Chapter 3

The storm didn't stop. I walked back to the castle in the rain, hoping the downpour would clear my head. It didn't. It only made my thoughts heavier, my body more sluggish. The moment I reached my room, I heard Silas' low voice coming from next door. He chanted the Birth Hymn in the ancient wolf language, a blessing for the unborn pup. My head throbbed as I made it inside. My throat seared with pain. As soon as I shut the door, a violent wave of dizziness hit me. I staggered and grabbed the wall just in time to keep from collapsing. "Nova! You're burning up!" My wolf panicked inside me. Werewolves rarely got sick, unless both body and mind had already been pushed to the brink. Cold sweat soaked through my already drenched clothes, sticking unpleasantly to my skin. It felt like fine needles were stabbing between my bones. My temples pulsed with pain. "Water…" I rasped. My voice was so shredded I could barely hear it myself. It drowned beneath the gentle voices next door. "Alpha, I hope the pup's eyes turn out like yours. They're so beautiful…" Ivy's voice was sweet, cloying. "Your eyes are beautiful, too," Silas chuckled softly. "They're gentle and pure…" I tried to lift myself to reach the water jug, but the fever had sapped all my strength. The crystal pitcher slipped, shattering across the floor. I dropped to my knees to gather the shards. Darkness clouded my vision, my palms cut open, blood mixing with the spilled water. Gritting my teeth, I cleaned up the mess and downed a handful of strong painkillers. All the while, the soft voices next door never stopped. I collapsed back onto the bed, shivering. I remembered the year I became a wolf, at 18. The transformation was excruciating. That day, just like now, I had a fever and had been confined to the isolation ward. I curled up on the bed, feeling like I was going to die. Then I heard the door slam open. Silas barreled in, his clothes torn, blood streaking his hands. Ignoring the doctors' warnings that I might lose control, he strode straight to my bedside and grabbed my hand. "Nova, I'm here," he'd said with teary eyes. "If you hurt, I hurt, too." He said back then that every bone in his body was aching. "And now?" Sage sighed inside my head. "Do his bones still hurt?" I didn't answer. "He's reciting poems for someone else," Sage said coldly. "And you're bleeding." I knew. I closed my eyes. Tears soaked into the pillow. Next door, Silas laughed softly while Ivy was teasing him. My blood slowly seeped into the sheets. My temperature kept climbing. Darkness surged in like a tide. This time, no one would burst through the door for me. "Nova! You're awake!" The next morning, I forced my eyes open. In my blurred vision, Silas' anxious face came into focus. Fear still lingered in his eyes. "You were burning up. Why didn't you call me? Do you know how scared I was when I found you unconscious?" His voice caught. Call you? Through the haze, I thought, "Weren't you busy reciting the Birth Hymn for your precious Ivy and that unborn pup?" "I'm fine." I turned my head away from his hand, my voice hoarse. Silas frowned deeply. "You're unhappy." "I'm not." "I can smell it," he said, leaning down, his warm breath brushing my ear. In the past, that scent had always comforted me, the way it belonged to him. Now, it made me uneasy. "Didn't you always say you wanted to see the northern forest hunting grounds? In a couple of days, I'll take you there to relax." After two days of his careful attention, I was mostly better, just like every time he'd taken care of me over the past ten years. It almost tricked me into thinking everything was normal again. Just then, a faint sound echoed at the bedroom door. Ivy leaned against the frame, long hair draped over her shoulders, her pregnant belly covered by a wool shawl. She glanced over shyly. "Alpha, Luna, are you going to the hunting grounds? "I… I've never seen a real hunt before. I heard there's a waterfall there. It must be beautiful." I turned and walked straight out. I knew Silas too well. He could never refuse a request made like that, especially when it came from the "mother of his pup". Sure enough, just as I stepped outside the castle doors, I heard his resigned sigh behind me. "…Alright. But you have to stay with me the entire time. You're not allowed to leave my sight." I watched as Silas supported Ivy into the car. He personally fastened her safety harness, holding her steady as the car bounced over the road. He'd completely lost sight of the fact that this trip was supposed to be for me, to help me unwind.