All Chapters of The Healer and The Beast: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

Morning came and with it, a series of anomalies that I couldn't ignore anymore.I woke with my canines fully extended, cutting into my own gums and drawing blood that tasted metallic and wrong. My fingers were halfway to claws, the nails darkened and elongated beyond anything I could pass off as human. The pain radiating through my entire body was a constant throb, like my bones were trying to rearrange themselves inside my skin.I lay there for several minutes, just breathing, trying to center myself. One more day. Just one more day until the full moon, and then at least I'd know what I was dealing with.The door opened without warning.Lydia entered my chambers like she had every right to be there. She moved toward the bed with that entitled grace she always carried, her expression arranged into something that was supposed to look concerned."We need to discuss tonight's arrangements," she said, reaching out to touch my shoulder. "I've been thinking about how we should—"I snapped.

I woke with Sena in my arms and the knowledge that by tonight, people would be dead.The thought made me sick.I held her closer, feeling the steady beat of her heart against my chest. She was still asleep, still unaware that in a few hours, I would become something that could kill her without hesitation.By midday, I'd called Thane and the senior warriors to a private chamber. Their faces were grim when they entered - they all knew what the full moon meant."Everyone needs to be locked away," I told them. "Every person in this castle who isn't essential to maintaining the structure needs to be secured in the lower chambers. Doors locked, guards posted.""Alpha, we can help you," Thane said. "We can fight alongside—""No." My voice came out harsher than intended. "You protect the people. You keep them safe from me. That's your only job tonight.""But Lysander—""I don't care about Lysander right now. I care about making sure I don't massacre innocent people like I did three years ago.

We huddled in the lower chambers, listening to the sounds of Kael's roar echoing through the stone walls. The roar of something that was no longer human, no longer bound by reason or restraint.Then came more screams. People's screams, I realized. The battle had already begun.But then everything went quiet.Not a gradual fading of sound. An abrupt, complete silence that fell over the entire castle like a blanket. No roars. No screams. No sounds of combat at all.We all exchanged confused glances in the darkness."What happened?" Aunt Marta whispered. "Why did it stop?""I don't know," Vera said, her voice uncertain.Thane had gone very still. He was staring at the stone floor beneath our feet, his expression focused and intense like he was listening to something we couldn't hear.Then, gradually, a new sound began. Thudding footsteps. Dozens of them. Maybe more. A rhythmic matching of legs - coordinated, organized, military.Thane's head snapped up."No," he said quietly."What?" I a

The moment the compulsion magic shattered around Kael, I felt it—a surge of something that wasn't quite magic, wasn't quite anything I could name. It was like a door opening inside me, a connection between us that went deeper than blood, deeper than the bond itself.For just a fraction of a second, I felt Kael.Not his thoughts. Not words. But his presence—the raw, desperate part of him that was still human, still fighting, still him beneath the feral rage. It was like touching his consciousness in the dark and feeling him grasp back.Then it was gone, swallowed up by the beast again.But I understood now. I understood what he was capable of.Lysander's eyes widened as he watched the compulsion magic fail. For a moment, he looked almost surprised—as if he'd underestimated what I was, what we were together.Then his expression hardened into something cruel."Again," he commanded, his voice cutting across the courtyard. "Bind him tighter. Don't let her reach him."The magic that crashed

The healers had come and gone three times already. Each time, they said the same thing: Kael was unconscious but breathing. His vitals were stable. The silver wounds were healing, albeit slowly. The transformation had taken its toll, but he would survive.But he wouldn't wake up.I sat beside his bed in our chambers, my hand resting on his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breathing. It was the only thing keeping me tethered to reality—that rhythm, that proof that he was still alive, still here.The castle had been restored to some semblance of order, but it felt wrong. Empty. The servants moved through the corridors like ghosts, speaking in hushed whispers. The guards stood at their posts with faces carved from stone, grief etched into every line.Everything was gloomy. Solemn. Like the entire castle was holding its breath, waiting for something—permission to grieve, perhaps, or permission to move forward.Thane had been taken to the morgue.I'd watched them carry his bo