Finding the Wolf Within

Chapter 25

My thanks for all the love! I really appreciate all of the comments from the last chapter...

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Recap

After a few long moments, Amber shifted towards me. Her mannerisms were more predatory, but stilted, as if her body wasn’t used to working its limbs. I still hadn’t moved an inch. My breath was coming out in short pants and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. This Amber was more dangerous than the one I had previously encountered. I wouldn’t be able to predict what she would do. She looked so far gone, so far removed from the situation, that I wasn’t sure who was in her body anymore.

As she took one step after another, closing in on me, her hands reached out towards me, her fingers curled as if grasping my neck.

“She stole him from me. She needs to pay so I can get him back.”

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Chapter 25

I could hear her. I could hear her thoughts and she was standing in front of me in human form. Eddie’s dad must have been right, more right than even he knew. It had been less than a week but Amber was definitely more wolf now than she had been. For me to hear her now meant that her wolf side was becoming more prominent, was taking over her mind.

She was still coming towards me. I instinctively took a step back but then shored up my determination. I wouldn’t run. I couldn’t – I had to face her otherwise this would never end and I would always be scared.

“Amber, I didn’t steal him from you. He’s my mate. Eddie’s my mate and he never belonged to you.”

At my words, her eyes swiftly focused on my face. It was as if she was now actually aware that I was standing here. Her expression darkened and her lips curled up in a sneer. It was frightening, but I could deal with this better than I could when she looked haunted.

“NO. He’s mine. He’s mine and you stole him from me. And now he’s gone and you have to pay.”

I didn’t know what to say. How could I argue with her when she clearly had lost hold of reality? She wouldn’t believe anything I said to her, wouldn’t accept my reasoning. We were now only standing three feet from each other, little more than an arm’s length away. I could see her haggard face even more clearly, could smell her musky, dank odor. 

How would this end? Would we change and fight here, in front of the shelter, where anyone could see? Or would I be able to convince her to take this into the woods, to at least protect both the kids and our secret? I couldn’t read anything more in her mind – almost as if her mind was blank, as if she was working on pure instinct rather than rational thought. That wasn’t good for me. That meant I would have no advantage, that meant she really was unpredictable.

A car turned into the parking lot then and Amber’s head snapped in its direction. She looked scared at the sight of it and before I could react, she was gone. My legs collapsed from under me and I knelt on the hard gravel, suddenly chilled and trembling.

They had been right. She had the ability to move from place to place in the blink of an eye. If she was as far into her wolf as I suspected, then the car must have frightened her away. Thank god. I didn’t want to think about what could have happened otherwise.

A shadow loomed over me and when I looked up, Tony was standing there, a concerned expression on his face.

“Are you okay, Ceci? I have my car, I can drive you somewhere if you need me to.”