Chapter 57 The Ancient Healer
Ryder POV
I step outside Elena's cabin, and the morning air hits my face like a slap. The pack has set up a rough camp in the clearing, bikes parked in a defensive circle with tents scattered between them.
Knox looks up from where he's sharpening a knife. "She awake?"
"Yeah." I walk over and drop down beside the fire they've built. "Elena says we're staying for training. Could be weeks."
"Weeks?" Mara stops cleaning her gun. "Ryder, we can't leave the territory undefended that long."
"I know." I rub my face, feeling the exhaustion in my bones. "But Jolie needs this. You saw what happened yesterday. She almost died."
"Better her almost dying here than actually dying back home when she loses control during a fight." Doc pours coffee into a tin cup and hands it to me. "Elena knows what she's doing."
I take the coffee gratefully. It tastes like dirt, but it's hot and strong.
"So what's the plan?" Cass sits down across from me. "We all stay here, or do some of us head back?"
"I need to stay." The words come out harder than I intend. "She's my mate. I'm not leaving her alone in the mountains."
"Nobody's suggesting you should." Knox sheathes his knife. "But Cass is right. We can't all stay. Someone of us needs to get back to the clubhouse and make sure things don't fall apart."
I want to argue, want to keep everyone here where I can see them. But he's right. The Iron Fangs need leadership, and I can't be in two places at once.
"Cass, you take Mara and Luna back." I look at my beta. "Tell the pack I'll return when Jolie's training is complete. Knox and Doc stay with me."
"You sure?" Cass frowns. "Three wolves against whatever's out here isn't much protection."
"It'll have to be enough." I drain the coffee and stand. "Besides, Elena has wards around this place. We should be safe enough."
"Should be isn't exactly reassuring," Mara mutters, but she starts breaking down her tent without further complaint.
Knox moves to stand beside me. "When do they leave?"
"Now." I watch as the others pack up their gear with practiced efficiency. "The sooner they're back, the sooner I can focus on Jolie without worrying about the territory."
Within an hour, three bikes roar to life. Cass raises a hand in farewell before leading Mara and Luna down the mountain path, their engines fading into the distance.
The clearing feels emptier without them.
"So." Doc joins me by the fire. "What did Elena really say about Jolie's condition?"
I glance at the cabin where my mate is resting. "She said if Jolie doesn't learn control, the moonfire will consume her completely. There won't be anything left of who she was."
"Damn." Knox drops down on a log. "That's rough."
"It gets worse." I turn to face them both. "Elena took me aside last night while Jolie was unconscious. She said moonfire wolves are rare for a reason. Most of them don't survive the first year after their power manifests."
Doc's expression darkens. "Did she say why?"
"The human body wasn't meant to hold divine power. It's like trying to pour an ocean into a teacup." I cross my arms. "The pathways she created will help, but Jolie's walking a knife's edge. One wrong move, one loss of control, and she burns out permanently."
"Then we make sure she doesn't lose control." Knox's voice is firm. "Whatever it takes."
"Whatever it takes," I echo, but the words feel hollow.
Because deep down, I'm terrified. Not of rogues or rival packs or even the Council. I'm terrified that the girl I fell in love with will disappear into the divine power she's been given, and I'll be left holding the shell of someone who used to be Jolie Rys.
The cabin door opens, and Elena steps out. She moves with the kind of grace that comes from centuries of practice, her white hair catching the morning light.
"Alpha." She inclines her head slightly. "Walk with me."
It's not a request.
I follow her away from the camp, into the trees where the sunlight filters through in golden shafts. Birds sing overhead, and somewhere nearby, water runs over rocks.
"You're afraid," Elena says without looking at me.
"Of course I'm afraid." I keep pace with her easily. "She's my mate."
"Not of losing her to death." Elena stops beside a massive pine, running her hand over the bark. "You're afraid of losing her to transformation. Afraid she'll become something you can't reach."
How does she know that?
"It's written all over you." She turns to face me fully. "I've lived a long time, wolf. Long enough to see dozens of matings between mortals and those touched by divine power. Most of them don't survive."
My stomach clenches. "Why not?"
"Because the mortal partner can't accept the change. They fall in love with who their mate was, not who they're becoming." She tilts her head. "Will you make the same mistake?"
"I don't know." I say. "She's already different from the broken girl I found at the Crossroads. Every day, she gets stronger, more confident. I'm proud of her for that. But I'm also losing the version of her that needed me."
"Good." Elena's eyes flash with something like approval. "The Jolie who needed saving was half-dead already. Better to lose that version than keep her trapped in weakness."
"But what if"
"What if she becomes so powerful you're unnecessary?" Elena finishes my thought. "What if Luna's vessel has no need for an alpha mate?"
"Yes." The word comes out strangled.
"Then you'll have to become someone she needs for different reasons." Elena steps closer, and despite her age, there's sternness in her gaze. "Stop trying to be her protector. Start being her partner. The moonfire won't make her weak—it already doesn't. But it might make her lonely if you can't stand beside her as an equal."
"I'm not divine." I spread my hands. "How can I possibly"
"You're an alpha. You command a pack of rogues and outcasts. You've built something from nothing and held it together through sheer will." She pokes my chest with one finger. "That's its own kind of power. Own it. Match her growth with your own, and maybe, just maybe, you'll both survive what's coming."
She turns and walks back toward camp, leaving me standing alone among the trees.
Her words echo in my head. Match her growth with your own.
I look down at my hands, scarred and calloused from years of fighting. I've always defined myself by strength, by violence, by control. But Jolie doesn't need someone who can fight her battles. She needs someone who can stand beside her when she's fighting her own.
Can I be that person?
I don't know. But I'm damn well going to try.
When I return to camp, Doc is cooking something over the fire that smells vaguely like food. Knox has disappeared, probably doing a perimeter check.
I'm about to sit down when the cabin door opens again.
Jolie steps out, and my breath catches.
She's changed clothes—wearing simple leggings and a loose shirt that Elena must have given her. Her silver hair is loose around her shoulders, and in the morning light, she almost seems to glow.
But it's her eyes that stop me cold. They're still that pale green I fell in love with, but now there's something more in them. A depth, a power that wasn't there before.
She walks toward me, and I can see the exhaustion in every step. But she's walking on her own, head held high.
"Hey." She reaches me and leans against my chest. "Elena said training starts after lunch. Something about needing food in my stomach for what comes next."
I wrap my arms around her, breathing in her scent—still wildflowers, but now with an edge of ozone.
"You scared me yesterday," I admit.
"I scared myself." She pulls back to look up at me. "But I'm not running from this anymore. Whatever I'm becoming, I need to face it."
"Then we face it together." I cup her face in my hands. "I'm not going anywhere."
She smiles, but there's sadness in it. "You might change your mind when you see what I can do."
"Not a chance." I kiss her forehead. "You're stuck with me, Ash. Divine power and all."