*Bryson*
My wolf howled and screamed inside of my mind, but I kept my jaw tightly clenched, preventing him from getting anything out or gaining control for even a moment.
It was hard though when I was standing there, staring at the hurt on Ada's face that my words had caused. At least the hurt had finally stopped her arguing though. I didn't think it would be that hard to leave her, but she was fighting for me tooth and nail.
And while part of me loved her devotion, the other part realized that this devotion could just spell more danger for her.
"Why would you say that?" Ada asked, her voice barely audible as she looked down.
My chest tightened again, but I took another deep breath to gain control of my own emotions, my own anguish. There's no way I could justify my words, even if they were true.
"Get some rest," I said as gently as I could, allowing some of my own dejection into my tone. "I'll come back tomorrow."
Ada didn't move or
*Bryson*Ada's wolf would cause endless calamity? Had I heard him right?"How?" I asked in a tight voice. "What's wrong with Ada? Or her wolf? Why do you say that?"As I expected, Ada's father was not interested in providing the information that I requested."The details don't matter," he said with a wave of his hand."But--""I was just telling you so that you will go back and do what's right," he interrupted me. "You don't need to ask questions: you need to leave."My wolf tried to growl again, but this time I kept control. He seemed to notice my internal struggle though."Some things are meant to stay in the past," he said a little softer.Then, before I had a chance to push for more questions he had turned and left, taking the dead body with him. I watched him walk away, still burning for answers, but I wouldn't leave Ada. I couldn't follow him.He knew that and used it to his advantage. Smart.I made m
*Bryson*My stepmom had been the one to poison me.Well…possibly. It still wasn't a sure thing, but the evidence was not pointing in her favor by any means. And even if she wasn't the one that poisoned me, I couldn't deny the fact that she had ordered those rogues to stop me.Even if it meant killing me."Ethan," I said, breaking out of my thoughts. "Head back to Grandmoon and scope out the Alpha mansion before I arrive there."My gaze fell back on the infirmary, despite my efforts to restrain myself, and I couldn't help but add, "And when you get there, secretly send some people back to protect this place."If I did leave her, I couldn't just leave her defenseless. Wait. What did I mean, 'if' I left her.I shook my head as if it would shake out the power that was drawing me to her. My wolf would never let that happen though, I was sure. It appeared that if I truly wanted to be free of her I would have to reject her.'DON'T YOU
*Ada*Bryson's breathing slowly calmed beneath me, and I realized that he had fallen asleep.Yet my fingers didn't stop their journey as they moved around, playing with the hair that I had been dying to touch since I had first laid eyes on him. Bryson didn't seem to mind my fingers though, and kept unconsciously moving even closer to me.My eyes took a quick sweep of his body, trying to check for any physical injuries or anything else that I needed to tend to. His knees looked a little scraped up, but they were nothing major. Definitely not something I would have to mend at the moment. Especially since his wolf would most likely be able to heal that in a matter of minutes, even without my aid.As I knelt there and stared at the man in front of me, the man that I had panicked seeing injured, I realized what I had been trying to push back. But what I was fighting wasn't ignorable any longer.I loved him. I loved Bryson. I wanted to be with him.
*Ada*Was this really happening?My breath was coming in pants as Bryson sat up to appease my shaking fingers and rip his shirt off over his head. I sat up with him, fumbling with my own shirt before his steady hands assisted me with that as well.He paused as he saw me laying there with just a bra on, his eyes even darker than I had seen them before, but I didn't hesitate at all. I wrapped my arms back up and around his neck, pulling him back to me.The skin on skin touch was just as good as I imagined it would be. His contact spots seemed to tingle with anticipation and a shiver passed over me as goosebumps covered my skin, making me even more sensitive to his hot hands.It felt so good that I didn't even notice the dirt and branches and leaves that were scratching along my bare back.I opened my eyes again as he pulled back slightly to give us room to breathe. My vision blurred as I looked up at Bryson and for a moment I thought I was cry
*Ada*I rested my head against Bryson's chest again, just enjoying the comfort that came from his presence. It took me a minute of feeling the little tingles to remember that he was still shirtless."Oh, sorry," I said, leaning back. "Did you need your shirt back?"I started to hand it to him, but he shook his head quickly and pushed it back to me, averting his eyes."No, you can keep it," he said, his voice thick.I looked down in confusion and then remembered why I had his shirt in the first place. I had nothing but a bra on underneath. My cheeks burned as I wrapped it back around myself."Oh, right, thanks," I said, glancing around for my shirt. "Hold on one second."I hurried over to my shirt and threw it on before walking back over to Bryson and handing him his own shirt back. He was still trying to look the other way and be a gentleman, but I could see the tension in his body, and when I helped him up, I wasn't surprised to find
*Bryson*"Don't joke around about that," I said, then, hearing how harsh I sounded, added a, "Please."Ada had just made a joke about giving us medicine to make us feel like mates, without realizing that we already were mates."We need to tell her," my wolf said quietly in my mind, and for the first time in a while, I agreed with him.But nerves garbled my throat. How was I supposed to tell her that we were mates? When she didn't have a wolf to confirm it for herself. Would she believe me?Then again, I was pretty sure that she had just told me her deepest, darkest secrets, and that couldn't have been easy for her either."I'm sorry," Ada said again. "But…can I ask…what about the joke upset you? I mean, just so I know for the future."She looked at me with her sharp, intelligent eyes, and I felt guilty again for her feeling like she did something wrong. It wasn't her fault that she didn't know what we were."Ada…" I began. "I g
*Bryson*I was staring at Ada in anticipation and it was taking everything in me to keep my calm and composed mask in place. Because inside I was a raging mess of excitement, anticipation, and nerves.I was taking Ada to Grandmoon. Finally. And it didn't matter if she said it was for professional reasons, my heart couldn't help but leap at the idea of staying with her. A smile broke through my mask, showing my joy."I promise to re-enter the village under your protection and gather my things," she finally said, unable to smile herself. "Is that satisfactory for you?""Very," I said, a correlating grin growing larger.This was it. It was decided. Ada gripped my hand tighter and turned towards the direction of her home."Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going," she said as she pulled me along. "You said you needed to leave immediately, right?""Right," I said as I kept pace beside her.Neither of us spoke the rest of the w
*Bryson*I watched as the Alpha left, running towards saving his pack."Let's get her home to rest," Ada's mother suddenly said, drawing my attention back to her and Ada. "She seems to have run out of energy, and with all the chaos I think it best to get her somewhere safe from the fire and chaos.""I agree," I said, rushing forward to pick her up.It appeared that her mother was right. Ada's body had finally gone still, and had quit spasming. In fact, if I didn't know better, it looked like she had passed out from exhaustion. At least with her calmness came a calmness in my mind as well. No stabbing pain."I got you, Ada," I said comfortingly in her ear as I bent down and picked her up.I had no idea if she could actually hear me or not, but I had to give her some sign of support after everything I had to just sit through and watch. It selfishly made me feel better. Almost as if I had been comforting her the entire time.I adjusted h