~ NYSSA
Long after he had walked away, the halls echoed of his presence.
His scent lingered in the air, the ghost of his finger still imprinted on my cheek. A stray tear had leaked down my face, staining my shirt, but I did not wipe it away, it was as if I had been frozen in place.
The mating bond between us ached for him. Like an anchor, it tugged back to him, trying to convince that forgiveness was what he was owed. I knew he had a past, a violent one at that, but I did not for once think that it would affect so directly.
"If it was another, would you hold the sa anger?" my wolf asked quietly.
She had not spoken since we heard the truth, but I felt her quiet grief in the center of my chest, like a band wrapping tighter around my heart.
"I do not know," I admitted. "Perhaps not."
"Then perhaps your anger is not with not with him."
"He killed them."
"He has killed many, I am sure of that. Do you hold grief for them as well? Or does it hurt because this is your family?"
Her words struck a chord inside of and a bitter feeling reared its head, almost mocking . I shoved it all down, balling my hands into fists as I stord away from my bedroom door.
Sleep would not find so easily, that much I knew, especially not when my own hypocrisy had been brought to light.
I did not realize where I was going until I found myself standing in front of a small side door that led out into the woods. The night sky seed to call in, the darkness of the trees offered shade and solace.
Without thinking, I dashed out of the palace after making sure no one was watching.
As soon as I arrived under the covers of the trees, I stripped out of my clothes, letting my wolf take over. It did not hurt as much to shift now, but I still felt so pain in my joints as my bones snapped.
A loud howl left my lips, echoing through the darkness as I took off into the forest. I stumbled more tis than I would have liked, tripping over my own feet and roots, but within minutes, I was able to keep up a steady pace.
I followed the sll of fresh water deeper into the woods, listening out for critters that ran across the forest floor and birds that flapped over head.
In this form... I felt invincible.
I stopped at a stream to drink, lowering myself to the ground to rest when suddenly, my fur stood on edge. I listened intently but was t with complete silence. It was as if the entire forest had gone quiet.
"Sothing is wrong," my wolf said.
I slowly lifted myself off the ground, eyes scanning through the trees for an assailant. "Do you know what it is?"
"No. Give control, now!"
I imdiately receded control to her, taking a back seat in my mind as her primal instincts took over. It felt weird to not be in control, almost as if I was watching myself in a movie.
A low growl left ... her... us? There was no response so we took off into the woods, trying to find our way back to the palace.
The sound of our paws hitting the hard ground filled the air, echoing through the still silence of the forest. We had barely gotten far when we were suddenly tackled to the ground as a hard body slamd into us.
The fall was hard, and I took most of it. My back and limbs ached and I snarled, snapping at the assailant, but I could not get a grip.
A large black wolf stood over , paws pressed hard into my shoulder, keeping pinned to the ground. The wolf had bright amber eyes the color of molten gold and as a lone wind blew through the air, the scent hit .
I growled low, snapping at the wolf, but I earned a sharp bite to the shoulder that had whining.
"Stop!" Henry hissed out through the pack link. I had not formally been dismissed from the pack so the bond still connected us. "I do not want to hurt you."
"Then get off !" I yelled back. "What the fuck are you doing here? I don’t want to speak to you."
"You will. You are making the wrong choice. You should not be staying with that bastard after everything he did to you. He does not deserve you."
I scoffed. "And you do? Henry, you hurt worse than he did. You have hurt ti and ti again for your own pleasure and I am done. Get the fuck off , right now. I need to go back."
"You cannot go back to him. You should be with ."
"Like fuck I will!"
"I’m sorry, Nyssa, but I cannot do that. You have left with no choice."
Before I could ask what he ant by that, he howled low, the sound reverberating through the trees. I fought against him, but his hold on was far too strong. He was much bigger than I was, and I was nowhere near full strength in my wolf form whereas he had trained in this form since he was a teenager.
n ca out of the forest holding what looked to be thick long ropes with gloved hands. They threw it over and I hissed as it burned into my skin. I howled loud, a sound of pain and desperation as wolf’s bane burned my fur.
Henry released long enough to shift back before joining the others to bind with wolf’s bane. I fought against it, trying to tear at the ropes with my teeth but all it did was burn my mouth and as the ropes grew tighter, I grew weaker.
Before the last of my strength failed , I heard Henry’s voice as clear as day in my mind. "This is for your own good."
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