Chapter 5

Chapter 5

AURORA'S POV

Asher's forehead was still hot beneath my palms four hours later, despite all the drugs I had given him.

I pulled the thermometer I had placed behind his left ear and watched the numbers climb from 0° to 102°.

“Does anything hurt, sweetheart?” I asked, pressing my fingers against his neck to check for any swollen glands.

But there was nothing.

Even when I listened to his lungs and examined his throat, it was clear.

I had been watching him closely since my rebirth, so I had no idea how the strange sickness had managed to come back.

"No, Mommy.”

Asher's voice was small and weak.

Every test I had run kept coming back normal, and his body showed no signs of infection or inflammation.

There was no reason whatsoever for this fever, but the thermometer couldn't lie.

“I'll get you some medicine,” I stood and headed for the kitchen for the medicine kit, but Asher whimpered.

“Where are you going?”

“Nowhere baby. I'll just get your medicine and be right back. I promise.”

“Don't leave,” His eyes filled with tears, “Please don't leave me mummy.”

My heart clenched but I turned and left anyway to retrieve the children's fever reducer.

I measured out the proper dose and took it back to Asher, who reluctantly swallowed it, his small face scrunching with distaste.

“It's bitter,” he complained.

"Well done," I said, patting his head as a knock sounded at the door.

Seraphina entered the room with a glass of water and a concerned expression.

“I heard Asher crying. Is he alright?”

“He has a fever,” I kept my voice neutral, “It is nothing serious.”

“Poor baby.”

I held back a retort.

“Water please,” Asher called out.

Seraphina crossed to the bed and held out the glass of water to him.

“Here, sweetheart. This will help the medicine go down.”

Asher took the glass and drank.

I watched with suspicion as his body instantly relaxed, the tension leaving his small shoulders.

When he handed the empty glass back to Seraphina, he was smiling at her.

Something felt wrong to me.

“Thank you, Sera.”

“Do you feel better?” She asked softly.

He nodded, “I feel stronger!”

He flaunted his muscles.

I felt uneasy because I was sure the fever medicine hadn't had time to work yet but somehow the water Seraphina brought had made him feel better instantly.

I remembered this moment.

It was something similar from my previous life, which I had dismissed as a child seeking comfort from a kind woman.

Now I saw it for what it was.

This was precisely how it started before.

My mind went back to the purple shimmers in Alaric's eyes, the charm in Seraphina's room.

The puzzle began to fall into place, and I realized with horror that Seraphina had only come here to corrupt my entire family with her dark magic or perhaps I was tripping.

“I need to head out. I'll be back soon. Could you please watch him for me?” I asked her.

Seraphina smiled, “Of course I can. Take your time.”

I grabbed my jacket alongside my car keys and headed out of the house.

The library of the Shadowpine's pack clinic smelled of moldy papers and dust.

I surrounded myself with ancient texts and medical journals in the search for answers I prayed I wouldn't come to find.

It would mean that I might have been wrong about so much crap.

“Aurora?” Lyra's voice made me jump.

I found her standing in the doorway with her arms crossed under her bosom.

“You have been in here for three hours. What are you looking for?”

I stared at the open book in front of me.

The page showed illustrations of various magical symbols, the same symbols I had seen on Seraphina's carved charm.

“Do you know anything about illnesses that aren't really illnesses?” I asked slowly. “That might be magical?”

Lyra's expression shifted from concerned to serious as she closed the library door and pulled up a chair beside me.

“Why are you asking?”

“Asher has a fever with no single medical explanation for it, and it all started right after Seraphina set foot in my home.”

“So?”

I met her eyes, “You're going to think I am crazy.”

“Try me.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled before I began telling her everything I knew about the dark magic except the rebirth.

I spoke of Seraphina's convenient timing in my home and the carved charms pulsing with the strange energy.

Not only that, but I didn't forget to mention Asher's immediate comfort from Seraphina's presence or the purple shimmer in Alaric's eyes.

Lyra listened without interrupting and when I was finished, she sat back in her chair with a relaxed look and exhaled slowly.

“Do you believe me?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes at me, “I have a contact who specializes in detecting supernatural manipulation,” she started to say.

Joy rippled through every part of me at her words, “She will be able to test for magical residue if you provide items.”

“But Aurora.”

I turned to her.

