long had they been running? It all blurred into a nightmare of shadows and snow and an agony of fear. Her mind was full of nothing but pictures of what could happen — finding Sebastian dead, or dying. Eric finding him first and killing him. Never finding him at all. If he transformed to a man at dawn, he would be out here, lost, naked and wounded. The cold would kill him without any need for Eric to act further. Eric would be entirely blameless.
She clamped her lips down on a moan of grief.
Then Thorn put on another burst of speed, dashing ahead. Bella urged the horse forward; it surged into a clearing. The light-orb flared, movement at the far edge of the clearing caught her eye as the orb circled and there was Sebastian, turned to stand at bay inside the hollowed trunk of an enormous tree.
He was exhausted, eyes dull, trembling in every limb, but he still brought up his head and growled.
She pulled the horse to a stop.
The horse heard the growl and threw up his head, eyes rolling, but remained steady. It was very quiet in this clearing; there was nothing but the sound of the horse dancing a little in place with nervousness and blowing hard, and that low, warning growl. Her heart pounded, her mouth was dry and the growl evoked a chill in her blood as old as time.
She stared at the wolf. It stared back at her with no recognition, only pure terror and hysterical defiance.
She felt for her crossbow, for the arrows. They were still there.
The wolf pulled back his lips from his teeth, snarling at her. Every time she moved a little the snarl got louder.
But her crossbow bolts were plain wood and steel. If she shot him, he’d start to heal immediately.
Without the silver tips that Eric had on his arrows, if she shot him, she’d hurt him, but not for long. Enough time for her to get out of reach, maybe.
She made sure the little crossbow was in the sling at her side, and the quiver still on her belt. Slowly, deliberately, she eased herself off her horse, and sought for magic as the wolf sang a song of animal terror.
The night lit up with magic, more than she had ever seen before. There was plenty here to do what she needed to do, swirling and eddying around Sebastian, around herself. More than enough to try to wake the man again. She began gathering it to her, walking one slow step at a time toward the wolf, sinking up to her calves in the soft snow with every step.
She clamped down on the fear. She dared not fear him. She had heard that animals could smell your fear, and it made them want to attack you. She had to be afraid for him. “Sebastian,” she said, over the low growl coming from the tree trunk, where the wolf had squeezed in so far back she could barely make out the shape of him, the glinting teeth and the shining eyes, even with the help of the orb. “Sebastian, it’s me. It’s Bella.”
She took another step closer. The growl took on a pitch of hysteria.
“Sebastian, you have to remember. You know who you are. You’re not some monster. You’re a man, and a wizard. Come back to me, Sebastian.” She pushed a wave of magic power in front of her, and the Light Sphere brightened in reaction.
But there was some barrier between the magic and Sebastian. It had been there before, but it was much stronger now. She had to get the power past whatever it was that was blocking her from helping him. She pushed harder. The magic crowded into the tree trunk, surrounding Sebastian, glowing a faint gold. The wolf was aware of it, too. He turned his head, snapping at it.
Was this going to need actual, physical contact? It might be the only way to force the magic past what must be another spell.
“You must remember, Sebastian,” she insisted, willing the magic into him, as she had willed it back at the Manor. She took another step. Now she was almost close enough to touch him. “You must. Sebastian!” She made the next words into her spell and behind them she put all the force of her fear for him, all the force of her heart, that had told her that there never would be anyone for her but this man, this sometimes exasperating, but always fascinating man — “I love you, Sebastian! Come back to me! Come back to me! Come back to me!”
With the last words she gave a final push, as hard as she could. At the same time, she plunged toward him with her hands outstretched, as the wolf’s growl spiraled up in pitch until it sounded like a scream.
She flung herself, her magic, her emotions on top of him; she threw her arms around his neck and hung on for dear life, while the wolf thrashed, and growled, and snapped. She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t see the teeth closing inches from her face, and held on, draped over the beast’s back while it bucked like an untrained horse.
The wolf heaved, battering her against the side of the tree trunk, but there wasn’t that much room in here, and he could neither shake her off nor do her much harm, and he couldn’t get out while she held on to him. She continued to hold on to him, though her arms felt as if they were being torn from their sockets, willing the magic into him, and with it, sanity. The wolf’s head snapped back, his skull smashing into her chin, and she saw stars for a moment, but still hung on, and kept up the relentless pressure.
This would work! “Sebastian!” she croaked, saying his name over and over. He’d come to himself once, back at the Manor! He could do it again!
The wolf’s head snapped back again, this time smashing into her nose. She went half-blind with the pain, but somehow managed to hold on to him, even though her eyes streamed tears and every breath came as a sob.
“Come. Back. To. Me!” she howled through clenched teeth, both fists buried in the fur of the wolf’s throat, arms just barely able to encircle his neck and shoulders. She gathered her will again, for another effort. She
