Chapter 133

Kenzo finally put me at ease by slipping on a pair of sweatpants from his training locker. I could manage him being shirtless, and I didn’t push him to cover up—at least not until we dealt with the nasty cut I’d left on the nape of his neck.

"I'm sorry," I murmured for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Enough, Thalassa," Kenzo frowned. "I didn’t take it easy on you either, and that’s how it should be. Besides, I heal fast," he added with a cocky smirk before messaging Hazel, summoning her to patch us up.

I had to admit, the bite he’d given me hurt like hell. I limped to the nearest wall, leaning against it as I waited for the painkillers to kick in. Though the punctured flesh was already beginning to regenerate, the pain only seemed to intensify. Kenzo stepped forward, placing his palm against my forehead.

"You're burning up," he muttered, his expression shifting with guilt. "That’s on me."

"Now you’re apologizing?" I managed a weak chuckle, though my body trembled with the fever creeping in.

"I should've been more careful. I treated you like a wolf instead of a human," he admitted, his gaze dropping.

"What do you mean?" I asked, forcing a reassuring smile, even as exhaustion pressed against my limbs.

Kenzo hesitated. "An Alpha's bite is different from an ordinary werewolf’s." His tone was thick with concern. His restless eyes flickered between my face and the wound on my thigh.

I understood why he was on edge—an Alpha's bite had the power to turn a human into a werewolf. Kenzo knew that wasn’t possible for me, but he had no idea what kind of toll it might take on my body.

"I'm not going to shift, Kenzo," I reassured him, mustering the best smile I could manage. "You know that’s not how it works for me."

"I know you’re immune to the transformation," he admitted, "but you’re in pain." The guilt on his face was almost suffocating.

"Well... compared to Steele’s bite, this one hurt like hell," I snorted, hoping a little humor might dull the ache.

But my body had other plans. My legs wavered, and before I could hit the ground, Kenzo was there, catching me effortlessly.

"I've got you," he murmured, pulling me into his arms.

We stayed like that for a while—his back against the wall, my weight pressed against his chest, his skin still slick with blood from the wound that had yet to heal. I focused on his steady heartbeat, using it as an anchor against the pain wracking my body.

The moment was shattered by a sharp voice.

"What the hell happened here?!" Hazel’s outraged cry rang through the training hall.

I couldn’t blame her. The floor was streaked with blood, and Kenzo and I looked like we’d barely crawled out of a battlefield. Hazel rushed toward us, her eyes darting over our injuries like a human medical scanner. Kenzo carefully unwrapped his arms from around me and eased me onto the floor.

Then Hazel’s gaze locked onto my thigh.

"Alpha Kenzo, what the hell did you do to her?!" she snapped, already digging into her medical bag.

"Hey! I’m injured too!" Kenzo protested, gesturing toward his own wounds.

Hazel shot him a sharp glare and waved him off dismissively. "You’ll heal in no time. But your bite could have killed her."

"I don’t think it’s that serious," I tried to joke, though my voice came out weaker than I intended.

Hazel pressed a thermometer against my forehead, checked the screen, and cursed under her breath. "You’re burning up fast. You need to get to the clinic—now." She threw Kenzo a worried glance.

"Fuck," Kenzo growled, clenching his fists in frustration.

I tried to push myself up, but my muscles refused to cooperate. Every ounce of strength I had drained away, leaving me trembling uncontrollably. Another attempt—another failure. I barely registered Kenzo walking away, retrieving a sweatshirt from his locker.

Then it hit me.

A wildfire erupted beneath my skin, spreading through every nerve, every cell, until my entire body was consumed by an unbearable, searing pain. A scream tore from my throat as agony wracked through me, twisting me in its grip. It felt as if I were burning from the inside out.

Hazel grasped my wrist to check my pulse, and even that slight touch sent a fresh wave of pain searing through me. Her eyes darkened with alarm before she rummaged frantically through her medical bag, retrieving a syringe. Without hesitation, she injected the drug into my arm.

"Alpha, hurry!" I barely registered her voice before the world around me began to distort, sounds warping and fading.

A moment later, Kenzo draped his sweatshirt over me and lifted me into his arms. I tried to wrap my hands around his neck, but even raising them a few inches was excruciating.

