Page 40 of Piece You Saved

I swing to face him, still snarling.

I’m not human anymore. I willneverbe human again.

Another flash of pain flickers across his face.

I’m not speaking out loud, but it’s as if he can hear me. As if he knows I’m raging at him and not the wolf in my head.

Downstairs, Saige’s voice rises.

I angle my ear toward it. Not just curious, but concerned. What’s going on down there? Does she need me?

Dariel cocks his head. “You can be human any time you want to be,” he says, with his eyes locked on mine. “Do you want to be human for Saige?”

Do I?

I think of Saige. Think of the woman who is ours as much as we are hers.

Can I be human for her?

Is that need stronger and louder than the snarling wolf filling my mind?

Maybe.

…

Yes.

The next snarl seems easier to ignore this time.

“Aden?”

I blink and then focus on Dariel’s voice. A little of the order drains away, the tension leaving his shoulders as he nods and sinks back on his heels.

And I can think.

The thing I think about is Saige.

Turning my focus inward, I battle the wolf in my head for control of my body.

I don’t know how long it takes. Seconds, minutes, hours. Doesn’t matter. It happens.

“Saige?” I croak. The wall is strange against my back. Too hard and… caging.

But that’s not the only strange thing. It’s the alien presence in my mind and the sense I’m no longer alone. A presence I’d carve right out of me if I didn’t think it would kill me.

It feels like he’s waiting to burst out of me.

Dariel eyes me for several seconds and rises from his crouch before crossing over to a white dresser, the only piece of furniture in the room other than the bed. “She’s okay. Downstairs with Kade.”

He pulls open a drawer and tugs out a pair of black sweats.

The wolf inside me wants out.Now.A furious snarl bursts from my lips.

Dariel swings around. “Aden!” he bites out sharply. “You are in control of your body.”

I swallow hard, squeeze my eyes shut, and work to shove the alien presence down inside me where I can forget he exists. “Then why does it feel like I’m not? Why does it feel like I’m suddenly a passenger?”

His hand closes around my shoulder. “Because your wolf knows how to make his presence known. Loudly. You’ll get better at ignoring his needs and wants, and they’ll decrease in volume.”

---