5. Chapter

Rowan’s POV

The mountain is never quiet at night.

People think snow swallows sound—but that’s complete bullshit. Snow reflects it. Every soft crunch, every distant growl, the groaning trees in the icy wind… and of course, my own thoughts, which were snarling far too loudly in my skull.

I stood on watch outside the cabin, arms crossed, staring into the dark forest. The wolf under my skin paced restlessly, clawing, growling, refusing to settle. I was angry.

At myself.

At the girl.

At fate.

At everything.

What the fuck did you do, Rowan? You brought home a stranger. A girl you can’t seem to pull yourself away from.

Snow drifted quietly, sparkling in the moonlight. The air was sharp, colder than during the day. It didn’t bother me. Cold was home. Warmth was the problem.

Specifically, the warmth she brought into the house.

Caroline.

My whole damn body tightened just thinking her name.

Her sarcastic, sharp little mouth. Her eyes—fragile and fierce all at once. And the reckless courage it took to mouth off to an Alpha like she didn’t give a shit who I was.

I could still hear her voice, hissing up at me from the bed:

“You saved the wrong girl, alpha boy.”

She unsettled me.

She irritated me.

And she stirred something else in me—something I refused to name.

The night’s brittle silence shattered with quick, frantic footsteps crunching through the snow.

Myra.

She reached me out of breath—something almost unheard of. Myra didn’t pant. Myra didn’t rush. Myra didn’t panic. If she was running, something was wrong.

“Rowan,” she said sharply, and I straightened instantly. “There’s a problem.”

“What is it?” I asked, already stepping past her into the house.

“The girl. Her fever… it’s spiked. Fast. It’s dangerous now.”

I froze.

Just for a single second.

But that was enough for the wolf inside me to roar.

Go! NOW! She’s in danger!

“How dangerous?” I asked, voice rougher and deeper than I meant.

“Forty-three degrees,” Myra said grimly. “That’s not a normal fever. Her body is reacting too quickly to something I can’t identify. She’s trembling, coughing, she can’t get enough air. If we don’t cool her down, this could end badly.”

My throat tightened.

No. No. No.

I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

When the hell had that become true?

Why the fuck did it matter this much?

“What do we need to do?” I asked.

Myra hesitated—a tiny, rare flicker of uncertainty that was basically a siren of impending disaster.

“Rowan… she needs an ice bath.”

I stopped dead.

“What?” I hissed. “You want to freeze her?”

“The girl isn’t normal,” Myra said quietly but urgently. “Her body doesn’t work like a human’s. Her temperature is too high. She needs a shock to survive. If we don’t cool her immediately, she won’t make it.”

I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles cracked.

Ice water.

The cold nearly killed her once already, and you want to throw her back into it?

The wolf inside me screamed, claws sinking deep into my ribs.

Don’t allow it! It’ll hurt her! Don’t let them!

Myra stepped closer, tone firm:

“Rowan, this is her only chance. If the fever holds, her body will crash. If we cool her, she might pull through. But we have to act now.”

Breathe.

Fuck, Rowan, breathe.

I knew she was right.

I knew there was no other way.

And yet… the thought of the girl shivering in my arms, suffering, in pain—because of something I let happen—triggered something ancient and furious inside me.

“Fine,” I said at last. “Prepare the tub.”

Myra nodded and sprinted back inside.

I followed her.

⸻

The large wooden tub was in the back room of the cabin—carved deep, used only for warm baths. Never cold ones. But now Myra and two wolves were hauling in buckets of snow and ice water, breaking frozen layers, dumping frigid water into the tub.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

The door to Caroline’s room was slightly ajar. I stepped through.

She lay curled on the bed, her body fighting itself. Her chest rose and fell far too fast. Sweat plastered her hair to her forehead. Her lips were a flushed, alarming red. Her eyelids fluttered with every labored breath.

And her body… radiated heat.

I could feel it from across the room. The fever scorched the air.

The wolf inside me went wild:

She’s dying. Do something. Take her away. Protect her.

I moved closer and touched her shoulder.

She was burning.

Caroline let out a low, broken sound—half pain, half plea. It tore through me like claws.

“Hey,” I murmured, my chest tightening for reasons I refused to acknowledge. “Can you hear me?”

Slowly—painstakingly slowly—her eyes opened.

Her gaze was hazy, unfocused, but alive.

And even like this, she managed a smartass comment:

“Why… are you staring like that? Am I dying, or are you just… bored?”

My lips twitched.

For once, I almost smiled.

“Shut up,” I said instead. “I’m trying to keep you alive. It’s plenty of entertainment for one night.”

“Shame…” she whispered. “Thought you’d enjoy me being… quiet.”

“You’re not quiet. You’re wheezing,” I snapped. “And you’re burning up.”

“Yeah… I noticed…” She shuddered. “What’s happening to me?”

I didn’t answer.

Myra did.

“We’re cooling you down, sweetheart. This is going to hurt.”

Caroline’s eyes widened, snapping to me.

“What?”

“No,” she breathed. “Cold… not that. Please…”

And there it was.

The fear.

The exact fear that made the wolf inside me howl.

Don’t let them. Don’t put her in the water. NO.

I took Caroline’s hand.

The way I’d never held anyone’s.

“Listen to me,” I said softly but with command beneath every word. “I’m here. You won’t go into that water alone. I’ll hold your hand. I won’t let you go.”

She blinked up at me.

Frightened.

Distrustful.

But somehow… calmer.

“You promise…?” she whispered.

The wolf roared:

Swear it! NOW!

“Yes,” I said. “I promise.”

Caroline exhaled shakily and closed her eyes.

Myra nodded.

“It’s time.”

The water in the tub stood still—no steam, no warmth. Just brutal, merciless cold. Snowflakes still floated on the surface.

I lifted the girl into my arms.

She was light. Far too light.

Her body trembled violently from fever, and I could feel the heat radiating off her skin.

As we approached the tub, my heart pounded so hard it hurt. The wolf inside me snarled, raged, begged.

Don’t let them put her in! Take her back! Protect her!

But there was no choice.

With a surge of fury and something like grief, I lowered her slowly, carefully, into the ice-cold water.

Caroline screamed.

Not loud—

but in a way that split me in half.

And in that moment…

my heart

cracked.