CHAPTER 25

JARETT POV

A deep silence fell over the cabin, broken only by the sound of her ragged breathing as it gradually slowed down.

Then, her back relaxed against mine just a tiny fraction.

"Again," I whispered. "Just breathe."

We stayed in that exact position for ten minutes, then twenty.

The brilliant gold in her eyes began to fade away, not disappearing entirely but softening into a warm amber that looked human again.

Her hands shifted back to normal, and she began to cry softly.

It wasn't a cry of pain, but one of pure relief.

"I truly thought I was dying," she whispered into the quiet room.

"You weren’t dying," I told her. "You were finally becoming who you are."

She turned around to look at me, her eyes still bright but completely clear.

"I absolutely hate it," she admitted. "I hate that this monster is a part of me."

"I know," I said. "I hated it too when I first turned sixteen."

"Did the feeling ever get easier?"

"Yeah," I replied. "It got easier the moment I stopped calling the wolf a monster."

She fell silent, contemplating my words, and then she gently leaned her head against my shoulder. She didn’t ask for permission, she just did it.

I remained completely still, refusing to push her or force the mate bond that was currently humming between us like a live wire.

I just sat there, letting her rest her weight against me.

Outside the cabin, the wind began to pick up through the trees.

Inside, Helena’s breathing finally evened out into a steady rhythm.

When she spoke again, the tone of her voice was completely different, sounding lower and much steadier than before.

"I can still hear the wolf inside my head," she said. "But it isn't screaming anymore. It is actually listening."

"Good," I said. "That is what real control feels like."

"What am I supposed to do with this power?" she asked.

"You are going to lead with it," I told her. "You will use it the exact same way you called that blindside play on the ice. You don’t let the wolf drive the car, Helena. You drive it."

She offered a small nod against my shoulder.

For the very first time since she came back to me, she didn’t smell like fear.

Instead, she smelled like peace, mixed with something entirely new.

She smelled like ozone, pine, and absolute power.

She smelled like an Alpha. She wasn't fully there yet, but the door was finally open.

"I saw the memory clearly when the shift happened," she whispered. "The night my parents died, it wasn’t Kade who killed them. He was actually telling the truth about that part."

My chest tightened at her words. "What did you see?"

"It was a pack of rogues," she said. "They were young, stupid, and they wanted me because of my bloodline." She swallowed hard. "And they were wearing silver weapons."

The weight of the word hung heavily between us in the quiet cabin.

"That is the real reason I panicked earlier," she confessed. "That is why I thought I was destined to become just like them."

"You didn’t become them," I said firmly. "You are nothing like them."

She lifted her head up and looked me directly in the eyes.

"Thank you," she said softly. "Thank you for not running away from me again."

"I am not running," I promised. "Not from you, and not ever again."

She reached out and took my hand in hers.

There was no forced mate bond driving the action, and no claiming of territory.

It was a matter of pure, conscious choice.

Outside, the first light of dawn began to break through the thick pine trees. A pale silver light filtered through the cabin windows, representing the morning rather than the dangerous metal.

Helena stood up, her legs a bit wobbly, but she remained standing.

"I think I am ready to face the hearing tomorrow," she said. "I think I can handle all of it now."

"I know you can," I replied.

She looked out the window toward the storage shed where the silver box was hidden, and then she turned back to look at me.

"Blood and silver," she murmured. "That is exactly what they used to kill my family."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Then we are going to use it too," she stated firmly. "Not to hurt innocent people, but to protect our own."

My wolf let out a quiet huff of approval deep within my chest.

*****

The city smelled completely different by the time we finally returned to it.

Helena did not sleep for a single second during the three-hour drive back from the cabin. She just stared blankly out the passenger side window while her fingers tapped a restless rhythm against her knee.

Ever since our time at the cabin, her senses had become incredibly sharp and overwhelming. She could hear the internal rumbling of the car engine far too loudly, and she could easily smell the stale coffee from the gas station we had passed two miles back.

Helena Callahan was not a broken woman. She was completely awake and the world was not ready for what was coming.