Page 52 of The Werewolf Cowboy
Grayson’s mouth quirked in a ghost of a smile. “Not usually, unless we call him. He kind of leaves us alone, except when we need him.”
They went outside, into the bright sunshine. Overhead, blue, pink, and purple fairies flitted in the air and the unicorns whinnied as the Lupines in the pack forked out hay to feed them.
It was almost like life on her ranch, with a few distinctions.
Hope flared in her heart. “Grayson, what if Tristan removed my magick, except the power to shift? Could I go back and forth between worlds?”
His gaze flattened. “No ordinary Lupines can last here for long. It’ll drive you mad and make you vulnerable to Others, who would eat you alive. I couldn’t be there every moment to watch over you, and you’d be a prime target for anyone to attack. Without your dark powers, you’d be dead.”
Then he stepped back and sang out notes of a clear, high tone. A minute later, there was a flash of purple smoke.
A tall man with black hair stepped out of the smoke. Clad in black leather pants, black shirt and doeskin boots, he was quite handsome. Each strand of his shoulder-length black hair was tipped with silver, glinting like polished chrome.
Tristan, the Silver Wizard, the judge of Lupines and shifters.
Having heard his name spoken several times, and seen him from a distance at the Mitchell Ranch, Katy felt in awe of the powerful wizard, but she felt no fear. She sensed no anger or cruelty in him. Only wisdom and sadness, as if he knew what task faced him.
Grayson put a protective hand on her shoulder. “Tristan, I called you forth to drain Katy of her dark magick. She wishes to live in the Skin world.”
The wizard sighed. “Katy, is this what you truly desire?”
Desire? No. She wanted both worlds. But Katy knew that was impossible. “I have to return to the Mitchell Ranch. I want to stay here, but I’m afraid.” Her voice broke. “I can’t risk turning into something like Cedric or my parents. It would kill me to destroy Lupines instead of using my powers to save them. Do all dark Lupines eventually turn corrupt?”
Tristan shook his head. “Not all. Only when they achieve a great age, and only purebreds.”
“Purebreds like me,” she whispered.
He nodded. “With the right mate, you might survive. But the longer you live, the more thirsty you grow for power, and for life itself. It is what destroyed Cedric. The love for power outweighs the love for a mate.” The wizard’s expression turned cynical. “There is a reason they call it the Dark Kingdom.”
She looked at Grayson, her love, her life. The idea that she could eventually destroy him hurt worse than never seeing him again. Her parents had deeply loved each other, and yet that wasn’t enough to prevent their descent into madness.
Katy held out her hands. “Take this from me. Please.”
Tristan gripped her wrists. She felt a draining sensation, as if someone sapped away all her strength. Grayson caught her in his arms. Exhausted, she let him hold her, for it felt as if she could fall asleep for a year. Never had she been this tired.
“Now that she’s a normal Lupine, getting her through the Feral Forest is going to be a bitch,” Grayson muttered.
Tristan quirked a dark brow. “Ah, Grayson, such directness. One reason I like you. There is no need to battle the darkness within. I shall teleport you both to wherever Katy desires.”
“Really?” she asked.
Tristan’s expression turned kind. “If that is what you truly wish, then close your eyes. Think of where you really want to be, Katy.”
She closed her eyes and conjured an image, feeling a warmth infuse her.
When she opened her eyes, Tristan was gone. She and Grayson were alone on the same dirt road bordering his ranch and the Mitchell Ranch.
“I don’t understand.” She looked around. “Tristan brought us here?”
Grayson nodded. “He told you to imagine where your heart desired to be. Reckon this means you truly want to be here, because if you didn’t, we’d still be at the Gray Wolf Ranch.”
His deep, smoky voice rang with sadness. Katy gripped his hands. “Don’t go. Stay here, with me. I can’t bear to live my life without you.”
Gently he removed his palms from her clasp. “I can’t stay,” he told her, caressing her cheek. “Have to get back to my world, Katy. I’m ordering you to be happy. That’s all I ever wanted for you.”
He kissed her, hard and fast.
With a careless tip of his Stetson, Grayson walked away, and then suddenly he was gone.
Out of her life, forever.
