Chapter Twenty-Three

WOLF

Spinning around in circles, I’m surrounded by trees in the forest; I can’t pick up Mason’s scent anywhere. It was right in front of me one minute, and then the next, it was gone.

Fuck.

She must have masked her scent; my mind is running around in circles as I try to calm my beast down; his only concern as he growls it over and over in my head is Sasha.

MATE, PROTECT, MATE!

He’s so loud that I have to try and zone him out right now; closing my eyes, I force him back down. It would be so much faster tracking Mason down if I were a wolf. Looking down at the dog tag around my neck, I grab it, fisting it in my hand; every fibre in my body wants to rip it from my chest.

“Fuck!” I suddenly thunder out in frustration; I need to calm down, but how am I meant to do that... Mason’s gone running off to tell Caius about what she saw in the showers earlier, and Sasha- the vibrations suddenly coursing through my veins has me desperate to get back to her. I left her in my room; at least this time, I watched her lock that fucking door before I went.

I still can’t believe we marked each other; I haven’t even had a moment to process it yet. She’s mine; she’s fucking mine. The moment her canines pierced my skin, it was as if the whole world stood still for that moment; there no longer was just me; it was us, intertwined like the roots of a tree; we were one and complete. The moment the mind link snapped into place, it was as if someone had taken a rubber band and pulled it as far as they could before letting go of one side; the pull from my soul to hers was that instant. Just thinking of it has me sporting a semi in my pants. Groaning, I try and focus as I close my eyes, fuck...

The moment my eyes fly open, it’s as if everything comes into perspective. As clear as day, new determination courses through me as my beast and I suddenly link in sync. Go back, get Sasha, get out.

To hell with Caius; if he finds out what we’ve done, he’ll kill us anyway. Every second I waste is too long, and Sasha’s life hangs in the balance; he’ll kill her; I know he will. Fuck him; I will just have to kill him first. I have something to fight for, something I never had before, my soul mate.

Without wasting another second, I race back towards the mine shaft, the trees and bushes speeding past me in a chaotic blur. I’ve never run this fast in my human form before in my life; in the past, I was always running from something, but right now, I’m running towards something, my reason for existence.

Sasha.

~

The moment I get to my room, I raise my fist to bang on the door, but it just swings open, and my heart literally falls through my ass; I barge into the room, heaving, my chest rising and falling like a madman. Without thinking, I snap at her,

“Sasha, what the fuck-” But I instantly freeze when my eyes land on her; she’s sitting cross-legged on the bed, staring at my phone. The moment she lifts her eyes to me, the tears shimmering behind them have me gulping when she whispers,

“I sensed you were coming, so I opened the door.” Sniffing, Sasha wipes away tears as they fall from her eyes, “I didn’t mean to go on your phone; I just wanted to phone my pack to make sure they were fine-” she sniffs again. My chest aches as I experience her turmoil on a different level than before.

Her emerald green eyes are aching with pain, and the impact of it hits me like a bullet wound to the chest.

My chest contorts, and my jaw clenches as my entire body goes rigid; my feet start moving on their own when I come to stand right in front of her and mutter,

“What’s wrong?” Instead of telling me, she silently holds out the phone to me as she wipes away more tears with her free hand. I’m suddenly deadly afraid of what’s on that phone. Did I do something wrong? I’m trying to remember doing anything wrong but coming up empty.

My hand reaches out to take the phone from her as my eyes slowly scroll down to the screen; my brows furrow when I register that I’m looking at the last messages from Don. I never even had a chance to read any of them; everything happened so fast. The only one I was worried about was Sasha at that point.

The moment I start reading them, my chest tightens-

Don: “Hey man, been trying to phone you.”

Don:“Fuck, my dad’s losing his mind over here. He’s talking about taking Sam underground, hiding her away until this whole thing is over.”

Don:“Wolf, fuck. Can you give me something to go on? Caius can’t get his hands on Sam; she isn’t like the rest of us.”

Each message seems more desperate than the last, but it’s his last message, a voice note. The moment I press play, I swallow hard in response to his strained voice on the other side-

Don:“Look, man, I know what you are to my sister, not that she needed to tell me; it was obvious the moment I saw you sitting across from her in that diner. Sam won’t even sit with any of the guys she knows, let alone a stranger. Last night, I heard her talking in her sleep. I know something terrible is about to happen. Sam can sense things that others can’t, but it’s more than that; she isn’t like the rest of us, Wolf. She’s special. I guess what I’m trying to say is- Just make me a promise, man; if something happens to either my dad or me, promise me you’ll take care of my sister and protect her with your life, please; it’s all I ask.”

