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.She symbolizes femininity, strength, and perseverance.As you know, these are all attributes of a white wolf.”“I don’t feel like I’ve been very strong lately.”“No?” The voices questioned.“I was taken.I couldn’t escape on my own.I had to have too many other people to lean on in order to get through.”The constant shifting of previous white wolves stopped, and Aislyn was standing before now, no longer on the dais, but toe to toe with me like an equal.“Your strength is not something you have to muscle about in front of others to show off its prowess.You were taken, yes.But you came through it, still able to smile.You needed help to escape, true.But you were able to use what happened to you in order to show compassion for the other women who were held captive.It is true that you needed to rely on others to help heal your soul.Strength isn’t always an individual thing though, dear one.Think of it as a tall building.That building may stand tall and proud, but in the beginning it was built on a much wider base.It relies on that base to keep its height aloft.One works, because the other exists.Knowing when to seek what you need from others is strength.It takes courage to admit you hurt.It takes strength to heal in spite of that hurt.You have proven yourself time and again to your people.When is it going to be enough for you?”She turned, admiring the little sapling as a tiny branch reached out to touch the earth beneath it.“Each branch of the willow is a part of the whole, adding to its strength.The same can be said for each person in your life, Jessica.They are all branches of the willow, piece of your strength, there to help you when you need it.Each part must rely on the other to survive.It’s the lesson each of us must learn in turn.We are not the leaders of our people, we are the unifiers.The white wolf is here to bring together all that has been lost, to cultivate the branches until they can protect the roots.I leaned down, reaching out to touch the fragile branch on the tiny sapling.“I understand.” I managed to choke out through the emotion that now settled heavy on my chest.“I understand.”When I awoke, it was to Mikael’s face smiling down from beside me.“Good morning, beautiful.” I moved to trace my hand across his jawline.I’m not sure what he saw when he looked at me, but when I looked in his eyes, what I saw took my breath away.“You were smiling, in your sleep.It was the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen on your face.” He whispered to me.“I wondered what you were thinking about.”“I was thinking about our daughter’s name.”“Oh?”“Willow.”Mikael was thoughtful for a moment.Before he could say anything I started to explain to him what Aislyn said to me in my dream, and he leaned in to place a gentle kiss on my lips.“Then it’s perfect.”IN THE DARKFor the first time in my adult life, everything seemed to be falling into place.Ashley and Asi’s house was built on pack lands, and ours was started.It was actually nearing completion, and we were getting excited about moving to the pack and being closer when we were needed.I was excited, because it meant I would be closer to the women who knew what they were doing when it came to this child birthing stuff I was going to have to go through real soon.“I can’t believe we’ve had such an uneventful six months.”“Bite your tongue, woman.” Mikael scolded me.“I know, I just woke up today feeling like we finally got that happily ever after.We’re close to having a baby.” Mikael stopped what he was doing and came over to put his hand on my belly.The baby was kicking up a storm right now, and he always enjoyed feeling her attempts to show how strong she was.“Who needs a boy with a girl that can kick like this?” Mikael joked.What do you think? Maybe we should get her involved in human football?”“That’s a man’s sport.Do you really want a line-backer for a daughter?”Mikael rolled his eyes at me.“You are too American for your own good.I was talking about actual football, you know soccer.”“Oh, yeah, well that’s different.” I laughed.“So, what’s on the agenda for the day?”“We’re going to see the house today.My dad said the guys finished up painting last week, and everything else is done.That means, we should be able to move in soon.”“Hmmm,” Mikael stood there looking at me for a moment.“I see it now.” He waved his hand around in front of my round belly then.“This has all been a ruse to get out of doing any actual moving.Your timing was impeccable, my sweet.” I laughed.“Yes, because it seems like such a trade-off.A few days of moving boxes and furniture, as opposed to a lifetime of worry.I must not be as smart as I think I am.”“No doubt.You picked me, remember? I was definitely not the wisest choice of all the men out there.”“You were the only choice.”“Ah, good! You passed!” He nipped my nose.“Oh, so you’re testing my loyalty now?”“No, I know you’re absolutely loyal, but I sometimes have to trick you into saying how completely awesome I am.I mean, look at this package.It’s like you won the lottery, babe!” I threw a pillow at him, catching him in his stubbly face [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]