Chapter 53: Her Determination

[Denali’s POV]

“Denali.”

The warm voice that I haven’t heard in years mixes with a warm, gentle touch on my cheek. Was this a dream? It had to be because she had been dead for years.

“Denali, sweetheart.”

My heart squeezes with longing as I slowly open my eyes and find that she is hovering over me. Her golden eyes, which I haven’t seen in years, still sparkle with the same light they held before she left me.

“Mom?” I whisper.

A smile begins to spread across her beautiful features as she runs her hand along my cheek.

“Yeah,” she responds gently. “You’ve grown so much, my love.”

Of course I have. She was gone for thirteen years. I was no longer the child she left behind with an abusive father. I am a woman now.

“How?” I ask, beginning to take in the area around us.