“And the kid?”
“It's a long story…” I sigh, not wanting to get into the details right now.
Especially not when my inner wolf feels a tug, and I sense that Arianna has shifted into her wolf form, drawing my attention to the window.
“You're really gonna help us, D?” I ask again, to which she looks up and narrows her eyes at me.
“I told you I would. I'll stick around for a few days, if that's alright.”
I raise a skeptical brow. “Of course, it is, as long as you're not neglecting your duties in your pack.”
“Well, apart from my betrothal, there isn't really much going on at Shadow Fang. Besides, I'd much rather avoid that whole scheme, and what better way than to help out a friend?” Delilah reaches out and pats my arm. “You look like you could use some help.”
When a whimpering howl echoes through the valley, it permeates through my heart, setting my pulse alight.
“You should probably go after her, Ty,” Delilah suggests as she keeps her head between the pages of the journal. “She's definitely going through it, and I don't mean that lightly. She's a werewolf and has just discovered that she's part witch. Even though my mother was one, and I grew up knowing that I was part witch, it was overwhelming for me when my powers began to surface. I can't imagine what she's going through.”
I nod fervently, glancing one last time at the window to get a sense of direction. As I pass by the living room, it appears that my friends are occupied with fawning over Noah, and the only thing I need to worry about is Arianna's condition.
Bolting through the back door, I shift into wolf form and race toward the mountain, only grateful that Arianna hasn't gone past the border and is still safe within our boundaries.
Though we'd managed to chase the mutated rogue off our territory, the danger remains looming, especially with Arianna's vision today. She said she suspected who it might be, but she remains unsure.
Perhaps I pushed things a little too far when I suggested that her gifts could be useful in the pack.
She just confirmed that she's a witch, her grandmother was a powerful priestess in the coven, and she's not taking it well.
Whinnying through my wolf nose as I mentally slap myself for coming on too strong, I race through the woods, approaching the base of the mountain, where all I can see are Arianna's ears perked up near the edge. She'd stopped howling, and she's probably lying down, defeated.
I can sense her anguish from down here, how she's wrestling with the overwhelming news that she's the granddaughter of a powerful witch.
She probably feels pressure, like she has shoes to fill that are a few sizes too big.
Knowing all about that myself, a pang of guilt grips my heart and has me climbing nimbly up the side of the mountain, not too close to where she is, because I don't want to scare her.
Once I'm at the top, I shift behind a bush, stepping out in human form a few meters away from Arianna. A lot is going on through her mind, clearly, and I don't want to intrude with the mind link.
“Arianna…?” I call out gently, and her ears perk up when she picks up the sound of my voice. Taking a cautious step forward, she turns her furry head toward me, her raven-black fur smooth and silky as it catches the gentle moonlight.
A pair of honey-golden eyes meet mine, glossed over with moisture that makes her appear frail and vulnerable to match the size of her wolf. Even when she rises on her paws, her frame appears meek, her nose pointed to the ground as if she's bowing to her alpha.
It's a natural response in her wolf form, but what's unnatural is her weeping in that condition, almost as if she's clinging to the wolf part of her. She'd been shedding tears, evident in the moist fur sticking to her pointed face, and my heart pulls tight.
Tears shed in wolf form are precious—they're only shed when grief and torture are too much to bear for a human heart. My eyes soften as I stare at her face, walking slowly toward her and reaching out tentatively.
“I know you're going through a lot right now,” I tell the wolf in front of me—the she-wolf who means the world to me, even if I've been denying it all along.
Perhaps I'm a coward to have turned cold when I heard her murmur her other mate's name, not realizing that our true mate bond is stronger than any other bond formed, even if she had a child with him. Werewolves only get one true mate, if they're fortunate enough to feel the mystical threads that weave souls together.
It's not like he's alive, anyway. He's not there for her when she needs him the most right now.
What matters is that she's here, with me,needingme.
That other man—whatever his name is, because I don't want to give him any significance right now—is dead.
The Moon Goddess has given me a second chance, andI'mas good as dead if I don't do what's right.
As I near Arianna, I notice the pleading glint in her eye as she silently beckons me forward. She lowers her head again, only to shift into human form. I reach her just in time to catch her frail frame in my arms as she begins sobbing again.
