70

70
Thalia’s POV

The first thing I felt when I woke wasn’t the cold stone beneath me or the blanket tucked under my chin—it was the heaviness in my chest. A pulse that wasn’t entirely mine thudded against my ribs, like a heartbeat trapped inside a heartbeat.
Jaden.
Even before I dared open my eyes, I knew. His presence clung to me like smoke, seeping through the cracks of my mind. The memory of his hand brushing mine, the fire, the curse—none of it had faded. If anything, it burned hotter the longer I tried to resist it.
I sat up abruptly, breathing hard. My palms were slick with sweat, my hair stuck damp against my temples. The room was dark except for the faint glow of moonlight slipping through the shutters. Nancy stirred in the corner, where she had fallen asleep on a chair. Nyra was awake already, her golden eyes catching the moonlight like molten embers.
“You screamed again,” she said flatly.
I flinched. “I did?”
“You shook the walls,” Nancy muttered, rubbing her eyes. “Half the pack must have heard it.”
My stomach dropped. It wasn’t just a dream then. It was real enough to disturb them, maybe even the others outside.
Nyra pushed herself up gracefully and came closer, her expression unreadable. “You’re bound to him more deeply than I thought.”
“I didn’t ask for this,” I snapped, too quickly, too desperately.
Her gaze softened but only slightly. “I know.”
I dragged the blanket tighter around me, suddenly ashamed. It wasn’t just the scream that rattled me—it was the way I remembered his voice, low and pained, calling my name as though I belonged to him.
Nancy crouched beside me, worry written in every line of her face. “Thalia, you’re pale. Your mark—”
Her words cut off. She looked at my shoulder, and I followed her gaze. The faint pattern I’d seen in the council chamber—the shadowy swirl that had started to creep along my skin—was darker now, sharper. Like smoke that had burned itself into my flesh.
I pulled the blanket higher. “It’s nothing.”
“It isn’t nothing,” Nancy whispered. “They’ll see it. They’ll start asking questions.”
My chest squeezed. Questions. Accusations. Fear. That was all my life seemed to invite now.
Nyra tilted her head. “Do you feel pain?”
“Not pain,” I admitted reluctantly. “Just… weight. Like something pressing down on me.”
Her eyes flickered, and for once she didn’t argue. That silence frightened me more than any lecture could.
I needed air. I swung my legs off the bed, ignoring Nancy’s protests, and padded toward the window. The shutters creaked as I pushed them open. Cold night air swept in, carrying the faint scent of ash and pine.
Below, the pack’s settlement stretched in shadows—dark roofs, faint trails of smoke rising from smoldering fires, and the hush of uneasy quiet. But unease had a sound of its own. Low murmurs carried across the stillness. Whispers.
My whispers.
I strained to listen, my pulse quickening.
“…her scream again.”
“…unnatural.”
“…marked, cursed.”
“…the Alpha’s taint—spreading.”
My throat closed. They weren’t even trying to hide it anymore.
I shut the window quickly, but the voices clung to me, chasing me back into the room. Nancy’s eyes widened at my expression. “You heard them.”
“They’re afraid,” I whispered. “They think I’m tainted.”
“You aren’t,” she said fiercely.
But the conviction I wanted wasn’t in her tone—it cracked at the edges, uncertain.
Nyra crossed her arms. “Fear spreads faster than truth. Once they’ve decided what you are, it won’t matter what you say.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?” My voice broke despite my attempt to keep steady.
“Survive,” she said simply.
I sank back onto the bed, clutching the blanket as if it could shield me from the words I’d overheard. My mind drifted unwillingly back to the bond, to Jaden’s voice, his wolf’s fire wrapping around me. Was I supposed to survive with him—or survive because of him?
The question alone made me shiver.
Nancy busied herself with fetching water, pressing a cool cloth to my face. I leaned into her care, grateful, but my thoughts refused to settle. Every flicker of shadow in the corners of the room felt like watching eyes. Every creak in the silence felt like judgment.
Sleep wouldn’t come again. Not tonight.
Hours must have passed with me staring at the ceiling, tracing the cracks in the stone. Nancy dozed again, Nyra silent and still as a statue by the door.
But then—the faintest sound.
I froze, straining to hear. Voices. Not the scattered whispers outside this time. These were closer, muffled but insistent, seeping through the walls.
“…cannot let it go on.”
“…the mark spreads. A curse if I’ve ever seen one.”
“…danger to us all. She’s tied to him, whether she admits it or not.”
“…Alpha’s council must decide—”
My blood turned to ice.
The Elders.
I slid quietly from the bed, careful not to wake Nancy. Nyra’s eyes flicked to me, sharp, but she didn’t stop me. She only inclined her head, as if she already knew I needed to hear this.
Barefoot, I crept down the short hall that led to the back stairwell. The voices grew louder.
“…her presence alone draws him closer.”
“…already weakening the wards. Did you not feel the ground shake last night?”
“…we should have ended it before the bond deepened.”
“…the girl is dangerous.”
I pressed a hand to my mouth to keep from gasping. My knees nearly gave way, but I forced myself closer, peering through the gap in the cracked door that led to the council chamber.
Three Elders sat at the table, their faces grim in the torchlight. Their words lashed like whips.
One of them, a grizzled man with a scar along his jaw, slammed his hand down. “If we wait, it won’t be her life alone we risk—it will be the pack’s.”
Another shook her head. “She is young. She may resist the curse still.”
The first barked a bitter laugh. “Resist? You heard her scream. You saw the mark. That isn’t resistance—it’s surrender.”
I stumbled back, heart racing. The shadows seemed to close in around me, heavy and suffocating.
Dangerous. Cursed. Tainted.
Their words wrapped around me like chains, dragging me down.
I wanted to scream at them that they were wrong—that I wasn’t surrendering, that I was fighting harder than any of them could imagine. But the truth choked me. Because even as I thought it, I remembered the warmth of Jaden’s hand in mine, the way my body had leaned into him even in the dream.
What if they were right?
I fled back to my room before the sound of my shaking breaths gave me away. Nyra’s eyes followed me, sharp and knowing, but she said nothing. Nancy stirred at my return, blinking in confusion.
I crawled back into bed, pulling the blanket over my head as if I could shut out the voices. But the words wouldn’t leave me. They echoed louder than my own thoughts.
Dangerous.
Cursed.
Tainted.
And the worst part was, I didn’t know anymore if they were wrong.