My stay at the hospital was… eye-opening.Not because of the cold walls or the steady beeping of machines, but because it revealed things I hadn’t wanted to see before—about others, about myself, and about what I had truly lost.Cassiel had called me every single chance he got. Like clockwork. Every hour, even if I didn’t pick up. And to be honest, I didn’t always answer. Sometimes I didn’t have the strength to talk. Sometimes I didn’t even have the strength to breathe. But his name lighting up my phone was a small tether to reality, a reminder that someone cared—genuinely, not performatively.Matthias tried to visit once. Only once. And I made it perfectly, painfully clear: no one was allowed into my room unless their name was Meriam, Maxwell, or Cassiel. Period. No exceptions. No “what ifs.” No “please hear me out.” I was done being heard only when it was convenient for someone else.Day one was drowning.Tears came hard and fast. Ugly sobs. I cried until my throat went raw and my f
Aurielle was in pain.Not the kind you could bandage, stitch, or dull with medication. This was deeper—emotional agony that radiated off her like heat from a fire. Her sobs had turned into shallow gasps before she passed out again from sheer exhaustion, and even unconscious, she looked shattered.There wasn’t much I could do. And that alone made me furious. My arms were around her, holding her through the worst of it, but I felt powerless. Useless. I haven’t felt that way in so long, it reminded me of why I became powerful in the first place. To never feel this way again. Aurielle’s grief was gut-wrenching, and it was worse knowing the person responsible for all of this—Matthias—was still walking around untouched.When the nurses arrived, they approached carefully, speaking in soft, clinical voices. They had to sedate her again—her breathing had gone erratic, her pulse jumping. I reluctantly shifted away from the bed, giving them space to work. My hand lingered a second longer on hers
I woke up hours later, cradled against Cassiel’s chest. His hand was resting protectively around my shoulder, the steady rise and fall of his breathing grounding me in the present. His warmth seeped into me, quieting the shaking beneath my skin, but not quite reaching the storm inside.I felt comforted. But not happy. Not really.Not because of him—never because of him. Cassiel was a quiet, constant strength. But no amount of comfort could soften what I knew was waiting when I opened my eyes fully.I stayed still for as long as I could, not ready to face it. Pretending—just for a few minutes more—that maybe none of it had happened. That I was just tired. That I would feel better after water, a nap, a conversation. I wanted to fight someone, wanted to scream but i also wanted to feel like nothing had changed. That maybe i was just having one of those really bad dreams. But reality came creeping in, slow and brutal.Cassiel was awake. I could feel the gentle movement of his hand as he
Watching Cassiel disappear into Aurielle’s room did something to me. Something deep. Something I didn’t know how to name. It felt like something was being severed, stripped out of me—not just emotionally, but physically. My headache came back in full force, like someone had cracked open my skull and was pressing hot iron into the bone. My chest ached too, low and tight and strange, like a pressure I couldn’t shake.My wolf stirred beneath my skin. Restless. Uncomfortable. And then suddenly, it recoiled. Like it was being pulled, tugged away, detached from something—or someone—it once recognized.I instinctively lifted my hand to my chest, my fingers curling over my heart. The tea—the one Aurielle had spit out—had splashed onto my hands and soaked into my shirt. Was that it? Was that what was making me feel like my body was rejecting itself?I turned sharply toward the doctor. “Tell me more about that plant. The Bleeding Bellis. How easy is it to acquire?”From the corner of my eye, I
My office was as routine as ever—cold, efficient, and filled with paperwork that reeked of incompetence. I flipped through another stack of forms, each one more disappointing than the last. Packs from across the territory had sent in their recommendations for liaison betas—candidates I could help and teach how to elevate their own packs and aid their alphas. That was the plan, at least.But the reality?They were sending me their weakest links. Beta after beta with no field experience, no background in administrative leadership, no connection to their alpha or the pack's inner circle. A few were fresh hires who hadn’t even gone through proper trials. Some lacked even basic military discipline. I wasn’t here to babysit. I was offering an opportunity—an actual structure to help stabilize our world—and they responded by treating it like a dumping ground.None of them were worth my time. I know that sounds harsh, but I couldn’t care less. I’m not in the business of handouts.I sighed and
I’m not sure what happened, not entirely. It’s all hazy, warped around the edges like a half-remembered nightmare. One moment, I was bent over the sink, trying to rinse the disgusting, bitter taste from my mouth—the tea clinging to my tongue like ash. Next, there was pain. Real pain. Sharp and sudden, ripping through me from the inside. My stomach had never been in such pain before; it doubled my vision.Suddenly, there were two of everything.I doubled over, the edge of the counter digging into my ribs. A sound—half scream, half sob—ripped out of me before I could stop it. My hands trembled violently as they gripped the sink. I remember clutching my stomach, my knees buckling. Then, the coldness of the tile against my cheek. That’s the last thing.And then—darkness.When I opened my eyes again, I was somewhere sterile and white. The hum of machines, the faint scent of antiseptic. I blinked up at the ceiling lights, blurry halos in my vision, and every inch of me hurt. My limbs felt h