Chapter 1019

Midnight bursts into tears, looking down at her wolf, her entire body starting to tremble. "I - I didn't know," she whispers, starting to shake her head.

"Mids," Jesse calls, his voice breaking, kneeling down at the edge of his soul and reaching for her. "Midnight, please, are you okay?"

She just continues to cry, her face tucked into her hands, her shoulders shaking.

I push my fire a little further as the wolf gets to the edge of her gigantic pit, her snout stretched out as far as it can go, and my heart sings when I see just the barest edge of oil burn away from her snout, revealing -

My eyes go wide when I see that the fur beneath is a creamy white. I groan again, pushing the fire further, and Midnight's wolf gives a pitiful little howl, shutting her eyes, letting the warmth rush over her. More oil peels back, revealing more plush white fur along the length of her snout, the tips of her ears...

"Stop!" Midnight cries out. My eyes flash to her as she drops her hands from her face and begins to shake her head, vehement. "Please, stop – I can't - I can't – I'll lose everything."

I pull my fire back, as I promised, but keep it burning.

Midnight's wolf whips her face to Midnight, a sorrowful, plaintive little howl slipping from her lips. Midnight looks down at her wolf and shakes her head again, apology everywhere alongside her fear.

"Midnight," Jesse says, the single word a plea, begging for her to continue.

But she just continues to shake her head, looking down at her wolf. "I can't," she whispers.

Jesse looks up at me, desperate for me to continue, not knowing what to do.

"Jess,” I say, pulling the fire back so that it becomes a ball in my hands. "I - I don't even know how much I could do from this distance - I can only get so close..."

He groans, knotting his fingers in his hair and pressing his eyes shut.

"I - I'm going back," Midnight says, her voice creaking. I turn my head to her just

in time to see her vanish. Her wolf gives a terrible little howl, sinking back into the depths, scrabbling to find her footing and keep her fresh, clean fur out of the muck in a way that just breaks my heart in half.

"Come on," Jesse grumbles, standing and reaching for me. "I - I don't want to leave her alone."

With a last plaintive look back at the wolf, I take his hand and we return to the real world.

Midnight cries her eyes out, terror sweeping through her. Jesse moves closer on the bed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close through her pain and her grief, her worry and confusion. Ariel moves close as well, taking Midnight's hand, squeezing it and whispering warm and comforting things.

As the minutes pass Midnight calms, her mind coming back to her. Eventually she finds the strength to give one last big sniff and then looks up at her mate and her friend.

"Are you okay, baby?" Ariel whispers, leaning close and stroking a hand over her hair. Midnight can't help but lean into the caress. "I'm so sorry. Did it hurt?"

Midnight doesn't say anything because the truth is that she's just being a big coward. It didn't hurt at all - it felt wonderful. Warm - warm. Her...her wolf didn't even know that she could be warm...

But the idea of losing all of her powers, all her magic...

"It's okay, kid," Jesse murmurs, pressing a kiss to her hair. "You're allowed to be scared. It's okay."

She sniffs again, leaning against him, trying to put her mind and her thoughts and her heart together. Her wolf howls in her soul, begging for the warmth to come back, but Midnight slams the door on her noise - as she so often does.

But then guilt rushes through her, because she knows it's wrong. Her wolf. Her poor wolf. Slowly, she opens the door again and lets her wolf's howls echo through her soul, finally listening to what she wants and needs.

It is...just unbearably sad.

"Can I go to bed?" Midnight whispers, closing her eyes and tucking her cheek close to Jesse's chest. "Please? I am so tired. Can I go to bed?"noveldrama

"Of course," Jesse murmurs. He sends an anxious glance Ariel's way, but she just shrugs, implying that she doesn't know what else to do It's still in the end, all Midnight's choice. It has to be. "Come on, kiddo. Let's get you to bed. "

He wraps his arm tight around Midnight's back, and then slips another beneath her knees, and lifts her easily from the bed. After all,

she's still in so many ways net

- a malnourished girl who has only recently begun to learn to accept love, and care, and kindness. She sniffs softly in his arms, Clearly overwhelmed.

“I'll come see you in the morning," Ariel whispers.

Jesse nods to his cousin and gives her as much of a smile as he can before he moves to the door, wondering how the hell he's going to convince this precious little creature to free herself from the darkness that's killing her.