Dark Heart Wolf - Haley Weir Page 0,41

replied. “I wish it were the same for him.”

“He loves you, Mary. I can see it in his eyes; he’s just carrying a world of guilt on his shoulders. Let him do this, and he’ll see how foolish he’s been all along.” Gabriel put his arm around Mary Ann’s shoulders. “I only hope Beth can see how I feel about her.”

“Is it wise to court Beth, Gabriel? You know—”

“Yeah, yeah,” he sighed. “I know she’s Jesse’s mate, but...I feel like there’s a connection between us that I never expected. I want to be someone she can rely on. Even if it never lasts with her and me, I want to be a fond memory.”

“You deserve better.”

“I know, but I don’t want better.” Gabriel scowled and took the canteen back when she was finished drinking. “How did Sam know to come here in the first place? In all the years they’ve been alive, not one of them has tried to climb the mountain. It is not safe for them. Spirits both light and dark roam here freely; they would have instinctively known not to come here.”

“He said Itsá told him what to do when he got to the top of the mountain, but he never said who told him to come here. He just said it wasn’t Itsá. Could this be a trap?”

Gabriel snorted. “Of course it is.”

Mary Ann looked over to where Sam still hovered above the ground. His eyes opened. One eye was the crimson orb she had grown to adore; the other was as pale as the pelt of his wolf. He seemed to grapple with something internally before dropping to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. Sam roared, and Mary Ann watched the silhouette of a wolf sever itself from his body. The spirit of the wolf stared him right in the face.

~*~

Sam tried to breathe through the nausea that overcame him. He felt every bit of his soul ripping from his body. The emptiness inside was cloying, like an itch beneath his skin he could not scratch. Even so, Sam bared his teeth to the wolf and snarled. The wolf didn’t back down; it lowered its body to the ground with its hackles raised. He rose above it, taking on the dominant stance, knowing the wolf would see it as a challenge. Sam was as much a part of the wolf spirit as it was a part of him. Unlike Boone, he never shied away from the animal inside.

Even standing at his full height, the large wolf reached his hip. If it stood on its hind legs, it could no doubt eclipse his frame entirely. Sam took a step forward, and those powerful jaws snapped. It felt strange not to have the ability to reach inside of himself and summon his wolf to fight. Sam had to use the part of him that he despised. He had to be the violent man who had once crossed the line where good folks became bad. The outlaw. The demon.

Sam tossed aside his hat and his long hair fell around his shoulders. He kicked off his boots and breathed in the cold mountain air, feeling the frost-covered stone beneath his feet. "It's time to prove once and for all which one of us is in control." His muscles coiled and he let the wolf clamp its teeth around his arm. Sam rolled it to the ground and pinned the wolf beneath him, taking the dominant position once again. Blood trickled down his sleeve.

The wolf released him and bucked Sam off his back. Sam tore his shirt off and wrapped it around the bite on his arm. He kept his gaze trained on the wolf until he heard Mary Ann shout. His concentration was torn, allowing the wolf to swipe him with its claws. Sam dove to the side and pressed his hand to the wound on his abdomen. It wasn’t deep enough to kill, but it hurt something fierce. His gaze slid to Mary Ann once more.

Dark shadows lingered all around, but a barrier of ethereal magic stood between them. Sam threw himself at the barrier and flinched back, feeling the emptiness within his body spread uncomfortably. He could not leave the circle without the spirit of the wolf inside of him. For the first time in his life...Sam Cassady feared death. He feared dying and leaving Mary Ann alone in this world. He feared for his unborn child…

Sam turned to face the wolf once more as