Page 49 of Wolf Marked

Boden’s chin rose, and he stared back at the star as if he was listening to a response she couldn’t hear.

“You know…” he began after some time, “I knew Anya was my mate since we were children. I tried to convince her that we were meant for each other many times.” As he mused, a smile slid across his lips. “But she…she wasn’t as sure as I was.”

Really? Her mother had been hesitant in naming her father her mate?

When Astrid peered up at Vallor, it blinked back at her. She had never heard the story of her father and mother’s earlier years. Her parents’ feelings for each other had been so obvious when her mother was alive that it was hard to believe there was ever atime they weren’t together.

Hope swelled in her chest. If Filip had been right and finding a mate was different for everyone, maybe he was right about Erec being the one for her.

Her father continued to ramble on, “She let years go by before she knew how she felt. And I waited. And waited.” His smile grew, lifting the whiskers around his mouth. “She made me wait until a month before my twenty-fifth Blue Moon.”

Astrid let out a short laugh. That she believed. Her mother had always been a strong-headed woman. Knowing her, she would have wanted to be absolutely confident in her love before confessing it.

Like me.

Astrid hesitated. It seemed she was more like her mother than she’d thought.

“You remind me so much of her, Astrid,” her father said. He came over to her and placed his large hands on her shoulders. The weight of them only added to her already sore arms. “You’ve grown to be such a beautiful, strong woman. Your mother and I are very proud of you.”

His gaze searched her face, and although there were crinkles of unhappiness around his eyes, the rest of his expression reflected relief. “As much as I’m going to hate losing you to him when you become his mate, at least I won’t be losing you forever from the curse.”

The same strange sadness and joy she’d sensed from him now pinched at her own heart. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around her father’s thick neck. He hugged her close, letting her feet dangle inches off the ground.

Tears prickled in her eyes as a new sense of confidence emerged from the doubt shielding her heart. Her father couldn’t have known of the emotional war raging inside her, but somehow, he had managed to tell her exactly what she had needed to hear. Her mother’s heart had been undecided for some time, too, and despite that, her parents’ love had been strong enough to break the curse.

That meant there was still a chance for her and Erec.

“Thank you, Father,” she whispered into his wiry beard. “I love you.”

“I love you, Astrid,” her father murmured, squeezing her tight. “My little star.”

Chapter Sixteen

The nightmares were getting worse. And more vivid.

Erec could now remember each one in full detail after he woke in the morning. Blood painting the snow. The smell of burning flesh. Wolves tearing each other apart and women screaming. It was always the same.

But last night, something had changed. The blurry faces of the fallen victims were now ones he recognized. Boden, Mila, Henrick, Filip—they were all there, lying dead in the snow, their bodies torn to shreds. Dread clawed up his throat. So many innocent lives lost. So many people he had grown to care for, gone in an instant.

Astrid flew to his mind instantly. Where was she? But the moment the question came, he spotted her bright red hair against the whiteness. Like the others, she wasn’t moving.

She was dead. The reality of it slammed into him so hard, he jolted awake.

He had woken up with his quilts tangled around his legs and his muscles tight and strained, as if he’d been fighting an invisible foe. Sweat clung to his skin, and his heart thundered. The nightmare had been so clear, it was as if he were recalling a memory rather than a dream.

Still breathing hard, Erec sat up in bed and pulled off the blankets. Astrid wasn’t really dead. He knew that. But still, he had to repeat it to himself over and over to calm his racing thoughts.

The only way he was going to make sure Astrid and the others stayed alive was if they stopped Jerrick. Which raised another set of burning questions. How did Jerrick know who he was? How did he know his name? He and the alpha had met once, during the ambush on Mikel’s pack, and the only things linking them were Erec’s burning hatred and his desire for revenge.

Claus had to be lying about Jerrick’s interest in finding him. It was the only explanationhe could come up with. Claus must have said it just to make Erec squirm, and foolishly, he had fallen for it. That made sense. Claus was devious like that. He took pleasure from others’ pain.

With dread still weaving through his system, Erec wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore, so he got out of bed and dressed. His wolf was awake, which confirmed the nightmare had woken him up before dawn. What he needed now was a run in his animal form. A little time to clear his head and shake off the lingering agitation of the dream. When he had been a rogue, he’d spent almost every night as a wolf. After several nights as a human, he was itching for the change.

He’d be quick. Just a short run to the north. Touch the river and come back. No one would even know he was gone, and with Jerrick’s men somewhere south by Boden’s old camp, according to Claus, it was unlikely he’d run into any of them.

Erec left the tent and walked to the entrance of Svanna Rock on quiet feet. The crunching of snow underfoot was only a whisper compared to the loud snores erupting from several of the tents he crept by. After weaving through the intricate passageway and stepping into the dark forest, he took a deep breath and searched his surroundings.

Nothing stirred among the trees, and no suspicious scents rode the breeze. When Erec peered up toward the night sky, the moon peeked out behind the canopy. It was large, a glowing pale orb in the middle of a blanket of glittering stars. Only a small sliver was missing before it was completely full, and a vibrant blue hue radiated around its rim, reminding Erec of how close the Blue Moon really was.

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