My jaw goes slack, the vivid memory of Don’s face mere seconds before his death, his eyes boring into mine, an urgency so desperate in his voice- I didn’t understand it then; I thought it was only because he was about to die, but now- now I know that his desperate pleading eyes weren’t for himself, they were for his sister.

My eyes slowly lift to Sasha’s, and I can’t fucking speak; the words are stuck in my throat, lodged so tight I can hardly breathe.

“He knew something bad was coming; he must have heard me say it in my sleep. I don’t understand why he didn’t tell me.” I watch small whimpering sobs escape her, and I’m physically dying inside. She’s forced to relive the agony of losing them all over again... I’m expecting her to hate me for it and lash out at me for not reading Don’s messages, but instead, she slowly gets up from the bed, steps towards me, and climbs straight into my arms. I release a deep sigh of relief as my large form folds itself around her, my arms pulling her into me, holding her tightly against my hard chest; I want so desperately to erase all of her pain, swallow it up in my arms, and help her to heal.

She slowly pulls away from me to look up into my eyes, and I’m drowning in the beauty of my mate; she’s the only oxygen I’ll ever need.

“I don’t want to be here, Wolf. I don’t care if Caius kills me; please take me away.” My whole body tenses at her words. I tilt her chin up ever so slightly, placing the most tender kiss against her soft lips as I whisper,

“Let’s go.” And with that, I’m instantly pulling her with me, her hand held tightly in mine as we head for the entrance to the mine shaft with a newfound determination.

I’ll get her somewhere safe and then come for Caius. If Sasha is genuinely as important to him as he says, he won’t kill her; he’s not that stupid.

~

The moment we get outside, it’s almost dark; the plan is to head into the trees. I know of a cave not too far from here. I’ve slept there before; it’s secluded and safe, and if I hide her there and come back for Caius, she’ll be safe.

I freeze instantly as my grip tightens around Sasha’s hand, pulling her protectively behind me; a low, threatening growl reverberates up my chest. Torches are lit all around us, the bright flames flickering as they cast shadows against the faces of the rogues as they glare at us. Angry sets of eyes are directed straight at me, zeroing in on one pair of eyes in particular; Caius is busy glaring at me with so much hatred in his eyes that even I can’t look away.

To the left of him, Damien stands staring me down, and to the right, Mason, except she won’t look me in the eye. Smirking, I lower my eyes just for a moment as I tighten my grip on Sasha’s hand.

The moment I look back up at Caius, he growls; it’s the most threatening I’ve ever heard his beast be toward me before, and am I scared? No, not for myself, anyway. I’m afraid for Sasha because my love for her is also my biggest weakness, and Caius knows that.

“You are a real fucking piece of work, aren’t you? My orders were simple: keep her, fuck her, but don’t mark her. What is so difficult to understand about that, Wolf!?” His voice roars over the forest floor surrounding us as he bares his teeth.

It’s as if, at that moment, my beast loses it too, pushing forward and showing in the irises of my eyes as I growl back even more threatening than before,

“Did you really think I would stand by and watch you mark my mate, old man!?”

He scoffs, his beast circling in his own eyes as he stares me down,

“Mate? You never even wanted one. Remember when you told me that yourself?”

Scowling at him, I can’t believe Caius’s bullshit right now,

“I was fucking seventeen years old, Caius. I didn’t know the first thing about having a mate.” I growled back hard,

“Well, you’re not missing anything; I’m saving you from a lifetime of fucking heartache, trust me. Women are manipulative, crafty, and cunning bitches; the moment you let your guard down, they destroy you with their treachery.”

Snickering, I shake my head at him,

“Is that what happened to you, Caius? Did some she-wolf rip out you’re heart, so now you want to rip out mine?” Caius narrows his eyes at me and then sniggers,

“You’re just like your father, you know that, spitting fucking image of him.”

Completely stunned by what he just said, I blinked back the confusion in my eyes when I grit out,

“You knew my father?”

Groaning, Caius scrubs a hand over his face,

“I’m going to kill you now anyway, so I might as well tell you, right?” I felt cemented in place as I waited for him to continue, but nothing could have prepared me for what he was about to say next,

“Yeah, I knew you’re father; his name was Volk.”

