Good. She wanted to keep him on his toes.
“You know what my mom said? That I’m all fire. That I meet a problem and I blow up. That I’m always big and flaring, and that I can’t be calmed with anything other than a big effort. But you know what? Fire is more than blowing up at things. I’m creative. I’m passionate. And sure, I’m temperamental, but after my problems are solved, I can soothe as well. I can give comfort. I’m... I’m more than just a big explosive thing waiting for the right fire to go off.”
Henrik didn’t respond, of course, and she didn’t expect him to, but she looked down all the same to see him looking up at her as they walked. It was nice, to just... be like this, with him. To just...
“You know, I didn’t need space,” Violet commented, and forced herself to look ahead. They were walking over rocky ground, now, and there was no telling whether or not her foot would slip. It was getting colder, the sun nearly ready to set, and she could feel ice in the air. If they kept going like this... well, they probably should have already turned around, but something told her that she was close. That she had to keep going.
“No, what I needed was clarity. Time. The truth. I needed the truth from my mother, from the pack, from magic. I needed to know why all of this had happened. Why Garoureve was attacked. Why my abilities were haywire. Why you and I were separated.”
She paused in her steps so that she could look down at him, her faithful wolf. Of all the truths she never had...
“But you, Henrik. I always knew you loved me. I always knew you would find me eventually. And I always knew that we would be together again. I never once doubted us or your commitment to us. That was a truth that I was never missing. I know the truth about us. That we’re meant to be together. And whether it’s you and your shifting who influenced my magic, or my magic that pulled you in, the truth of that doesn’t matter, because I love you. I’ve always loved you. And I never need space from you. Ever. So don’t do that again. I need you, Henrik. I will always need you.”
Henrik looked up at her, and she waited for him to shift, assumed he would. This would be the moment where he shifted into human form and pulled her into a hug. She didn’t have any gloves on her, which was stupid, but she could still be careful, could pull up the hood on her coat, because until she had this solidly locked down, then—
She felt a cold wetness press against the palm of her hand, and she looked down to see Henrik’s snout touching her. Her fingers curled along his wolf jaw, and then around and across his brow bone to between his ears, where she stroked the top of his head, back and forth, petting him. He whined a little against her touch and she moved her other hand up, scratching behind his ears, then down his scruff, and—
She yanked her hands away, staring at them. She was touching him, touching his fur. And yes, fur was in the way, but she had touched his snout first, his skin. Was it because he was a wolf, or—
But, no. Even a wolf in shifter form could be affected by a witch’s touch. Well, not in her case, as far as she was aware, but still, she was touching him. She was touching his wolf.
“Henrik?” she whispered, breathing harder. “I’m... I’m tired of being afraid to touch you.”
He whined again and moved, rubbing his body against her leg. Sure, there was fabric there, but he was touching her again.
She could touch him. Touch him as a wolf, at least.
And that was...
She was tired of being afraid. Afraid of what might happen. Afraid of herself and her abilities and her connection.
She was his witch. He was her wolf. And there was nothing more natural in the world than that.
Two halves of a whole, two pieces of a puzzle that only fit to one another.
She was tired of being afraid. It was time to accept who and what she was.
It was time to push through.
Chapter 26
“Idon’tknowwherewe’re going,” Violet finally admitted as she stared into the woods. It was no longergettingdark. Itwasdark. Only the light of the mostly filled moon and a small flashlight from her bag was helping her, along with Henrik, who was pressed against her side. She knew that he could still see well, but she was getting cold.
Intuition was still pushing her forward, but at this point, unless intuition was going to start a fire and feed her, it could go shove itself.
“Something is telling me to keep going, to keep walking, but it’s too late at this point. I can’t see anything, so whatever it is we’re looking for, then—”
Henrik pulled away from her, causing her to close her mouth and watch him. He was sniffing the air, then tilting his head to one side. Listening. That’s what he was doing. He was listening.
The shift from wolf to man startled her, given how long he had been in wolf form, and she took a step closer, unable to stop herself. He was so beautiful, so warm, and she felt...
Cold. She was cold.
“Henrik...”
She was cold. She wascold.
“Can’t hear the pack,” Henrik said, turning away from her as he looked into the forest. “Can’t even smell them. All I can smell is us. Not even sure we’re on pack land anymore. Ain’t no wolves been out here.”