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Chapter 6

Ivy could still feel Paul’s grief even after he vanished.

Oh Goddess. Such tearing loss. It was a thickness in the air around her. A painful grip on her heart, her lungs.

She had to do something. To help him.

But how could she do anything when he kept transporting himself away?

She frowned. Kept transporting himself away? Why would she think that? He’d never transported himself away from her before. He’d always made some sarcastic comment about her, laughing at her with his friends. He hadn’t had to walk away because she was the one running away, tears in her eyes. She’d never been able to figure out what she’d done to make their Pack Warlock treat her with such disdain, never been able to stop it from hurting so much. More than when her stupid brother and the rest of their friends treated her like a pain in the arse.

Paul had never fled from her before. He wasn’t the running away type. Too arrogant. And why not? He was their only Pack Warlock, their hope for the future health of the pack. He’d been spoiled rotten from the moment he’d been born, given every advantage, treated like a god almost. He was set to marry a strong witch from Pack McClune to keep the Collins line going. He had everything going for him.

So why had he run from her tonight? Why was he in such pain? Had anyone else noticed? Should she bring it to Iris and Abby’s attention?

Surely they would have felt it. She was being arrogant to think they hadn’t. They were so much more attuned to the pack and its members than she. She was only a maternal wolf after all. And not even one of the strong ones. Just average.

She turned from her path and headed back to her home. But with every step, heaviness enshrouded her until she was almost staggering under its weight as she let herself inside.

What the hell was happening? How could she feel this way? And why was she still feeling it so strongly?

Something horrible must have happened to Paul in the time she’d been unconscious and nobody had told her. Maybe nobody had wanted to upset her. Had the witch he was supposed to bind with died? She hadn’t thought he’d been in love with her, but maybe he had been.

Hell.

Had he lost the love of his life? It hurt her to think that might be true. Perhaps she should go and tell Abby and Iris what she’d felt. It was possible they didn’t know the full extent of his pain. He could be hiding it from everyone, not wanting them to see him in pain. He probably thought it a weakness. Idiot. Stubborn idiot. He was as stubborn as the stubbornest wolf.

But she’d caught him out tonight when he’d probably thought nobody was around and he could let down his guard. It’s probably why he’d transported himself away—shock and shame.

Didn’t the idiot know there was nothing to be ashamed of in grieving for a lost love?

Abby and Iris would be able to help him.

But instead of heading back to the pack circle to find them and tell them what had happened, she found herself running home to pull on some jeans and a jumper then grabbing the keys for the family’s 4WD.

She drove along the orchard road, past the hills of vines and to the tallest hill that lay at the centre of the McVale packlands. She had no idea why she was heading this way, only that she felt drawn to it.

Her heart pulsed as she turned off the road, opened the gate into Hill Paddock, and drove up the steep rise, bumping along through the tall grass.

Something made her stop before she got to the top. She turned the car off then hurried up to the crest. There he was limned by the moonlight glowing from above. His head was bowed, hands over his face, shoulders hunched.

She’d never seen him look so small. So … unguarded. So raw.

She watched him for a moment before moving towards him, quietly, carefully.

He didn’t look up at her but he must have heard her coming—he had to at least have heard the 4WD.

Didn’t he care that he was found? That she was there and could see him like this?

Perhaps he was having a vision? But she’d seen him have visions before and they didn’t look like this.

Worry jagged up another notch and she ran the last few metres towards him. ‘Paul. Paul. What’s wrong? Why do you feel like this? Did you lose her? Is she dead?’ She went down beside him, her arms around him before she could give it a second thought. He stiffened under her touch. She held on tighter. ‘It’s okay, Paul. You need help. Let me help.’

For a brief moment, he softened into her, his hands clenching on her back, but then he pushed away, scrabbling to a stand. ‘No. No, you can’t help. You are the last one who can help. You need to go.’

‘What?’ She stared up at him. He was right. She was the last one who should or could help him. Except, she was the only one here. And even though his attitude hurt and made her angry, she couldn’t leave a pack mate alone when they were hurting like this. ‘Don’t be a stubborn arse, Paul.’ She pushed to her feet. ‘I can feel your pain. I know you need help. Why won’t you ask for it?’

‘You don’t understand. You can’t understand.’