Chapter 16
I slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake the sleeping Alpha. It seemed like the voice was coming from outside, in the corridor. I followed, tiptoeing out of the room.
I ended up back in my own room, facing my tiny bathroom mirror. I stared in shock at the face it revealed.
There were no scars. The skin from the corner of my eye to my cheek was pristine and soft. No burn marks speckled my nose or chin. I looked like I had before Eva disfigured me.
That wasn’t the only change, though. The eyes on the face in the mirror were gold, almost glowing with an inner light. And the woman in the mirror was grinning.
I reached up to touch my cheek. The woman in the mirror reached towards me, and her hand rested against the glass.
“Who are you?” I whispered.
I am you.
“No, you’re not.” I shook my head.
I am your wolf.
I shook my head again and stepped back. The woman in the mirror stopped grinning.
Do not flee.
“This can’t be real,” I protested. “I’m wolf–less. I’m a half–blood. I have no wolf.”
You do. I am here.
“You’re here? Now? Why? I’ve been calling for you all my life! Why are you here now?”
The woman in the mirror shrugged.
It takes time for some. Sometimes we wait for our mate. Sometimes we need time to grow to full strength. The stronger the wolf, the longer the wait. You will be the strongest healer, once we meet for real.
“Meet for real? What does that mean?” I asked.
You know.
I did know. You met your wolf the first time you shifted. I had never run through the woods and the fields on four legs. I had accepted that I never would. Now, this dream, or hallucination, or vision, was saying that I would? And that I would be a healer as well?
It was everything I had ever wanted, and I was terrified to let myself believe it.
“When?” I asked. “When will I change?”
It wouldn’t be the full moon. That was mostly a myth the humans believed about us. Pack wolves could change whenever they wanted. It was easier on the full moon, for reasons no one knew but everyone debated.
The woman in the mirror shrugged.
Soon, but not immediately. We must wait.
“Wait? For what?”
Can’t shift with a pup.
The woman grinned again, and patted her belly. I rested my hand there, too. Oh, right. I knew that. Wolf women had to stay in their human form the whole time, or risk harming the pup.
Patience. It will not be too long.
I nodded, and the woman’s face changed slightly. The smile was gone, and the eyes were green. The scars, though, were still gone.
I reached up and touched my cheek. The skin was as smooth under my fingers as it was in the mirror.
I was, or would be, a healer?
It seemed impossible, too good to be true. But why would my own wolf lie to me? Assuming that had really happened and I wasn’t just
+25 Bonus
dreaming.
If it was a dream, though, how had my face healed? That was real. I could see it, I could touch it. That wasn’t my imagination.
I sat down hard on my bed. If it was true, If that was my wolf, then for the first time in my life, I wasn’t alone.
And I could heal my mother. If I was as strong a healer as the wolf claimed, I could finally bring my mother back.
My alarm chimed and I jolted. Dream or vision or whatever, I had to get to work. I couldn’t heal my mother if Eva beat me half to death.
And she would do that and worse if she saw my face. It was about as easy to fake a scar with make up as it was to cover one up, luckily. And no Que really looked closely at some half–blood servant, anyways. I just had to keep my head down and stick to the shadows.
Eva barged into my rooin only a minute after I’d finished getting ready.
“Huh. You’re okay,” she said. “I figured you’d be hurt a lot worse. You’re not even limping.”
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