Chapter 20: This New Healer

Maddox POV

Three Years Later

The snow fell heavily at dawn, and Maddox approached Emberclow Castle in his wolf form, leaving the forest behind and walking silently through the snow.

He had spent the entire night hunting; that was what truly gave his days grace. The king nimbly climbed the castle's pillars and gargoyles until he entered his chambers through the window. There, he returned to his human form and washed his face in the basin of warm water in front of the mirror.

Drops of water dripped from his face and hair at forehead level. There was a small wound on his left cheek, made by a deer when it tried to escape death while Maddox's fangs sank into its throat earlier in the forest. His eyes still shone faintly golden from his wolf form a short while ago, the gold slowly fading.

Maddox didn't like mirrors; he avoided them. He didn't want to see his own eyes staring back at him, and feel the guilt that always overwhelmed him; he didn't want to feel like the biggest loser alive again.

He turned away from the mirror to put on his usual clothes. Work in the kingdom awaited him as always; there was no reason to dwell on past situations.

But before attending to the kingdom's matters that awaited him, Maddox needed to go somewhere. When he entered Odette's chambers, he approached slowly.

"How is she?" he asked Odette's maid, who was wiping her face with a damp towel. Odette was lying on her bed, her face pale and sickly, her chest rising and falling slowly.

"She managed to sleep a little, my king," the maid said in a sweet voice.

But Maddox knew that her condition was only getting worse, and if it continued like this, Odette clearly wouldn't survive this winter.

He sighed inaudibly and crouched down beside her. At that moment, Odette opened her eyes and looked at him, her gaze covering her face. "What are you doing?" Her voice was low, but still sharp enough.

"How are you feeling?" Maddox inquired.

"Where is the healer you promised me?" she demanded, her gaze sharp.

"I'm doing everything I can, Odette," the king stammered, but his words were like a meal without salt or seasoning. He was tired of promising something that was practically impossible.

"But you're not trying hard enough," she accused. "You're literally leaving me here to wither and die while you prove yourself useless."

His face was expressionless, but his hands were clenched tightly into fists. He wanted to stop her from insulting him like that, he wanted to take control of the situation and demand the respect he deserved. But how could he do that if he knew he was guilty?

I mean, he was always doing this to Odette, always hurting her because of his curse, and now her legs didn't work anymore and it was still his fault.

A tear trickled down the side of her face, her eyes red with anger. "How can you be so mean to me, Maddox?"

"Odette..."

"I am your Luna, the queen of this all damn kingdom. You promised to give me back the place that was always rightfully mine, but for me to end up bedridden? How can you sleep after what you did to me?" Her voice was choked. She hated Maddox.

"I don't even remember the last time I slept," he confessed, not knowing exactly why he hadn't kept this information to himself like all the others, because he shouldn't show how broken he was, how overwhelmed he was. Ultimately, no one understood him, his subjects didn't understand him, and Odette even less so.

She turned her face away, clearly wanting him to leave. He stood up resignedly and walked towards the exit, but stopped when he heard her words, so low and weak. "For I hope you never get to sleep, I hope you never have peace. I hope the Moon Goddess continues to punish you severely for destroying me."

Maddox stood there with his back to her, those words penetrating his insides like parasites, amplifying the guilt and remorse he felt for himself. He left the room without saying another word.

"A new healer? Are you sure she's really good or is she a charlatan like so many others who tried to take advantage?" Maddox asked suspiciously as he wiped the grease from his hands with a cloth and strode toward the throne room. Since he couldn't stay still, he always needed to find something to do to avoid falling into derogatory thoughts. The broken carriage had been his target that afternoon.

Beta Emrich walked beside him, trying to keep up with the king. He gave a feigned chuckle at Maddox's distrust. "Of course, there's always that chance of it being a fake healer, but I've heard stories about this one, this Hecate... They say she's so powerful she can even raise the dead."

Maddox couldn't hide a laugh at how fake he thought it all was. "I hope that at least this Hecate of yours can lift my spirits," he said, patting his friend on the shoulder and then entering the throne room.

Emrich grinned broadly and ran off to fetch the new healer, and Maddox went to sit on his throne, giving up on at least fixing his hair so he wouldn't look more like a farmer than a king, but he was too out of it for that.

The truth was that Maddox hoped Emrich was right and that this time they had found a healer so powerful that she could heal Odette; if so, then he could be free from this guilt that plagued him.

He played with the blood-red pendant around his neck, as he always did when he was very anxious; he really couldn't wait to feel free again, to get rid of this feeling that was slowly destroying him.

He simply couldn't take it anymore.

It was then that a woman entered, accompanied by Emrich. She had a slender, tall figure, wearing a heavy black velvet overcoat, the hood pulled back, the curls of her black hair falling to her chest. The hood concealed her face, but from what he could see, it piqued the king's curiosity, making him want to see more.

"My king," Beta Emrich said. "This is Lady Hecate, the healer of the Midnight Pack." He pointed to the woman.

She gently pulled back the hood, lifting her face. Large, deep, extremely black eyes, blood-red lips, and the way she looked at Maddox made his heart skip a beat involuntarily.

She bowed lightly. "It's a pleasure to assist you, my king."

She was undoubtedly the most captivating woman he had ever seen in his life.