Abraxas

It was almost uncomfortable how much she looked like Blair. I knew it wasn’t her.

Apart from the eyes, her soul gave her away. The darkness hovered in her, but she hadn’t gone Rogue yet. She was fighting it and she had been fighting it for some time, a long time.

No other Lycan I had come across had been able to fight it off for so long. Once the darkness sets in, they have weeks, maybe months at most. Yet somehow, Neah had been fighting it for well over a year, maybe even most of her life. Unaware that it was even there.

A Hunter’s instinct would be to kill her. To put her out of her misery. To end her before she does too much damage. But even I could see there was something different about her.

The edges of her soul are tinted black, but unlike others, the majority of it is bright. It shouldn’t be possible and yet, here I was, seeing it for myself. Like she was in a constant battle. She hadn’t won it yet, but she was trying.

They ask more questions, trying to get more answers from me about Blair. Mallory tells them that Blair killed my parents, but there is so much more to it than that. And that is something I didn’t share with anyone. But they wanted to know and they kept pushing and pushing apart from Neah who was quiet.

They didn’t need to know anything else about me. I came to do a job and that was all that mattered.

Neah stands and I find myself standing too. I tuck the gun into my waistband as Dane leans down to kiss her cheek. A similar gesture that I would make to my mate.

I wanted to speak to Neah alone. I wanted to see if the colour of her soul would change. “Can we speak?”

“Why?” Her walls go up immediately as she stares back at me. Big blue eyes trying to process what my plan could be.

“I’m used to working alone. I’m used to hunting in a certain way. If I’m to work with you, I need to know how you operate, what your intentions are and what you are planning.” It was a lie. I could already see how she worked. Act first, think later, common for those that have lived a life of trauma. Maybe that was when the darkness started.

“I don’t think that is a good idea.” Crimson eyed Dane mutters.

“Is she not capable of making her own decisions?” I challenge. She was his mate and technically a Luna of his pack and an Alpha in her own right. She was far from weak.

“It’s not her judgement I’m questioning.” He mutters back.

“I said I wouldn’t hurt her. Unlike you predictable Wolves, I am able to control myself.”

I flick my eyes back to Neah who was hovering by the office door. Her hand already on the handle ready to leave and yet she hadn’t.

I pull the gun back out my waistband. Her eyes follow it as I drop it onto Dane’s desk. I could still kill her if I wanted too. But maybe this would make her feel at ease. Instead, I see something else.

The light of her soul dims to grey and her eyes darken. It took a lot less time than I expected. I wonder if she knew what was causing the darkness. Or whether she had been convinced it was something else.

Her hands clench into fists at her side and she shakes her head, puffing out her cheeks. It takes a minute before her soul is glowing with light again. She had more control than what her Lycan liked. Her Lycan is the darkness at the edge of her soul, feeding on her pain, her anger, pushing unwanted thoughts into her mind.

“Go see your boys.” I mutter. Her soul instantly brightens, pushing the edges back until it’s so bright that I have to look away from her.