Chapter 44

Lily lands right on top of Azrael wolf’s back with a muffled yelp before she plunges into the water beside him with a splash.
The white wolf stands steady, his green eyes wide as he looks down at her in the water. Lily submerges, and with an open mouth, she blinks up at him. Her eyes are filled with confusion as she slowly realizes what, or rather who broke her fall.
I pick up my pace, watching her emerging from the water, her gaze never leaving the wolf. And then, slowly, he looks my way. Those green eyes hold my own, and there’s no mistaking it. It’s Azrael.
But he was supposed to shift next year. ‘His wolf must have woken up earlier than it should have when he saw his mate in danger,’ Kral explains.
She was not too high up. Even if he hadn’t broken her fall, it wouldn’t have been fatal. Lily is a she-wolf. Still, the instinct to save his mate is too strong to control.
“AZ!” Lily says delightedly. “Wow! Your wolf is so cute!”
“Oh, my Goddess. Now it’s going to be much harder to hide your wolf from your mother,” Maggie says, looking at the newly transformed wolf.
Lily looks in my direction. “Uncle Ethan, why is his wolf bigger than mine?” she says, pouting. “I’m a year older than Az. It’s not fair!”
“Lily, are you okay?” I ask as I approach my niece. However, Azrael’s little wolf suddenly bares his teeth at me, his fur glistening in the sunlight as he growls. “Calm down, kid,” I raise my hands to him. ‘He can sense our dominant presence. His wolf is still uneasy and in protection mode,’ Kral explains.
“Az, it’s Uncle Ethan,” Lily says, “he’s not going to hurt me. Look,” she walks over to me. “It’s fine!”
The white wolf keeps looking at me, but his little growling is getting quieter. Lily and I approach him as I mindlink Maggie and her son to back away. 
When I get close to the wolf, he stumbles back, looking scared and confused.
I’m surprised by his strong Alpha aura since he’s just a kid. I’m pretty sure that the fact that he’s Allie’s son, who, as much as I hate to admit it, has the purest aura I’ve ever seen, contributed to him having such a strong aura.
“It’s okay, you’ll be fine. You’re in a pack, my pack, you’re safe. No, don’t go back, I won’t hurt you. Do you want to shift back?” I ask. His scared eyes seem to take a moment to comprehend before the wolf’s head nods. “Okay, get in the water. That’s it, you’re doing good. Lily, stay here on the other side, give him space. Okay, now focus on your human body, clear your mind, and take a deep breath.”
Everyone goes silent to let the boy concentrate; only the noise of the waterfall and the forest can be heard. Then, the flash of white fur suddenly shifts to the little brat I’m used to now. He’s so much smaller than his wolf that only his head is out of the water.
He starts coughing, and Lily jumps on him to hug him. He hugs her back, smiling, but turns to me. “Wow! Did you see me? It was so good to growl! I want to growl again from how good it feels.” Azrael laughs and I can help and laugh too. “It’s as if my wolf was trapped, waiting for the moment that he was truly needed. To save you, Lily! I want to be him again! Can you help me?” He asks me with a huge smile. Before I can answer, the boy, who barely speaks, continues to chatter, “I want to run on four legs, stretching them, then jumping to make sure to know how they work!”
“Let’s go! I want to go with you. We can run together!” Lily excitedly says in a squeak voice.
“Congrats, Az, I can’t believe a little boy as tiny as you could shift into a wolf that big!” Maggie says.
A short smile forms on my lips. “Azrael, let’s show off what we’ve been practicing. I’m going to shift. Follow me.” 
“Alpha, my son and I are going back to the packhouse. I have to take care of some things,” Maggie informs me.
“But Mom, I want to go with them,” her son whines.
“Next time you can go, we have to prepare that surprise for your dad,” Maggie replies.
“Okay,” Maggie’s son says, then he turns to the kids. “See you later.”
“I wish Dad could see me now,” Azrael says with a smile on his face to Lily.
I drop my smile. I hate that fucker.
I don’t say anything else, I just let Kral take over my body. As soon as I shift, Lily and Azrael do the same. A blink later, our wolves are running into the thick forest.

