by Connor Crowe
Arric placed his hand on the orb, palm down. The moment he did so it lit up with a pale blue light, emanating from just under his fingertips. I gasped and took a step back, stunned. I wasn’t the only one.
Blue light swum like an ocean inside the orb, suddenly alive with power and energy. My heart thrummed in my ears and the air turned electric. Even the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
“Next up,” Lorsa continued in that same wispy tone. “We will need fire.”
That meant me.
My mind raced through the possibilities. I was one of the only fire type shifters in the pack. The only other one would be...Elliot, maybe?
“I’ll do it.”
Speak of the devil. Elliot strode forward, his steps sure and careful.
“No!” I cried out before I could stop myself. Arric was already up there. Not Elliot, too!
That was supposed to be me. I winced with guilt and watched him climb the stairs. I should have volunteered. I should have said something. Elliot had a kid, for fire’s sake. What would happen to little Ivy if they failed?
I thought about calling out to him, but he’d already joined the crew on the platform. I held my breath and waited. He nodded to Arric and joined him on the other side, placing his hand atop his mate. Elliot’s fingers interlocked with Arric’s and splayed across the orb.
The blue light changed and brightened at Elliot’s touch, and then it changed. Tendrils of fire wove through the stormy blue. Sparks of red and orange ignited the blues and greens, pulsing with newfound energy. If it had captured my attention before, now I was completely enraptured. The colors danced and swirled like they had a mind of their own, and there were still two elements left to go...
“So far, so good,” Tristan muttered next to me. I squeezed his hand and let out a breath. He would be next.
“The element of air!” Lorsa called out, and Tristan gave me a last longing look.
“You don’t have to go,” I whispered. “If something happened to you...”
“I’ll be fine,” Tristan promised me. “I’m doing this for us.”
James and I both gave him a hug, then he turned toward the platform and raised his hand.
“I volunteer,” he said without an inch of hesitation. “For the good of the pack.”
27
Tristan
I approached the platform as if in a trance. One foot in front of the other. Each step brought me closer to the pulsing, glowing orb of light. Each step led me closer to our fate.
Lorsa, Felix, and Markus welcomed me as I took the stage. Elliot and Arric were already there, holding the orb across from one another, their fingers interlinked. They were mates, though. Would the process be the same?
Arric and Elliot smiled at me when I approached. They didn’t seem worried. In fact, I felt nothing but love and gratitude pouring from the orb and from their selves. Were they under some kind of spell?
I put that thought aside when Felix joined me, pointing to a position on the stage next to Arric. “Right there,” he said. “Just place your hand on the orb and feel the energy of your element. Feel it flowing through you, and let it flow into the Key.”
“Does it...hurt?” I asked.
“Course not,” Felix assured me. “Does breathing hurt?”
I shook my head.
“It’s no more serious than that. Just focus on the element and your shifter will do the rest.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay.” Felix led me into position between Arric and Elliot. At this close range, a mixture of heat and power spilled off the orb and into the air. I almost would have expected it to be smoking. But what caught my eye more than anything was the storm of colors inside the glass sphere.
It had been beautiful from the back of the crowd, but up here standing right next to it—it was like looking into a tiny galaxy. I lost myself in each swirl, each movement. A light breeze tickled the back of my neck.
Was it breathing?
I stuck out my hand, calling to mind all the times I’d shifted and flown. “Please let this work,” I breathed in silent prayer, then touched the glass.
A spark fled from the glass up my arm. It didn’t hurt, no more than a bit of static would, but it definitely woke my gryphon. I could hear his screech. Feel the power within me. I called upon that with all I had, and tried to envision it flowing into the orb.
Air, air, air, think of air...
Flying. Trees. The starless night sky. The full moon.
Ataraxis.
Another spark, and then something else. A pulling sensation I couldn’t name. I clung to the glass like a magnet. My gryphon spread his wings and bright, silvery threads flowed into the orb, mixing with the blues and reds. The elements swarmed and danced like some kind of magical hurricane. They shifted and drifted like so many clouds in the sky. The light inside grew brighter still, till I had to squint my eyes against its power.
“One more,” I heard someone whisper. “One more.”
I tried to remember what was left, but every thought anchored on the storm in front of me. Fire, water, air...what was the fourth one again?
“Earth.”
“What do you mean we don’t have an earth shifter?” Lorsa’s panicked voice cut through my mind’s muddy haze. “I thought we had all four elements here!”
My heart thudded in time with each pulse of the Key. I couldn’t come up with an answer, but there had to be something...
“Did you really start all this knowing we wouldn’t have representatives from the four elements?” That was Markus’ voice, and he wasn’t happy.
Felix jumped on the defensive. “We found the Fist of the Mountain in the Black Hands compound, remember? They had already stolen it by that point.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, Felix.” Even through the roaring of light and energy his warning growl rung true.
“I had a plan for just this contingency.” Felix’s words jumped off his tongue like sparks fleeing a campfire. “If you’ll also remember who used the Fist to help us escape.”
