Forlot: Silver Woods - Book Fifteen

Chapter Thirty-Three

The wolf prince and I sat down, our backs pressed against the wall, and cuddled. He rested an arm on my shoulders, and I laid my head on his chest. His fur tickled my nose.

"This is nice," I admitted.

"I am glad that you feel that way," Acure answered. "I feel the same way."

I fiddled with my fingers. "About the war...how long has it been going on?"

"Longer than I have lived. Longer than my love for you."

"Not to be rude or ungrateful, Acure, but could you not call me your love and bring up that you love me? It is making me a little uncomfortable because we just met and have not gone out on our first date."

"Why, this can be our first date if you do not mind. We are by ourselves in this room and cuddling with each other."

"Oh. Um...I hate to tear your heart apart, but the only reason that I am cuddling with you is because I am cold being in this cave and trying to get warmed up."

The satisfaction on his furry face slowly vanished, and he removed his furry arm from my shoulders and stared at me for what felt like an eternity. I felt bad that I had to tell him, but it was the truth.

"I am sorry, Acure. It was not my intention to hurt your feelings."

"No, Sam." He placed a hand over mine. "The last thing that I want is for you to be sorry. As long as you told me the truth, I am not upset. I am disappointed, but I am not upset." He planted a kiss on the tip of my nose and climbed to his furry feet. "I know how we can make you warm faster."

"How?"

"You will find out. I will be right back." With that, he exited the room and shut the door behind him.

I stood when I heard the door being closed and paced around the room with my hands behind my back. There was much on my mind. My parents. My sister. Darius and Dixon and Danny. The war. Werewolves and vampires. I wanted to run away. Leave the cave and never return. But I knew that was not an option. I was now a target for the vampires, and if I were not protected by Silver or another werewolf, I would be dead meat. Literally.

The door opened, and I focused my attention on the doorway. Silver stepped inside and closed the door behind her. I said her name, and she said mine and strolled up to me.

"I wanted to check up on you, Sam. Are you doing okay?"

"Physically, yes. Mentally, no. My brain is filled with so many plot twists that I have the worst headache in history."

"Do not worry. Just hang in there. I promise you that the headache will not last."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You will understand when you receive your reward for saving my life."

I noticed the door opening a crack, and Silver hurried to it and poked her head through the crack. She was chatting with someone, but I did not see who it was or hear what they were saying.

The door opened wider, and Acure came back in. He was wielding something. It was a wooden staff that had bandages wrapped around the top of the handle and the bottom. The entire staff was embedded with real jewels that were all red.

"Nice staff," I complimented. "Is it yours?"

"It belongs to all the werewolves," the wolf prince remarked. "The wolf king wants you to touch it."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Why does he want me to touch it? I am not a werewolf."

"True, but that does not mean that you are not part of the family." He moved closer to me and held out the staff. "Go ahead. Touch it."

I was hesitant at first. What would happen if my skin made contact with the wooden staff? Would I be injured in some way? Would I die on the spot? Okay, maybe I am overthinking things. The werewolf who loved me and my sister would not harm me...would they? Of course not.

I held out an open hand, my thumb and fingers outstretched, and grabbed the staff. I was told by Acure that I had to hold the staff with both of my hands and did just that.

The staff glowed orange and got brighter and brighter by the second. Silver, Acure, and I shut our eyes and suddenly heard a zap! sound. We opened our eyes as soon as the staff dimmed, and I noticed right off the bat that orange electricity that reminded me of lightning was flowing around my arms.

I dropped the staff, and it clattered to the ground. The electricity traveled up to my shoulders and faded. I looked at Silver and Acure with a hint of dismay.

"Did you see that?" I asked them. "There was electricity on me!"

"That is good," Silver reassured me. "It means that you have it."

"Have what exactly?"

I had my thumbs and fingers uncoiled - and balls of fire magically appeared in each of my palms. Want to guess what I did next? That is correct. I panicked.

"Help!" I pleaded. "My hands are on fire! I am on fire!"

"Sam, Sam," Silver said in a calm tone. "You need to relax. You are not on fire. Well, you technically are on fire, but not in the way that you are thinking."

I stopped panicking and breathed heavily. The balls of fire were still covering my palms. "Sis, it is not normal for a human to be on fire."

My sister smirked. "Not unless that certain human has fire powers."

I squinted at her. "Humans do not have fire powers."

"Not until now," Acure chimed in. "Congrats, Sam. You are equal to your sister. You can control fire now."