"Hold on, Thalassa," he murmured, his voice softer than I'd ever heard it. Then he took off, carrying me toward the clinic at a speed that blurred everything around us.

Somewhere along the way, the pain swallowed me whole, dragging me into unconsciousness.

When I finally resurfaced, the rhythmic drip of an IV greeted me. A heavy sigh of relief slipped from my lips as I turned my head slightly, my body still aching but no longer consumed by agony. Whatever Hazel had given me, it had worked. One thing was certain—I never wanted to experience that kind of pain again. I was just grateful it was over.

Sunlight streamed through the window, spilling warmth across the room. Judging by the brightness of the sky, I must have been out for several hours. As my gaze swept the room, it landed on Kenzo, sitting beside my bed. He was watching me, waiting.

"How do you feel?" he asked as soon as our eyes met.

"Could be better," I smirked, though my voice was still hoarse.

"I'm so sorry, Thalassa..." His tone was heavy with guilt. And this time, I could tell he truly meant it.

"They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger," I mused, forcing a grin. "Caspian—you know, the doctor who checked me over—said that phrase applies to me quite literally."

Kenzo exhaled sharply, clearing his throat.

"Hazel said your wound healed properly. There’s no sign of... any kind of wolf transformation."

"That’s good... I guess," I said, attempting to chuckle.

He offered a weak smile, but something about his expression unsettled me. There was a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. Did he… want me to change? If I became a wolf, would that make things simpler for him? Would it erase all the doubts in my mind, the ones that kept me from giving in completely?

For a fleeting moment, an uneasy thought crept in—had this been his plan all along? Was his bite meant to be a test, an attempt to force a change in me?

"You don’t have to look so worried, Kenzo," I teased, flashing him a grin. "I feel fine now. The pain’s completely gone."

He leaned in, taking my hand in his own. "I didn’t want you to suffer," he admitted, voice rough with remorse. "I thought you’d heal right away..."

"Lesson learned," I smirked. "I’ll make sure to stay far away from any Alpha the next time I step onto a battlefield."

At last, the tension in his features eased. A hint of a real smile tugged at his lips, and the weight in the room seemed to lift just slightly. Then, without warning, he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

"Rest up," he said. "Tomorrow morning, we have a war council meeting. I want you there—you need to meet everyone in charge."

"Got it. Thanks, Kenzo."

With one final glance, he turned and left. As the door clicked shut behind him, anticipation settled in my chest. Tomorrow’s meeting loomed ahead, a mixture of excitement and dread twisting in my gut. The thought of joining a war was terrifying, but at the same time, for once, I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be.

Hazel ran a few more tests before finally releasing me two hours later. The rest of the day passed in a quiet blur—I curled up with a book, then indulged in a long, luxurious bubble bath. By the time evening arrived, I felt refreshed. Stronger, even. There was something different, something subtle yet undeniable, humming beneath my skin.

The idea hit me like a spark in the dark.

Had Kenzo’s bite changed me? Not in the way he had hoped, but in some other, unexpected way?

"Could I have inherited a fraction of the Alpha’s strength?"

The thought was ridiculous, laughable even—but I couldn’t entirely dismiss it. With my lineage, nothing was impossible.

Shaking off the idea, I stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around myself. As I neared my bed, my phone’s screen lit up, displaying four missed calls. All from Freya.

Guilt tightened in my chest. I knew exactly what was coming. She was going to freak out when she heard I had ended up in a clinic—again.

I picked up my phone, debating how best to break the news, when the device vibrated with an incoming call.

Freya.

Sucking in a breath, I forced a bright, casual tone as I answered. "Hey, Freya! I was just about to—"

"Thalassa..." "Please, don’t hang up. Yell at me, curse me—do whatever you need to. Just… don’t hang up."

My entire body went rigid. That voice. That deep, velvety voice.

It wasn’t Freya.

A tremor ran through me, stealing the air from my lungs. I lost control of myself—of my body, my emotions. My heart pounded, my chest tightening with a burning pressure that felt like it might crush me. Tears welled up, hot and unbidden, slipping down my cheeks.

I swallowed hard, forcing my throat to work.

"Hadrian...?"