Chapter 163: Golden Awakening

Maddie Pov

The yellow light inside my veins finally went dark and my knees hit the grass hard. The smell of burnt pine needles filled the small space between the tents. My right arm was still hot and my skin felt like I had held it too close to a stove.

"Maddie, talk to me," Calix said and he dropped down beside me on the dirt.

"I am fine," I said and my teeth clapped together because my bones were shaking.

Calix put his large hands on my shoulders and his gold eyes were very wide. He looked at my arm and then he looked across the grass at Kai. Kai was still standing near the oak tree and he was rubbing his bare palm against the front of his grey coat.

"Get out of this camp," Calix said and he bared his teeth at the older man.

"I am leaving," Kai said and his voice stayed completely flat. "But the light will come back, young Alpha. You cannot stop the winter."

Kai turned around and his boots made a sharp crunching sound in the brush as he walked into the dark forest. Calix did not follow him. He picked me up off the ground and carried me straight into our sleeping tent.

The inside of the tent was dark and cool. Calix set me down on the big pile of wool blankets and he sat right next to my legs. He did not say anything for a long time. He just took my right hand and held it between both of his palms. His skin was warm and steady.

"Does it hurt?" Calix asked.

"It just feels heavy," I said and I looked down at our hands.

"I have never seen that kind of light before," Calix said and he let out a long breath. "The white light from the sinkhole was different. This looked like the sun."

"I do not know what it is," I said.

"We will figure it out tomorrow," Calix said and he moved closer until his chest was pressed against my shoulder. "We have the new cabin frame up and the pack is safe. We do not need to worry about the north ridge tonight."

"I am scared, Calix," I said and I let my head fall against his neck.

"I am right here," Calix said. "I am not going anywhere."

He pulled the heavy wool blankets up over our shoulders to block out the cold wind. He kissed my forehead and then he kissed my lips very softly. The gold mate bond in my chest grew warm again and it made the shaking in my legs stop. We lay together in the dark for hours and he held my waist tight until my breathing went slow and regular. It was the quietest night we had shared since the old house burned down.

The next morning was very cold and grey. The sun did not come out over the pine trees and the grass was covered in white frost. I woke up before Calix and slipped my boots on without tying the laces all the way.

I walked down the narrow dirt path to the lower creek to wash the sleep from my eyes. The water was freezing and it made my skin go pink.

"The gold light is impatient," a voice said from the willow bushes.

I stood up fast and my wet hands dropped to my sides. Kai was sitting on a flat stone by the water trail. He had a small bone knife in his fingers and he was scraping the bark off a willow branch.

"You were supposed to leave the valley," I said.

"I cannot leave while the power is waking up, Maddie," Kai said and he set the branch down on the gravel.

"Calix will kill you if he finds you here," I said.

"The young Alpha does not understand what he is looking at," Kai said and he stood up from the stone. "He thinks you are just a female with a strange gift. He thinks the gold light belongs to your mother."

"It came from my skin," I said.

"It came from your skin because it has been sleeping there for twenty years," Kai said and he took three slow steps until he was standing right on the edge of the water across from me. "But it does not belong to you, Maddie. And it never belonged to your mother."

"Then whose is it?" I asked.

"It is mine," Kai said.

I stayed completely still and the cold creek water ran over the toes of my boots.

"That is impossible," I said.

"The day you were born, the northern pack leaders wanted to kill the white fur line," Kai said and his silver hair fell across his face as he leaned forward. "Your mother knew she could not fight them alone. She came to my tent on the ridge and she asked for my strength to hide you."

"She wrote the letter to you," I said and my hand went to my boot where the paper was hidden.

"Yes," Kai said and he gave me a small nod. "She used a northern blood ritual to take my gold power and lock it inside your chest. She wanted the shadow strength to mix with your white light so Hawthorne could not track your scent. It was a shield, Maddie."

"You gave it away?" I asked.

"I lent it to you," Kai said and he held out his right hand flat. "But the shield is breaking now because the winter is here. The gold light is trying to return to its original owner. It is trying to come back to me."

"I do not want it," I said and my voice got louder. "Take it back then."

"It is not that simple," Kai said and his grey eyes went small. "If we do not do the ritual properly on the high peaks, the power will split your veins in two. It will kill you and it will kill the mate bond with the son of Hawthorne."