Page 38 of Piece You Saved

Open. Fucking open.

“Aden!” Dariel’s hand grips my scruff and holds me. Harder this time. Too hard to shake off. “Stop.”

I whirl around, snarling. My eyes clash with his.

They’re not human. An order pins me in place, making me halt my desperate need to get outnow.

His scent is different. Sharp with anger. “Stop.You’ll hurt yourself.”

I lower my head, cowering away from the order in his eyes.

He blinks, and pain flashes across his face. “It was the only way to save you.”

I snarl at him.

This isn’t what I wanted. I never wanted to be a wolf. You knew it.

Does he understand? He has to understand this isn’t what I wanted, so he can change me back.

He rakes a hand through his hair. “We couldn’t let you die, Aden.”

I stare at him.

He sighs. “You were dying. Your heart…” He swallows and shakes his head again. “You had open heart surgery, but it wasn’t enough. You wouldn’t have survived another operation.”

I tear myself out of his grip and snarl louder because he’s not listening. He does not understand. He has to fix this. He has to change me back. This isn’t what I wanted.

“We had to save you.”

This was not your decision to make.

I pace, breathing harder, trying not to look down and see the fur, the paws, the claws… the signs I’m not me anymore.

“Aden, you—”

I growl, cutting him off, as I tremble with the need to lunge for his throat and—

I catch myself, shocked.

What am I thinking?

I’ve always been able to hide my thoughts, my emotions, the turmoil of a shitty upbringing, and a childhood that left so many scars I doubt I’ll ever shake them off.

I had my smile. It was one I practiced. For years. It’s one that no one can see behind except Dariel, Kade, and, more recently, Saige.

And now it’s gone.

All my control is gone.

Forever.

Because there’s no fixing this. There’s no changing me back. What I am now, I’ll be forever.

Will I be like Kade, who seems to have some control of his wolf, or will I be like Dariel, and have to lock myself behind reinforced doors in case I lose control of my wolf and ravage someone I love?

Maybe I’ll kill Saige and not know it until I’m a man with her blood splashed across my room and coating my tongue.

I retch at the thought.

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