I blinked, Volk? I try to think back, but I was too small to remember my father,

“Your mother,” He continues, clenching his jaw, “Her name was Louvre; she was part of the Erebus pack.”

My entire body stiffens, and so does Sasha’s; wait- my mom was part of the Erebus pack; how is that possible?

“I- I don’t understand...” Words become lost to me as Caius narrows his eyes at me.

“Neither did I at the time; Volk was an Ultima alpha wolf, his tribe resided up in the furthest mountains of the Canadian borders, and your mother belonged to the Erebus pack. I was a rogue, but you’re mother never judged me for what I chose to be.” There was a look of lost sentiment in his eyes as he thought of her, and I hated that he had a memory of the person who birthed me, and I didn’t.

Then he looked up at me again, and his eyes were laced with so much bitterness and hatred towards me; when he growled,

“Your father took her from me, all because she turned out to be his fated mate. He came to discuss a tribal pack matter with Fenris, and the moment he saw Louvre, he claimed her as his right then and there; the funny thing is, she didn’t even care to stop him; she went with him so willingly-” smirking, Caius clenched his fists as his jaw ticked before continuing, “I vowed that day that I would make Volk and Fenris pay for what they took from me, and so, when Volk wasn’t expecting it, I took everything from him, with the help of a witch so powerful, so dark and twisted-” Grinning wickedly, he cocked a brow, “I wiped out his entire tribe in one fell swoop. All except for Volk, no, he was the only one left behind, to mourn the loss of his people, of his fated mate, until your mother’s death finally drove him to die an agonizing heartbreaking death, completely consumed by the loss and grief of his fated mate.”

I glared at him as my body began to tremble; I was shaking as my hand fisted by my side when I grit out,

“You killed my family; I grew up alone, with nothing and no one. All this time, you knew who I was and said nothing.”

Narrowing his eyes, he stood there smug in his confession,

“When I found out Louvre had birthed Volk, a son, I wanted nothing more than to rip you to pieces right in front of him; the fact that you survived that curse- I’m still not quite sure how you did that. You’re the spitting image of your old man the first time I ever saw you; it didn’t take much to put two and two together, considering we never found your corpse as a toddler.”

I’m literally shaking with rage, my breaths labored as I glare at him,

“So that’s why you killed Fenris and Don, because of your fucked up obsession with my mom?”

“I killed Fenris because I vowed I would; I killed his son for fun.” He shrugged wickedly.

I feel Sasha’s hand tighten against mine as her trembling form pushes into me; my beast is thrashing against my ribs; the adrenaline coursing through me wants to kill him, rip him apart for the unimaginable pain he’s caused both Sasha and me. Fuck, he allowed me to walk this earth thinking my parents had thrown me away, that they never gave a fuck about me. All this because he had a thing for my mother?

He suddenly pulls me from my reverie the moment he takes a step toward me,

“I’ve told you the truth; now give her to me.”

Blinking my brows furrow at him, and the moment he takes another step toward me, it sends me right over the edge; being driven now not by myself but solely by my beast, I let go of Sasha’s hand without thinking as I launch myself right at Caius. One of the rogues jumps out at me, but all I can see is red; I knock him down like he’s nothing but a feather floating in my way, and then another one tries his luck- big fucking mistake. I instantly grip him by his throat, squeezing so hard that I literally watched the life drain from his face, but he’s not the one I’m after. Dropping him to the ground, my deep growl reverberates through the air as I lunge at Caius, and in a split second, I have him pinned against a tree by his throat.

Caius is big, but I’m bigger and stronger now than before, and the rage fueling me wants to snap his neck like a fucking twig. His eyes suddenly widen as he stares at me in complete shock, gasping for air; he grips my arm with both of his hands, trying desperately to break free, and I can see the panic in his eyes; I’m being driven by something more substantial than myself, the only person I would kill for, my mate.

“If you so much as touch her, I’ll fucking kill you!” I seethe as I glare fiercely into his eyes.

I want that stone; it’s for our freedom. And I would gladly end Caius’s miserable existence for Sasha and me to have it because Caius is a monster, no- he’s worse than that. He wiped out my entire family, forcing me to fend for myself as a small pup. The sudden memory of me trying to survive with nothing and no one only fuels my rage toward him. He killed Sasha’s family, all out of jealousy; how can he justify something so sadistic all because he was obsessed with my mom? He was so obsessed that he killed her, too.

