“Chance.” Ana’s warm breath brushed against his ear and she let go of his hand to wrap her arms around his chest.
His anxiety surrounding the memories made his heart race, but Ana’s closeness helped to calm his nerves. She was like a security blanket that he wanted to wrap himself up in. Admitting what he’d lived through over the last many weeks was traumatizing. It had been hard to do, and now, all he wanted was to curl up with Ana and hide away.
“I cannot believe it,” Lifen said, this time with far less fire and faced Batukhan. “I thought it was you who came to kill us. And I woke to find you beside me . . .”
Batukhan cast Chance a grateful look before stepping toward Lifen. His hands were open as he spoke. “It is hard for me to recall. I think when I gave you all of my power, leaving only a drop for myself, I damaged myself. I can remember being ordered to the capital to destroy the royalty and all remaining Tanguts, but I do know my thoughts fell to you. To warn you to leave. But then I relive the memory of your bloody body lying beside the princess, the agony knowing you were dead and that I would never look upon your beautiful face again. I tried to save you, but I thought I hadn’t when I woke in the Mongolian camp weeks later . . . until I saw you again.”
Lifen couldn’t seem to look at him, her focus always falling somewhere else. Batukhan ventured to take two steps closer to her. “Since that time, I have been unable to shift completely into animal form. I saw it as my punishment for what I had done to you. I have followed your own purpose, trying to help lost shapeshifters to find their way to being good and honorable men. I have tried to make amends and put my life back in balance. Lifen, even if I did not kill you, I did make selfish choices that hurt you and countless others. I did have the imprint of another shifter, the sickness, which I struggled with and I did not fight hard enough against it—if I had, maybe things would be different. I regret every day that I did not go away with you like you pleaded. For so long I have wanted the opportunity to tell you that I am sorry that I hurt you and that I have never stopped loving you.”
At that, Lifen looked into his eyes and a tear fell down her cheek. Only the sound of the forest could be heard while everyone stood in silence, waiting for Lifen’s reaction.
“I have lived for hundreds of years,” Lifen said, “knowing in my heart that men are deceitful and selfish beings. That they do not know true love.” She paused to glance at Ana and gave a slight grin, which seemed almost painful. “Recently, I have been shown that I may have been mistaken. It will be hard for me to change after so long, but I am willing to try.”
Ana let go of Chance and went to give Lifen a hug. “I’m happy for you.”
“Isn’t that what I am supposed to say to you?” Lifen said. “You healed Chance of the sickness? Very impressive. I have always been afraid of losing you because you are such an amazing person. It would be a great loss to the world if anything ever happened to you.”
“I feel the same way,” Chance said.
Ana looked away in embarrassment and then looked around in confusion. “Hey, where’d Ryan go?”
She put her hands to her mouth and called out, “Ryan!”
No answer.
“Ryan was here?” Lifen asked, surprised.
Ana walked over to a pair of shorts lying in the snow and held them up. Ana and Chance stared at each other. Chance rewound time in his mind and played back the sequence of events.
Chance swept his hair out of his eyes. “He ran into us on the mountain when Ana was healing me because he thought I was going to hurt her. There was a burst of light when we fell down the mountain. Then he followed us back here so we could get changed. Batukhan got here, but I don’t know what happened to him after that.”
The expression on Ana’s face pained him. Clearly she cared about Ryan, or she wouldn’t have so much pain reflected there.
“Maybe he went back to the house,” Ana ventured, but it was obvious she was grasping at straws.
“Yeah, maybe,” Chance said, not wanting to crush her hopes, but that old familiar sinking feeling settled in his stomach.
Why couldn’t anything stay simple?
Over the last year he’d learned that when in doubt, it was best to assume the worst. If Ryan had absorbed the energy that had been inside Chance, then he was in for a horrific ride. The amount of torture Chance had gone through was enough to scar him for life, seeing so many deaths and being unable to suppress the urge for more power. He’d come too close to hurting innocent people, even his own mother. He didn’t know Ryan, but he wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
Before they prepared to leave, Chance pulled Ana aside, away from Lifen and Batukhan, who were having their own private conversation. He pulled her close to him and wrapped her in his arms. He listened close for her heartbeat like he used to do, but now she had a strong, steady rhythm. It was reassuring to him.
