Chapter 14
Caiden
There was a burn in my chest. Whatever that man had done when he’d reached between us and plucked the air had set my ribs on fire. It should have been unpleasant, but I had to admit there was something about the heat that felt…
Amazing.
Like I’d been teetering on the edge of it since the second I’d met Soul, and whatever he’d done before he disappeared had finally sent me flying.
Flying.
“Soul?” His expression was so soft when he looked at me, full of wonder.
“I didn’t think… I mean… I knew I wanted to keep you, regardless of what we were. I never thought a hound could have a soulmate… let alone…”
“Soulmate?” I smiled as I said the word, because it was completely ridiculous, and absolutely explained the way I’d been drawn to him from the beginning.
If someone had asked me when I was still alive if I believed in things like soulmates, I probably would have told them sure… but not for a dying man.
The fact that apparently Soul wasn’t trapped in his human form, that I’d just been visited by Fate—and he sure as shit sounded like he meant it with a capital F—seemed to fall to the wayside when I’d seen that streak of crimson trailing between us.
Soulmates.
I had a soulmate.
“I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m not going to question it. Why would I, when you’re everything I never knew I wanted?” Soul’s arm slid around my waist as he spoke, and when he pulled me against him and my front pressed flush against his, it stole my breath.
That line.
That connection.
I’d seen it, and now that I knew it was there, it was almost like I could feel it burning between us.
“We should get out of here before he decides to come back.” Even as I said it, I couldn’t stop myself from glancing over my shoulder. The sound of Cole’s voice had faded. Wherever he’d gone while we were caught up with Fate, I realized he’d been right…
As much as I wanted my brother, as much as I wished I could see him… the last thing I wanted to do was steal that smile away. I didn’t want him to get caught up in whatever was going on, whatever fight I was going through. I wanted him to be happy—to smile.
I wanted him to be with his soulmate.
“Are you sure?” Soul’s voice was careful, like he knew what I was thinking. Like he’d hunt down Cole and Sephtis if I asked him to. He was so achingly sweet.
“I am. Come on…” And then, even though I didn’t know if I should ask, I tilted my head and looked him up and down. “Can you change?”
Change.
I wasn’t sure what was going to happen when he did—I wasn’t sure if Fate had been lying to us, and Soul was still trapped in this form.
There was a small part of me that wanted to be nervous, wanted to worry that once he changed, he wouldn’t want to change back. But I pushed the thought away.
I could be unsure about everything going on—about the world and what my place was in it—but the one thing I believed in was Soul.
The one thing I knew was that he was here, with me. That he wouldn’t leave.
Which was why I took a few steps back, gesturing at the space between us. I could see it there on the edge of his expression, something sweet and almost nervous.
“Don’t be afraid,” he murmured. “No matter what form I’m in, I’ll never hurt you.
” That soft reassurance was all I got before he went to his knees.
I watched as Soul disappeared and a monster took his place.
It wasn’t like some horror movie with tearing skin and screaming.
It wasn’t bloody or vicious. It was just Soul…
and then he was enveloped in black, nearly liquid smoke.
With a few pops, the beast that had been tucked away this entire time burst out around him in a rush of energy that I could almost feel against my skin.
Heavy paws slammed to the ground, and the creature shivered, shaking itself out for just a moment before turning its head to look at me.
The thing that stood in front of me was massive, and the bone white of its face was like a skull. Those glowing red eyes were fixated on me, like he was waiting to see if I’d run.
Some part of me—probably whatever bits of me were left over from when I was alive—wanted to run.
It looked like some fucked-up nightmare version of a wolf, with pointed ears and a huge, fluffy tail…
but wolves weren’t supposed to be as tall as I was.
They weren’t supposed to have glowing eyes.
Whatever the thing in front of me was, it was ringing alarm bells in my head.
If I still had a lizard brain even after death, it was screaming that this was dangerous.
That the thing in front of me was deadly…
But I stepped forward anyway, closing the distance between us. He didn’t exactly have fur; his body was covered in wisps of smoke that danced in some wind I couldn’t feel. The closer I got to him, though, the more I could see it…
The way his head was cocked to the side, the way he was watching me with cautious eyes…
And that tongue that lolled out, licking at my hand as I slowly offered it to him.
“You weren’t joking about being big, were you?
” I murmured, then stepped close enough to run my fingers between his ears.
It was such a strange sensation—smoke and fur and warmth.
He was so warm. And this close, I could see that his eyes held that same expressive depth.
The desire to please, to be with me. The contradiction of everything he was that had been there all along.
He was all skull and shadows, sharp teeth and crimson eyes… and… “You’re kind of beautiful, Soul.”
The rumble that poured from him was deeper than anything I’d heard in his human form, and when he stepped forward and butted against my chest with his huge head, I nearly tumbled over.
The only thing I could do to keep myself upright was wrap my arms around him…
and when I buried my face against his neck, my entire body relaxed.
The Lake and the trees—all the peace I’d ever been promised. My senses were flooded with the sweet scent of Soul, and when I pulled back to look at him, his tongue lolled out, licking along the side of my face.
“Yeah, that’s still you, isn’t it?”
He couldn’t say anything, so he butted against my chest again.
“Wow… so not only do I have a soulmate, but he really is just a big puppy, huh?” This time, Soul let out a low growl, like the word puppy offended him…
but I noticed that his tail still wagged, big enough that it made noise as it carved through the air.
I ran my fingers along the underside of his jaw in awe.
“I’m not sure how I got this lucky, but I’m not complaining. ”
That seemed to placate him.
Soul seemed eager to stay in his hound form, and I wasn’t going to argue with him.
After all, I knew he’d thought for a little while that he’d lost it…
and I knew he’d accepted that loss if it meant he could stay with me.
That, and I had to admit there was something extremely comforting about the press of his body against mine, broad and dangerous.
I’d felt safe while walking alongside Soul the man.
I felt invincible walking alongside Soul the beast.
We didn’t go far from the graveyard before we found what looked like an abandoned house to break into.
Soul barely had to lean against the door before it nearly flew off its hinges in splinters.
If I were still alive, I’d probably hear on a news report in a few days about someone breaking into houses with battering rams.
They would never know that wasn’t what it was—just a huge man, a huge wolf, a huge hound. Just the impossible, making sure that I had a comfortable bed to sleep in as we trailed through the house.
Watching him clamber up onto a king-sized mattress and nearly take up the entire space was hilarious… but settling down beside him and feeling the shadows of his fur envelop me as he curled around my frame felt like a peace I’d never known. He was warm. It was like I was floating.
If the lake had felt like this, I would have never left. If Soul was my eternity, my afterlife, I wanted to stay here forever.
Soulmates.
I’d always thought that dying was final—endlessness and forever, but everything was over. That I wouldn’t experience anything new. Instead, dying had somehow brought me here… to Soul’s warmth, to peace.
To a home I’d never really known until now. And I wondered… if Sephtis could bring alive an entire field of flowers for Cole…
What could Soul bring me if he could dream?