The silver light flowing beneath its skin suddenly brightened, and a deep vibration travelled through the creature’s entire body. It sounded nothing like a growl or even a howl, but more like something ancient taking its first breath after centuries of silence.
Every chain wrapped around the creature snapped taut with a violent metallic scream, and the entire chamber shook so hard that Della almost lost her footing.
Dust rained from the ceiling above them while cracks raced through sections of the stone walls, and the veins of Moonfire embedded throughout the chamber suddenly blazed brighter than before.
Della stumbled backwards, shocked at what was happening.
Then, the creature’s eyes opened.
Silver.
And she choked on a gasp as she stared back at it. She’d never seen silver eyes like that. It wasn’t like silver moonlight, or polished metal, but a kind of silver that spoke of something far deeper and unnatural.
The light inside those eyes seemed alive somehow, and the moment they locked onto her, a strange sensation tore through her chest.
The feeling was impossible to describe, but if she had to give it a word — then it would be recognition. As though something inside that creature had suddenly found exactly what it had been searching for.
Then the wolf moved a bit, and the large chains wrapped around it groaned beneath the strain.
That tiny movement was enough to send another pulse tearing through the chamber, and this time, the energy hit Della directly.
A sharp gasp escaped her lips as something surged through her body, spreading beneath her skin so quickly that she couldn’t even understand what she was feeling.
It reminded her of standing close to fire for too long, except the heat wasn’t burning her from the outside. It felt trapped beneath her skin instead, moving through her veins and settling somewhere deep inside her chest.
Behind her, she heard Malachi swear.
She turned around and saw that he had finally entered the chamber and holy Moon Goddess...he looked terrible!
For the first time since she had met him, Alpha Malachi Astridge looked genuinely weak. He was almost as pale as a ghost, with blood running down his lips and ears.
His facial muscles were completely strained, and he was basically forcing breaths down his lungs with every step.
There was a silver glow beneath his skin, similar to that of the wolf, and a tension in his expression she had never seen before.
The sight was so shocking that Della almost forgot the monster standing before her.
"Move away from it," He ordered, his voice still somewhat strong despite the exterior.
Della looked back at the wolf.
It still hadn’t taken its eyes off her.
Another violent tremor ripped out of the wolf and through the chamber. This time several chains cracked loudly, and Della watched in horror as one of the massive restraints snapped apart entirely.
Was it going to escape?
The wolf didn’t seem to notice. It only kept staring at her.
Then another pulse travelled through the bond.
Only this time it wasn’t fear she felt.
It was pain, and she turned to Malachi once again.
His body jerked violently, and he actually stumbled this time. As Della watched him, her mind struggled to process what she was seeing.
The wolf was suffering, emitting Moonfire particle radiation. And somehow Malachi suffered too.
Another pulse followed immediately afterwards, stronger than the first. His hand slammed against the wall beside him as he caught himself, his breathing becoming even worse as sweat rolled down his face.
The silver glow beneath his skin spread higher, and Della suddenly realised that whatever connection existed between him and that creature ran far deeper than she understood.
Then she felt it too. The strange warmth beneath her skin had begun changing, and her stomach twisted violently. A wave of dizziness also struck her without warning, forcing her to brace herself against a nearby pillar. The chamber seemed to sway around her, and she blinked several times to clear it up.
It wasn’t going away.
Moonfire Particles.
It had to be it.
For once, Evangeline had actually given her a genuine warning that the particle Moonfire emitted — the radiation — would affect her regardless of her rotblooded nature.
Malachi noticed immediately, and his eyes snapped toward her. The irritation, anger and hatred she usually felt from him through the bond had disappeared completely. She could only feel the urgency in his emotions now.
"Get out," He said.
She didn’t even manage to take a step forward before another wave hit.
Her knees nearly buckled beneath her, and she heard Malachi curse before shoving himself away from the wall, forcing his body forward despite whatever was happening to him. The effort alone looked painful, yet he still moved toward her.
The wolf growled and moved again, and Malachi stumbled, more blood rolling down his lips.
The chamber trembled continuously beneath them while Moonfire spilt from shattered containers and spread across the floor like liquid moonlight. The air itself felt heavier now, saturated with something ancient and poisonous that neither of them could escape.
