Jaxson placed his hand on my back. His soothing presence flowed over me as he inclined his head in deference. “Alpha. Many of my wolves now run with your pack, but this one does not belong here. She was taken before her time, and she is needed in our world. If she does not return to the land of the living, the Dark God will send many more to join your pack before their time.”
The alpha approached Jaxson. I do not come into your domain to steal your wolves. Stay away from mine.
“She is my mate!” Jaxson growled, his eyes flashing gold, but it had no effect on the alpha.
Desperate for anything I could do or say, I dropped to my hands and knees to address him on all fours as a wolf would. “Please let me speak to her. If she doesn’t wish to return, then so be it. But let me try. Let her choose her own path. In the end, we’ll all join your pack one day. Wait, and we will return.”
The great wolf stepped close, and Jaxson tensed. The enormous beast towered two feet over my mate. One bite, and I’d be bitten in half. I swallowed, but I held my ground as he sniffed me.
Finally, he grunted and spun away, pacing again. You are fearless for such a fragile creature. Brave and foolish enough to stare me down. But will you be brave enough to face yourself? To face what you have done?
“Yes. Please, let us enter your domain.”
You carry human things. Things from the living world. I do not allow those in my realm.
I stood and shrugged off my jacket and backpack, then began to unlace my Swiftleys. “Only my wolf matters.”
Jaxson followed suit, pulling off his jacket.
You may not enter in human form. Only as a wolf.
His words sank into my chest like a frozen blade. My hands slowed, a lump formed in my throat, and I looked up to meet his knowing eyes. “I can’t. I need to convince my shard to return first. If I release my wolf now, the Dark God will take control of her.”
The ghost wolf alpha planted his paws and released a savage growl that turned my blood to ice. These are not his lands, and the Opener of Ways has not granted him entry. He has no more rights or power here than you do. To enter my lands, your wolf must be free.
Suddenly, everything came down to this point: release my wolf or fail.
My breathing quickened, but the decision was easy. Dark God be damned, we had to take the chance. “I’ll do it.”
For a while, the massive alpha just glared, but at last, he said, Release your wolf. If you reconcile and she chooses, then she may enter my lands. And if the shard of her soul chooses, it may return with you.
“Thank you, Alpha.”
He turned his white head and looked off into forest behind me. I followed his gaze. The mist boiled backward from the pines to reveal a clearing and the glint of water that I was certain hadn’t been there before.
His voice resonated in my mind. A mirror is prepared for you. You must see yourself as I see you.
I sucked in my breath and looked to Jaxson. We began walking toward the woods, but the ghost wolf alpha’s voice stopped us. You guided her through her first shift, young alpha, but she must do this part alone.
Jaxson’s body tensed, and his expression turned dark, but I knew the ghost wolf alpha’s words were true.
I placed a hand on my mate’s arm. “Take this time with your sister. And don’t worry, I’ll return. With Wolfie.”
He clasped my hand against his arm for a moment, then released it. “I know.”
Jaxson stepped aside and watched me walk away. When I looked back, his face was ashen, as if every step cut his soul.