“You?” Markus asked. “You’re not even an earth type.”
Felix crossed his arms. “That didn’t seem to matter then. Who’s to say it matters now?”
“This isn’t something we can mess up, Felix...” Markus gripped his mate by the shoulders. “I can’t have anything happen to you.”
Felix shrugged away, his gaze defiant. “Wasn’t I the one that proposed all this in the first place? Haven’t my gifts allowed us to understand the Keys better than ever before?”
“Yes, Felix, but...”
“You forget that’s why they sent me here in the first place to steal the Eye of the Ocean. Because I know these things. It’s my ‘treasure sense’, for lack of a better word. I was able to understand and use it last time. Give me a chance to do it again.”
A short, tense silence followed, broken only by the electric zaps shooting out of the orb. Finally, Markus relented, pulling his mate in for a hug.
“I trust you, Felix. If you’re sure, then I’m sure. Go ahead.” He paused for a moment. “Make us proud.”
“I won’t let you down,” Felix promised. He kissed his mate and stepped toward the podium. “Everyone doing all right?” He asked us.
I nodded. Arric and Elliot said “yes”, both at the same time.
“Here we go,” Felix announced. He outstretched his arm, hovering above the orb. “Hold on tight. Things might get weird.”
Weird? I was about to ask him what he meant by that, but Felix placed his hand on the orb, completing the circuit.
Green light arced from his fingertips and shot through the glass. It spread in a splintered pattern through the other colors...almost like roots. The colors swirled and combined in one final dance, mixing together to make the brightest, purest white. It glowed brighter and brighter still, imprinting on me like a flashbulb.
I closed my eyes and winced away, but still it shone. Still I could see that cursed light burning through my eyelids...
And it wasn’t done.
The ground began to shake. The trees rattled. The ground swayed like an ocean. I flailed out for an anchor and found nothing—only the orb and its blinding light.
Wind came next. A loud gale out of nowhere whooshed through the courtyard and fluttered my clothes, blew my hair into my face, then hit me full on in the chest. I couldn’t see but I fell backward with the force of it, landing with a yelp on my backside.
Oh god. My mates! I had to get to James and Hugo. In that terrible moment, fear and agony overwhelmed. This was it. This was the end.
All I could feel was the prickling stings of power. All I could see was the blinding white light. And all around us, the ground shook and wind blew.
As if all of nature rose up against us.
Thunder rumbled through the sky and echoed all the way down to my bones. The shaking slowed, then stilled. Stars danced before my eyes, but my vision began to clear. My hands clamped into fists and my nails dug into my palms. That little bit of pain grounded me while I took a deep breath and looked up to the podium.
The glass orb floated above the platform now. It bobbed up and down like waves in the ocean, its light coming and going at a similar pulse. Not only did each of our elemental colors swirl within the glass, so did every other color of the rainbow. It shone impossibly bright, impossibly beautiful, pulsing and floating like it was alive.
Another thunder clap shook the courtyard and red, fiery energy rose up from the depths, sparking and spitting like a firework. I scrambled backward just in time. Glowing embers tumbled to the platform while flames rose.
I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got to get back to my mates—this thing is gonna blow!
I scrambled to my feet, still dizzy and half-blind, but a final burst of thunder rattled the ground once more.
Then it began to rain.
Fat, soothing drops tumbled from the sky, splashing onto the platform and all around us. It sizzled away the burnt spots. Washed away the dust and grime. As I looked up to the sky and felt the drops on my face, the fear I had felt only moments before fled into the clouds.
Rebirth. That’s the word that kept playing in my mind. I glanced back at the platform where the Key stood. Finally, it sunk back to its original position. It still glowed and pulsed with color and light, but it no longer hurt to look at. It was almost…relaxing, in a way.
The raindrops fell and covered the courtyard, picking up as the seconds ticked on. I looked out over the crowd, searching for my mates.
And there they were, smiling up at me with sodden clothes and dripping hair. They were okay. Everyone, from the look of it, still stood strong. Unharmed.
In fact, they smiled. They cheered. They looked on in reverence and joy and ferocious, unfettered relief.
The children squealed with delight, little hands splaying out to catch the raindrops. Felix and Markus embraced. Arric and Elliot simply sat on the ground, leaning against one another for support.
Lorsa looked to the sky with awe and jubilation, muttering a silent litany of thanks. For more than one of us—myself included—I was pretty sure those weren’t just raindrops running down our faces.
We had made it.
The four elements, together at last.
“It is done,” Lorsa whispered, still clasping at her amulet.
They’d actually pulled it off.
I blinked through the rain at the glowing Key. The onlooking villagers. The children. My mates.
I’d spent so much time worrying about the what-ifs that I’d never even gotten this far. If the Key did work…what then?
“Is everyone okay?” Markus asked. He came around to check on each of us. When he reached me he shook my hand, then pulled me in for an embrace.
“Thank you,” Markus said with a relieved sigh, “most of all.”
