Shielded: A Valkyrie Saga Book 1

Aftermath - Chapter 26

A/N: I have to tell you that we are already past 100,000 words I was very tempted to end book one with that cliff-hanger.... but I decided I couldn't be that mean. So here is the final chapter (plus there will be an epilogue). Thank you for all of your amazing comments and votes. 

-E.A. Baker 

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My head was so completely full of other people's thoughts, I couldn't concentrate. And I needed to concentrate. The boys needed me. Ray needed me and I was struggling to form a single thought, meaning that forming a plan was damn near impossible. I had never been this close to this many Valkyrie before. All of their thoughts were being shoved into my brain, making me feel like an adolescent who had yet to master my Gift. 

Yet, not even the dozens of thoughts causing havoc in my mind could stop the desperate worry and sorrow building in my heart. Ransom claimed that Connor had been shot in the chest and Max wasn't strong enough to heal him. We couldn't loose Con. I would gut all of us. He was just a kid. He still had so much to learn of this world. I wouldn't be able to function if his soul had been torn from this realm. I had to keep reminding myself that they said that Ray had selflessly transferred power to Max and it had been working before they disappeared. There was hope. I needed to focus on that so that I could find a way out of the layers of thoughts and reach my Clan. 

--Elijah 

I felt like I was deep under water. Like there was this huge weight pressing down on me and I had to struggle to just open my eyes. When I finally achieved that small feat of physical prowess, all I saw was black. But it wasn't solid black, more like thousands of short black hairs layered over each other endlessly. And it smelled musky. And now it was moving. I managed to blink a couple of times and my eyes adjusted to show me a large wolf looming over me and sniffing my face.

It took a moment for me to remember, but when it all came rushing back I reached out and pulled the wolf closer and buried my face in his coarse fur. Moving was hard to do and hurt like I had run a marathon the day before, but if I had failed and Connor was dead I didn't know if I could face the rest of the guys. Maybe I could just bury my face in my new furry friend and never tune back into reality.

"You realize that is a fully grown, twenty year old man you are groping right now," a raspy voice called out and I snapped my arms back away from Logan. Holy shit, he was right I hadn't even ever met Logan in his human form and here I was with my hands all over him. How embarrassing. 

Then I registered that I recognized the raspy voice and all thoughts of Logan fled my brain as I whipped my head around and took in the absolutely beautiful sight of Connor sitting next to me. He looked awful and was covered in dried blood, but he was sitting up and gave me his patented side smile.

I launched myself towards him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He let out a grunt of pain, but that didn't stop me from squeezing tighter and tucking my head down by his. Connor was alive! He wrapped his arms around my middle and pulled me in even closer and I let out a strangled sob. I had been so scared that we wouldn't be enough to save him. So scared that I would never get to really know the more serious yet caring twin.

I was tired, had no idea what was going on right now, and completely unable to stop from crying into Connor's shoulder. He was murmuring things into my hair but it was too soft for me to hear over my own ragged breathing. Eventually I cried myself out and I think I actually drifted away to sleep within Connor's embrace because he had to shake me awake. 

"Ray, Sweetheart, we need you to help us out of the void," Connor said in a slightly louder but still gentle voice as he cradled the back of my head.