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I’m not sure what she sees in my gaze, but something makes her rush into the hallway as I shift into my wolf’s form, feeling as if I’m being compelled by the Goddess herself.
Bounding over the end of the couch, I race through the hall, following Alina into the kitchen, where she’s unlocking the back door.
She’s murmuring something to herself, but I think she understands that this, whatever it is, is much more than my own frustration at our idiot Alpha’s actions.
“Goddess be with you,” Alina signs to me, before she pulls the door wide open.
I race out into the night, darting through the yard and into the woods.
I might not know exactly what’s happening to me right now, but I know where I’m headed and I’m beyond ready to protect my town and my pack.
Chapter Twelve
Scar
Whenthedooropens,I press myself tighter to the wall, moving up from my crouching position slowly and keeping my gaze focused on the entrance. I take in a breath just as a wolf charges out of the house, leaping into the air and knocking over one of the candles on the steps to the yard in her rush to get through the yard and into the forest.
The sweet scent trail she leaves behind is unlike anything I’ve ever inhaled before.
I’m sorely tempted to chase her down so I can breathe it in deeper.
The only thing stopping me is the shock of her sudden arrival and departure all at once. It’s so unexpected that it takes me out of myself. I shake my head, forcing myself to turn and look back at the doorway.
When I do, I find out my mother is looking right at me, her bright, kind eyes full of worry.
I go still, almost afraid to draw breath, for fear that she might slam the door closed.
She looks much older than she did when I was a child, and much smaller.
It hurts my heart to see her look so frail and lost.
I should not have come.
She puts a hand on her chest, and sighs softly. “Goddess, above. Sol. I prayed for you every night. I dreamed of this day, but I didn’t think this was how it would happen.”
“I should not be here,” I tell her, trying and failing to keep my gravelly voice soft.
I sound much different than I did when I was young, and though she doesn’t seem afraid of me, I’m worried about doing anything that might alter her opinion.
“You remember how to talk,” she says, giving me a smile. “I wasn’t sure you would.”
“I remember everything you taught me.”
She holds out her hand to me, opening the door wider. “You shouldn’t be out here. It’s not safe.”
I accept her invitation into the house I once called home, ducking my head a little and pushing the kitchen table back to make space to sit on the floor with my back against the wall. It is more comfortable than craning my neck to fit inside the room, and it will be less threatening than looming over her.
“It is not safe outside for your pack,” I tell her, wondering why she would let a wolf out after sunset into the woods. It is a strange thing to do. My lungs are still filled with the creature’s sweet scent, and I realize that is because there are traces of it in the room, making the air fragrant.
Flowers in springtime don’t smell half as good as she does.
“Who was the wolf?” I ask.
My mother closes the door and leans against it, looking back at me with a tight smile on her face.
“Lita has been like a daughter to me. Her mother died giving birth to her, and I was still grieving from losing you at the time. She saved me from becoming lost to grief. I thanked Artemis every day for her, and I prayed for you to be kept safe from harm.”
“I am glad you were able to raise another child as your own,” I tell her, surprised to realize there is no bitterness inside me over this surprise.
