Page 128 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“You are the most gifted healer in this realm. If anyone can save him, it is you.” He poured every ounce of his faith into the words, willing them to be true through sheer force of belief.
“And if I can’t?”
The question hung between them like a blade. Kitsuki forced himself to consider it, to face the possibility that had been clawing at his mind since he first saw Maseo fall. “Then we will have done everything in our power to save someone we…” He paused, the word catching in his throat. Even with their feelings acknowledged, it felt too momentous to speak aloud.
“Love,” Auslin finished. “Someone we love.”
The admission settled between them. They had danced around it for months, acknowledging their attraction and connection without naming it, but it was the first time they spoke the unvarnished truth.
“Yes,” Kitsuki agreed. “Someone we love.”
Auslin lifted his head to look at Kitsuki. “I know we agreed to wait until after the war to discuss this with Maseo, but we need to focus on saving him first.”
“Agreed.” The practical consideration was wise, even as every instinct screamed at him to rush to Maseo’s side, to confess everything, to claim what his heart insisted was alreadytheirs. But Maseo needed healing more than he needed the complications their feelings might bring.
“Do you think he knows how we feel?”
Kitsuki considered the question, recalling the moments of connection he had shared with Maseo during the war. He couldn’t forget about how his dragon had reacted to the half-wolf shifter being in heat, how Maseo’s scent had almost driven him to madness with want and need. Maseo had offered himself in full submission, which had been almost too tempting to resist. “I believe he suspects, but he may be as uncertain and afraid to hope as we were.”
The thought of Maseo suffering in silence, believing his feelings unreturned, added another layer of urgency to their situation. How long had Maseo watched them together, believing himself an outsider?
“After I return from the Divine Realm and heal him, we should tell him everything.”
“Are you certain? Once we speak those words, there will be no taking them back.”
Auslin’s expression grew determined. “I have never been more sure of anything. What we feel for him is real, Kitsuki. And if the trinity bond is meant to be, then he deserves to know.”
Kitsuki felt his dragon stir with approval, a deep rumble of satisfaction at their mate’s certainty. “My dragon has been pushing for this since the moment we reunited with Maseo. He recognizes him as ours in the same way he recognized you.”
“Then we’re all in agreement,” Auslin said with a small smile. “Now, we need to save his life first.”
Kitsuki pulled Auslin closer, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “I love you for being brave enough to open your heart to him.”
“I love you, too. The time apart made me realize I also love him. It feels strange to say, but it also feels right. This is how it was always supposed to be.”
They held each other in comfortable silence, both lost in thoughts of the future they were building. The exhaustion that had weighed on Kitsuki felt different now, softer somehow. Purpose had replaced the guilt and confusion that had plagued him for months, and hope. There was still fear and uncertainty about what lay ahead, but the knowledge that they would face it together tempered it.
His dragon purred at the thought of completing their trinity bond within reach. The future stretched before them, bright with promise and possibility, if only they could save the man they both loved from the death magic that threatened to steal him away.
“Rest now,” Auslin murmured, his breath warm against Kitsuki’s skin. “Tomorrow, I will heal Maseo, and then the three of us can build our life together as the trinity bond demands.”
Chapter 44
Auslin
The purple light of Auslin’s rift transporting him home from the Divine Realm faded around him, leaving only the bitter taste of failure. He had hoped to return with knowledge from Liros on how to heal Maseo’s necromancy wounds. Instead, he carried nothing but disappointment.
Even his visit with Kizoshi proved to be of little help. Her assurances that Liros was unavailable but would come back from his travels in time to save Maseo didn’t ease the gnawing guilt in Auslin’s chest. He was supposed to be a healer. Divine power flowed through his veins, yet he stood helpless while someone he cared about suffered from wounds he couldn’t touch.
Auslin paused outside Maseo’s room, steeling himself to deliver the crushing news. He held his breath as he knocked.
“Come in,” Maseo called out.
The room lay empty, afternoon sunlight streaming through tall windows, but the gentle breeze from the veranda hinted at where to look. Auslin found Maseo sitting with perfect posture on a cushioned pillow, his back straight despite what Auslin knewmust be considerable discomfort. The gardens spread out below them in a tapestry of color and life, each plant’s aura a bright note in Auslin’s magical perception.
“How did it go?” Maseo asked without turning around. His voice carried a careful neutrality Auslin had learned to recognize as a shield against disappointment.
“Not as well as I’d hoped. Unfortunately, Liros is traveling in an unreachable part of the Living Realm. Kizoshi couldn’t say when he’ll return.”
