Chapter 58 : Heart's Desire 1

Carolina

The breeze was faint, a gentle caress that barely existed on bare skin. Yet she was aware of the shy touch, a physical reminder that life was all around her. Where once the thought had brought joy, now only bitter sadness remained as she was painfully reminded that she was no longer part of the normal cycle of life.

The presence of many tall and strong trees, blooming grasses, and vibrant flowers was a bitter reality to her now open eyes.

Carolina walked beside the man she loved, their hands so close, almost touching, yet she dared not take the strong man's hand. She could not help but think that perhaps meeting the dark witch priestess, Uma, was a necessary evil - to open her eyes to her folly.

Since her reappearance, she knew she was unworthy, yet she allowed her feelings for the man beside her to bring her false dreams and false hopes. Despite being an eternal dark shadow, it seems she still has the feelings of the man who was once in her life, and that makes her decision all the more painful - to let Rylan go. To give him to a woman who can love him as she once did, no, still does. To Karenina.

It was cruel to cling to a dream, to let the living suffer while she pursued the impossible, a normal life with him. It was never meant to happen. Fate obviously had another story, albeit a cruel one, because she was not part of it.

Carolina dug her nails into her palms, using the sting to hold back the tears that threatened to fill her eyes. She didn't want to ruin their last chance to be together, alone with him, to be human, to be selfish.

When the messenger delivered Xavier Westwood's message about her cousin's whereabouts like a lost twin, Carolina knew that her time was up, but she still wanted a few more hours with him, just one last memory to take with her before she had to leave him.

Soon, she would have to leave. She could feel it. But would she die if she was already a shadow soul?

They both moved in silence, thinking about a past that would never return. She remembered how she had lied to him, telling him that she wasn't well enough to travel, that she needed to rest for a few more hours, all for the chance to be with him again. It was selfish, she knew, but she was weak and more human than she realized, even if her heart wasn't beating.

He had agreed because he knew she would, while Xavier's men had promised to pick them up in a few hours before they left.

Instead of resting as he requested, she insisted, saying that a short walk would help her recover. Promising to return when she was tired, Rylan walked beside her as they wandered aimlessly among the leaves. To her, their time together was priceless, no matter what they did.

Once again, their sleeves touched as they walked at a leisurely pace, and Carolina had to resist the strong urge to take the man's hand once more. Instead of watching him from afar, as her treacherous gaze wanted to do, she tried to concentrate on the scenery around them. It was like losing a battle when she suddenly heard a small, faint voice ahead of her.

Before she could react, his stern voice interrupted her thoughts, his voice masculine and soft, as if he didn't want to disturb the tranquility of the place. "Don't worry, it's just an animal. I think it's dying. I can smell blood, but it's faint."

With a nod of her dark brown hair, she continued walking, following the animal's distressing sounds until she finally spotted a doe whose hind legs were caught in a hunter's trap.

As she approached slowly so as not to startle the weak and frightened looking animal, Rylan gently grabbed her arm and stopped her. "There's not much you can do, Carolina, she's weak."

"Wait here, Rylan. She's scared, and I need calm if I'm going to help her."

"Carol..." He tried to hold on, but she released her grip and walked over to the fallen animal, ignoring him, speaking softly and soothingly as she approached.

Kneeling beside the panting animal in a reassuring rhythm while continuing to speak in a soothing tone, Carolina surveyed the damage.

The doe's leg was caught in a rope tied tightly to a tree, new and old blood coating the area where the blistered skin lay beneath. She didn't know if the wound had been infected by the rope wrapped around it, so she quickly and efficiently used a small knife hidden in her left sleeve to cut the rope.

The doe's eyes looked whiter than the colors, fear drenched her body, which was panting with sweat, but she seemed to be calm, if a little under the voice and touch of Carolina. Once the ropes were cut, the doe tried to stand. As it struggled, she didn't notice any infection oozing from the raw wound before the animal found its footing and took off with a slow, clumsy gait.

Then she watched the doe disappear, wishing she had some ointment to help heal the doe's wounds and maybe give it some water, but that didn't seem to be the case.

"She was probably going to die," he said, not sounding harsh, but with sympathy in his gruff voice as he watched the doe disappear, too. Then he offered his hand to help her to her feet.

She stared at the offered hand, the hand Carolina had always refused to take, but before she could stop herself, she found her own hand grasping the man's. A gentle tug and she was on her feet, staring into his golden eyes, standing inches away from the body clad in a black leather jacket and a plain red t-shirt.

If she was not alive, why did her body react so strangely to his presence? Her breathing quickened and her body warmed. Her eyes were fixed on the man's lips, the lips she longed to taste. She noticed those lips coming closer and closer to her own, but at the last second she turned away, resisting the kiss with difficulty.

It wasn't supposed to happen. But she did not let go of his hand. She seemed incapable of completely rejecting the man she loved more than her own life.

As she squeezed his heartless hand, she found her voice. "All life deserves a chance to live."

Hand in hand, their feet again took them to an unknown place, but they were together. For now.

******

Selene

"Alpha Xavier has requested your presence with the warrior males of the Moonlit Grove Pack in the territory of our pack. There you will find your beloved lost friend," the messenger informed Selene in an indifferent tone.

"Karen?!" She exclaimed, eager to catch up with her friend, but a second later she remembered that Mike was too weak to travel. How could she leave him when he needed her?

As if understanding her dilemma, Joshua spoke up. "The male wolves named Mike and Samuel are injured and unable to travel. Perhaps after they recover, you would be kind enough to escort them to your pack to meet Alpha Xavier?"

"Them," not " our". It was obvious that he did not intend to go with them, Selene thought.

The messenger paused for a moment, thinking, before answering. "If the recovery is not too long, I will wait for you near here, but not for more than a few days. Come to this place if you want to go to the territory of the Westwood Pack." Then he left, leaving her and Joshua alone again.

She looked at the man, wondering why he hadn't mentioned their journey to save his children, but decided it wasn't her knowledge to share. It was his children they wanted to save, not her own, and to be honest, she would have done the same. Besides, Joshua probably didn't want too many people to know that there was another threat that had threatened his family and managed to capture them. Any man's pride would be hurt at the thought of not being able to provide for his children.

With a calm mind, she turned, refusing to be caught again in his sharp, dark gaze as he tried to meet her eyes, and said, "Let's go back to the packhouse. I need to change and check on Mike and Samuel's condition before we leave."

Thinking she didn't hear his answer, Selene felt him walk beside her, easily keeping up with his long strides. Surprisingly, they walked in silence until they reached the front of the packhouse. A few feet from the entrance, a strong hand caught hers and stopped her steps.

Turning in surprise to meet his deep blue gaze, she watched stunned as he raised her hand to his lips and gently touched her knuckles in a kiss that she felt all the way down to her toes.

Before she could pull her hand away and stagger back from the attraction she was trying so hard to resist, his voice sounded alluring and mesmerizing.

"Do you know, my sweet Selene, how much you mean to me?" His voice was velvety soft, sending shivers down on her spine and her heart was beating erratically.