Page 27 of Redeeming the Angel

My best friend, Gabriel Leonine, still disguised as a wolf, lay at her side, looking content in his adoration.

Uncomfortable with watching her without her knowledge, I made my presence known.

“Hey, little cousin!”I called out cheerfully.“That sounded really…cool?Is that the word?”

As I approached, an almost angry sound poured from Sylvis’s guitar while she gave me a look of annoyance.“Sure, that works.Um…thanks.”

She let a long silence settle between us that was probably meant to dissuade me, but I wasn’t going to let that work for her anymore.Not when I was running out of time.

Giving her a cheerful smile as if she weren’t glaring at me, I sat on the grass beside her and scratched her pet wolf between the ears.“It appears that you have a pet now.”

Gabriel blinked up at me and lifted a brow in a very un-wolflike manner.I was surprised he hadn’t given himself away yet.

“I tried to release him back to the wild, but he doesn’t want to go.”She paused again, but this time it appeared she was weighing a decision to confide in me.“Apparently, I have a bonding power with canines.Up until recently, I thought I was just a dog person.I had no idea that I was calling them by magic.Is there a way to turn off the calling so that Wolf isn’t compelled to follow me everywhere?”

The question nearly made me laugh.Normally, it would be an insightful inquiry, but not when we weren’t dealing with a real wolf.“I could help you temper your bonding power enough so that you will only be able to call dogs at will, but as forthiswolf, his will is too strong for you to be able to dissuade his inclinations to be near you.”

“You can sense that?”All hostility had vanished from Sylvis as she peered at me incredulously.If circumstances were different, this could have been the key to befriending her.Now, the most I could do was ensure she wouldn’t blame me for her pet not being what it seemed.

“I can see it, plain as day.Also, I’ve gained some knowledge about wolves from a luminite who bonded with them even more than you.”I stood and crossed my arms over my chest, doing my best to convey useful expertise.“Are you still calling him ‘Wolf,’ or have you gotten around to naming him?”

Sylvis sighed as Gabriel’s tongue lolled out in a big doggy grin.“I suppose I should give him a name.”

“How about Gabe?”I couldn’t help but joke.

Gabriel lunged forward, head-butting me in the legs, nearly making me fall.Sylvis’s shoulders shook with repressed laughter.It was the most cheerful she’d been around me.

“Gabe is a nice name…” she said tentatively.“But I don’t know if it fits a wolf.”

“What about ‘fluffy?’”

Gabriel growled, finally sounding like a real wolf.

Sylvis shook her head.“Since I’m only now coming around to the idea of keeping him, I’m going to need time to think of a suitable name.Timealone,” she added pointedly.

I chuckled and rocked on my heels, undeterred.“I notice that you like to come out here by yourself.Is there a reason why?”

“To think and practice my guitar.”Her eyes and tone accused me of being ignorant.“Everyone needs a little space.Especially when it can get crowded and noisy in there.”

“That’s whyIcame out here instead of going straight inside the tower.”I continued to grin, willfully ignoring her hints that she wanted to be left alone.“Watching all those happy couples can be tiresome.”

“Yeah.”Sylvis agreed aloud with such fervor that I blinked.

“Are you currently seeking a mate?”The look she gave me was so hostile that I quickly held up his hands in reassurance.“I’m not asking becauseIwish to pursue you.I was only curious since the rest of your friends are paired up.”

“I don’t have to do everything my friends do.”Her voice held a defensive edge.

“I would never presume to accuse you of being a follower,” I assured her.“I merely thought that, with your closeness to the Queen and other important persons, the Prophecy likely already has a mate in store for you.And I wanted to know if you were looking for them.”

“Nope.”She looked down at the grass and plucked out some random notes on her guitar.“I’m not interested in having a mate at all.”

Her words made me blink in surprise.Though she was kin, we were very different people.“I thought that Kerainne and I were true-bonded the day we met.Perhaps my taking that for granted was why I foolishly let her slip away.I continue to hope that she is my destined mate.”

“Oh no.”She held up her hands in a warding-off gesture.“I am not going to put in a good word for you to Kerainne.She’s like a second mom to me, and you hurt her.”

“She hurt me first.”I knew I should shut up, but my pain refused to be restrained.

“I amnotgetting involved.”At the sound of approaching footsteps and Gabriel getting up from his perch behind her back, Sylvis continued in a hushed tone.“And you better drop the subject.The Queen is approaching, and she thinks less of you than I do.”

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