Chapter 48

Julianne's POV

The moment we arrived back at the pack’s territory, a wave of relief washed over me. But that relief quickly turned to panic as I saw Jeremy stumble, his face pale and covered in sweat. He was slightly injured by the witches and very weak. I now understand all those acts back in the realm were just a show of bravery.

“We need to get him to the wolf doctor, now! Loretta, help me steady him. We can't lose him, or else Arthur won't forgive us.” I shouted, urgency driving my voice.

Loretta and I quickly supported him, helping him walk as we hurried toward the small pack hospital. Every step seemed to take forever, and I could feel my heart racing. Jeremy was badly injured, and I couldn’t shake the fear that we might lose him. I can bear it if I lose him. He had been the kindest person this world ever produced for me, and he can't just leave me like that; no, he won't.

"Please protect him, don't let him die because of my carelessness." I prayed silently to the gods of the pack.

Once we reached the clinic, the wolf doctor, an older wolf with graying fur and wise eyes, immediately took charge. He is different from the healer that attended to Antonia when she got poisoned.

“What happened? What happened to him? Why is he so badly injured to this extent?” he asked, his voice calm but firm. He quickly assessed Jeremy’s wounds, which were deep and dark with bruising.

“They attacked him; they attacked him and injured him,” Loretta said, her voice trembling. “But he was brave and courageous, he fought them off no matter how strong and much they were, but… they injured him seriously with their weapons.”

The doctor looked closely at Jeremy, noting the silver chain marks still visible on his skin.

“This is serious, in his injuries are so serious, unlike a normal combat between wolves,” he said, frowning. “And why does he look so weak? His wounds shouldn’t look this bad after the fight. And he should be healing, of course. Since he is a wolf, his wounds should have started healing up.”

I felt a lump in my throat. I wanted to explain everything, to tell the doctor about Nyx’s power and how she had kidnapped Jeremy and used magic to imprison him in the silver cage. But the words wouldn’t come. I glanced at Loretta, and I could see she was struggling too. There was no way we could reveal the truth to the pack's doctor, or else there would be serious trouble; they would find out about Loretta's true nature and kill her.

“It’s because he was forced to use his powers,” I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper. “The chains… they were silver. They weakened him. But he still fought and released himself. He had to.”

The doctor nodded, his expression serious. “I see. Silver can drain a wolf’s strength, especially if they’re forced to use their magic while bound by it.” He carefully examined Jeremy’s wounds. “And it seems magic was used on him, as well. This isn’t just physical damage; this is not just a normal combat between wolves. As I said earlier, there’s something more; there is something more to his injuries than I am told..”

“What do you mean?” Loretta asked, her eyes wide with concern.

The doctor looked up from his examination. “Sometimes, when magic is used on a wolf, it can leave a lingering effect; if not taken care of immediately, the magic seeps into their very being, making healing much harder, just as his wound is not healing, and I can see that magic was used in him. I need to know exactly what happened out there before you found him. Can you tell me?”

I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. We knew what had happened, but how could I explain it without revealing too much? “He… He fought the wolves that attacked him. He was trying to control us. Jeremy had to fight back, even while he was weakened. But it’s complicated…” I lied and trailed off, unable to share the full truth.

Loretta looked at me, and I could see she felt the same way. We both understood that revealing everything could put us in danger, not just from Nyx but from others who might want to exploit our powers.

“Julianne, Loretta,” the doctor urged gently. “If you don’t tell me everything, I can’t help him properly. His life may depend on it but I need to understand what transpired out there. Was he attacked by witches? How did they use magic on him?”

I took a deep breath, my heart heavy with the burden of silence. Just as I was beginning to feel a sense of burden on the problem Loretta got us into, and how I didn't know how to lie anymore to the healer since fact had proven it was not a mere combat as Loretta told him earlier, the weight was beginning to crush on me when the door burst open, and Arthur rushed in. Who had alerted him? One of the guards standing watch at the pack hospital must have done so when we walked in with Jeremy's almost lifeless body

His expression was a mix of anger and concern as he ran toward Jeremy, who lay weak on the bed. My heart raced again, worried about how Arthur would react to seeing Jeremy in such a fragile state.

“Who did this to you? What the hell happened to my brother? Who dares did this to him?” Arthur demanded, his voice filled with urgency. I could see the fury boiling beneath the surface. He was ready to hunt down whoever had hurt his brother, but only. If he knew the whole story, his rage would lessen.

I held my breath, knowing how much was at stake. Jeremy looked up at Arthur, his face pale but determined.

“It was the rival pack; I am sure they were the ones responsible for attacking Jeremy; if not, who would have had the mindset to hurt me?” he said, forcing the words out as if they were a shield. “They attacked me, so they attacked me in that way too, and the whole of the pack.”He lied staring at me.

I felt a cold wave of panic wash over me. Jeremy was lying to protect Loretta and me, but his words could ignite a dangerous situation. Arthur’s eyes flashed with anger as he processed Jeremy’s words. “I’ll make them pay for this,” he promised, his fists clenching tightly.

“No, Arthur, wait!” I blurted out, stepping forward. I needed to stop this before it spiraled out of control. “We can’t jump to conclusions. We need to think this through. You know what if, Jeremy didn't see how attacked him properly and hair assumed the rival pack did so?”

Arthur turned to me, confusion mixing with his anger. “What do you mean? They can be the only ones who would dare hurt Jeremy! We can’t let that go unpunished.”

“Arthur, please, you have to listen to me,” I pleaded, trying to keep my voice steady. “If we go after the rival pack without proof, it could start a war. You know how dangerous that is; lives would be killed, possessions and properties lost, and packs would be destroyed too.” I said, trying to make him see the reason why his idea was wrong.

Jeremy looked at me, his eyes wide. I could see the fear in his gaze. He had taken the hit for us, and now it felt like it was all unraveling. I wanted to scream at him for lying, but I understood his reasons. He was trying to protect us.

“Jeremy,” Arthur said, turning back to him, “are you sure it was them? Did you see who attacked you? Are you sure they were the one?”

Jeremy hesitated for a moment, and I could see the struggle on his face. “I… I didn’t see them clearly,” he said slowly. “It was chaotic. I just assumed it was the rival pack. They’ve been acting aggressively lately.”

Arthur nodded, anger boiling over. “Then we have to take action! We can’t let them think they can walk all over us.”

“Arthur, please listen,” I urged again, my heart racing. “If we attack now, it will only escalate things. We don’t know the whole story. This could be a misunderstanding.”

The tension in the room grew thick as Arthur paced back and forth, his frustration palpable. “But Jeremy is hurt! They need to pay for this!”

I sighed, defeated; the only person who could have talked sense into Arthur's head had lied to him, and retracting his words would make things suspicious.