Page 62 of Empowering the Wolf's Heart

I pushed back the silver hair from Matilda’s sweaty brow. She was the one who was there from my earliest memories, the grandmother I never had.

The children were ushered off by Madame Vika. Their faces paled upon seeing the blood, a few had tears beading in theireyes and the sharp, bitter scent of grief filled the air with the sweet copper tang of blood.

Matilda looked up at me, her body jerking with pain. She reached up a hand and I grasped it, her daughter silent beside us. “Take care of them, Alpha,” she whispered.

I was no Alpha.

She smiled, blood dribbling from the corner of her lip. “Ya have always been Alpha, my boy.” She paused, her breathing labored as her wolf struggled to heal her, but the silver was too much. “You always looked out for the weakest of us. A true leader, ya is. I only wished I’d be there to see the day ya are free to meet the person ya were always meant to be.”

“I will take care of them,” I vowed, my voice deep with promise.

She patted my cheek. I suppressed the burning behind my eyes.

Matilda turned to her daughter, who was blinking rapidly to hold back the tide of tears. “Darling Daisy, take care of yourself, ya hear? And never forget how much I love ya,” she whispered, her eyes squinting as if she could not make us out any longer.

“Love ya, Ma, always and forever,” Daisy said, her voice strong despite the tears trailing her cheeks.

“We’ll meet again on Seventh, love. I’ll be waiting—” Matilda’s eyes went behind us and widened. I turned, but no one was there. “Harald? Is that truly ye?” Matilda gasped, her voice hoarse with hope as her eyes filled with tears.

Her hand went limp.

Daisy bowed her head to her mother’s chest and wept.

I closed unseeing eyes and kissed Matilda’s cheek, fury building in my chest.

A howl called from the trees. Fen had found them. It was time to hunt.

Time to kill.

I stalked off into the woods, rage eclipsing my good sense. Lycus roared in my soul, feeling the loss of her as if she had been the mother he had always needed.

I followed Fen’s trail, losing myself in the killing. The pain and fear drove me to the extent of my sanity where I toyed with losing myself to it. Something whispered in my mind, but I did not wish to listen. Here, in this place, I was free. Free of the pain. Free of Commands. Free of anything that could damage my soul.

A hint of sunshine brushed across my nose. I turned, following the scent, and Lycus finally came out to play. Fur sprouted along my arms and my nose elongated until I was on four feet instead of two.

CHAPTER 21

Dishonor

ALIA

The glowing was a bit too close to the tribe for comfort. Grandma sent Graham, Brandt, and me out to see if it were a fire that could possibly become out of control. Freakin’ great timing, as Anna was coming home today and I wanted to be there. But nope. I had to go out on mission.

It wasn’t until we got closer that I realizedwherethe fire was coming from. My chest clenched when I saw Doc’s barn in shambles, the fire still rising high in the night air and sending pinpricks of red and gold embers into the dark sky.

There were mostly children and elderly people huddled on the ground, staring at the flames as if in shock. Doc went from one to another, carrying water and remedies with a woman at his back I took to be his mate.

I breathed a silent sigh that they were safe. A woman was bent over a body lying on the ground, herneedfor her dead mother grating against my soul. Most of the remainingneedswere not life-threatening.

“A large werewolf came through here recently,” Graham said when I returned to them, pushing aside brush to reveal a paw print the size of my hand. I stifled a sigh of annoyance.

“We’re just here for the fire. Nothing more,” I said.

“Shouldn’t we make sure the werewolves hurt no one else?” Brandt asked, his eyebrows raising on his forehead.

To say no would go against everything in my tribe. I trailed a fine line of staying within the tribe rules enough to be considered capable and outside enough to deal with my guilty conscience.

My shoulders slumped. I gestured for Graham to lead the way. He was our best tracker.

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