At some point, Malachi grabbed her arm and shoved her toward the tunnel. At some other point, Della found herself dragging him right back.
Neither of them spoke about it.
They simply moved.
Or tried to.
Because with every step they took away from the chamber, Malachi seemed to grow weaker.
Faster than she did. Much, more faster.
The terrifying Alpha aura that constantly surrounded him had begun flickering strangely, appearing one moment and disappearing the next, while the silver glow beneath his skin continued spreading higher.
By the time they reached the tunnel entrance, his weight had become noticeably heavier against her shoulder.
"Damn you," Della muttered breathlessly as she struggled to support him while trying to hold back the dizziness and bit through the searing pain in her ankle, "If you hadn’t followed me...!"
Malachi didn’t answer.
Whether because he didn’t want to or because he couldn’t, she had no idea.
They made it a little further before his body suddenly sagged against hers completely. His sudden full weight had her wailing in pain as unbearable stress fell on her ankle.
"Malachi?".
When he didn’t answer, her heart dropped. The most feared Alpha in the territories had lost consciousness. If this had happened in public, it would have been the whole talk of the territories for years to come.
Unfortunately, even if she tried to be wicked and spread the rumour, no one would believe her.
As Della dragged him out of the tunnel and back into the dense forest, she knew it was the perfect opportunity.
All she had to do, was let him fall and finally escape. She would get far enough from him, from the Pack’s kingdom, and everyone else would be so focused on trying to find their Alpha that she might just have enough time to shake off the dizziness and weakness, completely run away before they even noticed she had gone missing.
It couldn’t be more perfect than this.
After everything she’s gone through, there shouldn’t be a shroud of goodness left in her.
And so, she let go of him and Malachi hit the ground.
"Demon," She muttered as she stared at his unconscious figure, "I’m sure someone will find you soon,"
It was weird, because as she stared at his pale face, and the parts of it that had burnt due to Moonfire exposure, she couldn’t seem to take a step forward.
Guilt? Was she really feeling... guilty about this?
Why should she? She never asked him to follow her into the damn tunnel. She never asked him to marry her!!
This was all his fault. He hadn’t given her a single reason to ever help him.
And yet, even when she forced her legs to move, she stopped again after seven steps.
Seriously? Lian was waiting for her and she was still here worried about the devil? Was she really not going to take this opportunity?!
"I hate myself!!" She cried angrily as she stormed back to him.
Dizziness hit again, and her muscles weakened.
Great!
She reached down and struggled to pull him up. After several tries of letting him all — a few of them very intentional — she was finally able to throw him on her back and lift him from the ground.
It was like carrying a mountain on her back, and her ankle got the worst of it.
"No wonder Beatrice was able to trick me all those years," She said to herself as she started to walk back in the direction of the castle, "Look at me, I can’t even leave the enemy behind. Of course I’m gullible! Gullible and soft for a cruel, cruel world!" She breathed like she was in the middle of a long marathon, her ankle feeling like it was about to snap with every step.
"Honestly," She continued, "When he wakes up and there’s not even a ’Thank you’ from him, I’ll kill him. I’ll grab a knife and stab him right through his bloody neck!!!"
Talking to herself and yelling into the night was only making her condition worse.
She stumbled a lot of times, and once, he even rolled and fell down her back. She thought of leaving him there and running, but there was still some distance between him and the castle.
Bloody soft heart of hers...she might as well just kill herself too!
She couldn’t remember when it happened, but darkness flooded her consciousness and she fell to the ground.
.
.
.
Della woke up to the sound of distant murmurs. As her blurry vision slowly became normal, her other senses also adjusted and soon enough, she found myself staring at the ceiling.
She was lying on something soft, and the murmurs now sounded like urgent chatter between people in the same room as her.
"Would you take a look at that? The slave awakens before her master," A rather grumpy voice said.
Della turned to her side and looked around. The room smells of herbs, and something a little more choking. There were a few beds in the large room, but she seemed to be lying on a tiny bed on the floor.
"You can start questioning her now!" The grumpy voice snapped again, and Della looked again and saw three people standing by a larger bed to her right.
There was someone lying on it.
