Page 20 of The Alpha Wolf Defying Fate

“Is it there now?” I asked her, my thumb tracing circles over her hand as I held it.

She shook her head. “No, I don’t hear it now anyway.”

“Good,” I said. “Then, that means you can think clearly right now. You can get yourself ready for that voice if it comes back and then you will not be so afraid of it when it does.”

She looked up at me with drawn brows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, that you aren’t some pansy, little damsel in distress, Rigel. And you are damn sure not going to let yourself be made one by some radio static in your head. So, let’s practice what you are going to do if that voice comes back.”

I poked my finger against her forehead, her teeth peeling back into a snarl as she growled back at me.

“That’s it. That’s the attitude you need to have with this strange voice in your head. Not shutting down and forgetting who you are.”

She scoffed at me. “And who the hell do you think I am, Fairchild?”

My hand moved to cup her cheek, forcing her to look me in the eyes. I could see her gaze softening as I did, my own eyes looking back at her with a softness of my own.

“You are the strongest woman I have ever met. The only woman who has ever given me a run for my money when it comes to fighting, both physically and magically. You’re a god damned warrior princess, Rigel. Nothing in this world can stand toe to toe with you.” I smirked. “Well, with the exception of myself.”

She snorted and gave me a shove, though I could tell that her full strength wasn’t behind it. A smile replaced the look of terror and uncertainty in her gaze as she looked back at me, and I could see a change in her breathing.

There was still a fear in her eyes over whatever it was that was haunting her mind, but I could now see more of the woman I knew her to be. The powerful fighter who feared nothing and no one. The future leader of her people and protector of all those she cares for.

I could see Sasha Rigel-Chios shining back at me in her eyes, and a fresh determination to not be held back by anyone or anything.

“You got this, Rigel,” I assured her with a smile. “Don’t let me catch you forgetting that again.”

She laughed and stepped back from me, the sound of Aurora calling her name taking her attention. She turned and looked before giving me a smile that had never been graced upon me from her before. The kind of smile I had always seen her give to her family and friends and secretly longed to see its glow cast upon me.

“Thank you, Ayden,” she said. “I don’t know how you managed to silence that voice in my head, to give me that pep talk, but I appreciate it so much. Now, get back to camp and rest up. Because we’re leaving at dawn.”

She strolled away from me then, my eyes gazing along the curve and sway of her body. I smirked as I knew she was exaggerating the movement, but I didn’t turn away from the show.

I stayed in the trees and watched her disappear into the camp with Aurora, their voices faded by the breeze blowing against my back. My lips were curled up into a smile, pride filling my chest as I knew that I had helped her overcome whatever had been plaguing her in that moment. That she would be back to normal and ready to jump into any other danger we might come across on this journey through the unknown.

“I’m glad I could help you, Sasha,” I whispered into the wind.

‘She still needs us,’my wolf said.‘It would be better if she were marked. The sooner the better.’

I shook my head.‘Never going to happen, Buddy.’

‘Never say never, human.’

I shrugged off his comment, giving the view one last gaze before following the path that Sasha had taken back to camp. When I arrived, the others were gathered around the fire, a giant fish roasting over the flames as Baer turned it slowly to ensure an even cook.

I laughed as I clapped his shoulder and congratulated him on his catch. I had been sure they wouldn’t catch even a minnow with all the splashing and laughing they had been doing along the shoreline before.

My gaze then moved to Sasha. Her face brightened to its normal glow as she chatted with Aurora and laughed as she had before the wisp’s attack. She turned to look at me; her smile brightening as our eyes met and my heart skipped a beat at the sight.

‘I would tear down all the stars in the sky and place them back in her image just to see her smile like that at me one more time,’I thought to myself.

‘Tell her,’my wolf insisted.

I smirked and looked away from her as I found my way over to my tent and slipped inside.

‘Not a chance in hell, wolf,’I said.‘She would take all those stars in the sky and toss me into their fiery cores just for showing her that kind of weakness. Don’t let tonight fool you. She will never accept us. Even now, we’re only destined enemies in her eyes.’

‘I think you are over thinking this. She needs us. She knows that even more now especially after you helped her where her cousin could not.’

---