passed through the blood, it slowly mixed, slowly turning to grey. Slowly changing into the color of shadows.
One Shadow was left.
One.
Rayden stepped in front of her, kneeling before her, before the entire pack, as he pledged his life to her. To the pack. Just as the rest of them had.
But it was more from him. She knew it as he stared into her eyes. And then he shaded.
He was pledging his love to her. His fealty as her mate.
She sucked in a sharp breath as his shadow entered the helix.
“U eukk kibr tiy. I will love you. Sbf gibit tiy. And honor you. Gitrbrt. Forever. Nt nsyr. My mate.”
Forever, she mouthed as he materialized before her again. Gitrbrt.
“It is done,” the Oracle proclaimed. She removed her hand, but the shadowed blood remained, glowing as her eyes did. Then it seeped inside the gash on her palm. The Oracle ran her finger along the cut, sealing the pack inside her.
Howls broke the still night as the blood spread through her system. She felt each of them rush through her veins. Each member of the pack.
No.
Of her pack.
Pain sliced through her and her wolf broke free.
Limitless possibilities lay out before her. There was nothing she couldn’t do. Nowhere she couldn’t travel. Nothing she couldn’t become.
She reared back and pounced, toppling Rayden over until he was pinned on his ass. Licking his cheek, she knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
It was confirmed when he laughed, and she jumped off before he could capture her.
He rolled to his side, shifting into a dark grey wolf as he stalked closer. “Something you need, nsyr?”
There was one more thing that needed to happen. Something else she wanted from him. Needed from him to be complete.
“Yes. I want to be mated this night. But I’m not going to make it easy for you.”
“And you think you have a choice, my Alpha?” He lunged for her, but she was ready for him.
At a full out sprint, she took off across the courtyard amongst the laughter of the pack.
“Catch me if you can!”
Chapter Fifteen
He caught her in the woods. Pinned her down and they shifted back for him to take her. To claim her.
Rayden came inside her. He’d rolled her over onto her stomach, thrusting into her wet sex until she shattered all around him. Her pussy clamping down on him, trapping him inside her so she could take all his seed. It was hers. And hers alone.
And he whispered his love as he filled her.
Every thrust pushed her closer to some kind of heaven she hoped she was always worthy of.
The sounds they made would stay with her for the rest of her life. Sounds of love and gratitude and thankfulness.
However long fate graced her with this second chance she would thank her lucky stars every day. And she wouldn’t take things for granted. Not the man inside her. Not the grass beneath her scarred palm. Or the memory of her mother saving her or her dying words to love the pack.
She would love them and protect them and lead them. And she would make them proud.
Rayden helped her dress again and then they shaded into the courtyard hand in hand. Rayden picked her up, and everyone smiled at them as they passed by.
