Page 110 of Empowering the Wolf's Heart

My entire soul reverberated with that one word. All of me went into a numb-filled shock before releasing into a gentle warmth. Terror filled me. It was possible for us to be… together? Could we possibly be soulmates?

He clenched his fists, and I brought my gaze back up to his face. It was tight with fear and worry. Did he fear I’d reject him after all we’d been through?

I nearly snorted a laugh. This was Shen. Of course he thought that. So it was time I reassured him, despite my dread.

I set my hand on his cheek, smiling into the fear-filled eyes of the man I loved. He reached out, his hand gripping my throat as his fingers spasmed. The war raged in his eyes, battling against what I could only guess to be his Alpha’s Command.

“You won’t harm me,” I whispered to the boy fighting for freedom and the man who’d almost given up hope.

I knew something he didn’t. The only chains one had were the chains they allowed. There was always a way out, but the brain likes to play tricks to make one think they were stuck. The unknown was so much more terrifying than the monsters one knew.

It was time for my werewolf to break his chains. He was too strong for them to hold. They’d been there for so long he’d not tested them since he was a child. I didn’t know how I knew. Perhaps it was my Gift, perhaps it was something more, but I knew this man, this werewolf before me would be free. Even if it took my death.

“You won’t harm me, my love,” I whispered, leaning forward and kissing his forehead even as one of his fingers dug into my neck hard enough to bruise. “And if you do, then it will finally grant you your freedom. It is easy to die for someone, Wolfie. It’s so much harder to live for them.” I rested my forehead against his, letting his breath wash over my lips and mingle with my own. “Live for me.”

He moaned a gut-aching sound and then he screamed. It was a feral, agonizing sound halfway between a man’s hoarse roar and a wolf’s howl.

He wrenched his fingers from my neck, digging them into his hair. I pulled him into my chest, rocking him, taking up space beside him. It was all I could do. This was his battle to fight, and I could only be there to support him.

Shen

Her tears soakedinto my hair. Such a simple thing, smelling of salt and something sweet, but those scents grounded me. She was here. The one my heart cried for. The one my wolf was destined to love. It was more than that. She was my rock and my soul. My gentle flower and shimmering star.

She was both gentle and fierce; the strongest of them all, yet the one who calmed a babe with a simple hug. She knew what others needed because of her Gift, and it was testament to her character that she never even thought of using their needs against them.

In my world, such a Gift would be coveted for the havoc and control it offered. She could manipulate even the strongest souls into giving her whatever the bane she wanted. Because who would not give their souls to have someone meet the needs even they could not see? Or she could make a life a miserable existence by denying their every need.

Instead, she met all creatures where they were. From the smallest lizard to the dragon queen, she met them in their needs and gave of herself until their needs were met.

I had vowed to look after this selfless creature. But now I was sent to kill her.

The Command wrapped around the part of my soul bound to my pack. That essence of myself was fraying, being strangled beneath the Alpha’s weight. I only knew one way through this—and it would cost me my wolf.

“You are never stuck. And there is always another path. You must find it,” my heart, my soul, and my very breath whispered into my ear. If not for her sitting here before me, I would cut my throat and be done with this miserable existence.

No, you won’t. We’ll make it through this,my wolf bit out, his whine echoing in my voice. I hoped Red had not hear the pitiful sound, but her arms tightened around me in confirmation that she had.

If only she had run. I would have stopped this. I would have turned my wolf on another being, wrapping myself in the soothing pain of another until I could end it all.

And yet, her scent wrapped around me with all the essence of sunshine warming a cold soul, a gentle ray of life and freedom that sought to provide growth and sustenance.

The Command forced my hand close to her ribs, where I knew the knife I held was angled to pierce her heart. I fought it, putting my other hand on my wrist to keep the blade locked in place, but it did not work. The blade inched closer and pierced through the tunic she wore. Red stained the white fabric as her skin slowly gave beneath it. Her sharp intake of breath was the only pain she allowed to show. But she did not move.

A tear dropped from my eye, tickling the hair sprouting on my face as it fell from my nose. I hurt her.

My chest would not inflate. The knowledge of my mate perishing under my hand caused an anvil to press against my ribs.

Muscle and sinew parted like warm butter; my sharp blade had been designed for this specific task. Never for her, though.

“I trust you,” Alia whispered, her voice low and filled with warmth.

And in those three words, I heard another three words.

A guttural roar ripped from my lips.Help me,I cried out to Lycus.

He howled, his voice rippling with fury and love as he sent his life force into me. Dangerous, but effective. Dangerous because, should I lose this battle, we will be fused and become rogue. But effective because with our combined strength, we shoved against the Command, giving us the hint of willpower needed to save my mate’s life.

The blade eased from her ribs. It shook in my hands at the strain of the war in my soul.

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