Alliance of Shadows, Book 3: HUNTER

Life Returned

Then I felt a new presence—one full of brightness and charisma, radiating energy unlike the solemn tranquility that had surrounded me moments before. A voice called out. “Hunter!”

I turned to see a girl who reminded me of a picture Paul had shown me once. Recognizing her as my friend's Mate, I kept my distance. “You must be Kayleen."

She nodded, determination in her gaze. “Let’s go. Maria's been an emotional wreck since the battle almost two years ago.”

I pulled my hand from her grip, sure I had misheard her. “Repeat that, please.”

“The battle was nearly two years ago. You've been asleep ever since,” she replied calmly, the weight of her words sinking in with staggering force.

I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm as I realized that I had missed out on so much time with my Mate. The thought clawed at me, gnawing at the edges of my composure.

Kayleen was still talking, her voice steady despite the intensity of the revelation. “Maria is turning eighteen this evening. We all wanted to surprise her by helping you find your way back to us.”

I nodded, grasping her hand, the urgency rising within me. "Lead the way."

Pulling strength from the thoughts of my family waiting for me, I focused on waking up. I felt the world shifting around me, the hazy boundary between consciousness and the void thinning. A sharp intake of breath told me that Kayleen was physically beside me on the bed, her presence steady, anchoring me to reality.

Paul's scent filled my senses, grounding me further as he lifted his Mate into his arms. The familiarity of it struck something deep within me—a reassurance that despite the time lost, I was still where I belonged.

I heard Micah let out a groan, frustration laced in his voice. “He’s not awake yet. Why isn’t he awake yet?”

“Give him time, Micah,” Kayleen replied, exhaling as if the effort of what she had just done was finally settling in. “I just dragged his soul from the depths of the Astral Plane, so take a beat, would you?”

My eyes opened, and within seconds, my siblings were at my side. The overwhelming presence of their eager faces pressed in, a blur of movement and emotion. Then I noticed Mitchell, Keith, Solomon, and Lance standing with me as well, their eyes filled with something between relief and disbelief. My youngest brothers had grown so much in eight long years that I hardly recognized them—boys who had once been small and full of mischief now stood as men, carrying the weight of time I had missed.

Beyond them, I caught sight of their mother, holding Andrast back while Micah shooed the younger boys from me, giving me a moment to breathe. Andrast was not my sister, and I knew it. It was painfully clear to anyone with a brain who her real father was. The unspoken truth hung in the air like something stagnant, something that had lingered far too long.

My ex-stepmother let out a heavy sigh, her grey eyes shimmering with regret. “Hunter, I tried to get him to stop."

I looked to the woman and sighed as I sat up, shaking off the remnants of sleep. “I know, Dorcas—you were just trying to survive. We’ve never held it against you.”

Pushing her daughter into Harold’s arms, she asked him to take her out of the room. As soon as they disappeared, she dropped to her knees beside me, her expression breaking into something raw and desperate. “Please forgive me.”

"There’s nothing to forgive," I replied calmly, my voice steady despite the emotions shifting around me. “Micah, I need a few minutes alone with Dorcas.”

His brow creased, the hesitation in his expression making it clear he wasn’t entirely convinced. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just have a question about something,” I answered, keeping my tone neutral, though the weight of the moment pressed against my chest.

Micah nodded, moving closer until he leaned down. Pulling me close in a way that said he was sorry he couldn’t save me, he pressed his lips to the crown of my head. The silent gesture carried an emotion no words could ever convey. "I bet I know what it is. Yes, you can speak with her alone, little brother. I'm glad you're back, Hunter. We've all been so worried about you."

It didn't really surprise me that my eldest brother already knew. I sighed, turning to face Dorcas.

“What did you want to ask me?” she whispered anxiously as soon as he was gone and the room was cleared.

Taking a deep breath before speaking, I said, “What was it, Dorcas? What possessed you to become one of us? Why give up your power as a Witch to tie yourself to that bastard? By the way, I've always known that Micah was Andrast's real father.”

