My soul and power were torn from the vessel, and I had a brief glimpse of Shadow raging, his power whipping around the lands, flattening them in the wake of his despair before I was gone from that realm and speared into another.

This new realm was warmth, a gentle fire compared to the blazes I’d felt in my short but tumultuous life as a shifter.

Here, I floated in the primordial ooze of creation. The womb of the universe. It was so perfect in its perfection that I was content to exist in the gentle glow.

At least until a light, which was just a little brighter, burning a little hotter, drew me closer. With no physical body, I moved with thought, sending my essence into that bright beam that called me. When the light surrounded me, clarity returned.

The light brought with it memories. Memories of Angel, Simone, and Midnight. My pack. The Shadow Realm. My libraries and all the shadow creatures.

Beings and places I truly loved and would miss.

But above all of them.

Above all else.

There was Shadow.

My Shadow Beast.

The growly bastard was the other half of me, the best piece of my damn soul. Knowing that our story had been cut short destroyed me so thoroughly that for a brief moment, my soul flickered in and out of existence in an attempt to end the pain.

The womb of the universe rushed in to help, soothing, and I calmed as those memories were swept out of the light. Or at least the womb attempted to remove them, but I could not let go.

I refused to forget.

As I drifted farther into the light, the memories were stronger than ever. At one point, the illumination was so strong that it felt like I was blinded and drowning in the intensity, but this was also where I saw it all clearer than ever.

I could stay in my safe womb and enjoy the gentle fire, or I could embrace the pain and the darkness and feel the flames on the outside.

It was my choice. Only it really wasn’t a choice at all. I’d take the burn any day over the safe, gentle existence. After all, I was built of fire and passion, and I’d never be satisfied with anything less.

Excruciating pain threaded through my essence as I gave myself to the light, and like all rebirths, it got worse before I got better, until eventually, I tumbled over the final edge, sliding free.

Reborn.

49

As I emerged from the Nexus, miles below The Depths that surrounded it, I found that once again, I was changed. Reborn. Into my true self this time, a being built and layered from the multiple lives I’d already lived.