Chapter 3

The doors of the North Bay villa stood open.

By the time Evelyn arrived, both floor lamps in the living room were smashed. Adrian knelt before the fireplace, veins bulging in his hands as his fingers shifted between claws and human fingers. His wolf, stirred by the old wound, thrashed beneath his skin in a dark gray blur. Every breath came with a hoarse snarl.

Serena huddled in Helena's arms, her red gown torn. She wasn't hurt, but she cried as if she had barely escaped a wolf's jaws. Evelyn had run all the way there, and her right leg was almost numb. She leaned against the doorframe, checked Adrian's constricted pupils, and caught the bitter, scorched scent that came from a wolf out of control.

"Open all the windows. Everyone outside."

Adrian forced his eyes to focus on her and squeezed one word from his throat. "Medicine."

"The vial you carry won't be enough," Evelyn said. "This isn't a normal backlash."

The pack doctor traveling with Adrian had already given him sedatives. Empty syringes littered the floor. Rosa, the witch, examined the old wound on the back of his neck and shook her head. "His wolf is rejecting medicine from outside his body. There's one option left: transfer some of his pain to another werewolf. It will bring him back to himself for a while, but the person who takes the pain will be seriously hurt. They have to agree to it."

The room went silent.

Helena helped Evelyn into a chair and handed her a cup of warm water. "You look awful. You can't take any more."

The warm cup in her hands gave Evelyn a flicker of hope. She thought they would leave it at that.

But after a moment, her father spoke. "It's just that Adrian won't let anyone else touch him. Your wolf is the most stable. If your body can take it, could you help him one last time?"

Helena added softly that they all felt safest when Evelyn was there.

Those words struck her where she was weakest.

She knew what it would cost, yet warmth still swept through her for a moment. She was ashamed of how easily that warmth came. She looked down until the water in her cup stopped trembling.

"All right," she said. "One last time."

Rosa urged her to reconsider. Evelyn had already pushed up her sleeve, exposing her forearm. "Start."

It reminded her of a night years ago.

She had been home only six months when Adrian first lost control of his wolf at Hart Manor. Serena rushed forward, insisting she would take all his pain. But when Rosa explained the cost, Serena went pale, backed away, and started crying.

Serena clung to Helena's hand. "My wolf is too weak. If I can't hold on, I'll only hurt him. Evelyn survived all those foster homes. She must be tougher than me."

Her parents looked uncertainly at Evelyn, then quickly said no. They couldn't let her suffer. She had been through enough. She shouldn't be hurt again.

Evelyn was afraid. She didn't even know what a pain transfer felt like. She only knew it would solve the family's problem and make them love her more. She wanted their warmth so badly. Because she loved them, she volunteered.

Before the transfer began, Adrian briefly came to his senses. His hair was soaked with sweat, and he looked at her with cold, distant eyes. "Don't misunderstand. This is treatment. It doesn't mean I accept the mate bond."

When the pain poured into her, Evelyn clenched her teeth and never cried out in front of anyone. Afterward, her mother made her soup to help her recover, her father sat by her bed until her fever broke, and Adrian stayed at her bedside all night. He said nothing about love, but he held the cup while she drank half a glass of water.

She naively believed that if they always needed her, one day that need would turn into love.

"Evelyn, look at me." Rosa's voice pulled her back. "You can still refuse."

She looked up at Adrian, who was still fighting his wolf. He didn't beg her or tell her to stop.

"Begin."

Rosa placed a hand on each of their shoulders. There was no elaborate ritual, only one last check that Evelyn had agreed to it. A second later, the pain churning inside Adrian poured through their joined hands into Evelyn's bones like molten iron.

Her back stiffened, and she nearly fell off the chair. The dormant silver flared to life. The pain went deeper than flesh. Fire seemed to scrape through her marrow over and over. Something hot and metallic rose in her throat, and her mouth filled with the taste of blood. She held on.

Adrian's breathing slowed. His eyes returned to their usual dark gray.

Just then, the door opened. Serena stood there, tears streaking her face. "Every time something happens, you shut me out. Evelyn, do you only feel like his mate when he's at his weakest?

"I'm just scared." Serena looked at Adrian. "You promised you'd make me Luna. But every time he's in pain, he calls for her. Are you two hiding something? I knew it. I knew I was the one who didn't belong!"

"We're hiding nothing." Adrian took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. "There's nothing between us except the treatment. Go back to your room."

Without Adrian to support her, Evelyn's elbow struck the corner of the table. He came back only after someone had led Serena away. Seeing the cold sweat on Evelyn's forehead, he picked up a towel to wipe it away and dimmed the harsh light.

Those small, familiar gestures still stirred something in her.

A little hope remained. If he asked where it hurt, just once, she would tell him everything.

"Don't let Serena get the wrong idea about tonight." Adrian set down the towel. "I accept your help because your remedies and your wolf are the best match for me. I feel only the duty that comes with our bond."

Evelyn watched him for a long moment. Then she lowered her head and coughed. A fleck of dark blood landed in her palm. She quickly closed her hand so he wouldn't see.

Never mind.

Her parents came in. Adrian was stable now. Helena hugged Evelyn, and Marcus looked at her with relief. "After the birthday party, we'll turn the study on the ground floor into a new workroom for you. Those attic stairs are hard on you. You'll be more comfortable."

Once, a promise like that would have made Evelyn happy for a long time.

"There's no need," she said.

"Why not? Isn't making remedies what you love most?"

"I won't need one anymore."

Marcus assumed she was sulking.

Before leaving for Black Pine, Evelyn wrote a care manual for Adrian's next episode. It included the dosages, what to avoid, and what to do in an emergency. She left it where he couldn't miss it in his car.

Adrian flipped through a few pages and frowned. "Did you write all this to make me admit I can't manage without you?"

"No."

"Then why do it now?"

She pressed the book back into his hands. "Because you should have learned this a long time ago."