Heroes & Shifters Urban Fantasy Multi-Author Boxed Set: Urban Fantasy novels about shifters and werewolves, witches and wizards, mages, ghosts, angels, ... Urban Fantasy and Super Powers Book 3) by Viola Rivard & J.A. Huss & Alexia Purdy & Kara Legend & Alex Albrinck & V.M. Black & Bryan Cohen & Deanna Roy & Kevin Hardman & Susan Kaye Quinn & Mimi Strong & T. Paulin

Author:Viola Rivard & J.A. Huss & Alexia Purdy & Kara Legend & Alex Albrinck & V.M. Black & Bryan Cohen & Deanna Roy & Kevin Hardman & Susan Kaye Quinn & Mimi Strong & T. Paulin [Rivard, Viola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-12-11T06:00:00+00:00

XXVI

Steps

Will was completely oblivious to his surroundings in the time machine for several minutes, lost in the shock of the events of the last few moments at camp. He was aware only of the sound of his own gasping breaths, of his heart threatening to beat its way free of body.

He’d found his son. Josh had survived the attack and the fire. He’d grown into a man, had managed to meet up with and join the Aliomenti Alliance, and was a major force in their organization.

And Angel. He had a daughter? He’d had no idea. The only explanation that made any sense was that Hope had been pregnant at the time of the attack, and only recently so, if she hadn’t told him yet. It wasn’t something she’d keep to herself.

He’d found his children. They’d survived the fire. The Assassin who’d been sent after them had not killed them; he had, as he put it, failed in his mission. He’d only managed to burn the house down, but houses could be rebuilt. In the camp where he’d been living, buildings assembled and disassembled themselves on a regular basis.

Josh—no, Fil now—had survived. He was there. Almost two hundred years old, but he was there. And since Angel hadn’t been born at the time of the fire—then Hope had survived as well, long enough, at least, to give birth to their daughter.

That meant his mission had succeeded. Or at least, it had succeeded in the last iteration of whatever time loop he was on. Time travel would certainly make your head spin.

He wished he’d gotten the chance to shake his son’s hand, to tell him he was proud of him. Sure, Fil had been rather aggressive toward him, but he’d explained why. Left unsaid was the obvious: for a man like Will, knowing his children had survived—and had actually been with him the entire time he’d been in the future—might have been enough to dissuade him from getting in the time machine. He’d want to spend time with his children, to be sure. How long would it have taken for him to decide to leave, though? He could talk of duty and claim he’d do what needed to be done, but that was a lot easier said when the desired result—healthy children, children who had survived an assault on their home—wasn’t looking you in the eye.

The three of them—Adam and his two grown children—had manipulated him. They’d preyed upon his sense of duty, and Fil had ensured that at least one person in that camp made him feel unwelcome, that someone wanted him gone, that someone would make him feel as if his mere presence would be the death of all of them. It was certainly easier to leave that type of environment, real or imagined, than one that mirrored the future he’d always wanted. They knew him well enough to play their parts and ensure he made the decision he needed to make. It didn’t make him happy, but he understood their logic.