CHAPTER 122: TANGLED VOWS

Varen

I swallowed down the urge to hold Josie, the ache in my chest nearly breaking me in half as I forced myself to take several steps back. She looked so damn fragile—confused, wounded, vulnerable—and every instinct in me screamed to close the distance, to shield her, to whisper that she wasn’t alone. But I couldn’t. Not now. Not when she was like this. Touching her would feel like taking advantage of something I had no right to claim yet.

Her eyes followed me like she wanted answers, like she wanted me to be the one to anchor her spinning world. The air between us pulsed with tension, heavy, and my fists clenched at my sides just to keep from giving in.

I turned away before I broke my own resolve.

One step. Then another. And another.

The moment I cleared the door, I shifted, bones cracking, muscles reforming as my wolf surged forward in a rush of raw instinct. The ground blurred beneath my paws as I ran, pushing myself harder, faster. My mind, however, refused to obey the speed of my body—it was caught, snagged on Josie, on the way her eyes had begged me to stay even when her lips hadn’t spoken it aloud.

I cut the thought away, slamming a wall down in my head.

I couldn’t think of her. Not when my link crackled with urgent voices.

Varen—Thorne’s forces... invasion... you need to keep her safe.

My stomach twisted into knots, sharper than claws against flesh. The thought of Thorne anywhere near her... no. I wasn’t letting it happen. Not now, not ever.

I severed the mind-link before the flood of panic could pull me under. Josie. That was all I could think. Josie. Keep her safe. Keep her breathing.

By the time I reached her wing of the hospital, my lungs burned but my legs refused to slow. The hallway stretched long and hollow before me, silent in a way that screamed of danger. My pulse roared in my ears. For a fraction of a second, fear froze me in place outside her door.

What if I was too late?

I pressed my ear against the wood, tuning my wolf-hearing up until every sound rang sharp. No screams. No crashes. No blades cutting air. Nothing that spoke of death. Relief washed over me, but it wasn’t enough to steady the shaking in my hands.

I twisted the knob slowly.

The room was bathed in pale light, shadows stretching across the walls. And there she was—Josie by the window, her hair pulled up, strands falling loose around her flushed face. Power radiated off her like a storm barely leashed. At her side stood Liam, his eyes narrowed in concentration, his hand raised as vines snaked and curled around his wrist.

The pressure in the air hit me like a punch. My breath caught. I’d never felt that kind of energy before—wild, raw, elemental. It left me speechless, my chest vibrating with the sheer force of it.

Then, in a blink, Liam’s gaze snapped to me.

The vines shot forward, wrapping around me before I could even speak. I slammed against the wall, the breath ripped from my lungs as bark and thorns pinned me in place.

"Wait—!" I managed, but the grip tightened, cutting off the words.

Panic surged. Not because of Liam’s power—but because Josie turned at that exact moment, her eyes locking on me. For one terrifying beat, I wondered if this was it—if I was going to die by her hands, my mate’s hands, with her power deciding I wasn’t worth keeping.

But then her expression shattered.

"Varen!"

Her voice cracked as she rushed forward, her power slicing through the vines with a precision that made my wolf flinch. The restraints fell away, and suddenly she was in front of me, holding me close, trembling as though the very thought of losing me had broken something inside her.

"Are you alright?" she whispered, her palms on my chest like she needed proof I was breathing. "I’m so sorry—goddess, I’m so sorry things happened this way. Next time—I swear—I’ll take care. I won’t let it—"

Her words tangled into my shirt, her voice shaking so hard it made my gut twist.

I lied, because I couldn’t add to her pain. "I’m fine."

Liam dropped his hand, guilt shadowing his features. "I thought you were the intruder. I didn’t mean—"

I stared at him, my jaw tight. My wolf didn’t buy it. Not one damn bit. But Josie’s hand was still against my chest, her touch keeping me from exploding right then. So I bit back what I wanted to say.

Instead, I let her guide me to the bed, surprising me with how steady she was—stronger than she should have been, considering how exhausted she’d looked minutes before.

She must’ve caught my expression, because she said softly, "Using my powers makes me stronger."

I searched her face. "How did you even know we were in danger?"

Her lips pressed together. "We weren’t."

"What?" My voice dropped like a growl.

"Liam came to me," she admitted, glancing quickly at him before looking back at me. "He wanted me to work with him. We weren’t fighting Thorne. We were... using our powers for the elements."

The words slammed into me. My chest burned, fury and disbelief colliding.

"Josie—are you serious?" I snapped. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Playing with forces like that? And you didn’t alert any of us? Do you realize what could’ve happened? You could’ve endangered the entire pack!"

She flinched, guilt pooling in her eyes. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—Liam forced me into it. He said it would cheer me up."

I dragged a hand over my face, biting back the roar clawing at my throat. Then I pulled her into my arms, needing her close even as my anger still boiled. My eyes cut to Liam, my voice hard. "Step outside. Now."

He hesitated, but one look from me and he left, the vines on his arms retracting as the door clicked shut.

Josie trembled in my arms, her face buried against me. I pressed a kiss against her hair, then tilted her face up just enough to meet her eyes.

"Don’t scare me like that again," I said, my voice low.

Her lips parted, and for a moment the world stilled. The tension, the fear, the unspoken words—all of it melted as I kissed her. Soft at first, cautious, but then deeper, like I’d been holding my breath and she was the only air that could keep me alive.

Her fingers curled into my shirt, holding me like she needed the same thing.

When I finally pulled back, her eyes were wide, her lips parted, her cheeks flushed in a way that nearly undid me.

"You need rest," I murmured, brushing my thumb across her cheek.

"I don’t—"

"You do," I cut in, firm. "Argue all you want, but you’re not winning this one."

She huffed, half a pout, half a smile, and I almost kissed her again just to wipe the stubborn look from her face.

I staggered outside, the door clicking shut behind me, and my fury snapped back like a whip.

Liam stood there, waiting.

I grabbed him by his bare chest, slamming him against the wall so hard the vines shivered on his arms. My face was inches from his, my wolf snarling.

"What the fuck did you mean by what you did in there?" I hissed, my voice venom. "Were you sent here to kill us?"