Page 378 of Blood and Ruin: The Complete Series

The other version of me has two gold glowing eyes that stare at me unblinking. There’s a translucent shade of gray and dark orange flames around his body similar to my wolf.

But it couldn’t be…

“Who are you?”

The other me tilts his head. “I’m…you.”

I glance around the darkness but can’t see anything beyond the two of us. “Is this another test? How can you be me?”

The other me tilts his head, a frown marring his head. “I’m… part of you. Half.”

I mirror his frown.Part of me? Part…

My eyes widen when I realize what he’s saying. “You’re… you’re him… my wolf?”

He nods his head as I walk around him. “How? How is this possible? How are you able to talk to me like this?”

Usually when we communicated, it consisted of one-word replies or a grunt or feeling.

“I don’t understand it myself.” He looks down at his hands, inspecting them before looking back up at me just as I move in front of him.

“But I know I need to be here. To protect you.”

I frown. “Protect me from what?”

My wolf turns and nods his head in the direction behind us just as it lights up, revealing the back of Cillian as he leans over the table.

“Him,” he snarls, pointing at Cillian. His flames grow as he clenches his fists. His face contorting to look more beast than man.

“I protected you then, and I’ll protect you now.” He looks back at me and the image disappears.

He frowns, a sad look in his eyes. “Even if you fear me.”

“I…” I sigh, stopping myself from lying to him. He’s a part of me, which means he knows what’s in my mind and heart. “I’m sorry.”

I glance back at the spot where Cillian and Jax were, the spot now shrouded in darkness. “How did you protect me?”

He sighs. “Whenhewas trying to split us. I made the pain stop.”

“No…” I shake my head, remembering nothing but darkness once it got to be too much. “I… we blacked out from it. It was too much.”

He shakes his head, wearing a look of despair. “You were weak. I was able to push forward and pull you back. Protect you while he… continued to hurt us. You had taken most of the pain for us. It was my turn.”

“No... I…” I shake my head, not wanting to believe him, but something stops me. Something deep inside me tells me he’s speaking the truth.

I think back to when I passed out from the pain. When I came to, the sharp burn that sliced through every nerve came back with a vengeance. I couldn’t see or feel anything beyond the agony.

And then I sensed him somewhere in the corner of my mind.

Jax. But I still couldn’t move past the pain, not until Jax got Cillian away from me.

“I remember Jax was there when I woke up,” I tell him.

He nods, the somber look in his eyes still there. “I held out as long as I could. When I sensed our brother, I knew you would be okay soon.”

If someone had punched me in the chest, it wouldn’t have hurt this much. I stumble a step back as the realization of what he’s saying hits me hard.

He protected me…

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