“Enough!” A sudden, loud, shrill voice screeches from behind the trees in the forest. All eyes fly up to where it just came from, and coming from the shadows stands a woman with a darkened aura so suffocating that it has my wolf growling in response. Without even needing to be told, I already know that she’s the witch who’s been helping Caius.

My eyes instantly narrowed as I zeroed in on her; I watched as she slowly made her way out of the shadows until she came into the light of the torches.

She’s shrouded in black from head to toe, and the moment she lowers her hooded cloak, I can get a better look at her face; her lips are almost black, and her eyes are darkened, dramatizing her evil look. The pendant hanging right between her brows is unique, and I’m mesmerized by it for a split second.

The moment Caius groans in my grasp, my eyes snap back towards him, and that’s all it takes, a split second for everything to change. More than three feet from us, the witch suddenly appears beside me. Firmly placing her hand against my forearm, I flinch at how cold her touch is as I growl, but she just gives me a bored look as she sighs,

“I said enough, Wolf.” And I reluctantly drop Caius to the ground, my eyes widening when they pierce hers, my brows furrow in confusion; what the fuck just happened? How did she get me to do that?

Giving me a satisfied little smirk, she nods once,

“Good dog.”

My narrowed eyes trail after her as I watch her walk past me; I’m still shocked by what just happened a second ago. I didn’t want to let go of Caius, but it was as if I didn’t have a choice.

She’s steadily making her way over toward Sasha, and it’s then that my beast thrashes against my chest as if to shake me out of the confinement of that moment,

MATE, PROTECT, MATE!

He howls loudly inside my head, and I instantly spin around and bolt towards Sasha; I’m probably a foot away from the witch when she spins around and holds out a finger towards me,

“Padni mi pod noge,” I frown at her when I suddenly drop to the ground like a rock the second she spews those words at me. I hit the dirt, frozen and unable to move; I push and pull against this invisible restraint, but I can’t fucking move.

“What is this?” I growl furiously as I try to push up off the ground with all my might. I’m losing my mind, but it’s pointless; no matter what I do, it’s as if my hands and feet are cemented in place.

I glare at her as a resounding growl roars through my chest. Still, she only smirks in response, utterly unphased by my massive form crouched on all fours as she looks past me at Caius; her voice remains monotone as she speaks to him like she has better things to do.

“You know what they say, Caius if you want the job done right-” She lets those words linger as she narrows her eyes at him before returning to Sasha. I’m defenseless to protect her, and it doesn’t matter how much I push against this invisible force; I can’t move an inch. My entire body is trembling as I look at Sasha’s horrified face; the fear in her eyes has my wolf going berzerk inside of me,

“Get the fuck away from her,” I growl at the witch; every fiber of my body wants to break into my beast and rip her head off, but the witch pays no attention to me and instead comes to stand right in front of Sasha when she sniggers,

“You look just like your mother did before I killed her.”

Sasha’s eyes widen in confusion, tears welling up behind her green orbs as she stares bewildered at the witch. Furrowing her brows, Sasha swallows hard when she mutters,

“H- how did you know my mother? She died eight years ago?” Sasha’s voice comes out so small and unsure as she starts fidgeting with her fingers, and the witch lets out a dark and meddlesome laugh as she shakes her head in amusement,

“Wait, you mean that she-wolf who raised you? No, my dear, she wasn’t your mother; Caius was the one who killed the she-wolf, not me. I’m talking about your real mother, who actually birthed you.” Sasha blinks in confusion when she mumbles,

“W-what?” And the witch gives her an amused look when she sighs,

“Your mother was a witch just like me, well- not entirely like me; she was a white lighter; more specifically, she was Queen to all the white lighter witches, which technically makes you a white lighter witch princess now, doesn’t it,” Wait, what? Sasha’s mom was a witch, which means she’s a witch?

The witch taps her chin with a finger as she smirks, and Sasha’s eyes immediately shoot over to find mine; she looks so confused and lost, but above all else, she looks scared.

“How do you know all this? Who are you?” Sasha’s bottom lip trembles as she wraps her arms protectively around herself, and the witch suddenly lets out a cackling laugh when she places a hand over her chest, feigning a forced shocked expression,

“Oh, how rude of me; I haven’t even introduced myself, have I? That is such poor manners on my part. I’m Lisbon, your aunt; your mother was my sister, well- she was until I killed her,” she sniggers in self-satisfaction.

