Blue Violet - By Abigail Owen Page 0,75
to me, my love”.
The dragon snorted again.
“Te’sorthene. Please.”
Something inside Ellie collapsed, like a breaking dam. Her humanity came rushing forward, overpowering the fierceness, the hatred, the fury. She stayed in monster form, but Ellie was the one in control now.
Love, she thought incredulously. Love is the answer. If I hold on to my love, I hold on to my humanity.
She felt Griffin’s relief as he heard her thoughts. “I’m in control now,” she clarified.
Griffin relayed the message to Alex, who furrowed his brow dubiously. But Griffin grinned from ear to ear. Her brother let out a loud, uncharacteristic whoop. “She’s got it,” he assured Alex. “We can let her up now.”
Alex glanced back at the enormous dragon beside him, the images of the great beast in full and dreadful glory still fresh in his mind. But he nodded.
Ellie felt the forces on her release. Free to move, she shifted into a stand, folding her immense wings into a resting position on her massive back. The overwhelming peace left her, but she held on to the love that was so much stronger than the rage, and she no longer needed any help to feel the peace. She truly had control. She even felt the fire reignite inside her belly but kept it in check easily.
She leaned forward and very gently nuzzled Alex.
He flashed a cheeky grin her way, relief clearly evident on his handsome face, in the set of his shoulders. He turned back to the wolves still pinned in place, and Ellie took a moment to appreciate the extent of Alex’s powers. To be able to keep control of the entire wolf pack, while also taming her, must’ve taken immense strength. He’d told her how difficult containing just four attacking wolves had been.
Alex turned to address the wolves. “You are defeated,” he declared loudly enough for all of them to hear. “You have to accept this. Your leader and your greatest asset in battle is dead. You will leave here and never return. You will never attack another being. If we hear of any wolf attacking a human, we will hunt you down and kill you!”
He glared at each of them, and an unhappy whimper erupted from the pack.
“Silence!” a female voice suddenly called out from the woods. A pure white wolf, gloriously beautiful, appeared at the edge of the clearing, the small brown wolf standing at her side, like it had been at Gideon’s.
Ellie bristled, but stopped as the wolf morphed into human form. Before them stood a lovely girl, with blonde hair so pale it looked like moonlight streaming down her back. Ellie heard Griffin’s indrawn breath.
The girl held up a hand, almost like a peace offering.
“As my brother’s sister, I speak for our pack,” she said. “We will abide by the terms that my brother agreed to.”
Adelaide quietly confirmed, “Gideon is… was her brother.”
She glanced at Griffin and opened her mouth as if to expand on something but then closed it again. Griffin shot her a look of disgust, and she shrugged her shoulders in return. Ellie stayed out of the mental conversation going on between Adelaide and Griffin, keeping her sole focus on the girl in front of her.
“If you let us leave in peace now,” the ethereal figure continued, “you will not need to fear us again. Nor will any other living being. I swear it.”
Lucy and Lila both spoke at once—
“Her intensions are true.”
“She’s sincere. We can trust her.”
“Griffin?” Alex glanced at him.
Griffin shook his head. “Only silence.” He clenched his hands at his sides. “I can’t hear anything.”
Alex looked up at Ellie. A moment later, she shifted back into her human form and walked over to the girl.
“What is your name?”
“Selene.”
“May I take your hand?” Ellie asked softly. “I need to know what your powers are before we make a decision.”
With only a slight hesitation, Selene offered an elegant wrist.
Ellie closed her eyes and concentrated. Satisfied, she returned to her family.
“We can trust her, I think,” she murmured to them.
Looking from person to person, Alex received nods from each in turn.
“You have our permission to go,” he said. As he released them from his hold, the pack heaved a collective breath and then all disappeared into the woods.
Selene watched the retreat. As the last wolf disappeared, she said, “I wish you well—”
The last word cut off as Griffin moved to stand in front of her. They stared at each other intently for a long moment. Finally, Selene reluctantly turned away and disappeared into