This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,46

out my wolf’s power like his did.

“Tessa,” she says, quiet and unafraid, meeting my wolf’s eyes. “Let her out.”

I’m confused. My wolf is already out. This is as out as she gets.

Helen rises slowly to her feet. “You’re holding her back, Tessa. Stop caging her!”

I take a startled step back, but my rage rises, my snarls deepen. A thought rises inside my mind, as if my wolf’s energy somehow finds its own voice: What does this witch know of me?

Nothing.

Not a fucking thing.

I scream inside my mind, a sound that takes the form of a fierce growl, my wolf’s snarls shivering across the air.

A burst of energy flows through me as I prepare to leap forward, but a tearing sensation fills me, ripping through my heart and mind.

My wolf leaps ahead of me, detaching from my body as she leaves the ground and leaps toward Helen.

I scream in shock.

She’s separate from me!

I’m left crouching in my human form in the middle of the vines while my wolf slashes at Helen with her claws and teeth, a wild creature somehow existing outside of me.

At the same time, my vision splits.

I can see the scene in front of me—Helen’s magic bursting around her body to protect herself as my wolf attacks—while I can also see what my wolf sees: a closer version of Helen’s magic swirling around them both.

I’m seeing through my wolf’s eyes as well as my own, even though my body remains behind her. It makes my head spin and the contents of my stomach threaten to return to me.

My wolf rips through Helen’s magic, but the animal’s teeth pass through her arm, not leaving a mark.

I’m filled with both relief and horror at the scene in front of me. Without me, my wolf has no substance. No form. She can’t do any damage, even though she’s outside of me.

It doesn’t stop her.

She tries again, leaping and attempting to savage Helen’s thigh, but my wolf’s teeth pass right through Helen’s body.

Shuddering, I smother another scream rising inside me.

I drop to the ground and squeeze my eyes shut.

Even with my eyes closed, I can still see what my wolf sees.

Helen stops fighting back, allowing her magic to recede, standing very still instead.

My head spins and the contents of my stomach rise as I struggle to maintain my sense of space and time—of where I am. Of what I am.

My mind tells me that with my eyes closed, my vision should be dark, but the scene in front of me tips and whirls, shifting with every savage movement my wolf makes, my ears filling with her snarls.

“Stop!” I cry, clutching my head, pressing my hands to my ears. “Come back!”

My wolf whimpers in response to my command, backing slowly away from Helen. She is so proud that she doesn’t stop snarling, her lips drawn back from her teeth until she backs into me.

Her energy merges with me again, her form melds into mine, and my vision returns to normal when I dare to open my eyes.

I tip to the side, drawing my knees to my chest, curling up in the carpet of silver vines as I struggle to breathe. “What just happened?”

Helen’s quiet footsteps approach.

She kneels beside me, her comforting scent surrounding me again. Her hand is warm, firm, on my arm. “You did what no shifter should be able to do,” she says.

My breathing is rapid. Panicked. “I could see with her eyes.”

“Then she can scout for you, Tessa.”

My gaze flies upward. “What did you say?”

“I said this is a good thing.” Helen’s smile is gentle. “Your wolf has enormous capacity, Tessa. She’s part of you but can separate from you. Tell me: Did you feel weaker when she was away from you? As if she took your strength with her?”

I shake my head. “I felt the same. Just as strong as when she’s with me.”

“Then her ability to separate could be a huge advantage in a fight. She can scout ahead or keep watch at your back. You just need to control what you see without it messing with your head.”

I exhale, my breathing finally slowing. “Did you know that I could do this?”

Helen shakes her head. “I wasn’t sure, but I sensed your power bashing around inside you—tied to you but also trying to escape.”

“I think I need some time to process this,” I whisper.

“Take all the time you need, but remember this: You controlled her. She attacked because you were angry. She stopped when you needed her to