Thank you for reading! For those of you who read Rhett and Brynlee's novella and rooted for their HEA, please don't kill me! It was never meant to be the end of Rhett's story, but a defining experience in his journey. Time will tell what the future holds for him.
Liam The chamber falls silent again, but this time the quiet feels heavy with grief rather than relief. Our successful rescue, our triumphant return, is completely overshadowed by the devastating cost of bringing us home.I watch Finley's face crumple as the full weight of what just happened hits her. Through our enhanced bond, I feel the war of emotions tearing her apart—overwhelming relief and joy at being reunited with Dane and me, immediately followed by crushing guilt for feeling happiness while her brother suffers the ultimate loss."Rhett," she whispers, tears streaming down her face. "Oh God, Rhett. She saved us and now he's..." She can't finish the sentence, her voice breaking on a sob that seems to come from the depths of her soul."This is my fault," she continues, the words tumbling out in a rush of grief and self-recrimination. "If I hadn't gotten trapped in that space, if we hadn't needed rescuing, Brynlee would still be alive. Rhett would still have his mate. Maya woul
Liam The chamber falls silent again, but this time the quiet feels heavy with grief rather than relief. Our successful rescue, our triumphant return, is completely overshadowed by the devastating cost of bringing us home.I watch Finley's face crumple as the full weight of what just happened hits her. Through our enhanced bond, I feel the war of emotions tearing her apart—overwhelming relief and joy at being reunited with Dane and me, immediately followed by crushing guilt for feeling happiness while her brother suffers the ultimate loss."Rhett," she whispers, tears streaming down her face. "Oh God, Rhett. She saved us and now he's..." She can't finish the sentence, her voice breaking on a sob that seems to come from the depths of her soul."This is my fault," she continues, the words tumbling out in a rush of grief and self-recrimination. "If I hadn't gotten trapped in that space, if we hadn't needed rescuing, Brynlee would still be alive. Rhett would still have his mate. Maya woul
LiamThe moment our merged consciousness touches the edge of physical reality, I feel the jolt of returning to my body like lightning through my nervous system. Not painful exactly, but overwhelming—suddenly having weight, substance, a heartbeat, and breathing to manage after existing as pure awareness in the between-space."Now!" Celina shouts from somewhere beyond my immediate perception. "Pull them through! The projection is destabilizing!"I feel hands on my physical form—pack members securing my body as consciousness floods back into flesh that's been maintained by ritual energy for hours. Beside me, Dane gasps audibly as he makes the same transition, our shared merger experience leaving us momentarily disoriented about individual boundaries.And Finley—"There!" someone calls out, relief evident in their voice. "She's materializing!"I force my eyes open despite the disorientation, needing to see her actual physical form rather than just sensing her through our residual merger c
Dane Present "The echoes taught me how others failed," Finley explains, her voice carrying new authority born from hard-won experience. "They tried to force escape through individual effort. But this place... it responds to connection, to unified purpose. We can't just leave—we have to transform it.""Transform it how?" I ask, my tactical mind immediately focusing on practical implementation."Consciousness merger," she replies, and the words send a chill through me that has nothing to do with dimensional displacement. "Temporary fusion of our awareness while the space collapses around us. Dangerous, but possible if our bond is strong enough."The concept should terrify me—losing individual identity, even briefly, goes against every instinct Summit possesses. Yet as I study Finley's determined expression, as I feel Liam's ready acceptance through our connection, fear transforms into anticipation."What are the risks?" I ask, needing tactical assessment before committing to something
DaneEarlierThe moment our consciousness touches the between-space, I understand why the historical accounts described anchor volunteers as "forever changed." This isn't just dimensional displacement—it's existence stripped down to pure awareness, reality operating by rules that make my enforcer mind recoil in fundamental rejection."Stay connected," I warn Liam through our shared projection, feeling his similar disorientation as we navigate space that defies every law of physics. "Don't try to understand it. Just follow the pathway Finley's creating.""Trying," he responds, his mental voice strained with effort. "But this place—it's like trying to walk through someone else's dream. Nothing stays consistent long enough to get oriented."He's right. Walls shift when we're not looking directly at them, distances compress or expand based on emotional state rather than physical measurement, and the very air seems to pulse with alien energy that makes Summit restless beneath my projected
Finley I focus on the triad bond, feeling for Dane and Liam's presence through whatever separates our realities. They're there, definitely there, their consciousness maintaining the connection despite the strain of projection across dimensional barriers. Through our bond, I sense their absolute faith in my ability to create the pathway we need, their complete trust in whatever choice I make.That trust, that certainty, gives me the confidence to begin reshaping the between-space deliberately. Not forcing change, but guiding it—encouraging the walls to thin where I need passage, strengthening the foundations where I need stability."I need a route," I tell the space around me, addressing it like a living entity rather than an empty dimension. "Not escape from you, but passage through you. A bridge between realities that honors what you are while allowing what I need to be."The response is immediate and startling—cooperation rather than resistance, as if the between-space has been wai