long conversation after this if Edon succeeded. Because Jace would be required to report this to Lilith and I couldn’t allow that to happen.
He met my gaze, a hint of knowledge passing between us.
We would either come to a mutual agreement or we wouldn’t. The latter would be a shame, as it would necessitate his death and I’d always been rather fond of the easygoing immortal. He knew when to turn on the mediator role and when to flick it off. I’d witnessed that just last month after Silvano had lost his head.
There was something brewing in the background; I could almost taste it. He’d met with Darius and Kylan several times while in Clemente Clan territory. I’d also seen him with Luka.
Part of me had wondered what they were all up to, but I hadn’t cared enough to ask. Now I felt like asking and would once Willow was tended to.
I returned my gaze to her, my fingers automatically combing through her hair.
Edon had released her arm, his palm now on her abdomen. He seemed to be trying to find her soul, power pouring off him in waves. I’d misjudged his strength before. This male, despite his young age, was a force to be reckoned with. I could taste his primal energy in the air, witnessed the impact it had on his mates, and nearly felt the need to bow before him as a result.
He’d just earned my respect in a matter of seconds, a fact very few in my history could claim.
The hairs along my arms rose as he growled, the command in that sound one that caused Luna and Silas to tremble in response. The vibration grew, his chest emanating a command—one he directed at Willow.
Then Silas added to it, his own growl bolstering that of his alpha, the rumble intensifying by the second.
Luna joined just as suddenly, the three of them matching in tempo and stirring electricity in the air. It hummed along my skin and shimmered off of Willow, her body beginning to quiver despite her missing heartbeat.
My eyes widened as she began to shift, her bones breaking with a sickening crunch that had my pulse thrumming in my ears.
Breathe, I begged her. Breathe, damn it.
The growls only grew louder, the energy a rampant spiral of unseen forces swimming around us as Willow continued to change. I didn’t release her, not even when her head morphed beneath my palm to properly form a snout. Her hair went next, seeming to melt into her new form to change to a pretty white fur coat.
And still she didn’t breathe.
I swallowed. Come on, Willow. You’re stronger than this.
But what if she wasn’t? What if I’d missed all the obvious signs of this and had reacted too late?
She might be gone forever.
Because I hadn’t paid attention.
Because I’d treated her as a pet, not a person.
I’d considered her memory loss a blessing, but what if that had been the key all along? One I’d overlooked in my eagerness to play with her.
My chest physically hurt from the thought, the sensation foreign.
I’d been so sure this would work that I hadn’t considered the alternative, that I might never hear her sweet voice again. Might never witness that fighter inside flaring in her eyes. Might never have another chance to tease her, worship her, taste her.
My jaw clenched with the possibility, my mind reliving every moment I’d spent with her in rapid succession.
From the moment with the hammer, to her gagging on ice cream, to the way she crawled across the carpet.
I’d been enamored with her from the start.
It wasn’t supposed to end like this. We needed more time. We weren’t done. I required more from her, just as she required more from me.
I refused to accept this.
“Come on, Willow. Breathe,” I growled, the rumble adding to the cacophony around me. “Breathe.”
She was fully transformed now, her wolf form absolutely stunning save for the lack of a heartbeat in her chest.
I moved my hand from her head to her rib cage, my fingers threading through her fur.
“Breathe.” It came out as a plea-mingled demand, a complete oddity and not at all spoken in my usual voice. I could feel myself breaking inside at the realization that this might be my last moment with her.
How had she gotten under my skin so completely? Four weeks of knowing her and I felt as though half of my soul was leaving me for another realm.