A stray tear falls from Sasha’s eye as she quickly wipes it away,

“Why would you-”

“Kill her?” Lisbon says, “Let’s just say we had a different opinion. I wanted her powers, and she wouldn’t give them up, so I killed her.” The way she so flippantly says it like it’s nothing to kill your own family instantly has me growling in response.

Sasha’s eyes fall on me, but then she looks back at the witch when she murmurs,

“So, you’re a white lighter too?”

Letting out another exaggerated laugh, Lisbon shakes her head,

“Do I look like a white lighter witch to you? I mean, just look at me.” She flays her hands out as she twirls before cackling, “I’m a dark witch; surely you can tell that just by looking at me?” Shaking her head, Sasha lowers her eyes nervously when she whispers,

“I- I wouldn’t know,”

Smirking, Lisbon cocks her head when she shrugs,

“No, you wouldn’t, would you? That’s what makes this all so tragic. Yana did everything in her power to protect you from me, placing enchantment after enchantment around Erebus to keep me and others like me out. But, she didn’t consider that I would have help from wolves, now did she? You see, her spells only worked on my kind, not on wolves, so to get to you, I had to send the dogs in.” Caius and his rogues suddenly growl in response, clearly not liking the term she used, but she merely sighs as she rolls her eyes,

“Oh, stop it, all of you, you’re dogs; either way you look at it, it’s what you are,” They all quieten down, and Lisbon grins triumphantly when she sighs,

“See, they listen just like good dogs,” Sasha clenches her jaw when she tightens her grip around herself,

“If you killed the witch you claim was my real mother to have her powers, then what do you want with me?” Sasha doesn’t at all look shocked by all this talk about her being a witch. On the other hand, I’m just trying to process it, which makes me feel confused. Does Sasha know about witches? Has she known about them all this time?

“Well, that’s an interesting question. You could call it my shortcoming, but I didn’t consider that Yana would have spawned a little hybrid runt with an alpha. That’s a big no-no in the magical world. I was doing everyone a favor when I killed her; you should have been destroyed at birth, but your father did everything he could to protect you by hiding you in Erebus.”

“I don’t understand-” Sasha mutters, “My father had a mate, a wolf mate, my mother-” Sighing, Lisbon rolls her eyes,

“Let me spell it out for you; it turns out that by some really rare stroke of events, Fenris was mated to not just one but two. He was mated to a she-wolf, who mothered your brother, and to the queen of white witches, Yana, who mothered you; I know it’s disgusting, right? The fact that a witch would even look at a dog is just gross.” Sasha shakes her head as her brows furrow into a scowl,

“That’s impossible; our kind can only have one mate, and fated mates are a gift from the moon. There’s no chance that my father could have had two mates; you’re lying,”

“Look, kid, I don’t make the rules; take it up with the Moon Goddess herself if you have reservations. I’m only telling you what happened. And because of you, I haven’t been able to claim Yana’s powers for myself. Caius so generously tried to kill you when you were still a kid, but the she-wolf who pretended to be your mother decided to be a hero and leap in front of him to save your life; so pathetic,” she grumbles with disdain.

Sasha’s eyes dart from Lisbon to Caius, from him to me, and then back at the witch again when she grinds out,

“So you plan on killing me, is that it?” Scoffing, Lisbon shrugs,

“Eventually, but first, I must fulfill a promise towards Caius. I helped him by getting rid of your mate’s pack, and Caius helped me by getting you away from Erebus-”

“You killed Wolf’s family; why?” Sasha’s hand’s fist at her sides as she growls, a slither of blue swirling around in her eyes,

“Yes, I did, for a price; by wiping out the Ultima wolves for Caius, he returned the favor by capturing you so I could claim your powers. When I have the powers within you, I can use them to help bring all alpha packs to their knees and have all witches live under my rules. I just need to wait until the moon is at its highest; with the help of your fated mate over there, your powers will be at their strongest then, and I will take them from you,” She shrugs nonchalantly,

“You’re sick; both of you are.” Sasha grits out as she glares at Lisbon and then at Caius.

Fuck. I’m trying to move, grinding my teeth as I glare daggers at the back of that bitches’ head. But I can’t; it’s as if I’m utterly powerless against whatever she’s done to me.

