Chapter 111
Chapter 111
Axel
Elvira is going to be the death of me.
I woke up with blue balls and a migraine earlier, and it is all Elvira’s fault. She would not stop cuddling me in her sleep, and now I am a poor, tortured man in the morning light.
Dew clings to the leaves, and somewhere in the trees, a bird is losing its mind like it has something important to say. Elvira stands next to me in her wolf form, blonde ears twitching at every unfamiliar sound.
It cannot be easy suddenly being blind. I cannot stop watching her. Not because she needs me (she would probably snap if I said that out loud), but because she is trying so hard not to.
“I could carry you,” I offer, careful. Casual. Like it would not destroy me to feel her weight across my back.
She does not answer right away. Her ears flick again, and her nose lifts to the wind. When she finally moves, I hear her inside my head.
‘No. I want to learn how to do this.‘
I blink. Not at the refusal, but at hearing her voice like that.
It means we have formed some sort of bond without realizing it. A pack bond? Has to be. We have not marked each other, have not finished the mate bond, so, naturally, this is a pack bond.
“I just heard your voice inside my head,” I murmur. “You know what that means, right?”
She is quiet, then snorts. But there is no bite to it. Her voice is soft, clear in my skull. Honest in a way that makes my chest tighten.
‘Are you really that surprised? You saved my life, Axel. No wonder my wolf decided to trust you.’
She says it so simply. No hesitation. No shame. I expected a fight, expected her to pull away, but instead… she trusts me. And she is not afraid to say it.
Gods, I think I love her a little more for that.
‘Anyway, let me try something.
I step back. Let her go.
She moves like she is thinking through every step. Paw. Weight. Pressure. Her tail sways in concentration. Her nose is working double–time, sniffing the ground, the trees, me. I can feel her pride, like she is trying to sit back up on the horse, even if the damn thing vanished under her days ago.
She walks.
And then walks straight into a bush.
There is a startled grunt. Branches. A confused yelp. She reemerges a second later with leaves stuck to her fur and a stick tangled around her ear.
‘You good?‘ I ask, trying really hard not to laugh.
‘Shut up.’
I grin like a damn idiot.
She flicks her ear. The stick is still hanging there like a badge of war. She keeps going anyway. No dramatic exits. No tantrum. Just a stubborn little wolf, deciding that this will not be the thing that breaks her.
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21:55 Mon 28 Jul
Chapter 111
And all I can think is:
Yeah. That is my girl.
ODDS
She does not slow down either. If anything, she picks up the pace.
You do not have to prove anything,‘ I say gently.
‘I do. To myself.‘
She veers slightly left, nose twitching. Her paws hit the ground with more purpose now. Like she is trying to track something, maybe a scent, maybe just a direction that feels right. I stay quiet. I follow.
And then she disappears.
There is no warning. One moment she is walking, proud little tail swaying in rhythm, and the next:
SPLASH.
“Elvira!”
I rush forward and find nothing but grass, loose dirt, and a sinkhole barely big enough to fit her body. She is down there, flailing, back legs kicking up mud, claws scraping rock. She is trying to climb, but the walls keep crumbling.
I dive forward, teeth catching her scruff just enough to pull. She yelps, probably more in embarrassment than pain, but she does not bite me, so I keep hauling.
She is soaked, covered in sludge, and her fur looks like someone dipped a mop in a puddle and cursed it.
She collapses onto the grass with a snarl. ‘I hate this!‘
‘I know.‘
. She pants, tail twitching.
‘Do not laugh.’
‘I am not.‘
She turns her head toward me and snarls, ‘I heard you laughing inside.‘
Shit. She is right.
I smother the grin threatening to explode on my face. Her ears are slicked back, and she looks like she is trying to sink into the dirt out of sheer frustration.
‘I was doing fine.‘
‘You were.‘
‘Until the ground betrayed me.’
‘It does that sometimes.’
She groans.
‘This is humiliating.
‘No. This is being brave and covered in mud. Completely different.
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Chapter 111
She does not answer, but her head slowly lowers to the grass.
And still, even now, all I can think is:
I have never been prouder. She is trying.
The bunny does not see her coming.
1 do, though. I can tell from the way Elvira shifts her weight, the tension in her spine, the flick of her ears. Her senses are still sharp, even if her eyes do not work anymore. She does not need vision for this.
She lunges.
Misses.
The rabbit bolts, and she lets out a string of growls that could peel paint..
Again, she mutters.
We track another one. I lead her with subtle nudges, quiet encouragement. I steer her left when the scent drifts too far, nudge her right when the wind shifts. I do not say anything. I just follow, guide, watch.
She pounces, this time landing right on the fluffy little menace. Her tail wags, proud and high.
‘Told you I could do it.‘
‘You are terrifying,‘ I say, deadpan.
‘You are just mad I am the better hunter now.‘
‘One rabbit does not make a legend.‘
‘You were thinking about helping, were not you?‘
I pause. Then: ‘No.‘
She snorts. I snort louder.
We are idiots. But she is smiling, and I would call that a win.
The sun disappears, traded for stars. We shift back into human form and sit by a small fire near the edge of the clearing. She is wrapped in one of my shirts, oversized and half–buttoned, hair still damp from the earlier disaster.
The rabbit is roasting on a stick. It smells like regret and herbs. I will not tell her, but she singed it.
“I am not eating that,” I say, eyeing the charred edges.
Elvira throws a twig at me. “You are ungrateful.”
“I am honest.”
“You are dramatic.”
“And you are feral.”
21:55 Mon, 28 Jul Qat
Chapter 111
“Lam adapting
I glance at her then, really look, and yes, she is.
She is tired. She is bruised. But she is here, mouth full of sarcasm and eyes still stormy, even without sight.
And I love her for it.
Gods help me—I love her for all of it.
She leans against my side without asking.
And I let her.
Because even if the rabbit is ruined and she smells like dirt and pride, she is mine.
And I am never letting her go.
She shifts beside me, muttering, “I know you are watching me. Stop it.”
I grin. “Why? It is cute.”
“You are obsessed.”
“I am aware.”
She scoffs and tears off a chunk of meat that looks like it lost a fight with the sun. I watch her chew it like she is proving something.
She swallows. “Still better than what you made last time.”
“That is a lie and you know it.”
“Your soup was gray.”
“It was mushroom-”
“It was trauma.”
I reach over, tug a leaf out of her hair, and tuck it behind her ear just to annoy her.
She goes still for a moment, then mumbles, “You are disgusting.”
But she does not move away.
And neither do I.
AD
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