Chapter 38 Lesson in Control

Chapter 38 Lesson in Control


"The bond is a weapon."

Garrick stood across from me in the training yard, his eyes intense, his body loose and ready. Morning light caught the silver in his hair, the scars on his arms, the focus in his gaze.

"You need to learn to use it."

I shifted my weight, uncomfortable in training clothes that still felt foreign. "I thought the bond was about connection. About feeling each other."

"It's that too." He moved closer, close enough that I felt the warmth of him. "But connection is vulnerability if you can't control it. Harker has wolves who can sense bonds. Track them. Exploit them. If we're going to face him, you need to be able to shield yourself. And me."

"Shield you?"

"If they hurt you, I'll feel it. If they kill you..." He stopped. Swallowed. "I won't survive that. Neither will the pack. You need to learn to protect yourself so I can protect everyone else."

The weight of his words settled on my chest.

"Teach me."

He started with the basics.

"Close your eyes." His voice was low, calm. "Feel me through the bond. Don't reach, just feel."

I closed my eyes. The bond hummed, familiar now. Garrick's presence warm and steady in my chest.

"Now push something back. A single emotion. Love."

I focused on love. On the way he looked at me sometimes, soft and unguarded. On the river stone in my pocket. On the night he'd knelt before the entire pack and claimed me.

His breath caught. "Good. Too much, but good. Now pull it back. Reel it in like a fishing line."

I tried. The emotion resisted, wanting to stay connected to him.

"Don't fight it. Just close the door. Visualize the bond narrowing, dimming, going quiet."

I pictured a door. A heavy wooden door, like the ones in the lodge. I imagined it swinging shut, muffling the connection.

The bond dimmed. Garrick's presence faded to a whisper.

I opened my eyes. He stared at me, something like wonder on his face.

"You did it."

"I did?"

"Most wolves take weeks to learn that. Months." He crossed to me, took my face in his hands. "You're extraordinary."

He kissed me. Slow and deep, letting me feel his pride through the bond. I leaned into him, let the connection bloom open again.

When we broke apart, he was smiling.

"Again. This time, send me an image. Something specific."

I closed my eyes. Thought about the river. About the first time we'd met, seventeen years ago, him pulling me from the ice. I pushed the image through the bond.

His hands tightened on my face. "I remember. Gods, Anika, I remember everything."

We trained for hours. Sending emotions, images, thoughts. Learning to shield, to open, to control the flow between us. By midday, I was exhausted but exhilarated.

"You're a natural." He handed me water. "I've never seen anyone learn so fast."

"Maybe I'm just motivated."

"Maybe." He stepped closer, his body blocking the wind. "Or maybe the bond is stronger because of our history. Because we were connected before we ever met again."

I thought about the river. About the years apart. About finding each other against all odds.

"Maybe."

He kissed me again. Soft this time, a promise.

"We should eat. Then more training this afternoon."

"I'll be there."

\---

The door exploded open.

Calder stood there, his face pale, his chest heaving. He'd run hard, fast, without stopping.

"Alpha. It's Mira."

Garrick straightened, his body going rigid. "What about Mira?"

"She was taken from the garden an hour ago. Her father's been searching, he can't find her anywhere." Calder's eyes moved to me, then back. "There were tracks. Wolf tracks. Heading east toward Harker's territory."

The world stopped.

Mira. The little girl who'd brought me a wooden flower. Who'd hugged me in the healing house. Who'd looked at me with those solemn eyes and asked if I'd be there when she fell again.

"No." The word left my mouth before I could stop it.

Garrick was already moving, grabbing weapons, shouting orders. Warriors appeared from everywhere, forming up, preparing to move.

I grabbed his arm. "I'm coming."

"No."

"She's my patient. She's pack. She's—" My voice broke. "She's just a little girl, Garrick."

He looked at me. Through the bond, I felt his war. His instinct to protect me, to keep me safe. And underneath it, his understanding. His love.

"Stay close to me." His voice was rough. "Do not leave my side. Do not engage anyone. If I tell you to run, you run."

"I will."

He pulled me against him, hard and fast, a kiss that was over before it began.

"Then let's go get our girl."

