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"Fighting over territory has been a thing in this kingdom since it was created," Lykos told her.
Remy shook her head. "Meanwhile, look at all this land. You said so yourself, years ago, that it would be best for the kingdom to come here, get rid of the rogues, and then divide the land up to those around it. There is merit to that idea. Even approach the rogues and offer to join the packs so that they can finally have the resources they need."
Lykos smiled at her in the mirror. "You might be onto something."
The conversation ended as Bryan made himself comfortable and drifted off to sleep. With one person not alert, Remy kept her eyes peeled. Her father kept the car moving at a good pace, but it wasn't fast enough to get them through this forest fast enough. The darkness within the forest didn't allow her to see too far past the road and into the lines of trees. Remy found herself praying to the Moon Goddess to watch over their car.
Then, a weird tingle went through Remy's body. It started in her chest and worked her way into her soul. Remy looked out each window she could get to until she was satisfied that no one was around the car. The car slowly came to a stop, and Remy looked at her father. He was staring straight ahead, and his face was twisted in anguish. Remy followed his line of sight, and her jaw dropped to the floor. Standing in front of a fork in the road was someone the both of them thought was dead.
Kodi Howell was alive.
Chapter twenty-two
Remy
The sound of dirt crunching under her footsteps rang through the quiet forest as Remy ran toward the outline of the ghost from her past. Even in darkness, his platinum blonde hair looked like a halo around his head. Their mother's green eyes stared at her from the few feet she kept between them.
"Is that really you?" The words trembled on her lips as she stared at the figure before her.
The person she mourned, the one she believed she lost forever, stood there–alive, breathing, and defying the boundaries of fate. It felt like the world was spinning, her heart racing at this new reality. How could this be? The dead didn't return. Yet here they were, Kodi's eyes meeting hers, and in that fragile moment, hope and disbelief collided.
Was this a trick? Was the Dark Dimension bringing back the dead now?
That thought frightened Remy. She sniffed the air, now familiar with the scent of the Dark Dimension. There was nothing but the pine and cedar from the forest mixed with the sage and sandalwood that was Kodi. It had been too long since she’d smelled his scent. Ghosts didn't carry scents from what she understood. This was really him.
"It's me, Rem."
His voice was soft but firm, always carrying his dominance and power. Fate had changed the game. It was Kodi. Somehow, he had been alive this whole time, and none of them knew it.
"How?" Remy took another step closer but stopped herself. The evidence was clear that it was Kodi, but she still wanted to be cautious. Too many things were happening in their kingdom for her to trust this blindly.
Lykos came up from behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. The scent of mahogany, teakwood, and pack surrounded her, centering her. She could feel the tension in his hand. Lykos didn't want to believe this was true either. He was just as vigilant as she was being. They needed to ask questions to ensure this was, in fact, the Kodi they loved and knew.
"I think that discussion is best held in my home," Kodi told them.
Lykos tightened his hand on her shoulder. "We aren't going anywhere until we are sure you are who you say you are."
Remy forgot how tall he was and how he towered over their father. Kodi stepped closer to them, and his power hit her like a wave. Remy gulped and stood straighter, allowing her Lycan to surface. The power she held put up a wall between her and Kodi, causing him to smile. He always gave her the same smile when they played this game. They often would allow their power to fight each other to establish who was stronger than who. Before her ability fully emerged, Kodi always won. Once her Lycan settled into the power of being a Meta, Kodi's Lycan realized who was more dominant, but that didn't mean it would this time. Kodi had gained more power since the last time they met.
That meant he had his own pack.
The swell of his pack magic slammed against her power, nearly causing Remy's knees to buckle and submit. Lykos added onto it on his own, bringing the pack's strength. Kodi stumbled back but still carried that nonchalant smile he always had. Remy sniffed the air again, trying to scent out the Dark Dimension now that Kodi was allowing his scent to intensify with the power display.
There was nothing but sage and sandalwood.
Even with all the evidence that this was Kodi, it did not settle the nerves that twisted Remy's stomach. Lykos could feel each individual tied to him as the Alpha through the pack bonds. Through the bonds, he could feel their heartbeats. It took concentration and some sorting through the rest of the information fed to him, but it was a way to know when something dangerous was happening to a pack member.
The day the rogues attacked, the bonds were a chaotic mess. Half of the pack was in that fight. Remy remembered feeling frantic through the pack bonds as most men engaged in battle. Since she was not the Alpha, she couldn't pinpoint the heartbeats. But one thing was certain. Kodi died. That was the one piece of information that everyone in the pack received when it happened. The severing of the bond rang through the bonds, and everyone could feel Kodi's absence when his heart stopped beating. Remy ran to her father when it was all over. She didn't want to believe he was gone, but Lykos hung his head, and she could smell the shame that rolled off him. Lykos blamed himself for a long time over Kodi's death.
Though that was now deemed moot.
Kodi glanced around him before whistling and making a hand motion. Twigs snapped, and movement occurred through the fallen leaves gathered there over the years. Hearing how many people they were around, but not being able to see them, had Remy's heart racing. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself so no one could see how nervous this made her feel. Remy counted at least ten movement patterns before seeing them through the trees. They have had to fight for their lives more often than not during this tour, and this felt like another tally would be added.
This isn't the Kodi I know. He wouldn't gather forces to attack his family.
A car started when the three of them got into their own car. Remy noticed the taillights over on the left side of the fork. Lykos started their engine and steered the car in that direction. Remy could feel her father’s and Bryan's nervousness and franticness through the pack bonds. She tried to keep her nerves in check so as not to add to it, but her legs were bouncy as the car drove through the curves of the road.
I felt it when Kodi's heart stopped beating. I felt the bonds break because of his lack of heartbeat. That's how magic works! How is he alive? I don't know any magic that could bring him back like that, not here in this kingdom. The pack bonds would have reattached and stabilized, even if he had been revived. How the fuck did he come back to life, and none of that happened?
