Page 110 of Witch Untold
She’s saying goodbye. But she isn’t the one who needs to say it.
I love you too, Cora. So very much.
I step away from the ledge, and for the first time in a decade, let go of the wolf and embrace the man.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Cora
Rune’s wolfy head vanished and my heart sank. He’d gone for help, but there was no way he’d get back in time. I couldn’t hold on for much longer. My fingers were numb, losing their grip. It’d be a relief to let go. It was a relief I held on long enough to say goodbye to Rune.
Good he was gone.
Good that he wouldn’t have to watch me die.
A sob rose up my throat, caught and pinched as I swallowed it. I won’t cry. I won’t.
My power remained offline. Was it gone for good? Didn’t matter. It was gone when I needed it the most.
Pain shot through my hand. I squeezed my eyes shut and visualized my guys, saying goodbye in my mind’s eye.
Time to let go.
A hand closed around my wrist. “I got you.”
My head jerked up to look into hazel eyes in a human face.
Rune’s face.
“Let go, Cora. I’ve got you now.”
I relaxed my death grip on the rock face and Rune hauled me up easily, dragging me over the ledge and under the railing.
The sob I’d been holding back clawed its way free and my body trembled, tears blurring my vision. I was alive. Oh, God, I was alive.
I scrambled into Rune’s arms and he hugged me to his chest, cradling me, stroking my hair, and whispering soothing words in my ears.
“It’s okay. You’re safe. You’re okay now.”
I pulled back to look at his face. Rune in the flesh was even more stunning than dream Rune.
I caressed his cheek with my fingertips and traced the bow of his upper lip. “You’re here. You’re really here.”
His eyes were dark and sad. “I am.”
Wait…Wait a second. “Rune…you shifted.”
“Yes.”
“That means…”
“Yes, Cora. I don’t have long before the virus takes me. I want you to know that you were worth it. That I love you. I want you to know…” He winced and ducked his head. “Fuck. You need to go now.” He looked up at the sky, and I followed his gaze to find the moon large and high overhead. “Cora, it’s coming, and you need to—” He shoved me off his lap, shuffling away from me. “Go…” His voice deepened and his naked body began to pulse and ripple as if huge insects were moving beneath his skin.
I took a step toward him. “Rune?”
His head whipped around, and eerie ice-blue eyes glared at me from above a vicious snarling snout. “Go!”
I spun away and ran.
