Chapter 434
Joshua:
I watched Oriana pass out, then stepped away. I had done my job. Now it was the Shadow Earth Eater’s duty to do her bidding, to do her job. I had listened to Oriana’s pleadings. I listened to everything. I even saw the fear in her eyes. It was the same kind of fear I had once seen in Suki’s eyes, but there was a difference. Oriana could never be Suki. Suki was innocent. Suki was my mate.
“Ready to meet your beloved mate after so many months?” the Shadow Earth eater asked, and I anxiously rubbed my palms together.
“But before that, I must remind you. You will need to help me escape those two alphas who are running through the tunnels, trying to get to me to kill me,” she added.
I quickly nodded my head.
“We can always fool them with some Earth eater’s head,” I replied, letting her know she did not need to fear, since they had never seen the Shadow Earth eater.
She considered it for a moment, then nodded, almost as if impressed by the way my mind worked.
“I knew you were a better choice and companion than Oriana,” she remarked.
At this point, I was growing tired of her. I knew for a fact she could not read my mind. I had blocked out most of my thoughts at that moment. Even if there were any thoughts left, she could not read them. I was shutting her out.
“So when can Suki show her presence?” I asked, my tone edged with agitation.
“Why not now?” she replied, and my eyes narrowed with excitement.
She then began circling Oriana’s body. My breath quickened in my chest. My eyes searched for my beautiful mate.
It would be harder for me to accept her in Oriana’s body, but that was the truth. I never loved Suki for her body.
I loved her for who she was. Even when I knew she had betrayed me, even when I knew she was not as innocent as I once claimed to others, it did not matter. To me, she was everything. The most innocent one of all.
Then I watched the Earth eater begin to step back. As the Shadow Earth eater continued to retreat, my heart pounded louder in my chest.
I noticed Oriana’s finger twitch. Goosebumps covered my skin again. I straightened my posture, watching her closely. Slowly, she pushed herself up. However, her movements were disoriented, almost as if she did not know how to control her own body. That was how I knew this was not Oriana anymore.
“My head hurts,” Oriana murmured, her voice gentle, carrying the same hint of sweetness as Suki’s.
She looked around, then down at her hands. I watched as she stared at them for a moment, making fists and releasing them. Then she glanced down and touched her clothes.
“Why am I in a black outfit?” she questioned.
I smiled and looked toward the Shadow Earth eater, who moved within the shadows. It was my Suki now.
Suki lifted her head and looked at me.
“What is going on?” she gasped, covering her mouth. “Wait, how am I alive? What is happening p>
She touched her hair, pulling it forward to look at it, then frowned at its color.
“What is going on?” she repeated, running her hands over herself. “How am I alive again? I was dead. I died. Did you p>
After the panic eased, she finally met my eyes, waiting for an answer. My smile must have told her enough, but she needed more, so I nodded.
She did not hesitate before getting to her feet and throwing herself at me. I noticed it was difficult for her to move in a body again after being dead for so many months, but I quickly caught her and held her close. It felt strange, yet it no longer felt like Oriana’s body. It felt like Suki’s. I tightened my arms around her.
“Ow,” she snapped, slapping my chest and pulling away.
“What is it?” I asked, gently touching her cheeks and her forehead.
“Why am I in so much pain? And why is there blood on me?” she demanded.
As her questions poured out, I cleared my throat awkwardly.
“Wait. Tell me everything. How did you bring me back to life?” she pressed, her eyes drifting toward the shadow moving nearby. “What the fuck is that p>
She screamed and tried to get away, but I grabbed her arms. She struggled, trying to escape from the thing, yet I pulled her closer and held her from behind, forcing her to look at the Shadow Earth eater.
“This is the helper who brought you back,” I told her. “She is on our side p>
The tension in her body slowly eased. I kissed her along her neck and the back of it. Then she turned around and cupped my face in her hands.
“How did you do it?” she asked softly.
Her warmth felt the same as Suki’s. This was Suki. My Suki was back.
After I told everything to Suki, about literally everything, we faced the Shadow Earth Eater.
“Thank you so much for bringing me back to life,” Suki told the Shadow Earth Eater.
The Shadow Earth Eater stepped closer to her, sniffed her hair, then pulled back and stared right at Suki.
“I like this soul better,” the creature commented, hinting at the fact that Oriana had been quite a mess.
“Now, now, remember, you have to get those alphas off my back,” the Shadow Earth Eater remarked, making me nod at her.
“Don’t worry, I remember my promise,” I replied.
“But wait, didn’t you say I have a wish too?” Suki questioned as I kept her standing beside me, wrapping my arm around her.
She was already healing, because Suki’s wolf was coming out here and there as she allowed it.
I noticed she wanted to transition, but there was a fight going on inside her, and of course that was because we were in the fucking tunnels.
“Oh yes, Oriana’s wish. You’ve got it now,” the Shadow Earth Eater said.
That was when Suki and I shared a glance.
“Well then, I want to make my last wish,” she stated.