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Chapter 2

Author: Elin
The door opens.

Elias walks in. His face is calm. Unreadable. As if the gentle man I just saw in the hallway was never there.

"You're awake. How do you feel?"

Chloe follows behind him, carrying a thermos. Her cheeks are still damp from crying.

"Wren." She approaches the bed carefully, voice sweet and apologetic. "I'm glad you're awake. I heard you were hurt, so I made some pigeon soup. To help you heal."

I don't want to see her. I want her gone.

But my eyes catch the thermos.

My heart stops.

"That pigeon..." My voice shakes. "Where did it come from?"

Chloe blinks. "After I heard you were hurt, I wanted to make you soup. But the market was closed. I couldn't buy a fresh pigeon. Then I saw one in the back garden. It was beautiful, so I..." She hesitates. "I had the cooks catch it."

The back garden.

The pigeon I raised for ten years. The one that sat with me through every lonely night. My mother's gift.

They killed my pigeon.

Rage explodes through my chest. It burns away every last shred of restraint.

"Chloe." My voice is ice. I push myself up, ignoring the fire tearing through my back. "Do you know that was my pigeon?"

Chloe stumbles back a step. Her eyes fill with tears. "I... I didn't know. Wren, I swear I didn't mean it. I just wanted to be nice to you."

"Enough." Elias steps forward, putting himself between us. He frowns at me. "Wren. It's just a pigeon. Chloe meant well. You don't have to be grateful, but there's no need to lose your temper."

Just a pigeon.

He only sees Chloe's good intentions. Her tears. He can't see my pain. My loss. The thing that mattered most to me.

"Elias." My voice cracks. Raw. Desperate. "That wasn't just a pigeon. My mother left it to me. It was mine for ten years. It meant more to me than either of you ever will."

I grab the thermos--the soup still steaming--and hurl it at Elias.

"Ah--!"

Chloe, standing behind him, lets out a shriek. And then she does something unexpected.

She steps forward. In front of Elias.

The hot soup splashes all over her.

"Chloe!" Elias's face goes white. He catches her as she cries out in pain. His eyes turn cold. Furious. "Wren! Have you lost your mind?"

Chaos.

Elias calls the pack physician.

Dr. Vance examines Chloe's burns. His face is grave.

"Alpha," he says. "The burns are significant. The depth... I'm afraid there may be permanent scarring."

"Scarring?" Chloe's sobs grow louder. "No. I don't want scars. Please, Elias. What do I do?"

Dr. Vance hesitates. "To avoid scarring, there's only one option. A skin graft. But finding a suitable donor on short notice will be difficult."

Chloe's crying pauses. Her eyes dart--nervously, hopefully--to my pale face on the hospital bed.

Elias follows her gaze.

He looks at me.

Silence.

Then he speaks. His voice is flat. Empty of emotion.

"Use Wren's."

I can't breathe.

"You caused the burns. You're responsible." He doesn't blink. "It's just a small piece of skin. It won't affect your health. I know you care about appearances. I know you hate pain. I'll compensate you afterward."
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