This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,51

his eyes at me, his expression cold. I should be wary of his rising anger. After all, he’s Tristan’s right-hand-man.

“What do you want from me, Tessa?” He snarls. “Do you want me to lie to Tristan? Is that it?”

“Don’t tell him, Jace. I need more time.”

Jace runs his hand through his honey blond hair as he presses his lips together. He shakes his head, glares at the floor, then turns his glare on me. “Tristan and I have always been honest with each other,” he says. “Even when we don’t like what the other has to say. Now you’re asking me to lie to him. He hates liars.”

“Then he’ll hate me more than he already does,” I snap. “It’s not like he plans to keep me alive.”

Jace’s glower intensifies. I expect him to have a comeback—I need him to have a comeback, because otherwise his silence confirms my belief.

To Tristan, I am expendable.

Jace spins on his heel without another word.

My heart sinks.

“I’m dead once I leave this house, Jace,” I say, my lips twisting. “I can start counting down my days.”

He pulls to a stop five paces away, his shoulders tense, fists clenching.

“Give me another month. Just one.” I take a step toward him, trying not to hold my breath when he doesn’t pull away. “I have a home here. With people who care what happens to me. The second you tell Tristan that I’m in control, he’ll rip it all away from me.”

Jace is silent. His fingers slowly uncurl, relaxing, and I have no idea whether or not that’s a good sign.

“Please,” I whisper, hating that I’m begging when I promised myself I wouldn’t. “Just another month.”

He sighs. Half-turns. “I’m sorry, Tessa.”

My heart sinks. “Fuck you,” I whisper.

I have no choice but to watch him walk away.

Iyana hurries to my side as soon as he leaves, reaching out for me. “Tessa, what’s going on?”

Despite all the time I’ve spent training with her, I haven’t told Iyana about the impact of my power on other wolf shifters or about Tristan’s intentions for me. I want to tell her, but the memory of her reaction when she thought Tristan might have hurt me is still raw in my mind. I can’t break her beliefs.

I stick to what I can tell her. “Tristan’s coming back for me. That’s all.”

She grabs my arm when I attempt to turn away. “You told Jace that you’ll be dead once you leave this house,” she says, trying to force me to look her in the eye. “Why?”

I avoid her gaze. “Tristan has plans for me. That’s all you need to know.”

“Tessa—”

“I have to find Helen.” I pull away from Iyana, hurrying for the door.

Racing down the corridor, I hope that the staircase will lead me wherever Helen is currently located.

I enter the garden to find her meditating like she often does.

Normally, I would take a seat on the cushion opposite her before I speak. I’d focus on my own breathing and allow my wolf to separate from my body, taking advantage of the silence to practice controlling my wolf and my power.

Today, I’m too agitated, striding toward her with heavy footsteps. “Helen, I—”

“Calm,” she says without opening her eyes. “Remember what I taught you.”

I take a breath instead of arguing with her. One of the most important things I need to do is remain in control no matter what’s going on around me, to let it all wash off me without losing my cool.

Over the last two months, Helen has been teaching me how to control my anger and defensiveness. Those emotions are still a big part of me, but she’s trained me so that I can use them as weapons. Or at least she’s attempted to.

Sinking onto the pillow, I breathe deeply, focusing only on my breathing and the soft breeze around me before I allow my wolf to separate from me.

Released from the confines of my body, my wolf pads away through the trees, calm again.

I close my eyes and take in everything she sees and smells—the slightly damp earth, the new violet tinge to the silver vines trailing along the lush tree branches, and the quiet call of a distant bird—a hawk. The bird’s call sounds a lot like Danika’s voice when she speaks.

Helen and I and my wolf stay like that for nearly half an hour until finally, Helen draws me out of my calm when she exhales a deep sigh.

Opening my eyes, I recognize the regret in her expression, the way