Lara’s arms wrapped around her. “Elise. Oh, Elise, I thought you’d …” She trailed off as she choked on her tears.
“Cross!” Aunt Meredith also came running at them and embraced Cross as she began to bawl. “What are you wearing?” Her tears halted as she cocked her head at her son’s formal evening wear. Then she glanced at Elise and Julianna, who were both wearing satin ballgowns. “Wait, what are you all wearing? And Julianna—your hair!”
“What happened?” Lucas Anderson’s voice was calm, though it had the unmistakable power of an Alpha. Elise’s heart sank, as her thoughts once again went to Reed.
“It’s a long story.” Julianna sighed and scratched at her scalp. “A very long story.” When she met Elise’s gaze, her expression turned sympathetic.
Grant Anderson pulled his daughter into a fierce hug. “But you were only gone a minute or two.”
“Like she said,” Cross said. “It’s a very long story.”
Daric came forward and untangled his wife’s arms from his son, then pulled him into a hug. “Then perhaps you should begin.”
Cross began to tell them all that had transpired in the last two weeks—at least it had been two weeks for them, because apparently, no time had passed for the people in the present. Elise sank deeper into her mother’s arms, trying to stop herself from crying out in agony as she thought of Reed. I’m sorry, my love, she said silently. I couldn’t change the past, and I couldn’t stop time.
“That’s incredible!” Meredith exclaimed. “So, he’s dead? You’re sure?”
“Elise burned him up.”
Lara suddenly stiffened, and she pulled back from her daughter. Her expression changed as she looked down at her and Elise’s linked hands. “Darling! You’re not wearing gloves!” Lara’s hands tightened around her bare hands. “Oh my … you’ve done it. You’ve learned how to control your powers.”
Elise didn’t even realize it. “Mom,” she whispered as she touched her cheek to Lara’s. It felt so good, feeling her mother’s bare skin. “Oh, Mom. I have something I need to tell you.”
“Whatever you want, darling.” Lara was crying, tears streaked down her smooth cheeks. “Tell me. What is it?”
“There was someone—”
A loud growl interrupted her, and every single Lycan in the room went on full alert. They all turned to the source of the sound—a large, gray wolf slowly padding toward them.
“Who the hell is that?” Lucas asked.
Beside him, his mate, Sofia frowned. “He’s not one of yours?”
He shook his head. “I don’t recognize him.”
“I thought …” Sofia’s expression turned serious. “He was outside, begging to be let in, so I let him inside!”
“You what?” Lucas’s eyes began to glow as he turned toward the unknown wolf. “Get him!”
Several of the Lycans approached the wolf, but stopped as it began to shift. Slowly, limbs began to shorten and fur receded into skin.
When the man stood up, Elise felt her heart slam into her chest.
She was dreaming.
This wasn’t real.
It can’t be.
He died.
“Reed?” The name came out like a rasp.
Brilliant onyx eyes turned to her. “Elise.”
She broke away from her mother’s arms and began to walk toward him. Everyone was talking around them, but she didn’t hear anything. The only thing she could focus on was Reed standing right there in the room. As she drew closer, her eyes devoured the sight of him. She recognized his handsome face, though half of it was covered with a thick beard. When she was inches away, she focused on his chest and let out a gasp. There was a large scar on his chest that wasn’t there before. She reached out to touch it, feeling the long, raised bump under her fingers. “Is it really you?”
He smiled. “Yes, love, it’s me.” He sucked in a breath and wrapped a hand around her wrist. “I’ve been waiting so long for you.”
The ache in his tone was so real, she had to believe it. “Reed.”
Strong arms came around her and pulled her to him. His firm lips came on top of hers in a desperate kiss, like he was a man drowning and she was his only source of air. His scent, oh his delicious scent, tickled her nose, and her wolf came alive knowing their mate was here. “I love you,” she whispered when he pulled away for a second. “I only said I didn’t because I knew you were going to die.”
“Ahem.”
They turned and saw Lara with her arms crossed and a delicate brow raised. “Will one of you please explain?”
“Hello, Your Grace,” Cross said as he approached them. “Welcome to the future.”
“I believe ‘welcome back’ is more appropriate at this moment,” Reed replied. “And please, you don’t have to call me that. It’s just Reed now. Reed Wakefield.”
“I don’t understand,” Elise said. “I saw you. You died. And now you’re here!”
“I’m not sure what happened myself,” Reed began. “I felt the dagger in my chest and then the lightning—er, electricity—flowing through me. Then I was going through this tunnel and then I landed on the street. Little did I know I was in the East Village.”
“You arrived in New York with us?” Elise said. “How did you come here so quickly?”
“Elise, love.” He took her hands in his. “I landed in New York all right. About three months ago.”
“Three months?” She felt her jaw drop to the ground. “Why did you just come now? What have you been doing? Why didn’t you get help from the clan?”
He chuckled. “Can you imagine how that would sound? That I was a Lycan from two hundred years in the past? No one would believe me.” His voice turned somber. “I didn’t believe you.”
He was right, though. If Reed came to her months ago, she would have thought he was a crazy person. “But, all this time …”
“It was worth it,” he said, beaming at her. “It was the middle of winter when I found myself on the street, bleeding to death. These kind gentlemen saw me and brought me to the emergency room. After I got patched up, the same people