\---

We moved through the forest at double pace. Garrick led, Calder at his side, a dozen warriors fanning out behind. I stayed close to Garrick, my eyes on the ground, looking for any sign.

The tracks were clear. Wolf prints, four sets, heading east at speed. They hadn't bothered to hide them. They wanted us to follow.

"It's a trap." Calder's voice was low. "They want us to chase."

"I know." Garrick didn't slow. "But she's seven years old. She's alone. She's terrified." He looked at me. "Can you feel her? Through the bond? Children sometimes leave traces, especially when they're scared."

I closed my eyes. Reached out with the bond, not toward Garrick but toward the pack. Toward every connection I'd built in my weeks here.

And there. Faint, barely there. A flicker of fear. A child's terror.

"East." I opened my eyes. "Further east. Near the old hunting cabin. She's alive."

Garrick's hand found mine, squeezed once. "Good. That's good. Lead."

I led.

The bond guided me, that faint thread of Mira's fear pulling me forward. We ran, warriors silent around us, the forest blurring past. My lungs burned. My legs ached. I didn't stop.

"There." I pointed through the trees. The old cabin, half-collapsed, smoke rising from its chimney.

Garrick raised his fist. The warriors melted into cover.

"I feel her." My voice was barely a whisper. "She's inside. Alone. Scared but not hurt."

"How do you know?"

"I just know. The bond. It's getting stronger."

He looked at me for a long moment. Then he nodded.

"Calder, take the left. Theron, right. I'll go through the front." His eyes found mine. "You stay here. Do not move. If I'm not back in ten minutes, you run. Back to the lodge. Get help."

"Garrick—"

"Promise me."

I saw the fear in his eyes. The same fear that lived in the bond, constant and aching.

"I promise."

He kissed me once, hard, and then he was gone.

\---

I waited.

The minutes stretched. Through the bond, I felt Garrick's focus, his rage, his control. Felt him move through the cabin, clearing rooms. Felt him find Mira.

Felt him kill the men who'd taken her.

The bond went dark with violence. I pressed my hand to my chest and breathed through it.

Then he was there, emerging from the cabin, Mira clutched against his chest. She was crying, but she was alive. Whole. Unhurt.

I ran to them.

"She's okay." Garrick's voice was rough. "Scared, cold, hungry. But okay."

Mira looked at me with those solemn eyes. "You came."

"Of course I came." I took her from Garrick, held her close. "I'll always come."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and sobbed.

The return to the lodge was slow. Mira wouldn't let go of me, so I carried her the whole way, her small body warm against mine. Garrick stayed close, his hand on my back, his presence steady through the bond.

At the lodge gates, her father waited. He took her from me with shaking hands, tears streaming down his face.

"Thank you." His voice broke. "Thank you for bringing her back."

"Take care of her." I squeezed his arm. "She's going to need extra love for a while."

He nodded and carried her inside.

I stood there, exhausted, shaking, and suddenly Garrick's arms were around me. He pulled me against him, held me tight.

"You did well." His voice was rough. "You found her. You led us straight to her."

"I just followed the bond."

"You used it. Controlled it. Let it guide you." He pulled back to look at me. "That's more than most wolves can do. You're incredible."

I leaned into him, let him hold me up.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed my forehead. "Now let's get you inside. You need food, rest, and about twelve hours of sleep."

"I need you."

His eyes darkened. "You have me. Always."

He led me inside, through the lodge, past staring pack members, to his rooms. He closed the door and pulled me into his arms.

"Today was too close." His voice was rough. "If they'd hurt you, if they'd taken you instead of her—"

"But they didn't."

"This time." He cupped my face. "I need you to keep training. Keep learning. The bond saved Mira today. It might save you tomorrow."

"I will. I'll do whatever it takes."

He kissed me then. Deep and desperate and full of everything he couldn't say. I matched him, poured my own fear and relief into it.

When we finally broke apart, we were both shaking.

"I love you." He said it like a vow. "I will spend every day making sure you're safe."

"I know." I traced his jaw. "And I'll spend every day making sure you come back to me."

He smiled. Actually smiled, warm and unguarded.

"Deal."

We fell into bed, exhausted but unable to let go. The bond hummed between us, warm and alive, stronger than ever.