Page 17 of Echoes From the Void
“Such a baby,” she tsks, but her hands are gentle as she channels healing energy into the cut. “Almost as bad as Matteo when he was small. One paper cut and you’d think the world was ending.”
“Mother.”
“He used to demand I kiss it better,” she continues, ignoring my growl. “Even for splinters.”
Leo’s eyes light up. “Really? Do you have pictures? Please tell me you have pictures.”
“I have an entire album.”
“I’m disowning both of you,” I mutter, but my arm stays around Leo’s waist. It’s still strange, being this open about our connection after years of careful distance. The pack’s acceptance has changed everything—no more hiding, no more pretending we’re just friends. Even Bishop, usually so proper, had simply nodded and saidFinallywhen we stopped trying to hide it. My shadows curl protectively around my mother’s healing energy, and for once, I don’t try to hide how they reach for Leo too.
Balance, finally.
Even if I had to spill blood to find it.
“Beta,” my mother says softly in Hindi, her hands still working on Leo’s injuries. “You did well.”
“I used your healing knowledge to hurt people.”
“You used it to protect.” She meets my eyes. “Just as I taught you.”
Leo leans into me, his warmth steady and sure. Through our growing bond, I feel his pride, his trust, his complete acceptance of both the healer’s son and the predator I’ve become.
Maybe that’s the point. Maybe we’re all both—light and shadow, healing and harm, love and violence. Maybe the trick isn’t choosing one or the other.
Maybe it’s finding the balance between them.
Even if that balance comes with fangs.
Leo looks at me, a playful glint in his eyes despite the exhaustion. “So, what’s next, hero?”
I glance through the observation window where Frankie is watching, her own determination mirrored in Finn’s tired but hopeful gaze. Bishop is already strategizing, Dorian jotting down notes, probably on the potential effects of corrupted essence on shifter physiology.
“Next,” I say, “we fix this mess. Together.”
Leo grins, his usual playfulness returning. “Just another day for Shadow Locke’s most dysfunctional pack.”
I smile, feeling the shadows settle around me, no longer restless, but ready. Ready to protect, ready to fight, ready to heal.
“Yeah,” I say, pulling Leo closer. “Together.”
Chapter 7
Matteo
“Come on,”Leo says once my mother returns to monitoring the twins. “Let me check those new changes somewhere private.” His tone is light, but his eyes hold the intensity I’ve known since we were teenagers, sneaking glances in locker rooms and making excuses to sleep over.
We end up in one of the empty observation rooms, moonlight streaming through the windows. The moment the door closes, Leo has me pressed against it, his fingers tracing where my fangs had been.
“Show me again,” he whispers.
“Leo—”
“Please?” His sunshine energy wraps around me, a familiar warmth. “I’ve watched you fight your nature for so long, Teo. Let me see you embrace it.”
The nickname, one he’s used since we were fourteen, breaks my control. My fangs descend as I pull him closer, shadows meeting his. Through our potential bond, I feel his fascination, his desire.
“You’re not scared?” I manage, even as he runs his thumb along one sharp point.
