"Why aren't you healing?" Jackson asks me softly, concerned as he gently turns my head so he can see the huge bruise forming across the right side of my face.
It throbs.
"I'm on medication to keep my wolf contained, it sometimes affects the healing process." I tell him, reaching down to take my heels off.
"I've spent years searching for you, Kal...don't lie to me." Jackson states firmly, grabbing my hands to stop me for distracting myself.
He forces me to look at him, and eye to eye with him, I couldn't lie. The shame of my words show.
"Maybe you should have stopped searching for me, I'm already dragging you into my mess." I whisper, my eyes filling with slight tears.
Jackson's warm eyes flash with pain, and they glisten. "I would never have stopped looking, not for a single day. Do you understand? You are my best friend, my family, my place is beside you, always."
I feel the force of his words, the way his hands press into my face as if to shake it into my skull. I feel the tears threaten to fall again, my chest aching so bad that it feels as if I've been stabbed.
"I'm not the person you remember." I sniffle, my voice breaking.
Jackson shakes his head. "I don't care." He whispers.
"Wherever you are in this world, I'll be there." His brown eyes bore into mine, his voice so firm that I have no choice but to believe him.
He has searched for me since the day I left, I've known that. I've felt so cruel to hide from him, to continuously move from place to place and cover my tracks so he wouldn't find me. I thought it was for the best, to keep him safe from my darkness.
But he loves me, he loves me despite the dark. He always has.
"I love you, I'm so sorry." My throat tightens painfully as I whisper the words, the world crushing against my chest and threatening to tear me in half.
Jackson holds me together, right in his arms. "I know." He murmurs.
"My wolf is gone." My voice is so quiet that I barely hear the words myself.
Just admitting them out loud is hurtful.
Jackson's eyes grow wide in disbelief, not understanding properly.
"In the morning you're going to tell me everything." He states firmly, and I just nod my head, sniffling as I wipe my snotty nose.
"For now, we're going to cover up that bruise and give them a show. You're Katalayha Slovak, the goddamn Alpha Female...wolf or no wolf, you're a fucking phenomenon." Jackson's voice is promising, and firm, like he's so certain of it.
I couldn't help but laugh, which makes me want to cry all over again. God, I must look a state.
"Why do you reek of Alpha male?" Jackson suddenly questions, screwing his face up slightly.
I roll my eyes. "Dom wanted to see how Hardin would react to me being marked by another."
Jackson's face drops. "You let him bite you?" He sounds utterly appalled.
"No, no it's temporary, it'll wash away." I quickly explain.
"How did he react?" Jackson grins slightly, knowing how protective Hardin was with me.
"He told Dom I'm still his wife, and punched him." I retort with a grunt, not entirely pleased by the idea.
How could I be? Hardin doesn't want me, but he doesn't want me to be with anyone else?
YOU ARE READING
ENDURING {Sequel to Everlasting} ❗️EDITING ❗️
WerewolfLife after the ceremony was different. Kali was completely alone for the first time in her life, no parents making her obey, no mate to confide in. Still, she found ways to adapt. Five years. Five years since she laid eyes on the man she once ador...