Malachi.
Della’s eyes completely fell open.
Malachi??!
"What happened?" She asked, almost flying out of bed.
"I will be asking the questions here, Miss...Astridge," A man replied, wearing armour. He looked well seasoned, with one eye covered with a patch.
"Miss Astridge?" The grumpy voice snapped again. Turns out it belonged to an older woman with a large scowl on her face as she looked back at me, "Come on, just because he married her doesn’t mean she’s considered his wife! Lady Selene should have been Miss Astridge,"
"We know, now let him do his job!" The other, younger woman by the right replied, her hands crossed as she also watched Della sternly.
Della turned back to Malachi again, remembering everything that happened during her escape attempt. His skin was still burnt, and he was still pale and sweating. Moonfire was extremely toxic to wolves...and that reaction after she touched that Moonfire wolf...and the fact that he and the wolf are connected...
He wasn’t getting any better.
"What happened to him?!" The man demanded. His body language threatened her every breath.
"It’s...,"
"He’s been burning up since I found you both, and isn’t getting any better!! From the burns I see on him, it’s obviously Moonfire. He’s an Alpha, and it’s been almost fifteen hours, but he hasn’t healed even a bit. Apart from just the fire, the radiation itself poisoned his skin,"
Della opened her mouth to speak, but she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to say anything about the large wolf made of Moonfire.
Malachi hadn’t been surprised to see it. Based on his fear and hastened footsteps when she entered the tunnel, it’s clear he knew something like that resided there.
And if everyone else knew, they wouldn’t be looking this... confused.
"Talk!" The older woman snapped again, "Or did the Moonfire burn off your tongue?!"
She looked at the man again. His armour was different than the one on the guards, and judging from his appearance and aura, she guessed he was someone of high rank.
"Miss Astridge, you need to start talking!" He warned.
"I...,"
"You lured him out of the castle and attempted to burn him with Moonfire, didn’t you?!" The older woman yelled again, fury in her eyes, "You didn’t succeed at your own Pack, so you decided to try again here?!"
"Veinseer Moira!!" The younger woman exclaimed, before letting out a frustrated sigh.
"What?" Moira snapped immediately, "Am I supposed to pretend this doesn’t look suspicious?"
"It looks suspicious because nobody knows what happened," The younger woman replied, "Which is exactly why we’re questioning her."
"Then question faster."
Della watched the exchange while trying not to stare at Malachi. She didn’t want to, but the dang mate bond kept dragging her eyes back there. His pain was also affecting her.
The man with the eye patch stepped forward again, and this time his patience appeared noticeably thinner, "My name is Beta Rowan," He said, "And I am only going to ask this one more time. What happened outside the castle?"
Della hesitated. There were too many answers, but there was not a single one she could afford to say, "I don’t know."
The room instantly became silent, then Moira threw her hands into the air, "Oh, wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! She’s suffered a miraculous loss of memory."
Della gritted her teeth, "I remember being outside."
"And then?"
"I remember Moonfire."
"And then?"
Della remained quiet.
"And then?" Rowan’s expression darkened, and pressure in the room seemed to increase.
She looked away.
Because every path led somewhere dangerous.
If she mentioned the tunnel, questions would follow. If she mentioned the chamber, questions would follow. If she mentioned the chained wolf, she would sound insane.
And if she mentioned Malachi’s reaction to the creature... That felt even worse.
"Miss Astridge,"
The sound of her name made her glance up.
Rowan was still staring at her, still waiting for her to say something else. His eyes were calculating, getting more tense, "The Alpha was found unconscious beside you. Both of you carried Moonfire corruption, he is now fighting for his life, and you are the only person capable of telling us what happened."
"I...i...can’t."
The silence that followed again made her regret saying that.
Can’t.
The word sounded wicked, because it was the same thing as telling them she knew what happened, but just couldn’t tell them.
"Can’t?" Rowan stepped forward.
Della cursed herself internally, "I mean..."
"No." Rowan cut her off, "You chose that word very carefully."
Della looked away. That only seemed to confirm his suspicions.
Moira scoffed loudly, and half yelled again, "I knew it! I knew she was hiding something."
"Obviously," Rowan replied.
