Chapter 12: 12: Secrets

ARIEL

As I look at the young girl in a pool of her own blood, her stomach mauled to shreds, I feel myself losing control, and I can’t hold back.

I don’t want to hold back.

My wolf takes control and forces me to the back of my mind.

One of the rogues goes straight for my throat, but I dodge and take the bite to my right shoulder instead.

I don’t even feel pain. All I feel is rage.

As a dirty-blond wolf crashes into my side and sends me tumbling down, I land on all fours, but I’m not shifting. My wolf is controlling my human body.

I pounce and pin the rogue down, ripping his throat out as he struggles beneath me.

I turn my attention to a brown wolf, slashing my claws across its eyes as it lunges at me.

In a matter of seconds, I land a fatal bite in its neck as well.

~Two down and one to go.~

I spit the foul blood from my mouth and look at the last rogue remaining. The fool is trembling as I snarl at him.

He turns and runs toward the border with his tail between his legs, but I’m not going to let him get away.

~I said you were all going to die.~

I easily catch up to him and jump on his back, sinking my teeth into the nape of his neck. His paws buckle, and he falls to the ground with a thud.

I circle him, daring him to get up. I’m enjoying this.

I lunge and pin him to the ground before he can stand up, and I bite deeper into his shoulder until I feel bone against my teeth.

With a sharp jerk, I break his shoulder before snapping his neck and dropping his limp body to the floor.

I reek of rogues’ blood, my human clothes and skin covered in their foul, thick gore.

But my wolf is finally satisfied. I regain control of my body.

My hands tremble as I look at the blood covering them.

~Wh-what have I done?~

Maybe the hunters really did turn me into a monster…

A soft whimper draws my attention to the center of the forest clearing.

~The little girl—she’s still alive!~

I race to her side and drop to my knees.

As I hold her little wrist, I can sense a faint heartbeat, but if I don’t do something fast, she’ll die.

Her wounds are almost too gruesome to look at, but I force myself to survey them.

Her stomach is completely opened up. Applying pressure isn’t even an option. The bleeding isn’t going to stop.

~Selene, what do I do? Please tell me!~

Nothing but silence.

“Goddess, why are you always quiet when I need you the most?” I scream. “You told me to use my gift! How the fuck do I use it?”

I feel the sting of the wound on my own shoulder as it begins to close up.

~No, I don’t want to heal myself! I want to heal the child!~

Taking a deep breath, I lay my hands on the girl.

“Goddess, I don’t care what happens to me! Just please heal this child instead!”

I suddenly feel a searing pain in my shoulder as the wound starts to not only grow, but fester.

It’s as if my shoulder is rotting from my body.

I scream through the pain and continue holding the girl, as her heart rate starts to stabilize and her gaping wounds begin to miraculously close up.

As I fall back onto the ground, black spots dance before my eyes.

The little girl sits up slowly, looking dazed, but completely healed.

She kneels next to me and holds my hand as I feel my consciousness fading.

I manage to rasp out one last request.

“Pl-please…don’t tell anyone…about…my gift.”

***

Dom

alex!

Dom

rogues have been scented near the border again

Dom

and a woman has reported that her child is missing

Dom

we need to look into this ASAP

Alex

Shit!

Alex

Send out the alert and make sure everyone gets to safety.

Alex

I’m near the border. I’ll grab some warriors and go myself.

Dom

alex there’s one more thing

Dom

it’s ariel

Dom

one of the warriors said they spotted her going into the woods alone

Dom

in the same spot as the rogue scent

Alex

FUCK!

ALEX

I tear through the forest as fast as my wolf legs can take me, praying to the Goddess that I’m not too late.

I scent blood…lots of it. And I’m absolutely certain that some of it is Ariel’s.

~If anything has happened to her…~

My legs are on fire, but I push even harder. I’m almost there, but the wafting scent of death stops me in my tracks.

~No…Goddess, she can’t be dead. Am I too late?~

I burst through some bushes and enter a clearing, where my eyes immediately lock onto Ariel’s motionless body.

