Chapter 32 Fevered Visions
Kael's POV
She was burning.
I carried Lira through the packhold doors, her skin fever-hot against my chest. Pack members scattered from my path, their curious stares following us up the stairs.
"Alpha, should we summon Aria?" Thomas appeared at my elbow, concern etching lines across his face.
"No." The word came out harsher than intended. "I'll handle this."
I kicked open the door to my chambers and laid her on the bed. Her eyes rolled beneath closed lids, silver light flickering at the edges. Blood still crusted her split lip from the combat trial.
Fenris prowled restlessly in my mind. Our mate is injured. We should have stopped the trials.
"She needed to prove herself," I muttered, stripping off her blood-stained shirt.
Purple bruises bloomed across her ribs. The sight made rage burn through my veins—rage at myself for watching, for not intervening, for letting my stubborn pride put her in danger.
I fetched cool water and cloths, settling beside her on the bed. As I pressed the damp fabric to her forehead, she whimpered.
"Kael?" Her voice was small, confused.
"I'm here."
"The wolves... they're dying." Her hand clutched at my shirt, fingers digging into the fabric. "Fire everywhere. The pack holds is burning, you are"
She screamed.
I caught her flailing hands, pinning them gently against the mattress. "It's just fever dreams, you’re safe."
"No." Tears leaked from beneath her closed lids. "I see it. The curse is waking, the blood moon is rising. They're coming for us—the coalition, five alphas with silver chains who will burn everyone."
My blood went cold. The coalition. Magnus's old allies, the ones who'd destroyed Silvermoon.
"Lira, look at me."
Her eyes snapped open, but they weren't gray anymore. Pure silver light blazed from them. When she spoke, her voice echoed with power.
"The moonblood rises or the pack falls. Choose, Alpha. Choose before the choice is taken from you."
Then she collapsed back against the pillows, unconscious.
I sat frozen, her words reverberating through my skull. Fenris was going insane in my mind, howling to protect our mate. My hands shook as I resumed wiping the fever sweat from her skin.
This was bond-sickness. I'd heard of it—when a mate bond formed but wasn't properly sealed through claiming, the incomplete connection could make one or both parties sick. Add in her trial injuries and whatever prophetic magic ran through her Moonblood veins, and she was burning herself out from the inside.
I should have claimed her completely during the blood moon. Should have finished what we started at the temple altar. But I'd been too afraid—afraid of the vulnerability, afraid of giving her that power over me.
Now she might die because of my cowardice.
"You're not dying," I growled, pressing the cloth to her cheeks. "I forbid it."
Hours passed. I changed the water three times, forcing small sips between her cracked lips when she stirred. Around midnight, she started thrashing again.
"Ryn, no!" She fought against invisible hands. "Don't hurt him. Please, I'll be good. I'll stay quiet."
I pulled her against my chest, wrapping my arms around her trembling form. "Shh, he is gone. Garrick can't hurt you anymore."
She burrowed into me, seeking comfort even in her delirium. The mate bond pulsed between us, as it demanded that I protect her, care for her, and claim her completely.
My pride warred with the overwhelming need coursing through my veins. I'd spent eleven years learning to need nothing, to want nothing, to survive on strength alone. This fragile woman in my arms destroyed all of that with every breath.
"I hate you for this," I whispered against her hair. "For making me weak."
But even as I said it, my hands stroked gentle circles on her back. I pressed my lips to her forehead, checking her temperature. The fever was breaking, slowly.
Near dawn, she finally stilled. Her breathing evened out into true sleep rather than fevered unconsciousness. I should have left then, returned to my own chambers, maintained distance.
Instead, I lay down beside her, keeping one arm draped protectively across her waist. Just until she woke. Just to make sure she stayed stable.
Fenris settled contentedly. Finally. Protect our mate properly.
"Shut up," I muttered.
But I didn't move.
When first light crept through the windows, I felt her stir. Her eyes fluttered open—gray again, thank the goddess—and found mine.
"You stayed," she whispered.
"You were sick. Someone had to make sure you didn't die and waste my time training you."
The lie felt strange on my tongue. But I couldn't afford the truth. Couldn't afford to admit that watching her suffer had nearly driven me mad, that the thought of losing her made my wolf howl with anguish.
Something flickered in her eyes—hurt, resignation, something that looked like walls going up.
"Of course," she said softly. "Thank you, Alpha."
The formal title stung worse than any blade.
She tried to sit up, wincing at her bruised ribs. I reached to help her, but she flinched away from my touch. The rejection sent pain lancing through the mate bond.
"I should go." She swung her legs off the bed, moving carefully. "The pack will talk if I'm found in your chambers."
"Let them talk. You're not well enough"
"I'm fine." Her voice was cold. "The trials will continue soon. I need to prepare."
She was lying. I could see the tremor in her hands, the way she favored her left side. But her expression was closed off, distant in a way it hadn't been before.
I'd done this. My cruel words, my refusal to show any softness—I'd pushed her away just when the bond was trying to pull us together.
"Lira"
A knock interrupted whatever I'd been about to say. Thomas's voice came from the hallway.
"Alpha, Elder Selene requests your presence. There's been... an incident."
I stood reluctantly. "What kind of incident?"
"A pack member collapsed during morning patrol. Aria says it looks like curse-sickness."
Lira's fevered prophecy echoed in my mind. The curse is waking.
I looked at her, seeing the same realization dawn in her eyes. Whatever was coming, we were running out of time.
"Go," she said quietly. "I'll manage."
As I headed for the door, Fenris snarled in protest. But I forced myself to keep walking, even as everything in me screamed to stay with our mate.
The pack needed their Alpha.
Even if it meant abandoning the one person who might actually save us all.