Ana fidgeted with her purse and lifted her arms over his head. Something cool settled on his chest. He glanced down to see his bear heartline necklace and jade jaguar.
“There,” she said. “That’s better.”
“You kept them?” The love in his heart swelled and he felt so grateful to her.
She lifted her chin to stare into his eyes. Finding the words he wanted to say was hard. His emotions were so close to the surface, so tangible. He was certain Ana completed him and that he completed her, but he didn’t know how to tell her, how to ask.
Ana lifted up and brushed her lips against his. Soon he couldn’t remember what he’d been worrying about. He kissed her deeply, like this moment was their last, and felt the tip of her tongue sweep against his. The excitement of being with her again gave him butterflies, and he could barely breathe. He was certain he would never survive another separation from her.
He held her face with his hands and pulled away. She made a soft whimper, opened her bleary eyes, and stared hungrily up at him.
“What . . .”
“I want you . . .” he muttered.
She beamed and tried to kiss him again. “Me too.”
Chance held her still and tenderly brushed a stray hair from her face. “No, Ana. I want you. Forever.”
Ana’s forehead crinkled and her green eyes pierced through him questioningly.
“Will you marry me?” Chance whispered against her lips.
* * *
The End
Also by Natasha Brown
More from The Shapeshifter Chronicles
Fledgling: The Shapeshifter Chronicles Book 1
Prodigy: The Shapeshifter Chronicles Book 2
Ascension: The Shapeshifter Chronicles, Book 4
* * *
Middle Grade Adventure Series
FREE - An Unfortunate Beginning [The Novel Adventures of Nimrod Vale, Book 1]
The Stone Key [The Novel Adventures of Nimrod Vale, Book 2]
* * *
Adult Contemporary Romance (Kindle World Novella)
Give In to Love {The Remingtons}
Glossary
Research notes:
* * *
Mongol Empire & Genghis Khan-
Genghis Khan was named Temujin at his birth in the later half of the eleventh century CE. He rose to power by uniting the many tribes of Northeast Asia and began moving outward in an attempt to grow his empire.
He set his sights on the Xia dynasty, fighting and trying to flood the city of Yinchuan. Their tactics worked, and the Xi Xia ruler submitted. Genghis Khan next focused on the Jin dynasty and absorbed much of their territory while causing death and destruction.
The Mongol empire moved throughout Asia and Europe, conquering new lands. After nearly two decades of being vassals, the Xia and Jin dynasties refused to lend him more troops and took a stand against Genghis Khan. Furious with their defiance, he led an army against the Tanguts (Xia). When the Tangut emperor surrendered, Genghis Khan ordered the entire imperial family to be executed.
In August, 1227, he died. Many stories speculate about how he passed: killed in
action during the attack on Xia, illness from old age, falling off his horse, or even by the hand of a Xia princess that was taken against her will.
His land empire was the largest to have ever been amassed in history, and although he is known for killing as many as 40 million people, he gave religious freedom to his followers, created the first international postal system, and who knows—you may even be one of the estimated 16 million individuals who carry his genes today.
Blue Wolf (Mongolia)-
The wolf was thought of as an ancestor of the Mongols. It is seen as a symbol for good luck. Throughout Asia there are many stories of wolves, some involving shapeshifting.
About the Author
Natasha Brown’s active imagination has always been a distraction. When she was a child, the forest outside her home, and books read in the dark past bedtime taught her that exciting worlds are created with dreams and a voice. Once she started writing, she couldn’t break the habit. By day Natasha’s an assistant teacher at an elementary school, and by night, she’s a book cover designer. Her weekends are spent writing and spending time with family, unless she’s not busy sleeping and dreaming up her next imaginary world.
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For more information
@writersd3sk
writersd3sk
www.natashasbrown.com
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