CHAPTER 133: CALL THE PARK HEALER.

CHAPTER 133: CALL THE PARK HEALER.
~Ava’s POV~

I was still shaking when the door burst open, so violently the hinges rattled like the whole frame had flinched with me.

“Ava!” Eric’s voice hit the room first before he did. He stumbled in with his hair a complete mess, chest glistening as if he’d sprinted straight from the training ground. His eyes swept over me in frantic sweeps, taking in my pale face, the way I clutched the blanket, the tremor in my shoulders. “What happened? Why did you scream?”

He sounded breathless, like the question itself was fighting its way out of him. His gaze darted around the room, searching for an enemy, a threat, anything.

Damon was right behind him, and the moment his eyes landed on me, something inside him snapped taut. His pupils narrowed into predatory slits, scanning the space with deadly precision. His chest rose and fell in short, sharp bursts, as though he was trying to restrain himself from tearing through the entire room until he found whatever had scared me.

“Ava, talk to me.” His voice was rough, too steady for how tightly his fists were clenched. “What happened?”

I tried. I really did. My lips parted, but my voice stayed trapped somewhere between my lungs and my throat. Nothing moved except the shallow drag of air scraping in and out. My tongue felt heavy, my pulse thundering so loudly I could barely hear them.

Eric took a cautious step forward, palms half-raised like he was approaching an injured, cornered animal. “Ava, can you hear us?”

I nodded, barely but even that simple motion made everything in me tremble harder.

“Ava.” Damon crouched slightly, lowering himself to my eye level, but his body was still coiled with tension, ready to spring. “Whatever it is, just tell me.”

Still nothing. Only the tight, choking silence that wrapped around my ribs, refusing to let go.

All I could manage was a shaky breath as I lifted my hand slowly, like my arm weighed far too much, and pointed toward the corner of the room.

Both men turned at once.

Eric followed the gesture first, brows knitting. He stared hard, squinting as though the angle of his gaze might help him see whatever had terrified me. “There’s…” He took a step closer. His frown deepened. “There’s nothing there.”

My heart pounded even louder, because that was exactly the problem.

Damon’s eyes shifted back to me immediately, sharper now, focused only on the fear shaking through me. “Ava.” There was something dangerous in his tone now. “What did you see?”

I swallowed, my throat burning, forcing the word out because if I didn’t say it, it would choke me whole.

“S-shadows,” I whispered.

The word drifted into the air barely louder than breath, but it was enough to make the room fall utterly still. Eric’s mouth tightened. Damon’s jaw flexed. And I sat there, shaking so hard my teeth nearly clicked, still staring at the corner where nothing, yet everything, had been.

Damon stepped closer. “What?”

“Shadows,” I repeated, louder this time. “They were here. They surrounded me.”

Eric glanced around again, confusion turning to concern. “Ava, I don’t see anything.”

“They were here!” My voice cracked. “I swear, I saw them. They were moving. Watching. Closing in.”

Damon placed a hand on my shoulder. “Ava… look at me.” His voice was calm, too calm. “You’re shaking. Maybe you were dreaming.”

“I wasn’t dreaming,” I snapped. “I was awake. They were real.”

He exchanged a glance with Eric,pthe kind people share when they’re silently agreeing that you’re not okay.

My stomach twisted. “You don’t believe me.”

Damon sighed. “Ava, listen. You’ve been under stress. With everything going on, what happened to Kieran, being thrown out of the pack…”

“Don’t,” I interrupted. “Don’t blame this on stress. I know what I saw.”

Eric stepped closer. “Ava, we’re not saying you’re lying. We just… want to understand. What kind of shadows? Like… figures?”

“Yes!” I pointed again, frustrated tears burning behind my eyes. “They were tall. Dark. They moved like smoke but with shape. I could feel them. They weren’t normal.”

Damon’s jaw tightened. “Shadows don’t just appear like that.”

“I know what I saw!” I yelled.

Eric reached for me. “Okay, okay. Let’s just breathe. Ava, maybe it’s your powers acting up again? You said you’ve been feeling them changing.”

“That’s not what this was,” I whispered. “This… felt wrong.”

Damon looked around the room again. “No scent. No presence. No magic trace.” Then he looked at me. “Ava… I think you’re overwhelmed.”

I pulled away from his touch. “I’m not hallucinating. Something’s happening. Something bad.”

Eric glanced at Damon again, worry written across his face.

I hated that look.

Damon inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. “Ava… you need to calm down. Your heart is racing. You’re trembling. This isn’t normal.”

I shook my head. “You don’t understand. My baby…my baby reacted first. I felt it. A warning. And then the shadows appeared.”

That made both of them freeze.

Damon’s eyes widened a little. “A warning… from the baby? What baby?”

Eric’s lips parted. “Ava, are you sure of what you are saying? There is no baby!”

“Yes,” I said firmly. “I felt it. Sharp pain. Then the shadows.”

Damon scrubbed his hand over his face. “Ava, that doesn’t make sense.”

“It makes sense to me!” I fired back. “Everything is changing. My powers, my strength. Why not this?”

Eric touched Damon’s arm. “We should take her seriously.”

He nodded, but his expression still looked unconvinced. “Ava, even if you claim to be pregnant. This stress isn’t good for you or the child.”

“I am not stressed,” I insisted, though my voice shook. “Something attacked me.”

“Attacked?” Damon repeated. “Ava, there’s no sign of…”

“Because they disappeared!” I cried. “Like smoke. They were right there…”

He held his hand up gently. “Okay. Enough.” Then, after a moment, he said quietly, “Ava, I think we need help with this.”

Eric blinked. “What do you mean?”

Damon turned toward the door. “I’m calling the pack healer.”

“Damon, I don’t need…”

“You’re seeing things,” he said softly but firmly. “And until we know why, I’m not taking chances.”

I felt the air leave my lungs in

a slow, frustrated rush.

He stepped out into the hallway.

“Send for the healer,” he ordered.

And the door shut.