Page 15 of Wolf's Providence

“If the bond breaks?” I didn’t like how scared I sounded.

“She dies. You know that.” The shaman puffed out his cheeks. “You’re afraid to lose her?”

My silence was a good enough answer for him.

“She’s stronger than you think.”

“I know.” I’d told her many times myself.

“And so are you, Caleb,” he added. “But you are weaker apart, and you cannot protect her by staying away.”

“And if she tells me to leave?” My heart was pounding, the weight of the truth settling around me.

“Try groveling.”

I blinked. “Wh-what?”

“You put four claws into her innards and only just managed to stop yourself from spilling them over this ground. I think groveling is a given, no?”

“That’s your advice?”

“Should that have to be advice?” he asked shrewdly. “Just go to her, Caleb. She needs you.”

“I don’t think I can face her.”

“Try.”

“And what do I tell the Pack Council when they come for me for breaking pack law?”

“A fluke of nature.” The shaman shrugged. “Who cares? This is between you and Willow and the Goddess.”

Staring out into the dark trees, I struggled with what to do. I wanted to go to her, but…I was scared.

Scared of her turning me away.

“Is she still human?” I asked him suddenly.

“Yes, werewolves are a human fantasy, not Luna’s.”

“Do you know who hunts her?” I asked, moving closer to the fire, suddenly feeling the chill in the air.

“I know many things, suspect a lot more.”

Giving him a flat look, I waited. “What the fuck was that bullshit?”

“I thought it sounded good.”

“I thought it sounded like mumbo jumbo BS,” I countered.

He pulled his shirt off and dropped his pants, rolling them up into a ball and putting them back in the small pack. “Next time I stand here, I expect your demons to be purged. Now go back to your woman, fix your mistakes,forgiveyourself, and move on.”

“That easy, huh?” I mocked.

“Nothing worth winning should be easy. Fight, Caleb, remember who and what you’re fighting for, and I think you’ll surprise yourself.”

He shifted into his wolf, picked up his pack, turned, and left the clearing. I watched him disappear into the tree line, and as his tail vanished out of sight, so did the light of the moon from the sky as the clouds covered it once more.

With a deep breath, I turned away from the trees and the darkness and looked south where Willow lay. Was she waiting for me?

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