Strangers

My pup, Ronan Ironwood, tore himself away from Tala Brightfield's arms and ran over to me. He yelled, "Get up and cook for me, Mom! I'm starving!"

I wanted to reach out and hold Ronan, but I was dead.

The moment Magnus Ironwood stepped through the front door, he caught the scent of meat and frowned. "Stop throwing a tantrum and get up to cook, Maeve Nightshade. Ronan is starving. He spent the whole trip home saying he missed your meat stew."

I lay slumped over the couch, still clutching the new sweater I had just knitted for Ronan.

Magnus continued, "Are you letting him starve just to spite me?"

When he saw me curled up and completely motionless on the couch—seemingly nothing but skin and bones—the impatience in his eyes slowly gave way to a trace of complicated emotion, almost like pity.

Tala considerately spoke up and told Ronan, "Your mom's asleep, sweetie. Let's not wake her up. Shall I make you something delicious in a while?"

Magnus gave her an approving look. He knew I could no longer heal with moonlight. My body had turned so weak that he finally gave up trying to wake me up.

After returning to our bedroom to grab a blanket, he gently draped it over my body.

"Your health is getting worse, Maeve. Don't stay up waiting for us if you're not feeling well, and don't push yourself to make meat stew either."

My heart throbbed painfully.

He stared at my face and reached out to stroke my cheek, but Ronan started screaming with hunger from the side. In the end, he had no choice but to pull his hand back.

After rolling up his sleeve, he headed for the kitchen and told Tala, "Stay with Ronan and play with him. I'll make dinner."

In the past, Magnus always claimed he was too busy managing pack affairs to cook. But now, he was telling Tala to rest while he made dinner himself.

I had stayed in the kitchen, reheating the meat stew over and over until finally, I didn't even have the strength to turn off the stove.

When Magnus entered the kitchen, he saw that the stew in the pot had boiled dry, and the meat was charred to the bottom. He turned off the flame and shot an impatient glance at the ruined meat in the pot.

"This is ridiculous. How did you even manage to let a pot of stew burn dry?"

He summoned Ronan into the kitchen and asked for his favorite dish, so Tala and I were the only ones left in the living room.

A vicious glint flashed in her eyes as she threw my favorite vase off the table, shattering it onto the floor. Then, she slammed her forehead into the cabinet.

Hearing the crash in the living room, Magnus and Ronan rushed out and looked at Tala with deep concern.

She held her injured forehead as tears rolled down her cheeks, drop by drop.

"I just wanted to replace Luna Maeve's fresh flowers to cheer her up, Alpha Magnus. But she suddenly lost her temper, threw the vase at me, and shoved me toward the cabinet!

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have upset her or come here," she sobbed in an aggrieved voice.

Seeing the shattered vase fueled Magnus' rage. That vase was a gift he had given me, so how could I just throw it away and treat Tala this way?

He stared at me as I lay there unresponsive, and the longer he looked at me, the angrier he grew. What little pity he had for me turned into irritation.

"What's wrong with you now, Maeve? Tala is so kind, and yet you hurt her in our home!"

I couldn't get up to explain that I hadn't done it.

Ronan started throwing a tantrum and screaming, "I'm hungry! I want to eat! I want meat stew!"

Magnus was about to drag me up to cook, but when he saw how skeletal and frail I was as I lay on the couch, he sighed.

"Forget it. I'll take you both out to eat. We can't count on her anyway."

Before leaving, he pulled a small vial out of his pocket and set it on the table alongside a moonstone necklace. Then, he placed a stack of cash right by my hand.

"Take this money and buy whatever you feel like eating. Stop forcing yourself to cook since you aren't feeling well."

Then, he helplessly added, "I had to beg the healer for ages to get this potion. Take it the second you wake up. Don't let it go to waste.

"Just take your medicine so you'll feel better. Stop looking like you're dying every time I see you. I still have to handle pack affairs, and I'm completely exhausted."

"The healer mentioned that an antidote should be ready soon. You'll get better once you take it."

My hand passed straight through Magnus' body, unable to touch him at all. He had no idea that I didn't survive long enough to see that antidote.

Out of habit, Magnus reached out his hand to pat my head. As long as he came into contact with my skin, he would realize that my body was ice-cold.

But his movement was cut short by Tala's sudden shriek. "My head hurts so much, Alpha Magnus! Is something wrong with my brain?"

Magnus immediately pulled his hand back and rushed over to check on her wounds, leaning in close to her forehead.

"I'll take you to the healer. Let's make sure it doesn't leave a scar," he said in a voice full of distress.

The door slammed shut, and the world plunged into absolute silence.

The potion Magnus had begged the healer for lay by my body, but it was too late for me.