Wolf Queen - Book 1 of The Nightfall Series

Epilogue

He watched from the shadows of the beach.

He watched and waited. The spray of the sea chilled his warm skin and his blood ran cold as he watched the scene play out before him and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.

He had been standing there but a second when he watched her fall. Fall from the edge of the Blood Rock and into the depths of the sea.

She fell silently, only the crashing of the waves filling space as it welcomed her to the deep.

He moved without a conscious thought, his legs moving quickly as his chest felt a tightness like nothing before. He ran through the swell of the sea before he got no further on foot and dived in with urgency.

He pulled in a deep breath to his lungs and swam deep, where the raging sea turned slow and peaceful.

That was where he found her.

Floating.

Sinking.

He gripped her tight and kicked to the surface, battling the waves to drag her back to land.

Her body lay against the sand, cold and blue, for the first time in her life.

Adam looked over her. His hand shaking as he reached to the gaping wound in her chest.

Her heart missing.

She had been made to experience the very savagery that had pained her family for so long. A pain she had felt for so long and had suffered through with till the very end.

She looked so peaceful in death. There was no frown across her face, no overwhelming grief that filled the air whenever she was present. Her hair had lost its ethereal silver and splayed around her in a deep raven black, just like her father.

The black strands slipped through his fingers as he pulled her body into his arms and roared to the sky. Eyes a blazing gold.

He no longer felt a longing connection to her. His chest only ached in a phantom pain of the hole in her chest. He could only imagine the agony of how it felt time and time again and a part of him was glad that she would no longer feel pain.

Although he had experienced loss before the loss of Adelaide Jones hurt him more than words could say. The connection they shared could have led to a strong bond had they had the option of such a choice. She was what had guided him through the daunting destiny he had been tasked with and now he was alone.

Before he could lose himself in his thoughts, he looked around him, sensing something within the shadows. He rose to his feet, clutching her tightly within his arms before breaking into a run.

The world blurred around him as he let his feet take him. His breath came quick and fast as time drifted to nothingness. All he could feel was her weight in his arms, she felt as light as a feather.

Dawn had broken by the time he returned to the Moon Valley once more. He walked without any hesitation. The barrier that had once protected them was gone and now any could come and go as they pleased.

The wolves gathered as he approached the alter. The Alphas already stood before him along with Leonidas. They had known the very moment it had happened, as did he.

He could hear the whispers around him, and he was not surprised.

As he placed her body softly on the alter, resting her hands over her chest, to cover the killing wound another presence crept out from behind one of the Alpha's. He watched for a moment as she looked upon Adelaide and watched as the last of the child's innocence left her eyes.

Adam stepped away from the alter and looked to the wolves behind him. Their worry permeated the air, but it was not for him or the little human girl that was left behind.

It was for themselves.

The Conduit was dead and now there was no one to protect them.