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Her head whipped up, wide eyes pinned on me. A growl rumbled in her throat, and she bared her teeth at me.

I lifted my palms, lowering my head in submission toward her. “I will not hurt you,” I said, my voice still gentle. “You know me, don’t you?”

She twisted around to face me, legs still limp in the sand. Her golden eyes gleamed with rage.

“I can help you,” I said. “You know me, don’t you?”

She blinked once. Twice. Then, she arched back and howled toward the sky. The sound vibrated through me, piercing my very soul. Her echoing howl reverberated off the cliffs, the anguished song floating along the sea breeze.

It spoke of pain. So much pain.

From within me, Tavik began to stir.

The wolf howled again, her voice breaking.

“I am here,” Tavik murmured sleepily.

Relief spread through me. “Tavik! Thank the gods.”

“I’m here!” Tavik repeated, his voice gaining strength. “I hear you!”

My mouth fell open as I stared at the wolf. Had her howl awoken Tavik?

“Alaric, this is her. This is who I’ve been sensing this whole time.”

A startling realization swept over me, as jarring as the icy waters at my feet.

Tavik had always felt drawn to Cerise… but it wasn’t Cerise at all.

It was her wolf.

“Can you shift?” I asked him.

“Yes. Please, Alaric, please. Let me go to her.” His voice was panicked and desperate. An intense longing coursed through him, thick and potent.

He hadn’t known the wolf existed. But now that he did, every ounce of him yearned to be with her.

I could understand that feeling intimately.

“Do what you can for her,” I said before I let the shift take over. My body rippled and quivered and my human form vanished as Tavik took control. Our skin sprouted black fur. A long tail extended from behind. And our back hunched over, resting on four legs. My consciousness retreated to the far recesses of my mind, making everything more muted than before. Compared to Cerise’s shift, this was quick and effortless, the pain minimal.

The white wolf stiffened, eyes fixed on the unexpected black beast at her side. Tavik padded forward, and she did not draw away.

Did she feel connected to him, like he did to her? Could she sense it at all? Or was she in too much pain to recognize it?

Tavik gently nudged her fur with his snout, and her eyes fell closed, as if the touch was soothing to her.

“My name is Tavik,” Tavik murmured. “What is your name?”

“Sasha,” came her reply.

Gods’ breath. I could hear her! I had never been able to hear another wolf in my mind before. Her voice was similar to Cerise’s, but… different. Deeper. Fuller.

“Can you move?” Tavik asked.

“It hurts,” she said in a whimper.

A fierce, protective roar built in Tavik’s mind, but he kept his voice calm as he asked, “Are you injured?”