Page 81 of The Dark Rising
“We are Canaric wolves, we are Heirs. How can we not be powerful enough?” We are practically second to the Gods.
“I’ve recently remembered my powers as have you, yet yours is volatile.”
“How do you know that?” I ask tentatively.
“I can sense it, it’s inside of you, wild, untamed. It’s why you’re tired all the time, why you have outbursts.” He tilts his head, smirking. “Why you can’t hit me with it.”
I scowl. “I’ll get the hang of it, it will just take a little time. That’s all.” I don’t like that he knows I’m not in full control. Not being able to stand equal against a male like Darius is a death sentence. Or a whip against your back. Though I don’t think many can stand equal to him. Unless you are a Higher.
“It also takes your wolf.”
I pause. Intelligent fucker. “Yeah, that’s out of the question, so I will just have to learn without her.”
He lifts his palm, shadows of black mist dancing around his fingers. “You need to bond completely with your wolf, but you aren’t. When was the last time your wolf came out?”
“When was yours?” I counter. My wolf is a sore spot, and it seems he knows it when his eyes light up.
“A few weeks ago. Rogures attacked a small village near the Unforgivable Sea. Not many have seen my wolf and lived.”
“Why is that?” I wonder.
“It’s not your average wolf.”
“We are not normal, but Canaric.”
He clenches his hands and the mist moves up and around his back. Two thick tendrils of darkness spread out from behind him, looking like tails swishing back and forth. I lean closer, just slightly as I look at those shadows in fascination.
“I may be Canaric, but even my wolf hasn’t been seen before. It’s not in Vrohkaria history anyway.” Those tails sway back and forth and Darius stands, moving closer to me.
I rise too, feeling my own power within, swirling and bashing against my insides, reacting to his. “Why is your wolf different? Are there others? Like the one I saw?”
He stops in front of me, the green of his eyes glowing slightly. He reaches out his hand and grips my chin. It’s a firm hold, but not painful. “Maybe, but I think you know why mine is different.”
My markings appear, I feel the warmth of them before they settle upon my skin. Darius’s own markings pulse within the tattoos on his neck, and up to just below his jaw. “I don’t know why.”
His eyes glow brighter as he drops his hand, but he doesn’t step away. “Your wolf needs to come out.”
“She won’t, she can’t,” I reluctantly admit. Runa moves restless within me, my power floating around her. The grass at my feet grows, the stalks becoming larger as nerves settle within me. Darius looks down and watches.
“You won’t be able to control it unless you become one with her. You will be of no help against the fight with the Highers when it comes. Be of no help to get your broken pack back. To get Kade back.”
Rage rushes through me and I raise a hand, a ball of power pushing out of my palm as I lay it against Darius’s chest. He’s forced a step back until his power rises to meet mine. Darkness encases us, the black mist swirling violently around us and only the green glow of Darius’s eyes is visible. My breaths come out in pants as ice-blue tendrils come from my sides, and lash out. It connects with Darius’s barrier around us, sparking every time it comes into contact with it. The flashes of blue light us up with every hit, and I see Darius watching curiously.
“I can try and force her out,” he tells me after a moment. He catches a wayward tendril in his hand and wraps it around his fingers, playing with it. Completely unaffected. “She won’t like it, but if there’s no other way, it will have to be done.”
I’m already shaking my head before he finishes. “That’s cruel.”
“That’s survival, little wolf. If you don’t get to grips with your power you will die. You could kill innocents. Is that what you want?”
More power unleashes from me, a wave of it smashing against the sides of the barrier. “No.” I stumble back against the black, feeling his magic soak into me and calm some of my own power. “Of course not.”
“Then let me help you get her out. It might not work the first time, but we have no other options here. I need you to be as strong as you can be to face the Highers when the time comes.”
“I already got one, I don’t need to drag her out.” His eyes sharpen at my words. Shit.
A rumbling comes from his chest, and he steps forward. His eyes bounce between mine before they light up in recognition. “Higher Aiden,” he murmurs, and I swallow. “Did you kill a Higher, little wolf?”
“I…”
