Chapter 7

"I want to sever the Mate Bond." I looked into Cain's eyes and repeated it, word by word.

Cain's tall frame went stiff.

There was no anger on his face—only the raw, ugly look of someone who'd been struck deep.

The room was deathly silent. After a long time, he slowly rose from the chair.

"You're just lashing out, Wren." He deliberately kept his voice low.

I looked at him coldly. It was almost laughable.

"Once you've calmed down, you'll understand that the choice I made today was absolutely right." He continued in that tone of absolute certainty.

"Vivienne's hand could not be sacrificed. She's the key to whether your mother ever wakes up."

"I couldn't not save her. Do you understand?"

I stayed silent. I didn't want to say another word to him.

Cain took a piece of moonlight amber from his pocket and set it gently on my nightstand.

"Keep this. It'll help your damaged wolf recover."

He turned and walked toward the door.

His hand gripped the handle. His steps faltered for a moment, but he didn't look back.

"Heal well."

The door closed.

The day I was discharged, I didn't tell anyone.

I went straight to the critical care ward at the healing center to see Ethan and Iris.

The silver toxin had destroyed Ethan's nerves. He was completely paralyzed in all four limbs.

Iris remained in a deep coma.

They'd been placed in the same room.

I pushed open the door and stopped dead.

A woman in a healer's white robe stood with her back to me at Iris's bedside, doing something quickly with her hands.

Vivienne.

I glanced at the wolf-spirit monitor beside the bed. The machine had been switched to silent mode.

Vivienne was holding a syringe, forcing a dark purple liquid into Iris's IV line.

"What are you doing!" I shouted and lunged at her.

I seized Vivienne's wrist and wrenched her away.

The syringe shattered on the floor.

"What the hell are you injecting into my mother!" I glared at her.

Vivienne was startled, but the moment she realized it was me, the panic vanished from her eyes.

A cold, satisfied smile crept across her lips.

"Did you really think your mother couldn't wake up just because of the wolfsbane aftereffects?" she said in a low voice.

My blood turned to ice.

"I come give her a booster shot every week." She looked at me with contempt.

"As long as she's alive, I carry the reputation of being the healer who ruined someone."

"Only when she's dead and gone can this whole thing finally be put to rest."

I was shaking from head to toe. I raised my hand and slapped her across the face with every ounce of strength I had.

The crack echoed through the room.

Vivienne shrieked and crashed to the floor, clutching her face.

Rapid footsteps sounded at the door.

Cain appeared in the doorway.

He immediately saw Vivienne on the floor crying, and my clenched fist.

"She was injecting something into my mother! She's trying to kill her!" I pointed at Vivienne and shouted.

Cain's gaze dropped to the shattered glass on the floor, then snapped back to Vivienne with a deep frown.

"I didn't... I was just doing a routine check on Iris, adjusting her dosage..." Vivienne wept pitifully.

"The Luna came in and hit me without even asking..."

She crawled up and shrank into Cain's arms, trembling.

"My face hurts so much, Cain..." She pressed her swollen cheek against his chest.

"I know the Luna doesn't like me, but I was just trying to help... If you don't believe me, test that liquid. It's just standard wolf-spirit nutrient solution!"

Cain looked down at the shattered vial on the floor.

The dark liquid had already seeped into the cracks between the tiles. There was no way to identify it.

"Wren, you do this every single time." Cain raised his head and fixed me with a hard stare.

"Have you ever considered that maybe you're wrong about her again?"

I stared at him in disbelief.

"Vivienne comes every week to adjust your mother's medication. Instead of thanking her, you attack her on sight?" Cain's voice was thick with disappointment.

"I'm wrong about her? She just confessed to my face that she's been trying to kill Iris!" I shouted.

Cain turned to look at Vivienne in his arms.

Vivienne shook her head frantically, tears streaming harder.

"I never said that! I swear I never said anything like that!"

Cain closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he'd made his decision.

"Yesterday you were screaming about severing the Mate Bond. Today, the moment you're discharged, you come here and assault Vivienne." Cain looked at me coldly.

"Wren, I think your mental state has been extremely unstable lately."

He turned to Vivienne, his tone gentle. "Do you know a shaman who specializes in psychological trauma?"

Vivienne nestled obediently against him and nodded.

"I know a very good one. He can help the Luna."

"Arrange it immediately." Cain gave the order.

"I'm not insane! I don't need some goddamn shaman!" I backed away.

But Cain waved to the guards outside.

Two burly guards rushed in and locked their arms around mine.

"Let go of me! Cain, she's a murderer!" I fought with everything I had.

Cain didn't look at me again.

I was dragged from the room. The heavy iron door slammed shut in my face.