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I don't know where I'm going. I don't care. I let my wolf choose, and he drives us deeper into the forest until the hospital disappears behind the trees and the scent of antiseptic finally leaves our nose.
Blood stays. Arlene's blood.
I can still smell it buried in my fur. Still taste it in the back of my throat. Every breath brings another memory of holding her against my chest, rubbing her cold skin, begging her to take my energy.
My mate. My Arlene. Gone.
My wolf stumbles. His front legs buckle so suddenly that we crash into the ground. Leaves and dirt tear beneath us as our body rolls, slamming against the base of a tree. He pushes himself up, but his legs shake beneath us.
Mate is gone.
I close my eyes. "I know."
My wolf throws his head back. His howl tears through the night.
Agony pours from our throat, long and raw, carrying Arlene's loss into every corner of the forest. The sound rolls through the trees until branches shudder and leaves tremble overhead. Pines sway beneath his cry as if the forest itself feels his despair.
His howl breaks, only for another to rip free. My chest convulses with it. Air burns through our lungs. His claws sink into the earth until dirt packs beneath them, and still he howls for her.
Howls rise in the distance. One, then another, then dozens. Silver Moon answers him.
My wolf's head lowers. Our mate.
"I know."
Moon Goddess made her for us.
Pain crashes through our shared mind.
Arlene laughing. Arlene curled against our chest. Her fingers buried in our fur. Her apple and cinnamon scent filling our lungs. Her heartbeat against ours.
Then cold skin. No breath. Empty bond.
My wolf claws at the ground. She made mate for us.
"I know."
Only us.
His paws tear through roots and wet earth.
Our other half.
My lungs seize.
Our other rib.
I reach for him through our shared mind.
Our other lung.
His chest heaves.
Our air.
Another howl explodes from us.
Our blood.
