Chapter 188 On all four

Chapter 188 Becoming her true self 2

Ira's POV

Her voice reaches me before I can even see her properly.

“Your father told me to brace myself for the heartache that comes with seeing you and not being able to hold you,” she says with a voice that's barely steady. “I should have listened.”

I step closer, the wind on the balcony brushing through my hair.

As the space between us closes, she elegantly sits on one of the chairs between us.

Her eyes are on me, soft and shining with unshed tears.

My chest clenches hard.

“Mom?” I whisper, my mouth curving into a smile.

“Yes, my love,” she says immediately, as if she has been waiting her whole life just to hear me say it. Then she shifts slightly and gestures to the seat beside her. “Come sit.”

I move without stopping to think, my legs carrying me across the space until I am beside her, lowering myself into the vacant seat.

We are close enough now that I can see everything I never got the time to study. The faint lines at the corners of her eyes, the way her hands rest in her lap but do not fully relax, like she is fighting the urge to reach for me and afraid she won't be able to make contact with me.

It sits heavy in my chest.

“I waited years for this,” she says quietly, her gaze never leaving my face. “For your wolf to awaken so I would finally have a way to reach you again. And now that I am here, I cannot stop myself from feeling guilty.”

My brows pull together in confusion. I turn to face her completely.

“Guilty?” I ask. “Why would you feel guilty?”

She releases a shaky breath. “Because I should have been there with you.” Her voice drops. “All those years, you should not have had to suffer alone. I watched my baby learn how to steal just to survive. Without your aura, Valira, things could have ended so much worse.”

Something inside me twists at the sound of my name in her voice like that.

“But it didn’t end badly,” I say softly, trying to steady both of us. “I’m here. I made it here, Mom. That has to count for something.”

Her teary eyes brighten up.

“It counts for everything,” she whispers. “You are stronger than you know. Stronger than I was at your age. And that terrifies your father in the best possible way.”

A small laugh slips out of her.

“He said that?” I ask, happy she's smiling.

“He says it constantly,” she replies then tilts her head slightly, studying me like she is memorizing every detail of my face. “You have his stubbornness, my temper, and somehow, somehow, that combination created someone extraordinary.” Her voice softens even more.

I blink back tears at the obvious pride in her voice.

“I need you to understand something,” she continues. “I see you. I see everything you carried. Every night you went without food, without safety, without anyone to hold you. I saw it all. And I am so, so proud of you.”

My throat tightens. I swallow hard, looking down at my hands. Hands that I want to wrap tightly around her.

“I used to talk to you,” I admit quietly. “When things were really bad. I would just… talk out loud. Hoping maybe my parents could hear me somehow.”

“I heard every word,” she says.

I nod, struggling to control my emotions.

She does not hesitate. “I heard every single word, Valira.”

Something inside me cracks open at that, and a tear rolls down my face. Another follows soon after.

We sit in silence after that, wiping our tears with silly smiles on our faces.

After a while, she speaks again, her tone shifting a bit.

“Your instincts are going to change,” she mutters carefully. “Along with some of your desires.”

I frown slightly. “Should I be worried?”

“No,” she responds swiftly, shaking her head. “Just be honest with yourself. Do not run from who you are, Valira. Not for anyone. Don't try to shut down any part of you. You wouldn't have both powers if you couldn't handle them.”

My mouth opens, a question already forming, but I never get the chance to ask before a voice cuts me off.

“She must wake now.” The feminine voice isn't loud but is laced with so much authority that I turn around to see who spoke.

A white wolf stands behind us. It doesn't move. Her silver eyes lock onto me, and I feel something in my chest respond to that gaze.

“Wake up.”



My eyes snap open and the first thing I see is a ceiling I do not recognize.

The faint scent of herbs and something medicinal that clings to the back of my throat.

Yet beneath it all, is something warmer.

Ruel's scent grounds me. It's like a quiet incense made of precious wood and earth. It wraps around me in a way that makes my body react before my mind catches up.

My shoulders drop without permission, sinking further into the strong arms around me.

His chest is pressed firmly to my back and I push a little bit backwards, needing more of the warm contact.

For a moment, I just breathe.

“Ira, you need to get out of bed,” the white wolf’s voice says again, but this time it is not a dream. It moves through my mind like a living being.

My wolf?

Still I don’t answer, pressing back instead, leaning again into the warmth behind me, and breathing in once more because I want to hold onto that scent a little longer.

“Ira.”

I frown, wishing to banish it from my head.

But just then, something strange happens.

My hair lifts, like the air itself has changed its mind about gravity.

The white strands float around my face, and I sit up without meaning to, a familiar cold breeze floating around me.

I look down at my hands and smile at how big Ruel's shirt is on me.

I remember shifting, but before that and after that are a blur in my mind. He must have covered me when I turned back to my human form.

As the seconds tick by, a quiet unease settles into my chest.

Feeling insanely strong, I swing my legs out of the bed, conveniently stepping away from the clinic room.

No one stops me.