This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,53
only seen one side of Tristan—the rescuer. Fuck, I hardly even remember the night he brought me here. I was barely alive.” She stares down at her glass, her eyes filling with sudden tears, but she blinks them away. “All I remember is that he sat with me the whole night, holding my hand while Helen worked over me…”
I find my seat, my movements heavy. I’ve never seen Iyana cry. Other than my first day here, she has been a pillar of strength in my life.
“My former employer sent me into Tristan’s territory for a job that turned out to be a death trap,” she says. “Tristan was a protector when I needed one. But I get the very strong indication that your relationship with him is different.”
I fold my hands over each other in my lap, where my friends can’t see me wring them. Iyana and Danika know a version of Tristan that I have never met or experienced. It’s like we could be talking about two completely different people. “My relationship with Tristan is complicated.”
Danika persists. “Trust me, we understand complicated. You don’t have to give us details, but we need to know if Tristan is the man we think he is.” She reaches across the table, her hazel eyes filled with concern. Her tousled light brown hair is longer than when I first arrived and brighter than the first day we met, the golden highlights catching the moonlight. “You’re our friend, Tessa. The prickliest, most defensive friend we’ve ever had—and that’s saying something—but you must know by now that we care and worry about you.”
My eyes suddenly fill with tears. I try to blink them away like Iyana did, but Danika’s declaration has stunned me. My relationships with these women means more to me than I’ve told them. Theirs are the only friendships I’ve experienced. Along with Iyana and Danika, Helen has cared for me, and even Ella is my quiet friend, giving me strength with her silence when we walk together each day from the library back to our room. I didn’t know what friendship looked or felt like until I came here.
My voice sticks in my throat, but I take a deep breath and remind myself to be calm. “You already know that I’m resistant to light magic and dark magic. Well… there are other aspects of my power that Tristan thinks he can use against the other alphas to destroy his enemies. On the night I came here, he fought to save my life, but he also made it very clear that I belong to him now.”
I start at the beginning and tell them everything—about my father, about my half-brother, Dawson, about Cody Griffin, and then the way Tristan brought me here. Iyana and Danika listen quietly. By the end, we’re nearly the only ones left in the garden. A few other women and Helen remain, finishing their lunch on the other side of the courtyard.
Iyana leans back in her chair, casting a questioning glance at Danika. “The ownership thing is alpha shifter bullshit, right?” she asks. “Vampires don’t have that culture—it’s more kill each other to rise to the top where I come from. So you’re going to need to explain it to me.”
Danika tips her head in the affirmative. “Pretty much. The alpha needs to assert dominance. But…” She leans back in her chair. “I don’t think we’ll know until we get out there whether this is a case of pure domination or whether there’s more to it.”
I give them a confused frown. “We?”
Iyana breaks into a grin. “We’re coming with you.”
“What?”
They both lean forward, big grins on their faces. “You’re not leaving the house alone.”
“But I have no idea what I’m walking into,” I splutter. “I can’t let you endanger yourselves.”
Iyana scoffs. “I was going to join Tristan when you first arrived. I don’t have anywhere else to go, and I figured he could use my help.”
“Don’t cry on me, Tessa,” Iyana says, nudging my foot with hers.
I jump up and hug her, knocking over her shot glass as my arms close around her. Danika launches herself across the table and joins the hug. I don’t care that it’s awkward and we bump elbows. I need these women to know how much I appreciate their support.
“Thank you,” I whisper, closing my eyes and accepting their friendship.