Page 79 of Awakened Light

“No. He is forbidden.”

“Mother!” I shouted. “Enough! You cannot control me any longer. This is my life, and I choose Thorne. I love him, and you will not kill him.”

Fury burned inside her eyes at my disobedience, but I didn’t care.

Not anymore.

All I cared about was being with Thorne again, and I couldn’t stand to be away from him another minute.

I waved my hand over the fog and released it as I held her gaze.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Thorne

WHEN THE FOG LIFTED, I saw Catrain and her mother staring each other down on the beach. Behind them stood hundreds of their tribesman, with Uradech at the center beneath a floral covered arch.

The wedding.

Was I too late?

Had it already happened?

Panic that I’d already lost her, and desperation to see her once again drove me on as I dug the paddles into the water and pushed. The little wooden boat sailed onto the shore and skidded to a stop.

“Catrain!” I called as I hopped out and ran toward her.

“Stay there,” she commanded, and the serious tones of her voice advised me to listen. I slowed to a stop and watched the altercation between her and Liùsaidh.

“You chose this,” her mother said. “Remember that.”

“Mother,” Catrain warned. “If you’ll just let me explain what I have planned, I think you will agree with my decision.”

“Uradech!” Liùsaidh called across the beach.

“Mother,” Catrain ground out. “Don’t.”

Unsure what they were arguing about, I looked back and forth between them. Liùsaidh slowly looked toward me, and her eyes burned with centuries-old hatred that would have incinerated me if it could. She held my gaze while she commanded Uradech, “Kill him.”

“No!” Catrain shouted, then tore across the beach toward me, calling, “Go! Get in the boat! Get off the island! Now!”

Before I had a chance to respond, I glanced at Uradech and watched as he narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. The same hatred that had burned in Liùsaidh’s eyes now lit up his.

Even though I’d seen my fair share of werewolves centuries ago, I’d never watched one change. They’d always been in wolf form when they attacked us. I stood in awe as I watched Uradech drop to his knees, his body morphing before my eyes until he took on the form of the giant wolf I hadn’t seen in five hundred years.

When his transformation finished, the giant black wolf looked at me, lifted its lips, and snarled.

“Thorne! The full moon! He’s too powerful! Get in the boat and go!” Catrain called again as she made it to my side.

“No,” I growled as I locked with Uradech’s bright green eyes.

If I left now, she would marry him tonight, and I would lose her forever.

I decided right there I would rather die than give up the fight of making her mine... because she was mine. And I was hers.

Always.

“This ends now.” I popped out my fangs as Uradech charged towards me.