GIVING IN
I was in the study,the room where everything real seemed to happen,sitting on the couch with my knees pulled up, a blanket draped loosely over me that I wasn’t really using.
When he came in, he didn’t turn on the lamp.
He crossed the room and sat beside me.
Beside. Not across. Not at a careful, managed distance.
For a moment, we just existed in the dark together.
“Are you actually okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Della checked everything. The sedative is gone. The wolf is steady. The anchoring power is…” I hesitated. “Different now. Stronger.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “I felt it in the bond.”
I exhaled slowly. “It frightened me. For a moment. I didn’t know I could do that.”
“What you did to those wolves....”
“I didn’t hurt them,” I said quickly.
“I know.” He turned
