Chapter 382
Three hundred and eighty four
Wesley POV
I woke to the sound of my own breathing.
For a moment, I didn’t understand what felt different. The grass was cold beneath me, damp with morning dew, and the scent of earth filled my lungs. Isabella was curled against me in her wolf form, still asleep.
Then I heard him.
Our mate is so perfect.
I froze.
The voice had come from inside me.
My wolf.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I had spent years reaching for him and finding nothing but silence. Years of feeling him as something distant and broken, something trapped behind a wall I could never cross.
Now he was there.
We are whole enough to hear each other.
I swallowed.
“Yes. Yes she is p>
I stared at the ground beneath my paws, stunned by the simplicity of it. I could hear him. He was simply there.
I shifted.
The change came without pain, without effort. My body reformed into its human shape, and I stared at my hands before shifting again.
Wolf.
Human.
Wolf.
Human.
I laughed under my breath.
I could do it.
I could actually do it.
Isabella stirred beside me. I crouched near her wolf, running my fingers through her fur. Her eyes opened slowly. She lifted her head to look at me, then rose from the grass and shifted back into her human form.
She smiled when she saw me.
“I can hear him, Isabella. He spoke to me p>
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Her smile widened.
The bond is complete,” she said softly. “That’s what happened p>
I pulled her into my arms before I could think of anything else to say. She wrapped herself around me, and we stayed there beneath the pale morning sky, neither of us needing words to explain what this meant.
My dad was heading out of the house and stopped when he saw us approaching.
“Dad p>
He crossed the grass quickly.
“I can hear him p>
His face changed. Pride filled his eyes as he pulled me into a hug, his hand striking my back with enough force to make me laugh.
“I’m proud of you, my son p>
I held on to him.
Later, Grandma Cassidy explained that hearing him didn’t mean the damage was gone.
“The poisoning altered the connection between your consciousness and your wolf,” she said. “The bond has repaired part of that connection, but healing something that’s existed this long takes time p>
She touched my shoulder when my face fell.
“Every time you hear him and shift without losing control, every time the two of you exist together without the fragmentation interfering, you’re reconnecting another piece. Eventually, your human consciousness and your wolf will coexist without fighting for control p>
I glanced toward Isabella, who was smiling at me.
Inside me, my wolf stirred.
The next three weeks changed my life in ways I was still learning to understand.
The treatment continued, but it no longer felt like fighting my own body every day. Grandma Cassidy and Joanna monitored and adjusted it whenever something shifted, and I learned to recognize the difference between ordinary weakness and the remnants of what Meridian had done to me.
My wolf stayed close now. I could hear him when I wanted to, and sometimes without trying. We could shift without anyone standing over me. We could run, fight, and exist in the same body without tearing each other apart.
The title I was preparing to inherit no longer felt like a burden I had to carry while hiding a weakness underneath it. I could protect my people and my family. More than that, I could love my mate without fearing that loving her meant condemning her to the life I had spent trying to escape.
Returning to my duties felt strangely normal. I had spent so long away from work that the familiar desk, the reports, the endless pile of documents almost made me nostalgic for the days when my biggest problem was an Alpha who refused to sign a treaty.
Charlie came to see me that afternoon. There was something guarded in the way he carried himself, as though he wasn’t sure he still belonged in my presence.
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Too much had happened between us, and neither of us had forgotten it.
sat opposite me while I finished reviewing a report, then exhaled.
“I’m ashamed of myself p>
I stayed silent and let him speak.
“I let her manipulate me. I should have known better. I’m an Alpha, Wesley. I should have seen through her p>
“You should have p>
I didn’t plan to soften the answer.
“You were an asshole, Charlie. What you did was wrong. But you also walked into a situation that gave us access to things we wouldn’t have discovered otherwise p>
He scoffed, as though he didn’t believe he’d been helpful at all.
“If Barbara hadn’t believed you were completely under her control, she wouldn’t have lowered her guard. We wouldn’t have discovered what she was doing. We wouldn’t have connected her to Desmond the way we did, and we might not have uncovered what happened to Beatrice p>
“So you’re saying my stupidity helped p>
“I’m saying your stupidity accidentally became useful p>
“That’s the nicest insult you’ve ever given me.” He turned and looked toward the window. “I don’t think I should be with anyone for a long time. Apparently I’m terrible at choosing people.” |
“You’re terrible at choosing people when you’re thinking with the wrong part of your body p>
He smiled, but the amusement didn’t last.
“I think I need to figure myself out before I try anything with anyone p>
“When the right person comes along, you’ll know. Emma, for instance p>
His shoulders tightened.
“Come on, Charlie. Do you really feel nothing for her p>
Charlie sighed.
“Emma is too good for me. Besides, I don’t know what she thinks of me anymore.” His voice dropped. “I spent years telling her she was my sister. I kept pushing her away. Maybe she hates me now p>
“Maybe you should find out. Try being her friend again p>
My phone rang, cutting the conversation short. Dad.
His voice came through with news I’d been waiting for.
“The Meridian who supplied poison to Barbara has been found p>
I sat straighter.
“Yes p>
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Dad chuckled. “He was taken into custody with two others connected to the Meridian network. The investigation
already underway. Barbara’s trial will move forward as soon as the evidence from Marcus is processed p>
“Good p>
I ended the call and looked at Charlie.
“Barbara’s going down. We should celebrate that p>
The door opened. Emma stepped inside carrying a folder.
“I brought the docu p>
She stopped when she saw Charlie, and something flickered across her face before she hid it. She placed the folder, on my desk, turned, and walked out as though the building were on fire behind her.
Charlie watched her go, still staring at the closed door.
I burst into laughter and earned a glare from Charlie.
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Lucia Morh
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.