“We’re not giving up,” Ven said hotly. “We’ve already done the impossible, and we can do it again. Katarina knows that her sons did wrong, and although she says we have to atone for that, it’s not like she’s fighting from the heart. We can do this.”
Oh, dear. My beloved mate. I would miss her more than anything. But I felt better knowing she had my entire pack to take care of her. And know she knew what she was.
A dryad.
I’d heard legends of them when I was very young, but that was all they were. Legends. Old-world magical creatures that didn’t exist anymore, wiped out hundreds of years ago with their cousins, the nymphs, only barely surviving because of they’d disappeared into the trees and rocks. Never in a million years would I have guessed that Ven was one of them, nor that her mother had known Frederick. It really was such a small world. I just wished I could stick around longer to comfort her.
I had a week, and I would spend that week loving and cherishing everyone I was lucky enough to have in my circle. I didn’t mind giving them an hour or two to plot around the table, but soon, I would excuse myself. There was too little time to waste on futile scheming when I had already made up my mind.
Of course, Ven noticed that I was checked out, and when the meeting adjourned, she gently gripped my arm.
“Can we take a walk?”
“Of course,” I answered. “Whatever you want.”
We linked arms and headed toward that same river and cave that had become so significant to us. I would never forget the first time I showed it to her, and I was incredibly grateful I’d found someone to share my life with, even if it was only for a short while.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect once we reached our destination, I was just happy to be there with Ven. Once wereached the riverbank where citronella grew wildly, she whirled to face me, her expression far stormier than I was used to seeing.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
I blinked at her in surprise. “Come again?”
“I didn’t stutter. What is wrong with you, Leo? You’re completely checked out. It’s like you’ve given up!”
Ah. I was foolish to think my mate wouldn’t pick up on my mood. She was always so insightful, and she knew me better than anyone, save Ricky.
“I’m not checked out, baby. I’m sorry if I gave that impression. I’m… I’m at peace with the situation.”
I’d expected Ven to understand or at least accept what I meant, but the storm clouds in her eyes grew that much darker.
“What do you mean you’re at peace? Because to me it seems like you’ve completely given up.”
I reached for her, my heart aching. If I were in her position, I would be just as vehement, but I was sure this was the right decision. And I would make it again, and again, and again, as long as she was safe.
“Baby,baby,I haven’t given up, but I know what I have to do.”
I wasn’t prepared for her to shove me away. My beloved Ven so rarely rejected my affection that it seemed entirely wrong.
“You’re going to give yourself over to that witch?”
I wanted to embrace her again, to cover myself in the comfort of her, but it wasn’t the right time. She was righteously upset, and I supposed she had every right to be even if I hated seeing her that way. “If that is what needs to be done.”
“Bullshit! It’s all bullshit! We didn’t literally scratch and claw our way to freedom just to have you give up at the end. We are all more powerful than she could ever imagine. Hell, I’m one of the last dryads on this entire continent. That has to count for something.”
Suddenly, she was in my arms again, looking up at me with beseeching eyes.
“Please, Leo. We’ve finally gotten time together. You can’t throw that away to go off and... and—” She cut herself off, and guilt settled in my gut at the tears she was barely holding back. I didn’t want her to be in pain, but I also didn’t want her to go up against a behemoth of a magic user and end up dead. Surely she could understand that? “You can’t! What about everyone in your pack who are only beginning to heal? Don’t they deserve to have their alpha around before losing everything again?”
Ven’s tone became higher pitched with every passing second, and her scent became more and more bitter with panic. I hated the idea that I was torturing her, and I knew a week of dreading my inevitable demise would tear her heart in two.
“Leo, I don’t think I can live without you. I thought I could get by in life on my own, that I was destined to always be alone. But now that you have shown me what true love is like, I can’t go back. Iwon’t! Do you hear me? I won’t!
“Call your wolf to the front and tell it to summon as much bloodlust as it wants, because I won’t hold him back. We’re going to fight, and we’re going to win. Our family will stick together.”
Such a beautiful, impassioned plea. It was hard to believe it was for me, and yet I knew it was. I would never understand what twist of fate had put me into Ven’s path, but I would always be grateful for the moments we shared.
I didn’t want our last moments to be full of pain and tears.
