Chapter 135 I feel weird

Chapter 135 I feel weird
~ Lyra's POV ~

Waking up that morning felt like a chore. The intense weakness was the very first thing that registered in my mind the moment consciousness returned.

It was at least three times worse than what I had experienced the previous night, and that almost made me want to remain exactly where I was.

My muscles felt useless, my body uncooperative, and there was a strange sluggishness lingering inside my head that made it difficult to think clearly.

Despite that, I did my best to push the feeling aside and forced my eyes open. The room came into focus gradually, and when I turned to look at Kael, I discovered he was already awake.

He sat nearby staring at his phone with a deep frown on his face, his attention completely fixed on whatever was displayed on the screen.

Seeing that expression on him immediately wiped away some of my grogginess. Kael rarely looked troubled without reason, and the sight of him sitting there with his brows drawn together instantly put me on alert.

“Something wrong?” I asked as I forced myself into a sitting position, ignoring how much effort the movement seemed to require.

The moment he heard my voice, he lowered the phone and turned toward me. The frown disappeared almost immediately, replaced by something much softer as his attention settled fully on me.

“When did you wake up?” he asked before leaning forward. He pressed a kiss against my forehead, lingering there briefly before following it with another kiss on my lips.

“Just now,” I responded quietly, allowing myself to lean into the warmth of his body.

At that moment, his presence felt comforting in a way I desperately needed. Everything inside me felt wrong, and simply being close to him eased some of the discomfort.

“How do you feel?” he asked, and the concern in both his tone and his eyes was impossible to miss. He studied me carefully, looking like he was trying to determine the answer himself before I even spoke.

“Worse than yesterday,” I admitted honestly because there was no point pretending otherwise. “All my muscles feel like jelly and my head is foggy. I think whatever happened to me at that temple is still affecting me badly.” The words came out quieter than I intended, partly because speaking about it reminded me of just how strange the entire experience had been.

His brows immediately drew together even more. “Does that mean you'll feel this way for three days until everything fuses together as your mother said?”

“I guess so,” I replied with a sigh. “But I hate this feeling. I can't remember most of my spells. A lot of things are missing in my head.” Frustration crept into my voice as I spoke because that part bothered me more than I wanted to admit.

There was knowledge inside me that I could sense but could not fully access. It felt like standing before a locked door while knowing exactly what waited on the other side.

“And Lunaris is strangely too still. It's like she isn't there. I can't reach her.”

Ever since waking up, I had tried several times to reach my wolf and received absolutely nothing in return.

Usually, even when she remained quiet, I could still sense her presence somewhere within me. Now there was only silence. No response, no familiar feeling, nothing.

“Is it normal for your wolf not to respond?” I asked after another failed attempt to reach her.

“Don't bother your head about it,” Kael said immediately, reaching for my hand. His fingers wrapped around mine and gently squeezed. “Mine does the same sometimes, especially when I'm extremely weakened. Wolves aren't always active. Sometimes they retreat inward when we're not at our best.”

His answer eased some of my worries, though not entirely. Seeing that I was still troubled, he moved closer and brushed a hand lightly through my hair before speaking again.

“And about the weakness you feel right now, I'll gladly be your strength until you regain yours.” His voice was calm, steady, and completely sincere. There was no hesitation in his words and no uncertainty in his expression. “Let me bear the burden with you.”

My face lit up with gratitude at what he said. I was genuinely grateful to have him by my side during that particular season of my life.

“Thank you,” I said softly, allowing myself to enjoy the comfort of his presence for a moment before remembering the expression I had seen on his face when I first woke up. The memory immediately pulled my attention back to the present. “So why was your face like that?”

“Like how?”

“Like you were just told something very unpleasant.”

A soft sigh escaped him and his expression became thoughtful once again. “Taren sent a message I didn't understand. I tried calling him back, but the number was unreachable. Same with Elder Rowan.”

The concern on my face appeared instantly. If both Taren and Elder Rowan were unreachable, then something was definitely wrong. Neither of them were careless enough to simply disappear without reason.

“What's the message?” I asked.

Without saying anything further, he extended the phone toward me. I took it from him and carefully read through the message displayed on the screen. The more I read, the more uneasy I became.

“Trouble in the house?” I repeated slowly. “What kind of trouble? I hope it isn't Brenda again?”

That possibility immediately came to mind because Brenda had already proven she was more than capable of creating problems where none existed. At this point, I honestly would not have been surprised if she had somehow managed to create another crisis.

“I guess we have to get home to find out,” Kael responded.

He climbed off the bed and began getting ready. I followed suit despite how weak my body still felt. Minutes later, we were already on the road heading back to Ironfang.

The journey began in relative silence. Kael and I occupied the back seat while Abel sat behind the wheel, focused entirely on the road ahead. The scenery outside passed by in a blur as my thoughts drifted between the disturbing message from Taren and everything my mother had revealed inside the temple.

After several minutes, a question that had been lingering in my mind finally resurfaced.

“I've been meaning to ask something,” I said, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between us.

Kael turned his face toward me immediately, giving me his full attention. His thumb moved gently along my chin in a gesture that had become surprisingly familiar.

“What is it?”

“Your immunity to magic. I thought you were born with it.”

His expression remained relaxed as he answered.

“I wasn't. I received it a few months after my mother died, before I went hunting for her killers.”

“So what is the Alpha's Creed that came with it?” I probed further, recalling the exact words my mother had used during their conversation in the temple.

Kael did not hesitate before answering.

“A set of instructions I'm supposed to follow to the letter and keep secret. It also contained a one time souvenir which I'm supposed to keep secret as well.”

“Oh.”

The response only deepened my curiosity, but I resisted the urge to ask further questions. If something had been entrusted to him in confidence, then I had no intention of pressuring him for answers.

“You want to know what it is?” he asked, his lips stretching into a broad smile. The amusement in his voice made me narrow my eyes slightly.

“Nope. If it's meant to be kept secret, then I'm not supposed to know.”

The conversation ended there, and silence settled over us once again.

Unlike before, however, the silence did not feel entirely comfortable. Something inside me began to stir. At first it was subtle, little more than a faint feeling of unease lingering at the back of my mind. Then it slowly grew stronger.

I shifted in my seat as the sensation worsened.

An uncomfortable knot began forming in my stomach, and without warning my heartbeat accelerated.

The peaceful atmosphere inside the vehicle suddenly felt suffocating. Every instinct I possessed seemed to be screaming that something was wrong.

I sat upright immediately.

“I feel weird,” I informed him.

The concern on Kael's face appeared instantly as he turned fully toward me.

“What do you mean?”

“There is this ominous feeling hanging over my head since I woke up,” I admitted honestly. “I ignored it because I thought it was just anxiety from everything that happened yesterday, but it just got worse."