I close my eyes, terrified of the pain I’m sure will come. Werewolf transformations always look horrible in the movies.
“Soren. Open your eyes for me, love.”Lyall’s voice is in my head, and there’s a burning in my chest. Not like heartburn or anything uncomfortable, more like that pleasant feeling you get when you swallow a warm drink on a cold day. I open my eyes and whimper in delight at the sight of Lyall’s beautiful white wolf.
Lyall wags his tail and bumps his nose against my forehead. I realize we’re the same height, although he should be bigger than me. It’s then that I notice my hands have become paws. Shifting felt so natural, I barely noticed when I’d changed forms.
“This is so cool! I’m a wolf!”
Lyall chuffs, tail swinging side to side.“Aye, that you are.”
I realize he heard me.“How can we hear each other like this?”
Lyall rubs his body against mine.“It’s through our bond. Before, I could feel you, but you couldn’t sense me. Now that you’ve shifted, our bond is no longer one-sided.”He shivers against me.“Gods, how I missed feeling you.”
The pain in his voice makes me whimper. I grab his tail in my teeth and tug, making him yelp. He spins around and tackles me, and we roll over in the leaves together. I lick one of his ears.“You’re not alone anymore, sweetheart.I’m here. I’ll always be here, until we’re nothing but ash in the earth. Just like you said.”
The rush of joy that sweeps through my chest takes me by surprise. It’s his joy. I can feel him, as if we share the same heart.
Lyall drops into a play-bow, his eyes bright and focused only on me.“Then run with me. We’ll leave the aches and pains of the past behind, here and now.”
I snap my teeth playfully, blood pumping.“Let’s see who the faster wolf is!”
The world blurs around me as my paws kick up dirt. Wind roars in my ears, carrying our yips and howls. Side by side, we run, chasing our future.
This is it; I know it. I canfeelit stretching out before us.
This is the beginning of our forever, together.
Epilogue
Lyall
The wind blows coldoff the sea, but with Soren’s arm around my shoulders, every part of me feels blissfully warm. As we near the village, I put my arm around his waist, gripping his hip.
“You think people will give us trouble?” Soren asks.
“Wulfric assured me he’d spoken to the villagers and made it clear he would be displeased if anyone provoked us.”
Still, when we enter the village and I sense people’s eyes on us, I can’t keep my hackles from rising. Many of our people still remember the devastation Soren’s father brought to our shores. It will take time for them to accept that their blame was misplaced.
“Welcome home, Soren!” a woman calls from her window.
“Thank you,” Soren says, offering a smile and wave.
A farmer shouts from his pasture, “Aye, welcome home, lad. I always knew you were a good’un.”
To my surprise, we receive quite a few similar greetings on our way to the longhouse. While there are some who cast suspicious or even hostile glares, they heed Wulfric’s warning and do not trouble us.
“Well,” Soren says, squeezing my shoulder, “that was unexpected!”
“Indeed. It is certainly more than I’d hoped for.”
My people can be stubborn, but their hearts are good. It’s my hope that someday Soren will be accepted by most of the village.
A new worry makes my stomach churn as we approach the Alpha and Alpha-Mate’s’ home. I haven’t seen Gunnar in the month since Soren’s trial. I was surprised when he voted in support of Soren’s innocence, but I’m no fool. He may have changed his views, but that does not mean he will see Soren as part of our pack.
Anders has updated me every now and then. Gunnar hasn’t gone berserk again. He even implied our brother has been quiet and calm. Arlo’s doing, I hope. The witch has been visiting often, but Anders is unsure whether they’ve accepted their mate bond.
I pray Gunnar will be able to move on and find happiness.