When she was younger, them looking alike could be chalked up to having the same father by anyone who noticed. However, everyone overlooked one detail. She was conceived just after Micah returned from searching for his Mate in Russia. I saw the spark of recognition they fought to keep hidden from our father, the fleeting exchange of unspoken truth that neither dared acknowledge aloud.

Her eyes downcast, she sobbed dryly, her voice cracking beneath the weight of everything she had carried for years. “I wasn’t thinking straight when I’d forsaken my birthright and begged Raymundo to turn me into a Vampire. By that time, Nikolai had already impregnated me with Mitchell, forcing me into a marriage I didn't truly want."

I nodded. "Micah is your Mate, isn't he?"

Dorcas’ fingers curled slightly against the fabric of her skirt, a quiet, involuntary reaction to hearing the truth spoken aloud. “We tried to keep separate, but somehow we always managed to find each other. I knew that it was our Mate bond. I was married to your father, but it was Micah who made me feel loved,” she told me quietly, her voice carrying a tremor—not of fear, but of long-buried relief.

“Nikolai would have killed you,” I said, watching the way her shoulders stiffened ever so slightly, as if even the memory of him could still seize her breath. "He killed everyone we got remotely close to romantically."

The hope returned to her eyes, flickering like a long-lost ember. Her lips parted slightly, hesitating just enough to reveal that the question forming in her mind had haunted her for years. “So I take it that you don’t hate me?”

“None of us ever did,” I answered honestly, my gaze steady, watching as she exhaled—a slow, measured breath, as if she had been holding it for far too long. “May I ask a favor?”

She smiled, the expression carrying something lighter, something free, though her fingers still traced the seams of her sleeve—a subconscious grounding motion. “Yes, of course.”

“Marry him yesterday. He’s been miserable without you,” I explained, my tone laced with humor, but the slight tilt of my head and the firm set of my jaw told her I was absolutely serious.

Dorcas chuckled under her breath, shaking her head slightly as if the thought had already crossed her mind. “My poor Mate. Hunter, there's something I need to tell you.”

“Go on,” I said coaxingly.

Her fingers drifted to a delicate pendant at her throat—a piece she hadn’t touched before—almost as if she needed the reassurance of something tangible before speaking words that carried deep significance. “It’s a prophecy I found while tending your Grandfather's things after he passed. Cursed and forbidden, they find each other. From the ashes of the past, they rise anew. A Light to guide the Dark, their souls forever tied as one."

Thinking over her words, I grasped the answer as soon as I saw it. I was cursed, and Maria was my forbidden Mate. I was dark, jaded by life, and she was my light guiding me through the tangled path of love—a love I never thought I would ever have.

Nodding, I pulled Dorcas into my arms and hugged her. The warmth of the embrace held an unspoken gratitude, the kind that came from finally understanding what had always been meant to be. “Thank you. Everything will be alright now. I know what I have to do.”

She sighed happily, her relief evident in the subtle easing of her shoulders. "You always were a brilliant child, Hunter. I have no doubt that everything will work out for you. Please promise me that you will be patient with your Mate? She's been through so much in a short amount of time."

"I'm not the type to lose my cool, Dorcas," I laughed, shaking my head slightly, though the excitement burned beneath my calm exterior. "I know she's been through a lot, too, but I can't wait to see her. To hold her in my arms and hear her yell at me."

Pulling back, she laughed, her voice lighter now. "Well, before I can even allow that, you need a bath and some clean clothes. That potion you created saved your life that day, but the emotional and physical pain you were in shut down your body. Kayleen had to train hard for the last eighteen months before she was able to do what she did and pull you back to us."

Paul's Mate was a strong young woman – perfect for being his Beta female. It was no wonder he was so protective over her. The idea of anyone enduring a year and a half of intense training just to save someone else spoke volumes about the kind of strength Kayleen possessed.

"I'm grateful for her efforts," I replied as Dorcas left me alone to bathe and dress.