greet Atlas. We work together to finish off the zombies, but my mind is on my mate, and I leave the last few to him and rush to her side. I owe him for protecting my mate, but all I care about right now is her. I drop to my knees, my eyes wide and hands hesitating as I reach for her.
Nothing can kill Remi, she is a fucking hunter, a badass, yet fear fills me. She did it for me, to protect me. She took this for me so I wouldn’t have to try and kill Lilith. I’m terrified I’ve lost her. But then I hear a sluggish beat of her heart. With a shaky breath, I gather her to my chest and kiss her head. I never thought I could kill my sister, but when I saw Remi fall, I knew I would slay her to save my mate.
“I’ve got you, amore, I’m here. I’m here, you’ll be okay. I’ll get you somewhere safe, just rest and relax,” I promise as I get to my feet and turn to Atlas, who’s standing over the bodies of the zombies. He holds a heart in his hand, which he tosses to the ground before he looks back at me. His bald head shines in the sun that’s peeking through the clouds now that she’s gone. Lilith, not she. His expression is determined, stern, his lips are turned down, and his jaw is covered in stubble. He looks different than when I last saw him. His long warrior braids are gone, and he’s bigger, huge even for him. He glances at my mate, his hands shaking at his sides as he flicks off the blood.
“Is she okay?” he asks, his voice deep like crashing rocks.
“She will be. We need a safe place where she can rest, shift, and heal,” I answer, unsure what else to say. We so easily fell back into the same pattern, fighting side by side. We always excelled at that part, but this, working and talking together, is what we failed at as family.
He nods and looks around. “She’s gone. Come on, I know a place, and I’ll answer all those questions I see in your eyes, little brother.”
He steps closer and claps me on the shoulder. “She’s alive,” is all I whisper, still uncertain how to get over the sister I mourned for millennia being alive and here.
“I know.” He sighs and then looks down at Remi. “Your mate is an incredible warrior, you should be proud. Come.”
I follow silently behind him, holding Remi close, looking down at her every few seconds to ensure she’s okay. I can feel her body resting, and some of her wounds are already healing. That kind of magic leaves an aftereffect. She won’t be back to full sass, badass amore until she’s shifted though, and I know she feels vulnerable when she is, so I need to make sure I get her somewhere safe where I can watch her back while she does. I don’t imagine it will be a quick heal from the ordeal her body went through today. It will be painful, and the thought alone has me pulling her closer.
Atlas leads us through the forest, and we walk side by side. I shoot him looks which he ignores, so I finally come out and ask, “How did you know we were here?”
He glances over at me and then averts his gaze. My older brother has changed, that’s for sure. He was never the most talkative anyway, always the strong silent type, usually trailing behind Lilith or getting into fights, but this stretch of quiet is a lot, even for him. He’s more scarred too. I guess we all are. “I’ve been tracking her.”
“You knew she was alive?” I demand, and Remi shifts in my arms so I quiet my voice, making it softer.
“Only for a year and a bit, I didn’t believe it at first. I was deep in the underground in Russia when I heard a murmur of a woman recruiting and summoning demons… I was hired to stop them,” he explains, equally as quiet, cutting a look at my mate where, for a moment, his face seems to soften. A flare of irrational jealousy hounds me, and I tuck her close, even though I know Atlas has only ever had eyes for Lilith. “Took me a few months following her trail. Always a step behind. I saw her for the first time six months ago