“I know.”
“You gave up.” His sadness and disappointment flowed freely through the bond, and my eyes welled.
This wasn’t what I wanted to happen. “Did you hear the wolves in pain? It wasn’t about giving up. It was about not causing a huge blow up if it could be prevented.”
It took a while for everyone to calm down. A few wolves shifted back and Dr. Gonzales led them as they took the injured to the infirmary. I hoped whatever spells had been cast could be easily removed.
“Lass,” Donovan said beside me.
I pulled away from Dastien enough to see Donovan.
He looked shaken, with his skin a little paler than normal and his eyes glowing bright blue, signaling his wolf was ready to take over. “It was a hard choice, but I think it was the right one. Even I was ready to fight, and it wouldn’t have been pretty. The last war with the witches…suffice it to say it took a few centuries before the world recovered. Thank you for keeping your head when no one else did. You’ll be a good leader.”
“Thanks.” But I was still hung up on war. It was such a strong word. “Is that what’s going to happen now? War?”
“You may have stayed it for a while, but it could be unavoidable if Luciana calls the other covens for aid.” He clasped Dastien’s shoulder. “Hang on, you two. If it’s you they want, they’ll have quite a battle in store for them.”
I took a breath. “Thanks.”
He nodded. “The moon is high in the night. Let us run together and renew the friendship and bond that takes us from lone wolf to pack.” He raised his arms, and power flowed through the pack. It hit me, rushing along my skin. My inner wolf rose up and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it. I let go, and within a breath, I was on four feet.
Wolf-Dastien butted his head against mine and took off running.
The power of the full moon filled me with energy and I took off after him. The trees whipped past as I let the power of the pack take my worries away. It was almost like I had no problems as a wolf. Everything was simplified.
A wolf howled off to the left, and the group moved as one in that direction.
I caught the scent of the deer a second before I smelled its blood.
The wolf wanted to go after it, but I didn’t.
I shouldered into Dastien, and he led us around the kill. He howled again, and the pack followed.
I caught the moonlight and the wolf took over. I lost myself in my senses, the feel of the run, and the pack around me.
Chapter Five
I woke up the next morning in Dastien’s arms. His cabin was just one big room. The blackout curtains had parted a little bit, letting a sliver of light in. I tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip, and nuzzled his nose against the back of my neck.
“More sleep.” His voice rumbled.
I sighed and closed my eyes. After the run, we’d come back here to eat. That’d always been our plan, except that we hadn’t gone through with the ceremony. It was supposed to be romantic. We were supposed to take the next step, but Dastien didn’t want to do that until after the ceremony. I’d been scared about it, but excited too. Now that was all shot to shit.
As I lay there, my nervous anticipation kicked into overdrive. Tomorrow was the Tribunal. I knew Dastien was worried about it, but I didn’t think the worry I was feeling was his. A lot of it was mine. There was so much more on the line now that we hadn’t cemented our bond.
“How much do you think we should worry about Luciana?”
Dastien growled. “Merde. She’s a pain in the ass.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I saw that.”
“That’s literally impossible. Your eyes are closed and you’re spooning me. You can’t see my face.”
“Fine. I felt you do it.”
“That’s creepy.”
“I’m not creepy. I’m your mate. Remember?”
I rolled my eyes again, and he squeezed me tighter.
“The thing is, Luciana isn’t stupid. She’s conniving. I felt like postponing the ceremony was my only choice, and it wasn’t that big of a deal to—”
Dastien flipped me onto my back. He hovered over me, balanced on his forearms. His eyes were bright yellow. “Not that big of a deal?”
I reached up, cupping his face with my hand. “What are a few more weeks when we have a lifetime ahead of us?”
He sagged down beside me. “I didn’t want to wait. And now we have to fight to be together during the Tribunal. If we’d gone through with it, we’d be together. End of story.” His words were gravelly, thick with the wolf.