SWNOVELS Chapter 53
Chapter 53
LEAH
The pain is unbearable.
It’s like fire burning my body from the inside out. Everywhere. Every cell, every limb, every hair hurts.
Whatever is happening, it’s hitting my nervous system.
I bite down on this stu pid stick and try to block out the next
blast.
After tonight, childbirth will be a breeze.
If I survive this, that is.
And the ca ncer.
2
And the mob of power-hungry wolves encircling me.
And find a male to give me a baby.
I glance up at Aaron. He hasn’t left my side. He fought like a madman to prevent Brian from killing me. I’m not sure how he found
me. And truthfully, given how I told him I was done, I’m surprised he came at all.
But then, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.
This is about power-an indescribable amount of it.
If Aaron were to absorb mine, it’d be the ultimate coup for his pack, and he’s always been focused on his pack above anything
else.
“You’ve got this, Leah. Stay strong.”
I’ve been married to this man for years, and I swear I wonder if I know him at all. Who is this Alpha holding me and cheering me
on? A week ago, I would’ve laid odds that he would’ve torn out my throat with his own teeth to claim this victory.
He’d find a dozen ways to justify it, of course.
As another flood hits me, I shudder and lose my thoughts. I can’t worry about what’s happening around me. I can’t even care
about being a spectacle to no fewer than thirty or forty wolves.
I’m just trying to survive.
I’m cold despite the fire blazing in front of me. My mind and body feel detached.
Aaron starts to rock me. The motion is gentle and subtle, hardly any movement at all, but I feel it, and I count each sway. It gives
me something to focus on.
Something other than the pain threatening to ki ll me.
The next wave...it’s less.
And the one after that, it lessens too.
Aaron heaves a big sigh of relief.
His arms loosen marginally.
It’s maybe another thirty minutes before the last pulse fades. Even after it passes, I still don’t move for several minutes. Every
muscle aches. My bones feel brittle. I’m not sure what sensation I should be feeling, or if the transition even really worked.
Someone must’ve undone those shackles at some point because I’m able to move my feet. I stand very slowly. My knees give
out and Aaron’s arm is the only thing holding me up. “Take it slow,” he tells me.
But I want to run away from this place and all these wolves who watch me.
I keep testing my body for physical changes. But I don’t feel any stronger. My mind can’t connect to Aaron’s or anyone else’s-at
least that I’m aware of. And though I search deep into my soul, there is no howl or growl or rumble of my wolf within me.
Maybe it didn’t-
“It worked, Leah. You survived.”
I guess
that I’m alive means the power has transitioned to me? Funny. It doesn’t feel like it.
“You all right?” Aaron asks.
I look at him. “You saved me.”
He nods. “Let’s go home, honey.”
“I’d like that,” I say.
He smiles big and it reaches his eyes. This smile is maybe the first genuine one I’ve ever seen.
Aaron smooths back my hair and kisses my forehead. It’s tender and sweet. And his packmates cheer. The other wolves, they
just continue to watch everything.
Aaron lets his hand slide down my arm and he twines our fingers.
But when he tries to guide me toward his pack, I dig in my heels.
“Leah?”
I turn away from him. “Councilwoman Karolina, will you escort
me?”
She quirks her head, but nods. “Of course.”
“Leah?” Aaron’s brows draw together. “What are you doing?”
“I said I wanted to go home, Aaron, but that didn’t mean with you.”