Page 73 of Understanding Fate

“Aren’t you having any?” I ask, taking the bowl from him.

“I ate. An hour ago,” he says before grabbing a pile of clothes that are sitting on the table by the door. “I tried to get you these so that you wouldn’t be cold, but you wouldn’t shift.”

“Thank you,” I say, spooning the chili into my mouth.

Good.

It's not as tasty as Ghost’s, but it's still satisfying.

I eat the entire bowl in under five minutes and lift it back toward him in silent question.

He returns to the stove, doles out another serving, and then returns it to me. He moves my legs off the couch and sits himself down in their place before draping them back over him.

His body heat adds to the warmth under the covers, and I moan at the comfort it provides.

“Do you remember any of it, Firefly?” he asks, his hands slowly rubbing my feet in a way that makes me melt.

“The ceremony, yes. Waking up from it, yes, but after that, it was like taking a nap and coming back from a coma with every one of my muscles screaming at me,” I say, trying to put into words the empty darkness.

“It will get easier. Each time you shift, it will become more natural,” he says, a smile lifting one side of his face. “Your wolf is quite the force. She’s big.”

“Just what every girl wants to hear,” I say, swatting him.

“She beautiful, Firefly. Fast, agile, her instincts are spot on, and she has your fiery eyes,” he finishes.

He looks at me, and the rest of the world falls away. I can see the love in his stare, and it makes me feel worthy.

“Thank you,” I choke out. Not sure where all of the emotion is coming from.

“You had me worried when you woke up so fast. I thought for sure I’d messed something up, but when you finally let go and shifted. Your wolf knew exactly what she was doing,” he says, a smile on his face.

“How long was I down for? An hour?” I ask, genuinely curious because it certainly felt short on my end, but I had nothing to compare it to other than the stories he’d told me.

“Eight minutes, Firefly. You were only out for eight minutes. I’ve never heard of anyone waking up that fast. Ever. It shows how strong your wolf is and how ready she is to be released. It made me wonder if it was because you were Awakened so late that your transition was faster, but Jake took just under two hours to wake up from his, and he was eighteen, so it can’t be that,” he says, his voice trailing off in thought.

My wolf is strong.

We’re strong.

Her voice startles me, and I ask the question I’d been avoiding since he told me he couldn’t get me to shift.

“How strong are we? Am I an Alpha?” I ask, looking away from him to brace myself for the answer.

“Stronger than me, Firefly. Your wolf can refuse my command. So yeah, you’re an Alpha and a damn strong one at that,” he says, and I chance a look at him, relieved when all I see is pride emanating from his stare.

“Is that okay?” I ask, holding his gaze. “Me being an Alpha? Does it change anything for you?”

“More than okay, Firefly. I’ve always told you how strong I think you are. Even without your wolf, it's one of the things I love about you. Having a badass wolf only makes me feel better about how stubborn you are and your tendency to get yourself into trouble,” he says, his smile back as he picks fun at me.

I’m an Alpha.

I’m strong.

I’d like to think I have something to do with both of those things, but feel free to take all the credit.

My wolf says, and I can hear her rolling her eyes.

Sorry. You know what I mean. I’m strong because of you.

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