Sally made her mind focus even more. She sought out more of the minds around the compound. She was shocked by what she found. She slipped into the mind of a man who had been blackmailed into being a part of the Order. They’d killed nearly all of his family, and they’d been holding his only child captive for over a century. He’d nearly reached the point of losing hope, but there was still a part of him that believed the Order wouldn’t succeed. He hadn’t been in the battle at the Keep, but he’d known of Vasile, the most powerful alpha in all of the Canis lupus world. He had hope that there was no way the Order could defeat the great wolf. But then she saw the light in him dwindle more when he heard the news that was apparently traveling around the compound. The great alpha pair had been killed. Don’t give up. Sally hoped he would feel her encouragement and keep the light inside of him from being extinguished.
Her mind moved on to the next person, and she found a female wolf. She’d been taken by the Order during the werewolf wars when things were chaotic and no one was focused on the Order. She’d been coerced into believing their lies, but over the decades, she’d begun to realize that their intentions were not what she’d been led to believe. Now, she wanted out, but she was trapped. They would never let her leave alive. She’d signed up willingly, and there was no getting out. Sally grabbed hold of the light in her and pulled.
On and on, she found person after person who didn’t truly hold any loyalty to the Order but felt they had no choice but to serve the organization. Yet their spirits refused to give up completely. They still had hope. Sally took the light from that hope and continued to pull it to her. When she felt as if she was about to burst from the inside out, and she couldn’t see how she could possibly take any more, she focused on herself. She ran through all the memories of her life and grabbed onto the good ones. Then, she sought out every horrible thing she’d been through, because even in those situations, light or goodness had come out of the tragedy. There were things that kept her from sinking into the darkness and giving up. She thought about her best friends, Jen and Jacque—the two people who’d been with her through it all and had stood firm next to her, never letting her go. She thought about their mates, the amazing men who loved them. Though they weren’t perfect, they refused to give up on their relationships, even when it got hard. Then she remembered Vasile and Alina, two of the most amazing people she’d ever met. They’d loved with their whole hearts. They’d given everything they could to save those they loved. The light in them was so strong that they were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice.
“Now let it go,” the Great Luna breathed into Sally. The goddess’s light filled any remaining doubts and worries, and then Sally pushed the light outward, picturing in her mind the light as a huge tidal wave. She pushed and imagined it rushing through the room, out the door and cracks and any tiny spot that it could travel through, completely engulfing the building. She saw it flowing down the halls, completely overtaking the floors, walls, and ceilings. It ran over every person it came in contact with, knocking them over as it hit them. The light burst through doors, slamming them open as it went. Any shadow was completely illuminated as the light unfurled.
Sally opened her eyes, and all she could see was light so pure it wasn’t even yellow. It was a shining, dazzling, iridescent white. It was so breathtakingly beautiful that it was nearly painful to look at.
She didn’t have time to enjoy it because a second later Jen burst through their opened door. She had a wide-eyed Thia in her arms, and her eyes were glowing bright with her wolf.
“Costin, you got Titus?” Jen rushed over to Sally.
“Yes,” Costin said as he picked up their son.
“Excellent,” Jen grinned, and the sight was a tad creepy. She pushed Thia into Sally’s arms. “You take mini-me and get her the hell out of dodge.”
Thia yelled, “Hell,” at the same time Sally yelled, “Jen!” But her best friend had already turned