The younger woman rubbed her temples.
The entire room seemed exhausted, and Rowan eventually released a long breath. Then he looked toward the guards stationed beside the doorway.
"Detain her."
Della’s heart immediately dropped, "What?"
The guards moved at once, approaching her.
"What?!" Della repeated, louder this time.
"You heard me." Rowan’s voice remained calm.
Almost annoyingly calm.
"Until we understand what happened to our Alpha, you will remain under guard."
One of the guards reached for her arm, but Della instantly jerked backward.
"Wait!"
Nobody listened, and the second guard stepped forward.
"Wait!"
"You have information regarding what happened to Alpha Malachi," Rowan said. "Whether you’re protecting yourself or protecting someone else no longer matters."
"I didn’t do anything!"
"That remains to be seen."
The first guard grabbed her arm, and Della shrieked.
The Prison cell sounded real, and to be honest, who knows when she will be getting out of it? The whole kingdom would be happily cheering if it ever happened. She could picture herself spending the rest of her life there.
Then she would never get back to Lian.
Never.
All because she decided to help the demon Alpha instead of taking advantage and running away.
"Wait!" she blurted out.
The room paused, and this time, Rowan raised a hand, signalling the guards to wait.
Della looked toward Malachi again, and she felt like clawing her fingers all over his stupid, probably handsome face.
Despite how much she hated him, despite the collar, the slavery, and the fact that he’d ruined her life...Something inside her kept insisting that everyone in this room was missing something important.
Very important.
Her eyes moved across the herbs scattered around the room. There were bowls, poultices, and tinctures. It was very clear that the Veinseer had tried everything.
Yet nothing had worked.
Her stomach tightened again, and she internally cursed at herself. She couldn’t believe she was about to do this again, but she might just have a way of saving him.
Something the Veinseer... haven’t tried.
It was something she had read from a very old book. She remembered those nights when Lian’s fever would spike, and she would spend the whole night watching him. Or nights when she couldn’t sleep — which was almost every night, and she would just stare at nothing.
Instead of doing nothing, she had decided to teach herself how to read. Beatrice had been kind enough to let her sit with them while they were young, when the master came to teach them how to read and write — which now she realized Beatrice had just been fake from the beginning.
Using her prior knowledge from the teachings she received, she continued to teach herself how to read and write. And what better way to teach yourself how to read and write...than with books.
So, Della had spent nights reading books she secretly took from the castle’s library. Long night, for many years. She had read so much, from politics, to healing, to entertainment, to nature, to everything.
That particular old book had been gathering dust at the library for years, and she had noticed and took it. She had read extensively on wolves, poison, herbs and everything related to the health of a wolf.
She clearly recalled a passage in the book related to something like this, and her eyes widened slightly.
No. Surely not.
"Miss Astridge?" Rowan said sharply.
She looked at him.
Then at Malachi.
Then back at him again.
And before she could stop herself, the words escaped, "I think you’re treating the wrong injury."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Moira looked offended. Personally offended.
The younger woman blinked.
Then Moira exploded, "The wrong injury?! The Alpha is covered in Moonfire burns!"
"I know."
"His body is poisoning itself!"
"I know."
"We’ve spent fifteen hours trying to stabilize him!"
"I know!"
"Then how dare—"
"Mother." The younger woman finally stepped forward, and Moira turned toward her.
The younger woman looked thoughtful now. Dangerously thoughtful, "What do you mean by the wrong injury?" She asked Della.
Della hesitated to answer, for she wasn’t entirely sure.
And partly sure was a very dangerous thing to be, for she had only read this in books. It could be wrong for all she knows.
"I don’t know." She finally answered.
"Oh, excellent," Moira let out a humourless laughter, "Wonderful. Let’s all listen to the slave that doesn’t know anything!! That tried to kill Alphas on a happy day!"
The younger woman ignored her, and turned back to Della, "What made you think that in the first place?"
Della looked toward Malachi again, then slowly shook her head, "I just..." She struggled to explain it.
How was she supposed to explain something she’d spent her entire life doing? How was she supposed to explain that she was quicker at noticing things that others didn’t?
