Alpha Paxton

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The next two days had flown by.

We had all discussed, and mildly trained, for the ritual that was to take place. Only a handful of us had been through this before. It was mostly uncharted territory; new spells, different people. We were all working together but none of us could trust each other.

It felt like a mess.

But it needed to be done. I don't think I was mentally prepared for what was going to happen however —no one was. How could we be? A life would be returning. I shudder at the thought, thinking about what I had been through myself.

The things I didn't talk about when I was brought back...

When I was dead.

Paxton snaps my attention to him when he stands in front of me, his green eyes looking into mine. I tried not to get lost in them. "Are you okay?" He mumbles, rubbing my back in soothing gestures. I nodded quickly, swallowing down some of my nerves.

All of us were in one room together. There was Destiny, Embry, Klayton, Paxton, me and of all people... my brother, Ashton. He did not need to be here for this but felt it was necessary to keep the peace between all of us, especially because we were all staying in his territory for the time being. Klayton was just itching to slice a knife through Destiny's neck, and we all knew it. Having an extra Alpha around, who was unmated and needn't worry about his own mate, eased some of the tension that surrounded the small room we were in.

Destiny was clinging to Embry; you could see the worry shining in her eyes. The grief. Embry may not be losing his life today, but his magic and immortality would be gone. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference.

Magic felt like it was a part of you —a living, breathing part of you. In some ways, one could argue that magic does have a life. It makes you feel so powerful, so free. Losing it would not be so easy...

"Should Eleanor be here?" Embry was the first to ask. Destiny shook her head in reply and gulped.

"No," she says. "I know what to do." We didn't need the witch. Wordlessly, Destiny made us follow her outside. We needed the sun and the elements for all of this to work. During the summer solstice, the sun travels the longest path in the sky; it was so bright it felt like we were glowing. It was a phenomenon. My eyes suddenly danced to the others surrounding me once we were situated outside.

We all stood in a circle.

Klayton was across from me, and he held an old piece of paper in his hand; it was a page of a book he had ripped out. It was the spell. He was gripping it so tightly that his fist had turned almost white —this page was his lifeline.

My eyes turned to Embry who was standing directly to Klayton's left. His eyes were closed, he looked peaceful. Relaxed. Ready.

"When do we start?" This time, the words came from my mate. Paxton was standing to my right, his side was pressed into my own. He looked nervous, pale. But he held himself strong. I felt bad... knowing that he had wanted a mate for so long and has been put through all of this. But he was built for it; we were made for each other.

He was scared of losing me. He was nervous that today wouldn't go so well... that Klayton wouldn't be able to tame his restless beast. The one that clawed and ached to be reunited with his soulmate, Adira.

"We may begin now," Destiny replies. In the snap of Embry's fingers, a dagger is in his right hand. Black smoke quickly disappeared as the knife appeared, and I watch as Ashton rolls his eyes. Embry brings the dagger into his other palm, slicing so deeply that the darkest and most crimson red starts to seep through his skin. Blood flows down his hand as he cringes, waiting for the next part.