Page 39 of Never Tamed
“You were pretty weird when you talked to me at Rudy’s bar. I suspected you.” I draw my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around my legs.
I have no control over the tears that slip out. I’m not even sure why they decided to make a break for it. I only know the tear trails dry on my cheeks almost as soon as they wind past my nose and I have to sniff to keep them from going any further.
“I know this isn’t easy,” Anna says. “Which is why I wanted to talk to you. To tell you to come find me.”
“I found you, all right,” I grumble.
And a whole lot more than I ever bargained for.
“Humans are full of such emotions.”
“But you don’t have any?”
“It’s not in my nature. This facade is designed to put you at ease and it’s easier to mimic them. I only know that I need you to be strong. I need you to do what you were saved to do, Ren, even when it feels hopeless.”
“I have no clue what to do to stop Andras,” I admit.
“Yes, you do. You’ve already started the process.”
Ugh.“A book of instructions might be nice.” My side clenches as I remember the awful feeling of Catarina’s claws biting deep. “Because I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold my own against him.”
“His weakness is right out there in the open if you look for it. He makes no effort to hide it.”
“I barely got away from that bitch he’s got working for him. He’s sure to have more wolves around to protect him.” I point to my side like it will prove something.
Stronger wolves and much more practice than I have at my disposal. Not to mention my men. I don’t want anything happening to them.
We hardly made it out of the church and who knows what might have happened if Dax hadn’t thought to steal a car.
“Trust yourself,” Anna says quietly. “Trust the gifts I’ve given you and trust the men at your side. You won’t let me down. And they won’t fail you.”
They might not, but they’d fight to the death in order to win, and I’m not willing to take the chance.
I’m not sure I trust myself.
“I didn’t expect you to feel sorry for yourself,” Anna adds. She tilts her head to the side to study me.
My stomach twists and I hold up my hands. “I’m allowed a little bit of wallowing.”
She stands, her gaze fastened on something in the distance. The glow around her, the one I’d thought came from the moon, only grows brighter. It’s coming from inside of her. “No, you’re not. Not anymore. Stand tall and do your job. Be my sword. Protect the people you love.”
Her form wavers and dissolves into moonlight. Alone on the side of the mountain, surrounded by the devastation of her temple, I’m left with nothing but worries, the silent face of the stone effigy—
And an impossible task.
Anna is the Moon Goddess. She’s been with me the entire time, watching me, guiding me, and confusing me.
Now, she expects me to take on Andras, something no one else has been able to do. The man is slippery and brutal, ruthless in the worst possible way.
I steel myself and my shoulders hunch against the night breeze. My legs protest the second I step away from the ruins of the temple and back toward our camp.
It might be impossible, but I’ve got to do it. There’s no other choice. And if my three mates are on the line, if Flora and the rest of the kidnapped omegas are still alive, then I have to do it for them. Not for myself.
I don’t believe in myself enough to do it for me.
But for the people I care about? I’ll burn the world down and laugh with the match in my hand.
Chapter 10