🐺 🐺 🐺

After watching the bond of Lily and Azrael’s pups interacting with each other, it only gave me more fuel to continue trying to break my curse. The joy of the two being around each other was contagious. It’s truly enchanting to witness the mate bond, even between kids.
However, all this invigorating thought evaporates when Little Dove gets out of Vi’s car at the same time I arrive with the children at the packhouse.
Fuck. Me.
She’s... stunning. I’m speechless.
“Wow, Mom! You look so beautiful!” Her son says. Admiration is evident in his voice as he runs towards her. “Your hair now looks like mine!”
“Aunt Allie, your hair is so shiny! Mom, can I have my hair dyed like Aunt Allie’s?” Lily asks Vi, besides Az’s. “It’s so pretty!”
Little Dove’s light blonde hair is simply radiant. I don’t know what she did, but the color now perfectly matches her roots that were peeking through until then.
She looks like an angel, especially with her bright aura. She starts talking with the kids and my sister, but I can only watch her.
At some point, Little Dove went from being underweight to soft with gentle curves in just a few weeks. Her teardrop-shaped breasts are much fuller... My right eyebrow arches. They’d fit so well in my hands. 
Alicent’s wearing a tight mini dress, and I can see that her hips and thighs filled out as well.
I want to make them shake as I fuck her on her hands and knees. 
Goddess, help me. 
Usually, she wears old clothes, as if they had seen better days fifteen years ago or so. I inwardly winced with that thought. But today, she’s wearing this new dress, and the only thing I can think about is ripping it off.
I can see she’s happy. Her bright aura screams it as it shines and shines, making Kral increasingly drawn to her light.
“I’m sure Dad will want you back, Mom. Chelsea said you aren’t together anymore because you don’t get dressed up like her, but now I’m one hundred percent sure that—”
“Shh,” Lily pushes him.
“Azrael!” Alicent scolds him.
At the mention of that fucker, her cheeks blush. “We should video call him, Mom! Am I going to see Dad tomorrow?” the little shit asks her.
“Uh, I don’t think so, buddy. But sure, we can call him,” she says.
“Hey! Stop looking at my mom like that!” Azrael says to me. “Mom, he’s looking at you funny!” 
I snort. “Get inside and take a shower, you two. You reek!” I say, and the kids immediately start whining in protest.
I already expected that Lily would obey, but to my surprise the boy also obeys me, even though he, at the same time, narrows his green eyes and uses two fingers to point at them then to me. 
“I’ll see you inside,” Vi tells her, giggling as she follows behind the kids.
“I like your new hair,” Goddess know how much. “It fits you, Little Dove.”
She touches the tip of her shiny blonde hair. “Thanks,” she says. A blush works its way over her cheeks. “Vi practically pinned me to the salon chair, refusing to let me leave until I agreed to go back to my natural hair color! Guess being bossy just runs in the family.” She giggles. 
Her tongue peeks out to moisten her bottom lip, and I wonder how such a simple movement can literally make me wild. I swear I can still taste her lips. 
I shut that line of thinking down quickly. I can’t let myself go there and indulge in that memory, or I’d go mad.
“I have to go,” I say before I head to my room without looking back.

🐺 🐺 🐺

Kral lies low among the trees, hidden in the thick grass, watching as the first slivers of light break over the horizon. His dark fur catches a faint glow, and he lets it soak in, stretching his paws lazily. 
Restless all night, I shifted and let Kral control us. He prowled in and out of shadows, unable to settle either. Alicent literally drove us insane. Kral almost went feral. But now—now things are starting to feel better. 
I’m struck by how different she is from the Alicent I first met. It’s harder to resist now.
My thoughts seem to summon her as I begin to sense her presence approaching.
Kral abruptly turns his head in her direction. ‘It’s her!’ he says in our mind.
He’s hidden, she can’t see him. I’m literally in the middle of the forest. She’s not supposed to be here.
She *shouldn’t* be here.
She is walking on a trail a little far from where we are, completely distracted, looking up at the tall trees.
‘She smells so good,’ Kral notices.
She starts humming a song with a soft smile on her face. Her ponytail swings from side to side.
I can feel Kral tenses up, his ears pricked and his muscles coiling, the instant we realize together that she starts picking up speed. 
Oh, Little Dove, no.
*Do. Not. Run.* I almost beg her in my mind as though she can hear me.
Running from Kral? Well, that just makes his possessive instincts roar.
Oh, fuck.
She starts running.
Those feelings we thought were mute seconds ago are suddenly all Kral and I can feel. 
Chase. Claim. Mine. 
It’s too much.
For a moment, I sense a low growl building up in Kral’s throat as we watch Little Dove run away from us. Then, Kral bolts off after her, saying in my mind, ‘Let’s hunt her.’