Chapter 96 Marks That Never Heal
Maddie Pov
"There's something else," I said quietly. "Something important about what happened in the cave."
Calix looked at me. "What is it?"
"The two cloaked figures," I said. "When I shifted into my white wolf form I attacked them. I drove them back. I left deep claw marks on both of them."
"Good," Calix said. His voice was hard. "They deserved worse."
"You don't understand," I said. "Those wounds won't heal cleanly. White fur power leaves scars that stay raw. Marks from a white wolf don't close up the way normal injuries do. They keep bleeding. They keep hurting. They're visible for days or even weeks."
Calix's face changed as he understood what I was saying. "So whoever those two people were, they're walking around campus right now with wounds that won't heal."
"Exactly," I confirmed. "We just have to find who's carrying fresh claw marks that aren't getting better. Find them and we find out who was trying to bind you in that cave."
"It has to be Simone," Calix said. His jaw clenched. "She's been behind everything. The false arrest. The engagement announcement, the ritual. All of it."
"Probably," I agreed. "But we need proof. We need to actually see the marks on her. We need evidence that can't be denied or explained away."
"Then we go to the pack house," Calix said. He started to stand up but I put my hand on his arm.
"Not yet," I said. "You need to rest more. You're still weak from whatever they were doing to you. We wait until morning when you're stronger."
"Every minute we wait is a minute they have to cover their tracks," Calix argued. "Every hour gives them time to heal or hide the evidence."
"The marks won't heal," I reminded him. "That's the whole point. White wolf wounds don't close up fast. We have time. A few more hours won't make a difference."
Calix looked like he wanted to argue more but his body betrayed him. He swayed slightly where he sat. His hand went to his head like he was dizzy.
"See," I said gently. "You're not ready yet. Drink more water, sleep a little longer. Then we go together when you can actually stand without falling over."
"I hate that you're right," Calix muttered. But he took the glass of water that was still sitting on my desk and drank it slowly.
I watched him drink and thought about what the morning would bring. We would go to the pack house. We would confront whoever had those marks. We would expose the people who had tried to destroy Calix and break our bond.
But in the back of my mind I kept seeing Alpha Hawthorne's face when I shifted in the forest. The shock. The recognition. The calculation in his eyes as he realized what I was.
He knew now. He knew I was a white wolf. And even if he hadn't connected me to my parents yet he would eventually. It was only a matter of time before he put the pieces together. Before he realized I was the daughter of the murdered Alpha King and Queen of Silverthorn.
"What are you thinking about?" Calix asked. He set the empty glass down and looked at me.
"Your father," I admitted. "What he saw in the forest. What he knows now."
"He saw you shift," Calix said. "He knows you're a white wolf. That makes you valuable to him. Dangerous."
"Dangerous how?" I asked.
"Because white wolves are powerful," Calix explained. "Because having one in the pack means strength and status. Because every Alpha in the region will want to claim you or control you or use your bloodline."
"So he'll try to keep me here," I said. "Try to force me to stay in the pack."
"Maybe," Calix said. "Or he'll try to use you as leverage against me. Tell me I can keep you if I agree to do what he wants. Marry Simone publicly. Give up my claim to you."
"Would you?" I asked quietly. "If he gave you that choice. Me or the pack. What would you choose?"
"I already told you," Calix said. He took my hand again. "I choose you. I will always choose you. The pack. The position. The future I was supposed to have. None of it matters if I lose you."
"Your father won't accept that," I said. "He'll fight it. He'll try to force you into the life he planned for you."
"Then I'll fight him," Calix said simply. "I'll stand against my own father if that's what it takes. I'll leave the pack entirely if I have to."
"That would destroy you," I said. "Being cut off from your pack, losing everyone you grew up with. That's not a small sacrifice."
"Neither is losing my mate," Calix said. "Neither is spending the rest of my life bonded to someone I can't be with. I'd rather have you and nothing else than have everything without you."
The words settled warm in my chest. This was what I had wanted to hear for weeks. This certainty. This choice. This declaration that I mattered more than duty or expectations or fear.
"We should try to sleep," I said. "Morning is going to come fast. We need to be ready for whatever happens."
"You sleep," Calix said. "I'll keep watch. Make sure nobody tries anything else tonight."
"You're the one who needs rest," I argued. "You were just in a dark magic ritual. Your wolf is still weak. You can barely stand up straight."
"I'll be fine," Calix insisted.
"Calix," I said. I made my voice firm. "Lie down. Close your eyes. Sleep for a few more hours. I'll wake you before dawn and then we'll go face everything together."
He looked at me for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly. "Wake me if anything happens. Anything at all."
"I will," I promised.
He lay back down on my bed. Within minutes his breathing evened out. His body relaxed. He was asleep again.
I moved back to the chair by my desk and watched him sleep. Watched the moonlight move across his face as the hours passed. Inside my head Gory was quiet but present. Offering comfort through her simple existence.
"We're going to be okay," I whispered to her. "We're going to expose whoever was in that cave. We're going to protect Calix. We're going to survive this."
"I know," Gory said softly. "We always survive. That's what we do."