Page 5 of The Strongest Wolf

“But,” Talis continues. “Even with Galen, you won’t find it if you keep shutting down your wolf side the way you’ve been doing.”

I raise my eyebrow. “I don’t know what you mean.”

For a long moment, Talis doesn’t speak. Then she leans toward me and meets my eye. Despite my human half being the one in the driver’s seat, a thread of… something compels me to look away, to lower my gaze from the intensity of her alpha stare.

My submissive wolf making an appearance, I imagine.

“Before I came here, my uncle spent years convincing me that not only was I a submissive wolf, but my wolf was so crazy that if I shifted, I would kill someone.”

I stare at her without expression. Stunned into silence.

She continues. “So I fought not to shift. For years.”

My eyes widen. “Years?”

“Years,” she echoes. “If anyone knows about fighting against their wolf, it’s me.”

“Why would he do that?” I ask.

A flash of pain darkens her eyes, and she sits back. I’m parting my lips to tell her she doesn’t have to tell me when she sighs. “He killed my parents because he wanted to lead. And he knew that as an alpha, I would eventually lead the pack, because I was more dominant than he was.”

“What happened?”

She snorts. “Dayne happened. But that’s a long story. What’s important is that what you’re doing is hurting both sides of you. Human and wolf.”

I look away. “I’m not fighting my wolf.”

In a way, I’m right. I’m notfightingher. I’m just ignoring her.

“No one has seen her. When I look in your eyes, I rarely catch even a glimpse of her. You’ve buried her.”

“So?” I ask, hating how observant she is and hoping no one else has seen the same. Especially not Galen.

“You don’t have to protect her from us.”

I jerk my head toward her. “What?”

She gazes back at me steadily. “Eden and I have spoken a little about what the Stone pack did to her. She said the only reason she got away was because of you. Because you protected her. There’s no one here that you need to protect your wolf from, so let her out. You’re safe here.”

My attention returns to the framed photograph.

If only it was that easy. But it’s not.

I focus on a sweet-faced woman with honey-blonde hair and a gentle smile. Jenna. The submissive in this pack.

“How would you feel about Jenna being Luna? Could you take orders from her? Would your wolf accept her as a leader?”

Talis is silent for so long that I don’t think she will speak when she does. “There’s more to being Luna than my wolf being dominant or giving orders.”

I turn to face her. “You didn’t answer my question.”

She sighs. “The truth is, I don’t know. My human side wouldn’t have a problem with it unless Jenna was ordering me to jump fully clothed in the lake. Then I’d probably tell her where to go.”

“But the wolf?” I ask, refusing to let her use humor to distract me.

“My wolf still hasn’t recovered from me locking her away, so I don’t know.”

“Galen is alpha,” I tell her. “He has a pack. When we leave, I’m going to be a submissive wolf in a position where the rest of the pack are going to have to figure out whether they can take orders from me.”

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