MATED TO THE NIGHT WOLF (MTTNW)

[42.1] THE 8TH NIGHT WOLF (part 3)

I am a madman.

I have stolen my heart and locked her away from anyone but I, afraid she might be a dream.

***************

I turn the page, my heart racing. It is as if I am watching him write, excitedly scribbling over a table.

After all, I have read from his journal, I understand the old King.

At this stage, at this point, his story is mine, his sorrow is mine, and his happiness is mine.

I share in it all.

I smile, a warm giddy feeling inside me growing.

Xirrian has found her.

He has finally found his mate.

The one to silence his suffering. The one to light his dark days.

Thunder rings from behind me, and the dark library lights for a split second as lightning flashes.

My gaze sweeps across the last sentence. I notice that Xirrians handwriting is sloppy now, and I know it is because he is shaking as he writes.

He is a man who has longed for but one thing for so long, and now, 17 years later, he simply doesn't know how to behave now that it has been granted.

He is deliriously happy.

I know this from the canceled-out words and the paragraph that repeats one word only, for 4 lines.

Adeline, Adeline, Adeline.

And his visions of her in his dreams were right. She does have red hair and green eyes. I note this at the back of my mind as I read on.

I am overcome with joy and laughter.

He visits her in his chambers and he admits he is nervous. Despite the bond they share Xirrian fears one thing.

The Night Wolf has been feared for so long that he fears his mate may share a disdain for him.

I think of this for a moment.

I suppose, had I been a wolf destined to be the Night Wolf's bride, I would have been overcome with a mixture of feelings.

His worries are true.

Adeline must have heard of stories such as I. The Monstrous Night Wolf. The Prince of Shadows.

Images of those red eyes, peering through the darkness unsettles me for a moment.

It is different when I read. I understand this Night Wolf. Xiirian Adonis Prime. I understand him well. I have shared in his sadness, his fears, and his sorrows.

But he is gone, and long dead.

Those eyes, the ones I saw that night, were another night wolf, of a different time entirely.

I knew nothing of him or his story. I had everything to fear.

Granted, I know that he remains without a queen.

I pause at this thought.

My gaze sweeps to the single window as lightning flashes again, and the soft patter of rain slows.

I think of the Night Wolf shifted in those woods. Of the endless Dark days we've been experiencing. I purse my lips.

I do not know what to feel. I do not know him, but if he and Xirrian share the same fate, it is unfortunate.