Chapter 272: Episode 272.

Aire glared at him. "I’m thinking." She sighed. "I don’t know how it works."

Nate leaned back. "Have you ever tried to control it?"

"Sometimes."

"And?"

Aire shrugged. "Sometimes it listens."

"And sometimes?"

"It does whatever it wants."

Xander looked at Alaric. "That sounds dangerous."

Alaric nodded softly.

Aire looked at them. Her eyes saddened. "I’m not trying to hurt anyone."

"We know."

Nate’s voice softened. "We’re not saying you are."

Aire looked down again. "I just wish I understood it."

Aire suddenly stood up. She walked outside.

"Aire..." Nate called behind her.

"I need to try something."

Nate immediately stood up, and folled behind her. The others followed.

.......

The garden was quiet when they fot there.

The afternoon sun rested over the grass.

Aire stood in the middle of the open space. Nate stood a few feet away. Xander folded his arms. Alaric remained seated on the bench.

He looked tired, but his eyes remained on Aire.

She raised her hand, and nothing happened. She listened around her, and frowned softly.

Xander smiled. "Maybe your magic doesn’t work when you’re trying."

Aire looked at him. "Be quiet."

Aire closed her eyes. She took a slow breath, and tried to remember what it felt like when her magic appeared naturally.

The silver light, the wind, the flowers, and the warmth in her chest. There was nothing.

She opened her eyes. "Maybe I can’t."

Alaric spoke from the bench. "Don’t force it."

Aire looked at him. "Then what do I do?"

"Don’t think about the result." He suggested. "Just do what you feel."

Aire stared at him. She didn’t understand, but she nodded. She closed her eyes again. This time, she didn’t try to create anything.

She simply breathed.

The wind moved through the garden, and Aire’s hair shifted. One strand of silver lifted, and then another.

Nate’s eyes widened. "Aire."

She opened her eyes.

The silver strands floated around her face.

Xander stepped closer. "It’s happening."

Aire smiled. She lifted her hand, and a small glow appeared in her palm.

She stared at it. "I did it."

The light disappeared.

Aire sighed. She raised her hand again. Notbing haooened, and then, she lowered it.

Nate shook his head when he saw the disappointment in her eyes. "Maybe you need to stop."

Aire looked at him. "I can do it."

"Aire."

"I can."

She closed her eyes.

This time, she tried harder. The wind began to move, and the trees shook. Leaves rose from the ground, and the ground beneath their feet trembled softly.

Nate immediately stepped back. "Okay."

Xander’s smile disappeared. "Aire."

She couldn’t hear them.

The wind became stronger, and silver light wrapped around her fingers. Her hair lifted higher.

Aire opened her eyes. The light in her eyes was brighter.

She smiled.

Then, and then everything stopped.

The wind disappeared, and the light vanished.

Aire stumbled, as if pushed backwards by the wind.

Alaric immediately stood. "Aire."

She caught herself. "I’m fine." She looked down.

Something had changed.

She could feel it inside her. She placed a hand against her chest. Her heart was beating normally, but something else was there.

Something faint. Something she had never felt before yet it felt right.

Aire closed her eyes.

The garden disappeared, and for a second, everything went dark. Then she heard it. A heartbeat.

Aire’s eyes opened sharply.

She looked around. "Did you hear that?"

Nate shook his head. "Hear what?"

Aire looked at Xander. He shook his head. "No."

Alaric stepped closer. "What did you hear?"

Aire swallowed. "A heartbeat."

"Yours?"

She shook her head. "No." She closed her eyes again, and it was still there. The sound came again, slow, small, and close.

Aire’s breathing became shallow.

She placed both hands against her chest. The heartbeat continued. She could feel something moving inside her.

Aire’s eyes filled with tears.

Nate reached for her. "Aire."

She stepped back. "I need a moment."

He stopped.

She closed her eyes, and the darkness returned. This time, she didn’t fight it. She let herself fall into it.

And suddenly, she was somewhere else.

A small wolf was curled up in the darkness.

Aire stared at it.

The wolf was tiny.

Much smaller than she expected. Its fur was silver. Not white, but silver. The same shade as Aire’s hair.

The wolf lifted its head. Its eyes opened.

Silver.

Aire’s lips trembled. "You..."

The wolf looked at her.

Aire slowly lowered herself. She didn’t know how she was doing it. She didn’t know where she was, but she didn’t care.

She crawled closer.

The wolf didn’t move away.

Aire reached out.

Her fingers stopped just before touching it. She was afraid. Afraid that if she touched it, it would disappear.

She whispered. "Are you mine?"

The wolf tilted its head. It nodded.

Aire’s eyes filled with tears. "I’ve waited for you."

The wolf stood. It took one small step toward her.

Aire smiled through her tears.

The wolf continued walking.

"I thought I was born without you."

The wolf stopped in front of her.

Aire reached out, and her fingers touched its head. Warmth exploded through her.

Aire gasped. She felt the wolf inside her. It shook its fur. Her own wolf. After all these years.

Aire’s body trembled.

She pulled the wolf against her, and tbe wolf curled into her arms.

Aire cried.

She cried because something she had spent her entire life grieving had suddenly returned to her.

She had never been wolfless. She had never been empty. Something had been there, waiting, and sleeping. Waiting for her to finally reach it.

Aire pressed her face against the wolf’s silver fur. "I’m sorry."

The wolf moved closer.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t find you."

A tiny sound came from the wolf.

Aire pulled back.

She stared into its eyes.

The wolf looked at her. The wolf’s eyes remained fixed on hers.

Aire’s lips parted. "Did you..."

The voice came again. Clearer this time.

"Mine." The wolf proclaimed, its voice almost too small to notice.

Aire’s entire body went still. She stared at the wolf. "You can speak."

The wolf blinked.

"You can actually speak to me."

The little wolf pressed its head against her chest.

Aire closed her eyes. Her hand moved slowly over its fur. She wasn’t wolfless. She had someone.

She wasn’t cursed, and now, she wasn’t wolfless.

Aire’s tears fell faster. She held the wolf tighter.