Chapter 4

EVIE

The moon had risen four times since Lucian last slammed the door behind him.

Four days.

Four nights.

And not once did he come back.

I stopped counting hours after the second day. I only knew time passed by the shifting square of light on the wall. Sometimes gold, sometimes silver but it was always out of reach.

And always, there was the burning.

It started slow like a fever. Then it grew. Crept down my spine. Coiled under my skin. My muscles felt wrong. Tight. Like something inside was expanding and my body couldn’t hold it.

I couldn't stop shaking. My skin stung like it was trying to tear itself open. My heart wouldn't slow down. I barely ate. Everything tasted like ash. My throat was too raw to swallow, and water did nothing but make me throw up bile.

And I was alone.

Except for Ronan.

He never asked if he could come in—just knocked, then entered quietly. Left water. A little food. A folded blanket. He didn’t touch me. Didn’t ask questions. But sometimes… I caught him watching me like he was afraid I might die before morning.

I almost did.

But Lucian didn’t come.

Not until the fifth night.

And by then, something inside me had already snapped.

I was crouched on the floor near the window, arms wrapped around my knees, forehead pressed to the cool glass. I don’t know how long I’d been there. Hours, maybe. Breathing in shallow gasps, trying not to scream.

Everything hurt.

Everything.

Even my teeth.

I felt it before I heard him.

Lucian.

His scent hit me like a wave. Smoke and cedar and that maddening heat that creeped under my skin like a breath. And I hated how fast my body reacted. How my skin buzzed. How my breath hitched even through the pain.

The door creaked.

I didn’t move.

“You came to take me home?” I whispered. My voice didn’t sound like mine. It was raspy. Weak. Barely more than a breath.

He stepped closer and I could feel him watching me and when he spoke, his voice was low. Almost guilty.

“You’re burning up.”

“No shit.” I coughed. Laughed. Cried. I wasn’t sure which. “Where the hell have you been?”

He didn’t answer. I turned, dragging my body upright by the wall, legs trembling.

“You left me to die,” I said. “You knew this was coming. You knew—”

“I had to let it happen,” he said quietly. “You had to come into it on your own.”

“Bullshit!” I screamed, my knees giving out. I slammed into the floor, crying out as my body spasmed. “It hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts—”

Lucian was beside me in an instant, catching me before I collapsed completely.

His arms were around me as he held me tightly. His breath near my ear. “I know, little wolf. I know.”

“Don’t call me that,” I gasped, thrashing in his grip. “I’m not your—I don’t want to be—”

“You are, Evie. You’ve always been. It was sleeping until now.”

I clawed at his shirt, sobbing into his chest. “Make it stop. Please. Please, Lucian, I’m begging you. I don’t want to feel this anymore.”

He held me tighter. “I’d take it if I could,” he murmured like he cared. “I swear to the fucking moon, I would burn in your place.”

My fingers curled into him. “I’m scared.”

His voice cracked. “I know.”

Another wave hit me. Sharp, blistering pain rolled through my spine. I screamed and nearly bit my tongue. My back arched violently, and Lucian caught me before I hit the ground again.

He lifted me into his arms. My body trembled uncontrollably. He carried me out the room, down the stairs, and into the cold night.

The wind bit at my burning skin, but it was the first relief I’d felt in days. Lucian moved like he’d done this before. Quiet. Fast. Focused.

In the clearing, he knelt with me still in his arms.

“I need to strip you down,” he said softly, his breath warm against my temple. “Your body can’t shift in clothes.”

I wanted to fight. Wanted to scream at him. Wanted to tell him not to touch me. But I didn’t have it in me.

He was careful. Gentle. Not like someone undressing me, but like someone unwrapping a wound. He peeled the sweat-drenched fabric from my skin with soft fingers, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might crack.

I lay there, naked in his arms, shaking so hard I couldn’t see straight. The wind whipped through the trees. The moon stared down like it was waiting.

Lucian held me close, whispering things I couldn’t understand. Maybe in another language. Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. His hand stroked my back, soothing and firm.

Then it hit.

A blinding burst of pain tore through my chest. My scream shattered the air. My nails dug into his arm, drawing blood.

“Make it stop!” I sobbed, writhing in his grip. “Please—I can’t—I can’t take it—”

Lucian rocked me, face pulled tightly. “I’m sorry, Evie.”

“I’m dying!”

“No. You’re shifting.”

My bones snapped.

Not one. Not clean.

A deep, brutal crack like my spine was breaking in half. I screamed so loud it echoed off the trees.

Lucian held me tighter.

“Shh, Evie, hold on. Just hold on to me.”

But I couldn’t. The pain swallowed everything.

My voice cracked. And then, one final scream as the fire ripped through me—

And everything went black.