Chapter 31

"It's a gift the goddess gave some wolves. I can see the magical connection between two mates. Our purpose is to guide those destined to be together into each other's arms," she said, very poetically. "I hate telling people I'm a soulfinder when I can't even find my mate, so don't tell anyone."

"I don't know much about your kind but," I started, "from what I understand, finding your mate takes time. Maybe you have been too focused on helping others to look for one yourself. That's what happened to me with my patients," I admitted.

"Maybe," she said with a smile. She was about to say something when she shook her head, for some reason deciding against it. "You should get ready. Harlan will come get you soon."

As soon as I got into his car, I could tell something was off. I scanned him, looking for an indication something had happened. His body language was tense, his jaw was clenched.

"Are you okay, did something happen?" I asked as I looked for some sort of wound or thing that had him so upset.

I noticed he'd gone to my apartment to pick up the boxes of things I decided to keep. They were in the back seat.

He didn't even look at me as he said, "I'm fine." His tone was flat.

I knew that was an indication he didn't want to talk about it, so I said, "I'm here if you need me."

He didn't say anything for the rest of the drive. He kept his mouth shut and refused to look at me during the flight.

It was only during the ride back to Miracle he said, "Why?"

"What?" I asked, too surprised he decided to say something so suddenly.

"Why did you say you're here for me?"

"Because I am," I said. It was pretty obvious to me. The sunset's golden light illuminated his face quite beautifully.

"Why?" he asked again, eyes focused on the road.

That was a weird question, but I answered just the same. "Because I care about you."

"You shouldn't," he responded.

Now it was my turn to ask, "Why?"

He looked at me, and his eyes were cold as ice. He looked back to the road, and just when he was about to answer, something gigantic crashed into the driver's side.

We were spinning before I knew it. Harlan grabbed my hand, and it was like the world was in slow motion. He broke the seatbelt with his other hand, and faster than I could register it, he kicked the door open, and suddenly we were standing on the side of the road.

The car kept spinning as it finally stopped.

"What happened?" I turned to look at Harlan, but my question was answered as we were promptly surrounded by nine big wolves. Fear hit me like a bullet in the gut, and I started sweating.

What did they want? Why were they here?

There were too many. Way too many. We were going to die.

"I won't allow that," Harlan said, looking me in the eye.

Harlan was turning a second later. He was bigger and stronger than them, but they were more.

"Stay behind me." I heard Harlan's voice in my head, but it was too late. They separated us on purpose as five wolves pounced on Harlan.

He dodged three of them, only engaging with one of them and killing it with a strategically placed bite on the neck. It was fast but not fast enough, as one of the other wolves bit him in the back.

I knew better than to scream his name. I would never want to distract him, so I kept watching as the wolves prowled around me. My heart was in my stomach as I stood there helplessly, wanting to do something for Harlan.

By the time I looked at him, he had managed to kill two more. And this distracted one of the wolves enough that I saw my opportunity.

Maybe if I ran, I could distract the other wolves enough for Harlan to defeat them.

I didn't have time to contemplate it before I sprinted away from him.

Was this a dumb idea? Probably. Were they faster than me? Yes. Would this work? I had no idea, but I could only hope it would.

I was running faster this time, faster than my human body would have allowed me to run. But it still wasn't enough. I could feel the wolves running behind me, breathing down my neck. I tried to change my direction, but that allowed one of the wolves to tackle me.

My whole body ached as I hit the ground and let out a scream. The gigantic creature's paw pressed my sternum so hard I thought it would snap at any moment.

The creature growled, his drool dripping on my face, the smell making me dizzy.

I struggled under its weight, doing my best to free myself as other wolves appeared and surrounded me. The wolf keeping me down lifted its paw, and I sat up.

"Let me go," I commanded, and it must have pissed one of them off because one of the others bit me and dragged me through the floor as it threw me against a tree.

I grasped my bleeding shoulder, tears blurring my eyes from pain so intense I could barely think straight.

The sun set on the horizon, and just as it disappeared, I felt something change in me.

I let out a feral bellow as all of the bones in my body started breaking at once. I had never experienced such an intense, blinding pain. I couldn't stop screaming and crying as I felt something new take over.

As the full moon appeared triumphant in the sky, I looked up at it with eyes that could see in the dark. I tried to grasp it with my paws instead of my hands. And I killed them with fangs instead of teeth.