The Rescue

Jaxon

~Damn.~

I choked on a mouthful of dust as I face-planted into the dirt.

My vision was clouded by the dust, and a ringing in my ears from the impact drowned out all other sounds.

But I scrambled to my feet.

I couldn’t afford to be vulnerable.

I was sure I was surrounded by enemies.

The last thing I remembered was Anthony charging at me. His surprise attack had sent me sprawling.

But when I took in my surroundings, I was shocked to find myself among friends, not foes. Theodore and Isabelle were hovering over me.

And right next to me, struggling to rise, was my love: Quinn.

I dropped to my knees beside her and pulled her close.

I had no idea where we were or how we’d ended up here, but it didn’t matter.

I was flooded with relief.

I cradled her face in my hands and kissed her deeply.

“Thank Goddess,” I murmured. “I didn’t know if you were alive.”

“I didn’t know if you were,” she replied, kissing me back.

But the truth was, we would have known if the other had died.

The pain would have been immediate and unbearable.

I helped Quinn to her feet and nodded in gratitude to Theodore and Isabelle.

Now, with my feet firmly on the ground, I needed answers.

How the hell did I pass out in a fight with Anthony and wake up in the middle of the woods with my mate?

“Quinn,” I said, locking eyes with her. “What happened?”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, glowing orb.

It was so bright it hurt to look at.

But even as I squinted against the light, I knew exactly what it was.

I had never seen it before, but I had heard about it countless times growing up.

“Eat your broccoli,” my dad used to say, “or the Moon Goddess will zap you with her stone.”

“You’re growing up too fast,” my mom would sigh, “I wish I had the moonstone. I’d turn back time to when you were a baby so I could hold you again.”

I had spent my whole life not knowing if the moonstone was real, or just a myth passed down through the generations.

But as I stared at the object in Quinn’s hand, it seemed to be the moonstone as I’d always imagined it: the most valuable thing in existence.

“Is it really?” I asked cautiously. “Is it the moonstone?”

“Yes,” she confirmed.

I gasped.

How had she come to possess such a thing? I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it. I wanted to reach out and touch it, but I didn’t dare.

Quinn looked at me, surprised. “How do you know what it is?”

I gazed at her, her face so innocent as she asked me that question.

I often forgot that Quinn hadn’t been raised as a werewolf.

She had grown up with stories of Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.

Her mom had left out all the tales about the Moon Goddess and her infinite wisdom.

“How in the world did you get that?” I asked her, my voice barely above a whisper.

“It’s been a long day,” she said, sagging against me.

Quinn

Jax had no idea just how long my day had really been.

And while we were short on time, I felt it was only fair to fill him in on how we had ended up here, in the forest, on a day that seemed to never end, with the moonstone in my possession.

“I’ll tell you what happened,” I promised him. “But I have to make it quick because we don’t have time to waste.

“I’m going to say some things that will sound unbelievable. But I need you to trust me that what I’m telling you is the truth.”

“I understand,” he said, although I was sure he had no idea just how wild the story I was about to tell him really was.

I took his hand in mine and began to explain that Jodie had used my body to channel my powers.

How, with our powers combined, she had managed to summon the moonstone. How after summoning the moonstone, she had tried to kidnap me and take me to Matheius, but I had escaped…only for the worst thing to happen.

“What’s worse than all of that?” Jax asked, his face filled with horror.

“When I got to the battlefield, I saw you die.”

“What?” he exclaimed.

He looked shocked, but what I had told him was true. I had watched him die. I had experienced the unimaginable pain of losing him over and over.

And now, seeing him here, alive and safe, the relief overwhelmed me. I started to cry.

“Quinn,” he said, placing his hand on the small of my back and pulling me close. “What are you talking about? I’m alive. I’m right here.”

“You are now! But you died. And so did I. Because the moonstone has been removed from the astral realm, the space-time continuum is in flux. I’ve lived this same day three times, but now I’m determined to see tomorrow.”

Jax’s mouth was hanging open. He was clearly stunned, but instead of questioning me, he wiped away my tears.

“How do we do that?” he asked, swallowing the countless questions that were obviously on the tip of his tongue. “How do we break the loop?”

“We need to go back to the astral plane with the stone and restore Selena’s power,” I explained.

Isabelle cut in, “We’ve already been to the Astral plane, and she’s not there. There’s only one place she can be. With Matheius. We have to go find him.”

Matheius

~The stone. My stone. Now in Quinn’s possession—the one person who could ruin everything.~

~A wave of red-hot anger surged through me.~

~Directed at Jodie.~

~The one who had sworn her allegiance to me.~

I had put all my faith in her. I had shared my plan with her, expecting her to carry it out flawlessly.

She had always seemed so reliable. So devoted.

But when it mattered the most, she had let me down in the worst way.

She had transformed from my most trusted ally to my biggest letdown.

But the real fool was me. I had known for ages that loyalty and trust were worthless in this harsh world. Why did I think this time would be any different?

~Because she had made me believe she could pull it off.~

The failure of my followers would be my downfall.

~And she will pay for that.~

~What other choice do I have?~

The stone was lost, and there was no one left in the world I could trust.

“What’s wrong, Matty?” a voice taunted from behind me.

“Don’t call me that,” I retorted.

“But why? I’ve been calling you that since you were a child.”

I spun around to face my creator, her face hidden behind the bars of the prison I had built just for her.

“Matty,” she repeated, and I growled in response. “You lost my stone, didn’t you?”

“Don’t speak to me like that,” I said, pounding on the bars of her cell. “I am your master now.”

But she kept going.

“Matty, ruling the universe isn’t a walk in the park. It requires strength, determination, and faith. I’ve always known you to be strong and determined.

“But your lack of faith is your downfall, and that’s why you’ll never achieve what you’re after.”

“You don’t know anything about me or my plans,” I said. “I will prevail. You think you know what’s best for everyone, but soon the world will see how wrong they were to blindly worship you.”

“I pity you, Matheius. I created a world full of beings, but you are utterly alone.”

“You made sure of that, didn’t you?” I snapped back and stormed off, leaving my pitiful prisoner behind.

Sky

The battle came to a halt as everyone’s attention turned to Alex and Jodie.

Alex attacked with his deadly claws. But Jodie had magic on her side. She launched spells at him, which he evaded with impressive agility.

One of them was headed my way. Suddenly, Harper was there, shoving me out of harm’s way.

~Harper. My friend who was supposed to be dead. Alive?!~

I hit the ground and stared up at her in shock.

~My savior.~

~Over and over again.~

She knelt down next to me and examined a cut on my knee from the fall.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “I’m really sorry.”

~You’re WHAT?~

I couldn’t help but laugh.

She looked at me, puzzled.

“You’re sorry?” I said. “Harper, you’ve saved my life more times than I can remember, in more ways than I can count. You’re—you’re just—”

There were no words to express what she meant to me.

My friend who was taken from us.

We hadn’t had enough time together.

I couldn’t find the right word to describe her, but something else came to mind—something I suddenly felt a strong urge to do.

I cradled her face in my hands and pulled her in for a kiss.