Chapter 4

Ella's POV

Stress affects every person differently.

Some lose weight, unable to stomach even a single bite. Others gain it, turning food into an escape, a place of comfort when the rest of the world becomes too unbearable.

Me?

I belong to neither category.

I don't overeat.

I don't starve myself.

I don't do anything differently.

Yet my body keeps gaining weight.

Whenever I bury my emotions, my anger, my grief, my fear, instead of letting them out, my body turns against itself. It begins attacking its own tissues, inflaming itself from within as though the pain needs somewhere to live.

A defence mechanism.

Or an illness.

Call it whatever you want.

In the werewolf medical world, it has a name.

**Auto-inflammatory immunity.**

And call me lucky...

It affects only 0.00000001% of the population.

Every recorded werewolf who suffered from it died before the age of twenty.

I'm twenty-four.

I guess I'm not that unlucky after all.

As for my wolf...She's too small.

So fragile.

Pure white, almost glowing beneath the moonlight, yet every rib shows beneath her thin fur. Her deep brown eyes mirror mine, carrying the same exhaustion... the same sadness.

She looks more like a starving pup than a fully grown wolf. The disease stole her strength too.

That's why she never shifted on my eighteenth birthday.

A shift demands tremendous energy, more than either of us possesses.

I have never asked her to try.

Because deep down...I know she wouldn't survive it.

If there's one thing I wish I could tell her...It's that I'm sorry. Sorry for being born into a body that became her prison.

She rarely speaks to me.

The last real proper conversation we shared was six years ago.

On my eighteenth birthday.

The day she caught his scent.

The day she whispered the truth that changed everything.

*Mate.*

But it never mattered after that.

She was too weak. Her aura too faint for another wolf to notice.

Let alone recognise the mate bond.

She knew our fate.

So did I.

Rejection.

And neither of us believed she would survive it.

A rejected mate bond is agony for any wolf.

For mine...

It would be a death sentence.

So I chose silence.

Sometimes when I get bullied. Sometimes when I feel too close to breaking she asks me to try once. To try and tell him…but I can’t.

She's the only friend I've ever had.

Even if she hardly speaks anymore.

I can't lose her too.

"You heard?"

The voices around me dragged me back to reality.

"A woman was found murdered in His Majesty's office."

I blinked, looking over my shoulder.

A group of maids had gathered near the washing station, whispering amongst themselves while pretending to scrub silver platters.

Or rather...

Gossiping.

My gaze dropped to my own hands.

The water had turned cold.

I realised I'd been washing the same plate for nearly ten minutes.

"She must not have been pretty enough."

One maid shrugged.

"Or maybe she wasn't good enough in bed."

The other nodded knowingly.

"Probably both."

"Or she tried touching him."

She lowered her voice dramatically.

"Everyone knows touching His Majesty is forbidden. She must've crossed a boundary."

"That's what I heard too."

Another leaned closer.

"I'm more interested in how she died."

"A slit across the throat."

She traced a finger across her own neck.

"The Alpha King's style."

"He hates unnecessary noise."

"He probably wanted to spare himself the headache of listening to her scream."

A shiver crawled down my spine.

"That sounds like him."

"Shhh!"

One of them suddenly hissed.

"Someone's coming."

"We're not supposed to talk about this."

The group scattered almost instantly.

No one even noticed me.

Then again...Most people in this palace rarely did.

I looked back down at the water.

Goosebumps prickled across my arms. Dominicus Volkov wasn't merely feared.

He was spoken about like a force of nature. A nightmare no one wants to live.

Cold.

Heartless.

Emotionless.

Untouchable.

Suddenly a familiar knot twisted low in my abdomen. My entire body stiffened.

No...

What day was it today?

Moon Goddess...

How could I forget?

I hadn't taken my heat suppressant.

I looked through the kitchen window.The full moon hung high above the castle.

"Damn it..."

I immediately set the plate aside and hurried toward the exit.

I had barely rounded the corner when I collided with someone.

"Oh!"

The basket in my hands tilted dangerously.

"I'm so sorry!"

"Hold your horses, Butterball."

The familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.

I looked up.

The Head Housekeeper.

I bit my lower lip.

"Madam..."

"I-I'm not feeling well."

"I've finished all my duties for today."

"May I leave?"

She adjusted the sleeves of her uniform with an exasperated sigh.

If there was one person in this palace I respected...

It was her. She appeared stern.Strict.

Almost impossible to please.

But over the years, I'd learned the truth.

Her heart was kinder than she ever allowed anyone to see.

"Please, Madam."

She looked at me for a long moment before sighing again.

Without warning, she dropped a neatly folded pile of freshly laundered clothes into my arms.

"You can."

My shoulders relaxed.

"But first..."

She nodded toward the upper floors.

"Take these to His Majesty's wardrobe."

My heart stopped. No way….

"The... Alpha King's chambers? But Ai am not allowed-“

She waved away my concern.

"Everyone important is still in the council meeting. No one will be in the royal wing until nearly midnight."

"Just leave the clothes and come straight back."

My fingers tightened around the stack of shirts.

Damn it...

I didn't have much time. Within minutes, my heat would hit in full force.

My suppressant had already worn off.

And while my scent was weak...It would still become noticeable.

If I hurried...

I could make it just in time.

Another painful twist coiled through my abdomen and I took off running.