“Apparently, my fire is a bit mischievous if left to her own devices,” I say.
“That’s not normal fire,” Merrikh says.
I glance back at him, “No, nothing about me is normal, I would hardly expect my fire to be. Could you not tell anyone about it or my shifted form?”
Merrikh’s face becomes serious, no sign of teasing or snark, “Absolutely. I know all too well how power can drive others to do despicable things.”
“Thank you,” I reply.
“Come on, let's get you out of here,” Evander says. He looks at me, “You need to shift back, Nene.”
I frown but allow my magic to wash over me.
“You’re already getting better at that,” Reed grins.
“You’re new?” Merrikh asks, catching on quickly. His mind is seriously fucking sharp despite everything that he’s been through.
I nod, “Yeah. It’s a long story.” I then add because he feels like a friend, like Kar does to me, which is odd. “I’ll tell you over a beer one day.”
He looks surprised at my offer, but nods, “Deal.”
He stiffens as we walk up the steps to the office.
“I’m going to fill the basement up with earth again and ask it to heal the space,” River suggests.
Ransom nods, “That’s a really good idea. There’s a lot of pain down there.”
I turn back to look at Merrikh, “How long were you down there?”
“Six years, three months, and twenty-two days,” he replies precisely.
I nod, “Then this is going to be really fucking difficult. When all you have known is pain and confinement, suddenly being free is fucking terrifying. It’s going to be overwhelming.”
“You speak like you know?”
“Because I do. Six years, nine months, and eleven days. I might have lost a couple here and there,” I reply honestly.
“Did you kill whoever it was that entrapped you?” he asks bluntly.
“I did, and so did another friend of ours,” Coen replies, a vicious smile stretching across his features. “We tore him into unrecognizable pieces and then burned him to dust.”
I decide to ignore the way that Coen referred to Dimitri as our friend in the present. I remember what happened at the Choosing and how Dimitri was there as well, and I still need to talk to Coen about it. Now is not the time though. Right now, I need to make sure that Merrikh has the best chance of surviving this. I have a feeling that he’s going to react like me, and if he feels cornered, he’s going to lash out. With me, that just meant that Coen and Dimitri got a few bruises and maybe a couple of cuts from my weapons, but that was it.
If Merrikh feels cornered, I have a feeling that it’s going to be deadly. That’s not just because he’s a wolf, there’s something else that’s telling me otherwise.
Merrikh grins, “Good.”
I smile. And then continue, “Is there anyone that you want to see first, someone who might help to ground you, and who knows you well enough to step in if they see you getting overwhelmed?”
Merrikh frowns but thankfully doesn’t dismiss me, “Logan and Dare.”
I grin, “Logan is awesome, so I’m not surprised at all, and Dare’s pretty cool too.”
“Logan’s the beta now,” River says, watching Merrikh closely.
Merrikh smiles a real smile, “No way. I’m so fucking pleased for him. I knew he had it in him. You did well picking him.”
River grins at his reactions and says, “I’m not the alpha. For a couple of hours I was, after I killed Derek, but then I realized that the pack belonged to Asher and gave it back.”
