Wolf Endangered (Willow's Forbidden Pack #2) - Avery Song Page 0,158

actually made me want to end things, but then I'd remember Onyx and that he wouldn't be there to save me, and Aurelia was dealing with something back then, too. I was alone...and I didn't want to be. That's when I smelled the aroma from the cart."

She looked to the cart once more as the man began close up.

"It was a weird spot to be in because no one was around. It made me wonder if he'd ever made a penny after a long day in the cold. I was so hungry, but I had no money with me. I probably looked wretched and drained, but he didn't shoo me away. He asked me what I wanted. I'd begun learning Korean back then because it was one of the easier languages for me to grasp on my own with books. I read out what I was looking at and he seemed so impressed with me. He did exactly what he did just now. Gave me food and water, and offered me a sweater of his that he had as a spare. I sat on this very bench...and after I was full, hydrated, and warm, I cried. I cried hard enough for him to come over and listen to my troubles. I didn't really care who he was, but I knew for a fact that he held a wolf scent to him. He listened to everything and insisted on taking me back to my territory. He reached the border of our lands and watched me go. I tried coming back the next day, but he never showed up."

She looked at me and frowned.

"I want to do something...but I'm not really coherent enough to do anything."

I smiled then, and I noticed how my wolf watched her. Did she realize how pure of a heart she carried? A heart that somehow still held an ounce of emotion after everything she'd gone through: tortured, ridiculed, encouraged to die by her own peers and enemies alike.

She'd grown into a woman of power. A woman who used her magic to her advantage to enter a man's world and finally got to reveal the truth to her rise in strength. It wasn't because she was a "male". It was because she strived for justice that she became unbreakable. Her desire to be seen, heard, and to let all those who mocked her see her glorious stance for domination was enough to let her reach this moment in time, and though there were hiccups, challenges, and close calls, she was here.

She was here...wishing to give back to the man that helped her in a time of hopelessness.

"What if I do something?" I offered.

She looked at me. "I'll pay you back."

"You’ll pay me back with a kiss," I offered.

She smiled slightly at the gesture. "Okay."

"Start eating. I won't be long," I assured her and leaned in to kiss her forehead. Rising up, I walked over to the man as he finished putting the last bits of his cart away for dispatch.

"Closing up?" I pondered.

"Yes." He smiled and looked up to the air. "It's getting pretty late. Plus, the air seems off."

I could tell he was warning me, and I nodded slightly so he understood.

"Once we're done, we're heading home."

"Good." He smiled and looked over to his left to the park forest that thickened the deeper one went. "After this time, no one really comes around here."

"You come down here a lot?"

"I do," he admitted with a smile that didn't seem very happy. "Did you know they call this place Suicide Forest?"

I was caught off guard by the name, and I looked at him as he returned his gaze to Willow. She was concentrating on eating, her eyes closed as she bobbed her head from side to side. She seemed to be deep in thought, maybe talking with her wolf to keep her company. She was far better now in comparison to before, but not up to her usual, sober self.

"No. I didn't."

"They call it that not simply because many come here to end their lives, but because there is a small clearing of blood roses."

The revelation made me arch an eyebrow as the man smirked.

"Blood roses are extremely rare because they are normally only found in the realms of the fae. However, deep in that forest is a clearing that is tricky to find, and those roses are collected, grounded up, and steamed into a rich red liquid that resembles the color of wine. Do you know what it's