Page 13 of Forsaking His Mate

Stairs in front of me go up to the next floor, and there’s a dining room to the left with a table long enough to seat at least fourteen.

It seems homey, which surprises me. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this is not it.

Hester goes into the living room and sinks onto the couch, huffing out a breath.

“Will the hunters follow us here?” I ask, unable to keep the fear from my voice.

“They won’t be able to find us because of the wards.” She has mentioned these before, but I’m not entirely sure what a ward is.“Only people I want herecan enter. Everyone at the sanctuary is like us—different, outcast.”

That eases some of the tension from my shoulders, settling the increasing tightness in my chest so I can breathe unchallenged. I am already responsible for the death of many of my pack; I don’t want the people here to suffer because of me.

I can’t stop my eyes from gravitating to Apryle as she stands in front of the unlit fireplace.

She is a tau wolf too, just as Hester is… just as I am.

This morning I had no idea what I was. Now, I’m surrounded by my kind.

I want desperately to ask her questions about how she came to be here, about her gifts, about her tau side, but I hold my tongue.

“We need to look at your back,” Hester says.

“It doesn’t hurt,” I say.

I can barely feel anything. Wolves heal faster than human, though I could never heal as fast as full-blooded wolf shifters.

“Let me see.”

Hester stands behind me and orders me to lift my shirt. I grab the hem and lift it high enough to give her a glimpse at my skin.

“You need a healer. We don’t have one here, though.”

Lowering my shirt, I turn to her. “I’ll heal in time.”

“Not as fast as you would with a healer,” she disagrees. “Lie on the couch, Tessa. I’ll do what I can for you. Apryle, grab the first aid kit.”

Apryle heads out of the room, leaving me with Hester. “It’s nice here,” I say.

“I spent many years making it that way.”

“Why?”

“Because I was hunted for more years than I was free. I didn’t want others to suffer the same. Besides, we’re stronger when we’re together. Don’t you feel your magic increasing just from being here?”

I frown. Does my magic feel different? It throbs and pulses as I reach for it, but stronger? I’m not sure. “I can’t really control my magic,” I admit.

“We’ll teach you how, Tessa,” Hester tells me. “They say we are an abomination because we cannot shift. Other wolves think we are weak because of it, but it’s bullshit. I don’t need an animal to save me. Neither do you. You are of Revna’s line, just as I am. We only need the magic that beats within us. Lie down on the couch.”

I position myself so I’m lying face down among the cushions, but Hester’s words are rolling around in my mind.

I always felt weak because I couldn’t shift, because I wasn’t like the rest of my pack, but knowing I could be strong in another way makes my heart soar.

Hester pulls my shirt up as Apryle returns, holding a box. She places it on the couch behind me and disappears again.

When she returns, she’s carrying a bowl of water and a towel.

I tense as I wait for Hester to treat my injuries. The couch is soft against my cheek, but I feel vulnerable lying here like this.

“What else can tau wolves do?” I ask, suddenly curious.

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