I was about fourteen or fifteen years old and watching my father beat my mother. He wasn’t even using the power—just venting his frustration and anger because she’d said something he didn’t like. And I hated him. I hated him with a fury that threatened to burn me alive—as he snarled at her and spewed contempt at her and she sobbed, I wanted him dead.
But then he kicked her right in the back and she gasped and rolled over and her face…
It wasn’t my mother’s face. It was Jesse’s—tearstained and confused, heartbroken, and in pain.
I roared and threw myself at him—claws, teeth, everything in me. He screamed and curled into the fetal position as I unleashed everything I had on him.
“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”- Hebrews 11:6*****~ JESSE ~I was in the den. His den.Cazz stood with his back to the barred door, his face stunned, and eyes locked on something ahead of him—something that wasn’t me.I knew before I even turned, but it still hit like a punch to the kidneys when I took in the sight of the beautiful she-wolf, quickly stripping off her clothes, her eyes alight and fixed on Cazz with anticipation and lust.
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”- Matthew 11:28-30*****~ CASIMIR ~I sat bolt-upright in bed, my body zinging with power, wheezing, my lungs inflating like I’d been deprived of air. The room spun so that I couldn’t see and I gripped my head in my hands because my brain suddenly felt too big for my skull.I fell back onto the pillows again, gasping, writhing, aware of eyes on me, but the pain was consuming—and breathtaking as I felt the flows work
~ CASIMIR ~God, I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. But I nodded.“I know,” I rasped, licking my lips and plowing on before she lost her hope. “And I’m telling you, if I could go back and only change one thing, it would be that. I’m sorry, Jesse. I am so fucking sorry.”“I know,” she said, but there was no relief in her. No softness. She said it like it barely mattered.“No, I don’t think you do,” I said, struggling to push myself up to sit again—but I managed it. As the effects of the power took hold, I was growing stronger, thank God. “Jesse… I’ve seen the truth. About myself. About life. About God. I’ve seen that… that I was wrong. And I’m going to d
~ JESSE ~“…I don’t want you to feel scared, beautiful. I want you to feel safe. The way you make me feel safe.”My lip trembled. “I want that too.”“I know. And I know it’s up to me to make that real for you. Just… give me a chance. Please, Jesse. Please.”Cazz stared at me with such earnestness in his eyes—and they were blazing. But this time not with heat or anger, but with a plea.The bond throbbed in my chest, and I bit my lip as my body propelled me towards him, one wobbly step at a time. And when I reached his side, he reached for my hand and pulled me up onto the bed with him, immediately folding me into his arms
~ JESSE ~Cazz wasn’t supposed to be up and moving, but within an hour, he’d already linked with Maya, insisting that she come examine me, and when she was close, he got out of the bed—more slowly than he usually would—and made me lay down so she could reach me easily.“Cazz, you’re supposed to be resting!”“So are you!” he said pointedly.“Yes, but I wasn’t shot.”“And healed,” he added.“You almost died.”That stopped him. He was on his way to the door to let Maya in, because he was insisting that no one else come near us yet, a
~ JESSE ~Cazz glanced towards the door, shooting a dark look that way, then turned back to me. I frowned a question at him, but he was looking at Maya.“The power… is it unsafe for her to use?”“Not exactly,” Maya said grimly. “Clearly they’ve both survived whatever that was. But it does better explain why it came on so quickly for her, and grew so strong so fast. She needs training to control it. The hormones and her tiredness will make it more difficult to control even at the best of times. But with her lack of experience and the stress of… recent events,” she said the words with a twist of distaste on her lips, “I imagine it will be even more erratic. She needs help, Cazz. Training.”
~ JESSE ~I stared at Cazz, half-thrilled, half-nervous. “Will you stay laying with me?” I asked suspiciously.He huffed. “Yes… but if you don’t mind, I’ll shift. My wolf form heals more quickly, so any rest in that body will be worth twice what it would be as a human.”I felt myself tense, felt my eyes widen.All this time, and I’d never actually seen him fully in his wolf—not when I could pay attention.I swallowed hard. “I… okay.”His expression grew concerned. “Does my wolf frighten you?”
~ CASIMIR ~As Jesse slid slowly into sleep, her exhaustion and tension seeping out of her, I took a very few minutes to simply enjoy the knowledge that our love had been a success, that we had truly built something together. A family. God, what a thought—there was a soul already alive that was made of me and her.As I thought of how close I’d come to breaching that bond—and it occurred to me what the likely fate of our child would have been if I’d done that—I had to breathe through the panic and let myself sink into the sensation of her arms around me and her weight leaning against me. Her trust in sleeping with my wolf, in clinging to me as she rested… It was a balm, and one that made the bond glow. But that connection between us was still thin. Present. Not broken, thank God. But thin. And… da