Chapter ２３

"Please, Ellen..."

Her eyes were sparkling as she turned around, one a brilliant green sphere, the other an ice blue lake. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." she exhaled deeply. "I need to...get out of here...get out of this skin..."

"I'm to blame." Carl didn't tell Ellen about the weird warning he received from Rio. Though the other Lycan encouraged Carl's pursuit of his sister, he warned her that courting Ellen would be difficult. He hinted that he'd been injured too many times and had never allowed anybody in since. Ellen seemed like a wounded animal, nervous and guarded, ready to run at any time. And he could see she was about to flee at this point.

"I'm sorry for moving so quickly," he said, shaking his head. He didn't want to frighten her away, especially when he could see part of the iciness chipping away at her. It hurt him to go so slowly when all he wanted was to make her his. He groaned and turned to walk away.

"Carl, please wait," she said. Her voice was weak yet powerful.