“If you're wrong about this, people will think you are just a paranoid, jealous Luna.”

“I know.”

My hands shook as I closed the book.

“But I need to know for sure.”

“Bring me samples… hair, clothing, or simply anything Asher has been in contact with recently.”

Lyra squeezed my shoulder, “We'll figure this out together.”

I returned home to find Seraphina and Alaric, side by side, cooking something that smelled like garlic and herbs.

They didn't notice my presence, and I stood in the doorway watching all of them.

Seraphina said something I couldn't hear, and Alaric threw his head back and laughed.

His hand touched her lower back, just for a moment before he seemed to remember himself and pulled away.

Asher was sitting at the counter with his fever-bright amber eyes watching both of them with adoration.

The laughter died when I stepped into the dining room and cleared my throat.

They turned to me, all of them.

“Aurora,” Alaric's voice carried guilt, “You're home early.”

“I finished my rounds quicker than expected,” I said dismissively dropping my bag on the counter and crossed over to Asher.

His forehead was still hot.

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

"Better, because Sera's here.”

The words, they felt like an arrow, burying themselves straight in my heart.

He worsened it by leaning away from my touch and towards Seraphina.

“She makes me feel safe.”

The words cut deeper than any scalpel, a reminder of my past life.

They had chosen her over me.

I was tempted to scream at him, tell him I was his mother, only me but I held it in, clenching my fists.

“I'm glad she makes you feel better,” I pushed out through gritted teeth.

I forced a smile, “But your fever is still high, and I think we should get you to bed early tonight.”

“I can take him,”Alaric moved toward Asher, “You look exhausted.”

Of course I did.

I had spent the day taking care of a child who picked his father's lover's touch over mine and looking for the cause of whatever was affecting them both in the library but I didn't say that out loud.

“I'll be fine after a rest.”

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“I want Sera to read to me,” Asher said before I could respond.

The sight of him looking up at Seraphina with pleading eyes struck me hard.

“Please? You do the voices better.”

In my previous life, this moment had shattered something in me.

I remembered standing there in this kitchen with tears streaming down my face while my son selected another woman over me.

Now, I simply nodded, “Of course, sweetheart.”

Seraphina's triumphant smile flickered across her face for just a second.

She must have been surprised, but she found her bearings quickly.

“I would be honored,” she told me. “Come on, let's go pick out a good story.”

I watched them leave with Asher's small hand clasped in hers.

The sight broke me.

I swallowed softly and turned to Alaric, who remained in the kitchen.

His expression was unreadable.

“Aurora, I think we should talk about…”

“Not now, Alaric.”

I was about to head out when I saw Asher's medicine lying on the table.

Seraphina had forgotten them.

“Aurora…” he started.

“I need to sleep,” I snapped as I grabbed the medicine, heading for the stairs.

Seraphina's voice drifted through the partially open door, melodic and soothing as I approached the room.

She was reading from Asher's favorite book about dragons and knights but underneath her words, I heard something else, like a whisper in a language I didn't recognize.

There were guttural syllables that made my wolf instantly awaken with warning.

The hairs on my skin stood on end as I felt that suffocating stench of dark magic.

I moved closer, quiet as a mouse, and slowly pushed the door fully open.

Seraphina was sitting on the edge of Asher's bed with the book open in her lap.

She looked up, startled to see me, but composed herself with a smile.

“I am almost done. He's getting sleepy.”

But I had seen it in the split second before she had noticed me.

I saw the faint shimmer of dark purple energy flowing from her fingertips and straight into Asher's forehead.

That was my confirmation.

“Thank you for reading to him,” I kept my voice sweet and light, “I'll take over from here.”

“Of course.”

Seraphina stood and closed the book while touching Asher's cheek gently, “Sweet dreams, little one.”

After she left, I shut the door and began to tuck the blankets around Asher, who was already fast asleep.

But as I ran my hand under his pillow to position it, my fingers touched something small and soft, and I pulled it out.

It turned out to be a tiny sachet made of dark purple fabric, which was tied with black string.

There were herbs stuffed inside that smelled like death.

I pocketed it quickly as a sample for Lyra and kissed Asher's forehead.

“Sleep well, sweetheart.”

Once I confirmed that Seraphina was using dark magic on them, I would destroy her.

And she would never see it coming.