She’s bleeding badly, but it’s nothing compared to the three rogues surrounding her, completely torn to shreds.

Sitting next to Ariel is a small girl, covered in blood herself, but seemingly unhurt.

I rush over to Ariel and check for a pulse. She’s still alive. Barely.

“Can you tell me what happened?” I ask the child urgently.

She sits and stares at me in silence, her eyes wide.

“Don’t be scared. I just want to help her. But I need to know what happened,” I say carefully, not wanting to traumatize the girl further.

She looks up at me and quietly speaks.

“I…I can’t. She said it was…a secret.”

ARIEL

All I see is a shimmering white gown when I open my eyes. ~Selene.~

She hovers above the moonlit lake at my old pack—the place that used to hold so many good memories for me, but now just serves as a reminder of what I’ve lost.

“Am…am I dying?” I ask, squinting from the bright light bouncing off her body.

“Yes, my child, but not for long. You will be healed,” she says softly.

“Selene, how does this work? ~Please~ tell me,” I say, pleading for answers.

I continue. “I feel like I’m going insane. One second my body is healing and the next it’s falling apart! What do I have to do?”

“Your healing is entirely dependent on your own actions,” she responds. “If your intent is to heal, then you will heal. But if it’s to harm…you will not.”

Every time I’ve killed or committed violence, my healing ability hasn’t worked…

And every time I’ve killed, I’ve felt like someone else is piloting my body.

“But what if I can’t control myself? What if I don’t have a choice?” I ask, distraught. “I’m not normal. I’m broken.”

“You always have a choice, Ariel. You must choose between my sister Fate’s plan for you or your own. She wants you to be a killer, a tool of the hunters…but what do you want?”

“I…I want to heal people, not hurt them.”

Selene nods and starts to fade away.

“Then that is the path that you must follow. Just remember that you don’t have to walk it alone.”

***

I wake up in a familiar setting and a familiar situation—the hospital, with Alex by my side.

“I told you that we have to stop meeting like this,” I say, grunting.

I try to sit up, but a sharp pain seizes my shoulder. It’s still in bad shape, a mass of gnarled purple carnage.

“Don’t exert yourself,” Alex says, quickly motioning for me to lie back. “The doctor says you’re lucky to be alive.”

“The girl…how is she?” I ask, as Alex adjusts my pillow.

“She’s fine. Not a scratch on her,” he says, a note of doubt in his voice. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

I don’t. Not really. I’m still terrified of telling Alex the truth.

But maybe he deserves to know. After everything that’s happened, do I still not trust him?

~Just remember that you don’t have to walk it alone.~

Selene is right. This is a weight that is too heavy for one person to carry.

“Alex... I have something I need to tell you,” I say hesitantly. “But I’m afraid you’ll look at me differently.”

“Ariel, I promise you, I won’t look at you any differently. I just want to be there for you,” he says. The compassion in his eyes is sincere.

“It’s just... I won’t become another experiment, Alex. I can’t go back to that. I can’t,” I say, tears welling up in my eyes.

Alex carefully wraps his arms around me, avoiding my wound, and runs his fingers through my matted hair.

“I’ll never let anything bad happen to you,” he says. “You’re always safe with me. But you need to be honest. No more secrets.”

“No more secrets,” I repeat, grabbing Alex’s hand. “I... I have a gift.”

“What kind of gift?” he asks, his beautiful green eyes full of confusion.

“A gift from the Goddess herself. The gift of healing.”

As Alex looks at me with disbelief, my mangled shoulder starts to fill out and the discoloration disappears.

Within moments, the nearly mortal wound is completely healed.

“And... and the girl too?” Alex stammers, his jaw on the floor.

“Yes, I can heal others too... sometimes.”

I don’t know whether Alex is going to start swearing, back away in fear, or call for help, but he doesn’t do any of those things.

Instead, he pulls me upright and places both hands on my cheeks.

He looks between my eyes and my mouth. He bites down on his bottom lip.

I can see he’s fighting an urge to act on impulse.

~What’s he going to do?~

~Is he going to kiss me?~

He leans down and I hold my breath.