It’s as if all the other rogues have stepped back, too, clearly intimidated by this witch. All except Mason and Damien, who I can see out of my peripheral vision, are right by Caius’s side; if I could only move my head, I would be able to make eye contact with Mason. This is all on her; she went running off to Caius, ratting on me, and for what? We’ve been through a lot of shit together; I never expected much from her. Knowing her for who she is, I always expected her to stab me in the back someday. I guess I had always hoped she would choose a different path in life. Fat chance...

Caius suddenly steps up next to the witch. My beast instantly starts rattling against my rib cage, a deep reverberated growl rumbling from my chest as I glare at them both, but Caius doesn’t look the least bit phased; the smug grin on that bastard’s face is all brave now because I can’t move.

Tilting his head, he smirks at Sasha before turning his head towards Lisbon,

“Are you sure this little girl is the daughter of this all-powerful white witch queen? Because I haven’t seen her do anything since she’s been here, maybe she doesn’t even possess any real powers?” The witch looks over at Caius and smirks before turning her attention back toward Sasha,

“Should we show him what’s inside you, my dear?”

Sasha furrows her brows as she clenches her jaw, looking at the witch in confusion. And that’s when the witch turns on her heel to face me, and I’m glaring straight at her; like a cowardly bitch, she hides behind magic because, without it, she knows I would kill her in a heartbeat.

“A suppressed power just needs a little nudge in the right direction, wouldn’t you say, Wolf?” My brows furrow in response when Lisbon cocks her head as she smirks, pointing her finger at me as she whispers,

“Pomak.”

Staring at her in confusion, it suddenly hits me like a ton of bricks all at once; I suddenly roar, the deep pain slicing through my insides, the agony driving me to the brink of insanity as the pain continues to escalate. My beast begins thrashing around inside of me like a rabid wild animal.

The first bone snaps, and I scream as tears sting behind my eyes, blurring my vision when a ringing noise pierces my ears.

My beast is busy shifting, and I can’t control him; my back arches off the ground as my bones begin cracking one by one. Fuck! I claw at my wolf, desperately trying to reign him in, but it’s as if he’s lost his mind, gone completely feral, and I can’t understand him.

“Fuck!”

A guttural scream explodes from my chest as more bones crack. The agony of my pain is so severe it’s deafening, and I know I’m going to die. It feels like something is ripping my insides out. I can’t hear anything besides the loud ringing inside my ears.

My eyes suddenly shoot up to Sasha. I’m going to die; I know the moment my beast shifts entirely, it’s over. My face contorts in agony when I cry out,

“Sasha!” My heart feels like it’s about to split wide open at any second; everything spins out of control. I’ve never felt pain like this before; it’s unbearable. I’m losing my mind; I can’t take it anymore....

I watch as Sasha thrashes against the witches’ grip, screaming and crying my name. I can’t hear anything besides a solid, sharp ringing in my ears as I start losing focus on her; it feels like my beast is being ripped and torn from my body, and everything goes blurry as I look at her one last time....

And then- It suddenly happens so fast, everything snapping back together in a whiplash whirlwind; my beast and I are suddenly snapped back together like rubber bands, and my wolf instantly calms down, whimpers, and retreats to the deepest hole of my soul. He’s not a scared animal, but even he knows we’re in serious deep fucking trouble.

I’m bent over, heaving as I suddenly start vomiting; my head feels like it wants to explode from the extreme headache piercing my skull. That’s when I feel a trickle of something warm running down my nose, and when I wipe it with the back of my hand, all I see is blood smeared across my hand.

What the fuck just happened?

I’m panting hard as I fall against my side, rolling over onto my back, the witch’s magic finally releasing me, and all I can do is lie there, staring up at the night sky, the show of green lights dancing across a black canvas, as the northern lights sway and move so fluently in front of my eyes.

Everything feels out of place, but the moment I feel her gentle hands cupping my face, I lower my eyes to hers when I notice her cheeks are soaked, her eyes bloodshot from crying. The ringing sound inside my ears is gone, and the second she whimpers,

“Don’t leave me, Wolf, please don’t leave me,” I pull her to me in an instant when my lips come crashing against hers; her sweet scent engulfs me, kick-starting the healing process much faster than I would have been able to do on my own. She mewls into my mouth, my tongue darting into hers and claiming all the space as my arms wrap around her, pulling her even tighter against my chest.

Only once we’re both completely satisfied do I break the kiss. I push my forehead against hers as I swallow hard when I croak out,

“What just happened?”