Page 51 of The Werewolf Cowboy
“My parents didn’t kill themselves, Grayson. You found them, and you found me. You know what they did.”
Her lover went still, his expression guarded.
Katy sat up, and tears rolled down her face. “I know now. They killed each other. They took me into the Feral Forest and they fought because my mother wanted me in the Skin world and my father wanted me here, maybe to leech my power as I grew older, so their lives would be preserved. And they fought a terrible battle…and killed each other.”
They would have killed her as well, if she had not sought refuge behind a rock. That was how Grayson found her, weeping and hungry, but too frightened to venture out.
“I’d hoped you’d never find out,” he said, his expression sad. “It’s too much for one Lupine to handle.”
Katy reached up and kissed him. “Thank you for saving me. But I have hard decisions to make, Grayson.”
He cupped her face in his strong hands. “Katy, please, darling, stay with me. I promise I’ll be your anchor, your mate. I’ll make sure your power is tempered, and keep you from going insane like your father did.”
Oh, she wanted to believe him. With all her heart, she fiercely wanted to stay. But her parents were thought to be each other’s anchors…and in the end, the power ruling over them had killed them both.
Pressing a hand to his bare chest, she gazed into his ice blue eyes, filled with love for her. If only love was enough. Her heart felt like it would shatter.
How could she leave him?
But he had a pack to rule, and people who needed him.
“I live in the Skin world, and I belong with Aiden’s pack. Your people are here. You’re now their leader.”
He went still, and very quiet, but beneath her fingers, she felt his heart beat faster.
“I can’t live here and have all this power at my fingertips. I’d eventually end up destroying someone I love, maybe even myself.” She sucked in a breath and her voice quivered. “Or worse, you or any children we would have.”
His mouth flattened and his gaze turned cool. “Is that your answer?”
Vision blurred from her tears, she nodded. “Take me back, Grayson. I need to go home.”
The following morning, Katy struggled to hold back her tears. All the time she lived at the Mitchell Ranch, she’d been secretly yearning for something more.
She’d seen the other females with their mates, the closeness they shared, the laughter and tears and anger. Her sense of place and purpose had been the ranch, until now.
Grayson was her sense of place, her purpose. Shadowing her for the past year, watching over her, protective and primitive. He was her rock, and refuge.
How could she bear life apart from him?
Grayson didn’t say much as they ate breakfast. After, he took the amulet that he’d given her long ago and placed it on his bureau.
“Reckon you won’t have need of this any longer, if you’re staying in the Skin world.”
Katy went to him and slid into his arms. Stroking her hair with a trembling hand, he gripped her hard with his other arm.
“Hold me,” he whispered. “Hold me tight and never let go, or my heart will break. You’re my dawn and my sunset, my life.”
“I love you so much,” she sobbed. “Why can’t you come with me? Stay with me, please. I can’t bear it without you.”
No longer did his arms tremble. Grayson gently eased away from her, and in his eyes, she saw the sorrow mingling with new purpose.
“Don’t cry, Katy. I’ll never forget you, and you’ll always hold my heart. But you’re right. I want what’s best for you. That kind of power you hold inside you can turn deadly.” He smoothed back her hair. “It’ll have to be siphoned out of you before you leave.”
“That sounds terribly uncomfortable and scary,” she whispered. “How?”
“Something this big, I’ll call the Silver Wizard. He’ll remove your power.”
Katy stepped back, searching his expression. “Tristan rules here as well?”
