Elianna could understand Justin trusting her, but why had his friends?

And why had that eagle put this wolf’s life in her hands? 

Seconds were ticking away, but she would need less than one fourth of that minute if all went well.

If not, she would trust Justin to keep her head from the wolf’s jaws. 

Kneeling close, she wrinkled her nose at being near the tang of fresh blood that had already begun to dry across the wolf’s coat after the fight with Justin’s bear.

Giving Justin one last look, she tried to appear confident to answer the hope in his gaze, but knew she failed when he said, “I won’t blame you no matter what, Eli, babe.  Just tell us what you can.”

Her eyes blurred for a moment with unshed tears.

She didn’t know this Adrian, but she did not want to be the reason he received a death sentence.

Mishka said, We see wolf. Not kill.

Her bear was telling her they had not created this issue and they had no power over Adrian living or dying. Elianna wasn’t quite ready to accept a lack of responsibility, but she had wanted to touch him to see what was inside.  If he had only darkness and no glimmer of light, then perhaps letting him go would be better than forcing him to continue living a nightmare.

She finally realized how truly unfair she had been to Mishka by keeping her distance.  I am sorry, Mishka.  You are good bear. Was not good shifter.

You good. Me love.

Tears spilled at that.

Love you, too.

Justin frowned, “Eli, babe?”

She smiled. “Is fine. More later.”

He nodded, still looking concerned but understood she’d explain when they were not here.

Extending her hands, she placed one on the wolf’s head and one on his heart and closed her eyes to the outside world.

At first touch, waves of anger, hurt and chaos bombarded her.  The wolf and man battled viciously. Images and thoughts flew at her in flashes of bright light and boiling black. 

Her energy boiled up and flooded her hands, then left her fingers. 

It was all too much.

She was kneeling by the wolf one moment and lying on her back the next, listening to Justin shout at her to wake up. 

Opening her eyes, she lifted her fingers to his lips. “Too loud.”

He pulled her up, so she sat with his arm around her back, but he breathed as though he’d run up a mountain carrying her. He dropped his forehead to hers.  “I can’t let you do that again.”

“Yes. Will do again.”

Sighing with resignation, he said, “I probably will, but not today.”

“I am good. Must stand.” She didn’t like being on the ground as if she were a weak female.

When she was on her feet again, Elianna dusted herself off and took in all the expectant faces.  All but the Guardian’s. He seemed to wait for confirmation of his verdict.

Red started twitching and showing signs of coming out of his sleep state. 

“Justin, your minute is up,” the Guardian said quietly.  “I’m sorry. I know the history between you two—”

Elianna shouted, “No!”

Cole muttered, “Oh, shit.”

Rory’s mouth gaped open.

The Guardian looked shocked that anyone would interrupt him. The other three had similar expressions.

Justin would be angry with her.

The Guardian said, “Pardon me?”

Mad Red snuffled and made some garbled sounds. 

Elianna crossed her arms. “Mistake to kill friend.”

Justin winced when she said his boss intended to take Adrian’s life, but that was the truth. 

The wolf shook his head and sidestepped on wobbly feet.

Cole said, “Heads up, everyone. Red is going live in seconds.”

Elianna rushed to explain, “Wolf and human have terrible time. Much pain inside. Two life not happy.” She looked to Justin who had to know she was talking from experience when she said, “Wolf and man must be one.”

His sad smile encouraged her to continue.

She faced his imposing boss. That man had eyes too much like an eagle for his nice human face. Looking at his chin instead, she said, “Not have words.”

“It’s okay, Eli, babe,” Justin said. “I’ll explain anything they don’t get.”

Thinking hard, she said, “Man and wolf angry.  Wolf not forgive man and man not forgive self.  Wolf feel ... abandoned.”

She noticed Justin staring at Red, then at her, because when the wolf’s gaze finally lifted, those eyes searched for Eli.  The wolf shivered as if in freezing cold, but the temperature was mild.

No fur stood up on his back. No snarling.

That was a hopeful sign, right?

Cole said in a half-joking voice, “You think she’s a wolf whisperer?”

The wolf swung his demonic gaze to Cole. Back came the crazy sounds and he started forward. 

The Guardian lifted his hand and the wolf ran into an invisible wall, which he hit several more times before backing off, still glaring at Cole. 

Elianna asked Justin, “What is wolf whisperer?”

He explained, “Sort of like a healer who can reach inside a damaged person, or animal, to calm them and bring them back to control.”

“Not healer,” Elianna told Cole. 

“But you think he can be saved, right?” Justin asked with so much longing it hurt her heart.

Elianna said, “Not what I say.”

Cole and Rory cursed. 

Justin called over, “Language, dammit.”

She looked at Justin.  “How is that make sense?”

He gave her a sheepish grin.

The Guardian barely spoke, but power drove his words.  “Silence. Let her finish.”

Gifting this eagle boss with a short nod, Elianna said, “What I say is not maybe save wolf. Must make live.”

Drawing his brow down in tight lines, the Guardian asked, “Why must he live?”

“You are ... special shifters. Yes?”

The Guardian nodded, but cut a questioning gaze at Justin that Elianna read as Justin being in trouble, but she could not stop now.  She said, “Have new vision when touch wolf. His life is much ... uh, need ... no, wrong word.” She dug around for the English word and muttered it in Russian to jog her mind.

“You’re saying this wolf is very important for us?” the Guardian asked.

“Yes. Speak Russian?”

“It’s one of my languages,” the Guardian said.

She finished her explanation in Russian, then the Guardian interpreted.  “She says Adrian is the key to our future.”

Rory asked, “All of us? Even you, Guardian?”

Frowning, their boss said, “Not me.”

Elianna argued, “Yes. You. Wolf dies, key gone. Wolf alive, very good for special shifters.”

Even the wolf quieted as everyone digested that. 

Justin found his voice. “Are you saying he can go back into the world?”

Frustrated that they weren’t grasping her point, she said, “Is simple. Wolf must live so wolf save life.  Must save person necessary to shifters.”

“You mean all shifters?” Rory asked.

“No.”  She pointed at each one of them as she said, “You, you, you, you. Gallize. Is what wolf call you.”  Justin had told her that name, but so had the wolf, which she hoped saved Justin from being in trouble.

Even Justin’s boss had no words.

She turned to the wolf.  His insane eyes relaxed and the wolf put his front legs out, sliding to the ground.

Justin asked his boss, “What’s your decision, sir?”

The Guardian waited until the wolf looked up at him.  “I will allow you the time you need to heal, Adrian, but I will also honor your request at any moment if you ask me to change my mind.”

The wolf whined and dropped his head on his paws.

Justin kissed her cheek and said in a hoarse voice, “Thank you, Eli, babe. Thank you for saving our friend.”

“My appreciation, too,” the Guardian said.  “I do not want to lose any of my flock.”

“I did not much.”

The Guardian corrected her. “You did quite a lot, Elianna, and I will not forget it. Now, we need to get you to Clan Boudreaux.”

“What?” Justin shouted.