The Silver Wolf (Diana and Talon) novel Chapter 163

Chapter Opfimdred Sixty The

Chapter One Hundred Sixty Three

Cham

The next morning, Gideon woke long before the sun had fully risen. The sky beyond his window was still dark, touched only by the faintest trace of gray along the horizon. The coven remained quiet. No footsteps. moved outside. No voices drifted between the houses. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

But Gideon had barely slept. He had spent most of the night staring into the darkness, replaying every moment he had shared with Agatha the night before. Her expression would not leave his mind. There had been sadness in her eyes. Guilt, too. But beneath both, there had been something else. Resolve.

A quiet, painful acceptance, as though she had already made a decision and was only waiting for the courage to live with it.

She had looked at him several times as if she wanted to speak. Her lips had parted, but no words had come. Each time, Gideon had looked away or changed the subject. He told himself that she was tired. He told himself that she was worried about the upcoming binding. He told himself that perhaps someone had questioned whether they were truly meant for each other because their magic had never responded the way everyone expected. He had told himself anything that would keep him from asking the question he feared most.

What is wrong? Because some part of him already knew that he might not be ready for the answer. For weeks, Agatha had been different. She still walked beside him. Still sat with him during meals. Still joined him and their families during preparations for their future. Physically, she was there. Yet somehow, she felt farther away with every passing day.

Her smiles no longer reached her eyes. Her laughter came too late, as if she had to remind herself to make the sound. Sometimes Gideon would speak to her, only to realize she had not heard a single word. She would be staring beyond him, lost in thoughts she refused to share. And whenever he reached for her hand, there was always a brief hesitation before she allowed him to take it.

It was small. Barely noticeable. But Gideon noticed everything about Agatha. He always had. He had known her since they were children. He knew the way she frowned when she was concentrating. The way she tucked her hair behind her ear when nervous.

The way she bit the inside of her cheek whenever she was hiding something. He knew when she was upset before she spoke. He knew when she was afraid even when she smiled.

And lately, she had been afraid almost all the time.

Gideon sat upright in bed and pressed both hands over his face. Today, he would ask her. No more excuses. No more pretending.

He would set aside his fear and demand the truth. If someone had hurt her, he would find them. If someone had insulted her, he would make them regret it. If members of the coven had told her that the union was wrong because his magic did not answer hers, then Gideon would remind her that he did not care what anyone thought.

Magic was not love. A spark between powers was not devotion. He had loved Agatha before either of them was old enough to understand what love meant. He had loved her when she scraped her knees climbing trees and came running to him in tears. He had loved her when she first healed a dying bird and smiled as though she had touched the stars. He had loved her through every lesson, every mistake, every argument, and every dream they had shared.

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Chapter Opened Sirty Three

She was not merely the woman promised to him. She was the other half of his heart. The one person who could calm the darkness inside him. The only person whose voice could pull him back when his magic became too strong. Even if his power never answered hers, Gideon would still choose her.

Every day. Every lifetime Agatha was his. She had always been his. And he was hers. At least, that was what he had always believed.

Gideon dressed quickly and left his home before anyone else had awakened. The cold morning air struck his face as he stepped outside, but he barely noticed it. His pace was fast and determined as he crossed the village.

The path to Agatha’s house was familiar. He had walked it countless times. As a boy, he had raced there at sunrise to convince her to sneak away from their lessons. As a young man, he had visited with flowers or herbs she might use in her healing potions. In recent years, he had gone there knowing that one day it would become his home as well.

Their home. The place where they would raise their children. The place where their joined bloodlines would begin.

But as he approached the house that morning, something felt wrong. Very wrong. The front door stood open. Agatha’s mother was crying. Gideon heard her sobs before he even stepped inside. His chest tightened. He entered without knocking.

Agatha’s parents were in the main room. Her mother sat in a chair, bent forward, both hands covering her face. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably as her husband stood beside her, one hand resting helplessly on her back.

Agatha was nowhere in sight. Gideon’s pulse quickened. He scanned the room again, expecting her to appear from the hallway. She did not.

“What is going on?” he demanded.

Both of her parents looked toward him. Agatha’s mother cried harder. Gideon’s fear sharpened.

“Where is Agatha?”

Her mother’s lips trembled.

“Gideon…”

She tried to speak, but another sob broke through. He stepped closer.

“What happened?”

His voice rose.

“Is she hurt?”

Neither of them answered quickly enough. His magic stirred beneath his skin. The candles in the room flickered.

“Is Agatha all right?” he asked again. “Did something happen to her?”

Agatha’s father looked at him with a grim expression. For a moment, the older man seemed unable to

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Chapter Ope+rved Sixty Three

form the words. Then he finally spoke

“Agatha is gone.”

Gideon stared at him.

“Gone?”

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