I drew back. “Me? Why me?”
Markus tilted his head, glancing at my mates then back up at the Key. “Because without you, none of this would have been possible. It was your knowledge, your bravery, and your sacrifice. And Tristan, I hope this will be a new beginning for all of us. I want you to go and have the very best life with your mates that you can.”
Deep, swelling gratitude started in my heart and pulsed outward, destroying all the aches and pains. Removing the tension and fear and stress. In its place was ease. Peace.
Hope, at long last.
“Go to your men.” Markus waved. “We can take it from here.”
I bowed my head and thanked him again. I turned to leave, but I had one more question.
“So, um…what are we going to do now? With the Key, I mean. If it really does work?”
Felix joined Markus and took his hand. The two of them watched me fondly, like a parent proud of their child.
“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Felix promised me. “We’ve got a few ideas.”
Taking that feeling with me, I turned from the stage and pressed through the crowd, ready to be in my mates’ arms at last.
28
James
Two Weeks Later
It would be wrong of me to say that things were getting back to normal. Just what was normal, anyway? Especially in this rag-tag group of misfits.
But we’d persisted. After the ritual to create a replacement Key, things began to change. Fast.
The soil and stockpiles dried up after laying waterlogged for so long. We didn’t have to wade through ankle deep mud to get to certain parts of the village, and some of the others had even begun planting crops again.
The sun shone down on us with favor each day, and every time that I woke up next to my men, I thanked my lucky stars. Everything really had worked out in the end.
Markus and the rest of the higher-ups created a temple of sorts to house the Key, just outside pack lands. It wasn’t much—at least, not at this stage, but the sight of it still filled my heart with joy.
A simple stone cairn encased the Key. Tall pillars of oak drew out a circle around it. At the right time of day, the shadows and angle of light from the sun reflected onto the cairn, spreading a rainbow of light over the landscape.
What could I say? It was beautiful.
The power of the Key couldn’t be held or controlled by one person or even one pack. That’s why we’d created a place for it to thrive—for all to enjoy. Did that mean we didn’t expect thieves or wrongdoers? Not at all. But if there was anything I’d learned through the trials we’d faced, it was that this kind of power could never be owned. It was meant to be there for everyone, regardless of their wealth or affiliation.
I had just come back from helping Markus at the temple when I saw my two mates sharing breakfast. My stomach grumbled at the sight—guess I was more hungry than I realized.
“Oh, there you are!” Tristan looked up from his meal. “Another one of those early morning runs?”
I nodded. “Just helping out Markus with a few things. What’s for breakfast? I’m starving.”
Hugo pushed a plate toward me. “Carnivore’s breakfast—bacon and sausage with gravy. We saved you something. Thought we were gonna have to eat without you.”
“And what a crime that would be.” I chuckled and sat down next to them. The smell of bacon and sausage assaulted my nostrils, stronger than I’d ever noticed before. My mouth watered—even had my wolf salivating in anticipation.
I had to remember to eat next time.
I was only a few bites in when a knock came at the door. I turned to my mates, raising an eyebrow. “We expecting anyone?”
Tristan shook his head. “Not this early.”
“I’ll go check,” Hugo offered. “I’m done eating anyway.” He got up and walked over to the door, wiping his hands on his pants before opening it.
“Hello? Oh…right now? Really? Well that’s wonderful. Do you mind if we drop by later?”
I couldn’t hear who was on the other side of the door, but they finished their conversation soon enough. Hugo returned to the table, beaming with excite
ment.
“What?” I asked around a mouthful of sausage.
“Kit and Lionel are up in the medical ward. He’s finally giving birth!”
We had a couple things to finish up around the house, but promised we’d make an appearance later that day. After all, Kit and Lionel needed some alone time to bond with their child before the whole pack came pouring in.
I was happy for them, I was, but the announcement had me feeling hollow. A pit in my stomach I didn’t know existed ached and cramped, longing for that same experience.
Tristan, Hugo, and I had barely talked about having children. I knew that Tristan was barren—just one part of his many insecurities—but as far I knew I had no such condition. Theoretically, I could conceive. But that’s all it was. Theory.
Hugo had knotted in me only once, and that was the night we first had sex. If I had gotten pregnant from that, I would have felt something by now. We hadn’t had much time to fully knot one another since then, but the thought still remained.
Could we—or even, should we, have children?
As we headed to the nursery, I put that thought aside. We needed to talk, and soon, but for now I would focus on Kit and the new arrival. They deserved nothing less.
When we arrived, the nurse on duty stopped us. I’d worked with Lana before, and even though she did a great job, she was a stickler for the rules. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Visiting hours just ended, and the little one needs some sleep. Not to mention the fathers.”
“What? No, they’re expecting us. Can’t you let us in for a few minutes, Lana?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”
I groaned. “Look, you know we’ve been out of town for a long time. And you know me, you know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt them. Are you sure you can’t make an exception?” I tried to give her my sweetest, most innocent smile.
