Heart of a Wolf

“No. I was simply waiting to see how your wolf would react to me.”

“Then why act so rude toward me?” Why push me away?

“It’s how I treat everyone. You need to understand this wasn’t my intent, and if I knew your wolf would accept me just like she’s done right now, I would’ve acted differently.”

I swallowed hard and rolled on my side so I could playfully nip her ear. “When did you know?”

“The first night you turned.” She sat up and nuzzled me again. “I knew as soon as we got you in the car. I was almost certain of it, and the moment you took on your pelt, my wolf confirmed it. I insisted Ash let me look after you, but because you were so new and the pack so against you being here, I had to be careful. The other wolves would’ve disrespected me as well as my place within the pack, and Ash already has so much to look after that—”

“What happens now?” I would’ve blamed her for not saying anything sooner but I probably wouldn’t have believed her anyway.

“We play it by ear. We’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing, but when we hunt, we hunt together. It’ll reinforce our bond and keep your wolf close to me. In time, the rest of the pack will accept it.”

“Does Ash know?”

Fallen looked away from me and bowed her head. “I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure. I don’t like getting my hopes up. Then again, my instincts are never wrong. Not yet, at least.”

When she looked at me again, there was a light shine to her eyes. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to watch you sit inside that cell in pain. That first night, your wolf looked at me as her enemy, and as badly as I wanted to comfort her, any movement on my part would’ve pushed her away.”

Her voice broke, and as it did, I lost my hold on my wolf, throwing my arms around her moments later as I buried my head in her fur. It didn’t take long for me to feel her shift, her fur receding until her skin gently pressed against mine.

She sunk in my embrace, her warm tears falling onto my skin. “I am so sorry.”

“You did what you thought was best,” I assured her, holding her as tight as I could. “And you were right. My wolf wasn’t very fond of it. Her fur bristled all the time.”

She nodded at that. “I know. I could sense it. The others probably have an idea since the bitterness you smelled wasn’t coming from me. You never smelled it on Ash, did you?”

When I shook my head, she continued. “That’s because your wolf saw her as an Alpha and respected her place. As for everyone else, well—”

“You were the enemy,” I finished for her.

“I’m sure your wolf may have seen me as a mentor at some point, but it wasn’t until I let you out of that cell to run with me when she fully accepted me.”

“And this bond… could it ever… could she—”

“Take it back?” Fallen released a soft laugh and ran the backs of her fingertips against my cheek. “Never. She’s a part of me just as she’s a part of you. It’ll take some time before you can experience our full bond, but I promise you, a mating bond isn’t something anyone can take back.”

“Not even the Alpha?” I asked, immediately wishing I hadn’t.

Fallen’s face paled. “No, though I suppose that was part of the confusion. Because your heart used to belong to Dani, Ash felt an instant connection to you. But it’s only your heart she feels close to, not your wolf. The night you shifted at the bonfire, she’d hoped the bond might strengthen, that her love could somehow be reborn.

When that didn’t happen, she distanced herself instead. She recognized it, same as me, but she hated the thought of pushing you away even more. So you stayed and she sent me in her place.”

“Will she fault you for bonding with my wolf?” For some reason, it felt as though I was cheating on her even though I’d never felt as close to Ash as I did to Fallen just then.

“Perhaps, but she knows just as well as anyone else that it isn’t something we can control. It’s a primal need our wolves

have. To ignore that is to accept a life best-lived alone. And I don’t want to be alone. Not anymore.”

I leaned into her caress and closed my eyes, taking in the scents and sounds around us so I could always look back on this very moment.

“We shouldn’t linger,” Fallen said, her voice full of regret.

“The others will wonder where we’ve gone. It’s only a matter of time until they come looking for us.”

“But we can hunt again tomorrow?” I asked hopefully, getting to my feet with her help.

“Yes. So long as I’m not needed elsewhere, I’d love to go on a hunt with you.”