เข้าสู่ระบบNolan’s POVI left the hospital before I said something I’d regret.I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving. I slipped out the side door, past the gardens, and as soon as I was clear of the buildings, I started running.‘She lied to us,’ my wolf snarled. ‘For two weeks, she looked right at us every morning and lied.’‘I know,' I said. I thought about how many times she looked conflicted in the past two weeks. I knew something was wrong, but I never questioned it. She played me like a fool.‘We slept next to her every night for two weeks, thinking Leslie could save her because she let us believe it.’‘Yeah. I know. You don’t have to keep telling me. I was right there with you.’At the edge of the trees, I shifted and let my wolf take control. I couldn’t handle being human another minute. Being human meant thinking, and thinking meant remembering that hospital room.He ran full speed, not caring about branches scratching us or the thick brush in our path. Even the stream’s steep bank didn’t
Talia’s POV“Talia, tell me what is going on,” Nolan demanded.I opened my mouth, ready to say it was fine, but Leslie cut in before I could. "The herbs just slow things down in the beginning," she admitted, fidgeting nervously. "They don’t actually fix anything. Eventually, they’ll stop helping."Nolan’s face furrowed, and he looked between all of us, staring at us in disbelief. "So you’ve all been lying to me? Is that why you kept saying she’d be okay?"‘I told you we should have told him,’ my wolf scolded. ‘Explain it to him now!’I reached for his arm, needing to close the space between us. "Nolan, I just wanted to protect you. I didn’t want you to lose hope."He pulled away from me, his face hardening. "Were you protecting me, or just avoiding telling me the truth? Why didn’t you just tell me? Why make me think there was hope?"His anger faded. He just looked hurt. His shoulders slumped, and all the fight left him. "You should have told me, Talia.”"I’m sorry," I said quietly. "I
Talia’s POVI jolted awake, screaming.White light made it hard to see. I flailed around until hands gripped my shoulder, holding me in place. "Talia, look at me. Focus on me. You’re okay.”Nolan’s voice brought me back. My hands and body kept shaking, filled with restless energy I couldn’t control. Finally, Nolan’s face came into focus above me. “Nolan?”"There you are. It’s okay. You’re safe,” Nolan said as he cupped my face.I tried to sit up, but my arms felt weak and heavy. Nolan helped me sit up.Solon stood at the end of the bed, looking concerned. “Thank the Goddess you’re awake,” he said. “You scared us, Talia.”Leslie was to the right of me, checking my pulse. "The dosage was too much. It was a gamble I shouldn't have taken. I'm sorry, Talia.""What happened?" I croaked as my throat burned."You started screaming a couple of hours after you fell asleep; you started yelling like something was hurting you,” Nolan explained. “You were so hot to the touch, and I couldn’t wake
Talia’s POV“We’ll double your dose tonight,” Leslie said. “Just for tonight, take twice as much as usual, both times, and get to bed early.”“Is that safe? For them, I mean.”“It’s safer than the alternative. The herbs help slow down what the babies take from you. If they’re going to take more tonight, the tonic has to be stronger too. It’s the best we can do with the time we have.”That night, I drank the double dose, just like Leslie said. It tasted even worse than usual. Nolan sat on my bed and watched me finish the second cup, trying not to laugh.“Don’t even start,” I warned him.“What? I didn’t say anything.”“You were about to. I can see it all over your face.”“I wish I could show you what you look like. Your face is priceless,” Nolan said as he took the cup from me and offered me ice cream. “Like a kid forced to eat vegetables.”“It tastes like swamp water. Like Leslie boiled something dead in a swamp,” I said. I ate the ice cream, glad for the sweetness that finally covered
Talia’s POVTwo weeks passed without any trouble.I took Leslie’s herbs every morning and night, just like she told me to. Nolan kept buying ice cream, more than I could ever finish, but it never got rid of the bitter taste. He walked me to the hospital for checkups every day. Leslie checked me over and told Nolan everything was normal.“Their growth has slowed,” Leslie reported at the end of the first week.“By how much?” Nolan asked.“Enough that I’d have to measure twice to be sure I wasn’t imagining it,” Leslie replied.By the second week, Nolan relaxed even more. He started going to Solon’s office in the mornings instead of walking me to the hospital. He worked through the pack requests that had piled up while I was away, sending most of them back with answers before I even saw them.Every time I saw him happy, I felt guilty for lying, but not enough to tell him the truth. I told myself I was keeping quiet to spare him worry, to give him these days of peace, and because I was sca
Talia’s POVNolan’s voice was sharper than normal when he turned to Leslie, his eyes searching for answers. A chill ran through me, and my muscles tightened. If Nolan figured us out, I didn’t know how I would explain not telling him. ‘Good. Better that he knows now than later,’ my wolf said, and I ignored her. Leslie looked up from her open book and glared at Nolan. “Nolan, I need you to relax. My memory has been all over the place lately. The pregnancy symptoms are hitting me pretty hard. Lots of headaches, and I’m tired all the time.”"I don't understand how you can't remember," Nolan responded. "Sometimes I can't even remember what I had for breakfast. Do you think I'm hiding something?" Leslie snapped.Nolan’s frown deepened. Before he could say anything else, Solon stepped in. “Nolan, you need to be patient. Leslie’s going through a lot right now, and this has been stressful on all of us.”Nolan finally seemed to calm down. “Both of you are right. I’m sorry, Leslie. I didn’t m







