Crossed Fates by Lexi C. Foss

Alaric

My heart fucking stopped.

Halted.

Broke.

Crumbled into dust.

Proverbially taking me to my knees on an exhale that nearly killed me. Except I felt Makayla there, hanging on by a thread, her psyche a blink on my radar, her strength crushed to a tiny point that throbbed with need.

The need to survive.

The need to breathe.

The need to thrive.

I shoved every part of me into her, my soul screaming in agony as I followed a path I didn’t understand, yanking my mate from a place I’d never known existed, and weaving my essence through hers in a way that shouldn’t be possible.

It just… happened.

My wolf reacted.

And I didn’t fight him.

I let him guide me into this darkness, marrying my soul to hers in a manner that defied all time and space. Makayla, I pleaded, my spirit infusing hers with life, all inside my mind.

I vaguely understood that I sat in the passenger seat of my father’s truck.

I vaguely heard the voices around me.

I vaguely felt my pack’s concern.

Just as I vaguely sensed their responding strength, pouring into me, through me, to the life force that needed it most.

To Makayla. My mate. My other half. The lighter part of my soul. Tainted with silver. Dying. Screaming in mental agony. And yet absorbing the energy my pack had to offer. Taking what I had to give her.

All my strength. All my breaths. All my blood, my being, my very fucking core, gifted to her, begging her to pull through. To return to me. To walk away from the bliss of death and back into my life. My world. Our future.

Fate put us together for a reason. I understood that now, could see the paths intertwined, the reason Makayla and I had always been meant for one another.

Two alpha wolves. Strong. Independent. Yet so much more impactful together. Makayla grounded me, made me realize my place in this world, focused my power, and encouraged me to lead. Not by telling me what to do. Not by even knowing what I should do. Just by existing and putting me in the situation I was meant to be in through destiny alone.

Driving me to be the alpha I needed to be, not just for her, but for my pack. For me.

She brightened my future.

She gave me a reason to feel.

She forced me to be a better wolf.

Perhaps not all at once, but that was our intended path to walk together.

Just as I would support her own endeavors, be alpha enough to understand and know when she needed her space, and not drown her beneath a sea of orders and commands. She was meant to fly, to help others, to be the voice for victims too weak to help themselves.

And I was meant to stand beside her, help her, bolster her, and give her my strength in times like this. To be her rock, her foundation, her power.

I bolstered her now, breathing life into her veins, giving her the energy she craved in order to fight.

Because together, we were unstoppable.

Together, we could defeat death.

Together, we were meant to lead.

She would provide me with the emotional backbone I required to be right for my pack, just as I’d give her my physical strength when she found herself in a situation of need.

Give and take.

Live and learn.

Inhale and exhale.

It was like an out-of-body experience, one that floored my mind but felt too right to fight. Our wolves were dancing, frolicking, engaging in this bond that our souls had cemented. She was forever mine. I was forever hers. No realms would change that. She could run, but I’d always chase.

I hadn’t wanted a mate.

Because I hadn’t understood the purpose of one until right now, in this moment, as I felt our spirits intertwine. She was the reason I’d felt empty all my life, the reason I’d left Silver Lake, the reason I’d been in New York City at the right time, in the right place, to find her.

Had I fought my brother and claimed my throne twelve years ago, I might have missed this link. I might have missed her.

Everything in my life had happened for a reason.

My fleeing to the city, taking a job with E.V.I.E., being invited out to play by psychotic hybrids with a penchant for destroying pretty girls.

All of it had put me in Makayla’s path, ensuring I would one day meet my other half. Become whole again. Fly free and love and live and have a real heart. Her heart.

But I gave her all of mine now, my wolf pouring every ounce of my being into hers and fortifying her for the journey ahead.

Wake up, Makayla,I told her. Wake up. Fight. Live.

Silence.

I didn’t panic.

I waited.

I inhaled.

I exhaled.

I allowed my pack to continue bolstering my reserves, allowed myself to feel their collective concern, and reveled in the realization that they saw me as theirs. Their alpha. Their leader. Their wolf.

I belonged to Silver Lake. I’d always belonged to Silver Lake. I was just lost before, searching for my purpose, looking for her. My Makayla. My soul. The beat to my heart.

Come back to me, I encouraged her softly. I know you’re there. I feel you running, but, baby, I’m going to chase you to the end of time and space and drag you back by your pretty hair.

I swore I heard a growl.

I merely smiled in response.

You want to play; we’ll play. But I don’t play fair, baby. My wolf is fierce and protective, and you’re trying to die on me, and that’s just unacceptable. Now fucking fight like the badass I know you are and breathe. Fucking breathe, Makayla.

The truck ramped over a bump, momentarily drawing me to my surroundings. My father drove. Hardt was in the back spouting off directions. He and Jude had found Makayla based on her scenery descriptions. There was only one swampy area with balsam fir trees within a one-hundred-mile radius of Silver Lake.

Two cars followed.

All armed with wolves and military-grade weapons, courtesy of Jude’s connections.

Sometimes it paid to have a boss with strong government ties. He had a lot of favors to call in, and he’d used one for us.

You’d better be alive and ready to fight when I get there, baby,I said to Makayla. We’re only twenty minutes out at most. Because we’d turned off onto the back roads some time ago, which meant we were on her trail now. I could almost smell her on the wind.

I closed my eyes again, feeling her life force feeding from mine, and relaxed as I continued to blast her with my strength. Those bastards had pumped her veins with silver, and I had no doubt it would have killed her if she were a Bitten wolf like me.

However, I sensed her immortality lingering between us, bolstering her, and replenishing itself through me and my pack.

I didn’t quite understand this hive-mind-like sensation happening between me and my wolves, but I embraced it. I accepted them. Because I didn’t have time to fight it. And I needed their strength, their vigor, their support, to save my mate. So I welcomed their essence into my mind. And I claimed Makayla.

Mine, I thought at her. Mine forever.

Mine,she echoed on a mumble.

I stilled. Makayla?

She hummed something incoherent in response, her yawn palpable in my mind.

My fingers dug into the jeans along my thighs. Makayla. Talk to me.

Napping,she muttered.

No time for napping, baby. I need you to wake up and kill.

Kill?she repeated, sounding interested in that.

Part of me wondered if she preferred killing over fucking, but I didn’t want to waste time by asking. Yeah, Bortex.

Bortex?She yawned again. Already dead.

No, Mak. He’s alive. And he pumped you full of silver.

Silver? The word came out a little clearer. Something… there’s… Alaric… something… dots?

What about dots, sweetheart?

Connection. Link. Hmm.She sounded high. Trials. Trials coming.

Makayla, you’re not making sense.

Burns,she whispered back, a palpable shudder traversing our bond. Everything burns.

I know, baby,I said, sensing her agony. Push the pain to me, and take what you need to revive your strength.

That’s not… that’s not possible.

It is, Makayla,I insisted. I’m already pushing energy to you. Don’t you feel it?

She fell silent again. Then she started mumbling about dots again. Puzzle pieces. Piece together. Dots. Trials. Friend. Lake. Titanium. Knew me. Knew… about my ring. Ready for me. Grabbed me.

Alaric!

Her shout splintered across my mind, only for me to realize it wasn’t her but my father.

Flashbangs erupted around us.

Followed by an electric wave of current that temporarily blinded me.

And in the next moment, we were surrounded.

Shit!It was an ambush. A trap. And from the looks of it, we were severely outnumbered.