The same feeling she got around artifacts, clothings and even that banner. She always knew when something was wrong, or when something was hidden. Maybe it was a weird gift from the Moon Goddess to compensate for being wolfless.
"I notice things." She admitted quietly.
Moira rolled her eyes.
The younger woman did not, "What things?"
Della pointed toward Malachi, "The burns aren’t worsening, and the Poison isn’t spreading any longer. But he isn’t improving either."
That got their attention immediately, and the younger woman’s eyes narrowed while Rowan folded his arms.
"It’s like..." She continued, searching for the right words, "It’s like his body isn’t the thing that’s trapped."
Rowan’s gaze sharpened, and the younger woman’s expression changed completely. Even Moira suddenly stopped looking annoyed, and now looked uneasy.
Very uneasy.
Because even she couldn’t deny that whatever they had been doing wasn’t working.
The younger woman slowly looked toward Rowan, "I think you should let her try."
"Absolutely not." Moira objected.
"Mother."
"No."
"Mother."
"I said NO!"
The younger woman sighed, then turned to Rowan again, "How about this? If she harms him, you can throw both of us into a dungeon afterwards."
"Annelise!" Moira cried.
"We cannot stake the life of the Alpha to her because you believe she can do it!" Rowan stated, "Absolutely not!"
"Well, unless you can find a better Healer than my mother in the next...few hours, or many even minutes, then you have no choice but to listen to someone who has an idea of what he may be going through!" Anne reasoned, "She might be a Rotblood, but she’s also his mate! She’s the only one that is connected to him emotionally and spiritually, so at least consider that because as you can see here," Anne spread her hands out, gesturing at the room and all the medical supplies scattered everywhere, "We’ve tried everything and we have no other choice! None!"
Rowan stared at Malachi for several long moments, like he was weighing several things in his mind.
Then finally sighed.
A very tired sigh.
It was the sigh of a man that had run out of options.
"One chance."
Moira looked horrified.
"One." he repeated.
Della’s pulse quickened, and she immediately turned toward the shelves and began gathering everything she needed.
Moonleaf.
Silverroot.
Night sage.
Three herbs she recognized immediately because of how obsessively she read.
"There’s no frostvine here," She hurriedly turned to Anne, "I need Frostvine and Dawnpetals. They are my last ingredients!"
"Those are the rarest leaves we have!" Moira snapped, "And you can’t add Dawnpetal into whatever concoction you plan on making, it’s terrible for wolves. You know what it does to them?!"
"Mother, let her have them, please," Anne said.
"Why are you supporting her?!"
"Because it doesn’t matter right now whether it’s a dangerous herb or not. The Alpha will die with or without it, so please, just give it to her!!"
"When did you become so stubborn?!"
"I got it from you, now please stop talking and give her before the Alpha takes his last breath!!"
Moira looked ready to explode.
She pulled open some hidden drawers in a corner and took out the herbs. One resembled a blooming sunflower, and the other felt and looked like sand only that it glittered under Moonlight — Dawnpetals.
Della hurriedly measured the right amount and mixed everything together. She pounded it and added some water into it, then she let it sit for about a minute.
It was a remedy designed to strengthen the connection between wolf and body after Moonfire interference. It would anchor Malachi and his wolf again.
Once a minute was up, she picked up the remedy and carefully moved toward Malachi’s bedside.
The entire room watched as she went down on both knees so she was now staring directly at his face, then gently tilted his head upward and poured the mixture between his lips.
Then she waited.
One moment.
Two.
Three.
Nothing.
Moira opened her mouth, ready to let all hell loose.
Then suddenly, she stopped.
Because Malachi’s breathing had changed, and the entire room froze.
The uneven rhythm that had tortured him for hours slowly began to settle. The tension beneath his skin eased, and the constant tremors weakened. Even the feverish flush across his face appeared less violent.
The silence stretched so long that Della could hear her own heartbeat, and then she felt the mate bond again.
A faint, weak pull of consciousness returning.
And almost immediately afterward, Malachi’s fingers twitched and everyone reacted. Anne gasped, and Moira almost dropped the herbs she was holding.
Rowan took a step forward, his gaze intensely locked on Malachi.
Then slowly...
Very slowly...
Malachi Astridge opened his eyes.