She felt sick. The air, which had been clean, now felt poisoned. Fortune's words were a cold knife, twisting the honest, raw love Samuel had confessed. Was it all a lie rooted in desperate need?
She fled the library, her heart pounding a violent rhythm against her ribs, the scent of Fortune's mint and cold stone lingering on her clothes. She needed Samuel. Not to accuse him, but to see if the desperation in his eyes was for her, or for his own survival.
She found him in the quad, a quiet green space shielded by towering mango trees, talking to two other large men who carried the same scent of pine and quiet strength—two other members of his Pack. They were Obinna and Tunde.
"Esther, what is it?" Samuel asked, seeing the frantic look in her eyes. The other two men backed away respectfully.
She looked at him, her gaze piercing. "The Keeper. Fortune told me. My grandmother, Madam Chinwe. She was the Keeper, and now... I am. Is that true, Samuel?"
Samuel closed his eyes for a brief, pained moment. The warmth in his body seemed to dim.
"Yes," he admitted, his voice barely a rasp. "It is the other half of the pact. It's what I couldn't tell you. The Keepers have the power to calm the wolf's spirit and regulate the stone's energy. It's a balance. The stronger the Keeper's life force, the stronger the stone, and the more contained the Change."
"And that's why you love me," Esther whispered, the accusation stinging. "Because I keep the beast away. Because you need me."
"Esther, no!" He reached for her, but she recoiled.
"How long, Samuel? How long until I'm just an empty shell? Fortune said my life force is linked. Does that mean you are slowly draining me, just by being close to me?" She touched her silver bloom. "Is this necklace a conduit for your preservation?"
The pain in Samuel's eyes was genuine, a raw, exposed wound.
"Fortune is a master of half-truths, Esther! Yes, the silver bloom is a key—it's the mechanism that marks a Keeper. And yes, my kind is drawn to your vitality. But I did not choose to love you because of the pact! I chose to risk the pact for you! I loved you long before I had any idea who you were."
He took a slow step back, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "My father, the Alpha, told me the truth a month ago, the moment he realized my feelings for you were deepening. He ordered me to stay away, to protect both you and the Pack. But I couldn't. I risked everything to be near you, to protect you from the Shadow—and from the truth, which I hoped to keep from you forever."
"And when Fortune exposed us, I told you about the wolf and my love. I was going to tell you about the Keeper, but I panicked. I was selfish. I was afraid that if you knew how much I needed you, you would leave me." He dropped his gaze to the ground, his voice heavy with self-loathing.
"My love for you is real, Esther. It's the one thing strong enough to control the beast even when the stone is weak. But Fortune is right about one thing: the price of the pact is now on your head. And every day I spend with you, I put your life at greater risk from the Shadow that seeks to destroy the Keeper."
He looked up, his eyes pleading. "Now you know. Tell me what you choose. Do you choose the wolf you need, or the love you can't trust?"