Chapter 116: Chapter 116
DAHLIA:
‘Naskan, no,’ I called over my head as the great black wolf suddenly sunk into the ground beneath me.
I had just done a surreal feat, and my heart was still feeling the adrenaline rush that took over as I attacked the flying creature that hovered above us. As such, I failed to notice Naskan’s weakening body until he finally lost consciousness.
Thankfully, the ground beneath us was sandy, so I was not hurt with the fall. I crouched down to Naskan’s wolf form, feeling for a pulse.
I clung at his neck. His pulse was far too weak. The arrows that were shot at him must have been poisoned!
“No… Naskan, wake up,” I mumbled.
We fought near the river, and I ended up rejecting him. The rejection did not work, thank the Goddess, but it was too late. I saw in his eyes how deeply hurt he was back then… I thought he would never speak to me again for as long as he lived!
And yet, in a heartbeat, Naskan did not hesitate to take me into his back towards safety even if it meant getting badly hurt himself...
“What can I do,” I whispered yet again, my hands trembling. I proceeded to pull out the arrows that pierced him on his hind leg and then on his back.
Just then, I heard the steady and firm voice of a golden-brown wolf.
‘Dahlia, stop panicking. You can do this.’
She was sure, confident, and above all, she was not in a frightened mess like I was.
‘Dahlly, listen up. You can save him. You can save our mate.’
That was when I realized whom this voice, who felt intensely familiar, belonged to.
‘You… you’re my wolf?’
‘Yes. We’ve got a lot to talk about, but first, you have to save our mate. Concentrate. You can do this!’
‘Uh, how?...’
Just a few minutes ago, I wished with all my heart that I could do something with the flying dragon bones that was about to collide with us, and before I knew it, some sort of fire energy came out from my outstretched hand. Was my wolf referring to this same type of power?
I quickly put my hands over Naskan’s body, but before I attempted doing anything, fear and doubt crept into my heart.
‘I… I can’t! What if I burn him by mistake?’
‘You won’t. You have the power to heal, Dahlia. Channel that power. Remember our golden hands.’
Golden hands… That term felt very familiar.
Suddenly, flashes of memories where I used my golden hands came back to me almost like an avalanche…
In one particular memory, I saw myself touch Naskan by the cheeks as streaks of golden lights emerged from my finger tips. Another memory played back where I was cradling Naskan’s black wolf, my hands hovering over his injured neck in the dead of the night...
There was a feeling of overwhelming serenity and warmth as I tended over Naskan’s injured body during those times… Could it be the feeling of loving someone so purely?
‘Did you see that?… You can do it, Dahlia. You can help our mate. You have to help him before it’s too late!’
With tears still dripping from my eyes, I put my hands one more time above Naskan’s wolf form, and I tried copying the emotions that ran within my heart as I did in those previous glimpses from my memories.
Almost instantaneously, my hands began to glow in a golden yellow hue. I became aware of Naskan’s breathing and the poison that was coursing through his veins and through his heart.
‘Heal,’ I began to think, ‘please heal. Be well!’
The golden light became more intense as it enveloped Naskan from his head down to the tip of his tail.
I felt all the traces of pain and vile poison exit his body like magic. I felt his breathing became more regular and his heart beat return to normal.
As soon as it was over, I crouched down and checked Naskan’s pulse through his neck one more time. It felt alright now. I cried in relief.
I scooped Naskan’s head and placed it over my lap. I think I had done this before too based on the memory I had seen flashing back earlier inside my head…
So it was true… Naskan and I must have known each other long before I had lost my memories!
‘Um… What’s your name,’ I said, calling back again to the she-wolf who helped me heal Naskan earlier.
‘Welcome back, Dahlly. It’s me, Eva. We could finally talk again!’
Eva - what a wonderful name!
‘How come I can only talk to you now?’ The last time I tried talking to her, there was an invisible barrier that kept us from hearing each other. Now, I was glad that the barrier had disappeared.
‘Your body needed time to adjust to the red ruby’s power, I think,’ the golden wolf in my head said as she pranced in joy at our reconnection. ‘Do you remember everything now?’
I shook my head. ‘No… I just remember Naskan and my golden hands.’
Thankfully, the memories of my power came back to me just in the nick of time. I shuddered to think what could have happened if the poison stayed in Naskan’s body for a few more minutes…
‘So… This black wolf here… He really is our mate, right,’ I finally get to ask my wolf for confirmation.
‘Yes. As well as the all-white wolf. He is also our mate,’ Eva declared.
‘You mean we have two mates,’ I said, utterly shocked.
‘Yes. The Moon Goddess is really the best!’
I starred at Naskan’s sleeping form in my lap, utterly surprised at what I had just learned.
Was I an anomaly? How can I possibly have two wolves as my mate?
‘No, silly… Those two wolves both belong to him,’ Eva said, pointing to Naskan.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Our mate is a Shadow Rune alpha, so he’s got two wolves.’
I can’t believe what I was hearing from Eva. ‘What?... Is it for real?’
‘Eh? Why would I lie to you,’ Eva said, looking a bit annoyed.
I frowned. In the two days I had been with Naskan, I had never seen him transform into a white wolf. How can I be sure that my wolf was not pulling my leg in jest?
‘Well, I’m not,’ Eva said firmly. ‘Why don’t you try it? Try calling for our mate’s white wolf. Ask Albus to come out and show himself to you.’
It was a silly notion, but Eva looked very adamant… Could she really be telling me the truth?
I came closer to Naskan’s ear and whispered, “Albus, I need you… Will you show yourself to me?”
Just then, a dark violet light appeared at the center of Naskan’s head and something unbelievable began to take place.