laughed, then whimpered. “Fuck, that hurts like a bitch.”

Climbing into the back of the car, Logan maneuvered his mate into his lap. “I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.

“I’m holding on,” she replied shakily.

With Tyler behind the wheel and a tearful Regan in the passenger seat, Bass patted the hood before it drove away and turned back to assess the scene.

Many other vehicles followed, taking their injured home until all that remained where the bodies of their dead and the few who stood over them in silent mourning.

They’d won the war, but it had come at a cost that would hang over them long into the future, darkening the hearts of many. Holes had been punctured into his family, which could never be replaced. Parents had lost sons and daughters, and sons and daughters had lost their parents. Mothers, fathers, siblings, friends, lovers, mates, each and every one of them would be remembered and honored as the days slipped into weeks. Bass would carry them all within him, his alpha heart missing vital pieces. And never would he forget the sacrifices made for him and his mate.

Chapter 58

Eva

John was the blood in her veins, the beat of her heart. She’d watched mates with envy and fascination, never truly comprehending what it meant to be bonded to someone’s soul. But even as his lifeforce flowed through her heart, beating it for her as her blood seeped from her wounds, another presence invaded her body and controlled her mind, until the pain became sharper, scents stronger, and a hunger awakened within her as wild and savage as the man she loved.

Come on, sis. I can’t lose you too….

Little brother.

She sensed others too, but it was like reaching through a veil, the outside world just out of her grasp.

There was movement, pain, and then the small, tender touch of a boy who owned her heart as much as John. But Eva’s eyes wouldn’t open, and as snarls and shouts filled her ears, Eva was buried under a fresh wave of darkness.

***

John….

He was there, his touch, his scent, far richer than the presence of him in her every cell.

Attacked… clawed… changing her DNA….

Words flowed through her brain, but none of it was solid. Mere whispers of a world she wasn’t sure she belonged to anymore.

***

“Oh, Evaline, I’m so sorry.”

Dad….

“I came as soon as Zac said Katalina was taken. I was such an idiot, Eva. Please, I can’t lose you too. Come back to me, baby girl.”

Dad, I’m right here. But her mouth wouldn’t move, her eyes wouldn’t open. Tears hit her skin, her father’s cries of heartbreak hurting her own, but the veil was too thick, and it wouldn’t let her go.

Chapter 59

John

He’d been unconscious for one day, but as Eva’s body began to heal, the draw Eva had on his energy dwindled until he was fully awake. Cut and bruised from the war, John watched his mate and wondered if she’d ever wake again. And if she did, would she be the woman he’d fallen in love with or as mad as the wolves Castor had turned against their will.

It would be ironic if the shifter gene that healed her wounds and saved her life also killed her at the same time. It would be his own personal hell to have a woman who looked and smelled like his Evaline but acted like an untamed beast, her humanity all but lost.

“Matty’s asking for you,” Zackary murmured as he knocked on the bedroom door. “I can sit with her a while, if you like?”

With a sigh, John heaved his tired body out of the chair and faced the teen who’d become his family. “Okay.”

“John?” he called as John reached the door.

“Hmm?”

“I made it, and so will Eva. My sister, she’s far stronger than me. You’ll see.”

Nodding, John found a smile for the teen before he left the bedroom and found Mathew playing quietly on the floor by the sofa, a car in his hand. The little boy had grown quieter since the attack, his words reduced to single-worded whispers.

“Hey, buddy, can I play?”

Looking up, Mathew passed him another car. “Eva?” he asked quietly.

“Still sleeping,” he replied, ruffling his dark locks.

Mathew stared, big eyes glassy for a moment before he blinked it away and returned to his game. John folded himself onto the floor beside him and pushed his car along, making pretend engine noises as he did, and although he smiled and played, John couldn’t forget about Eva laying as if sleeping in their bed. Wondering if she really was as strong as her brother or if she’d wake a shell of herself, hating the thing she’d been turned into.

So much change. So much loss. Eva had suffered far too much, but through it all, she’d been determined to finish her degree and find a way to become a vet, but this hurdle might put a stop to all her dreams. John could only blame himself. He’d known how fragile she was when he’d first laid eyes on her and wanted her anyway. He’d kept her here, and if he hadn’t, she’d have been safe away at college, unharmed and unchanged. His choices had been selfish, and they might very well be the mistake that cost him his mate.

***

Two nights later, John first felt her touch within his mind before her hand reached out to find his.

“John?” she whispered so faintly, he wasn’t sure if he imagined it.

“Evaline?” He squeezed her hand and reached over with the other to flick the lamp on. “Evaline?”

Her eyes found his, squinting in the low light. “Everything is so loud and bright,” she murmured, screwing up her nose. “And smells….” She sat upright. “You’re bleeding.”

Shifting back onto his elbow, John pulled the hem of his

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