Elis
The scent hit me first…bitter herbs, dried blood, and something faintly sweet beneath it all. I hated that smell now. It clung to the healer's chambers like a curse. Like a warning.
Tika's paws padded softly across the stone as I stepped inside, the wolf in me too large for the room, too wild for the quiet. The chamber was dim, lit only by a flickering lantern near the bed. My eyes found her immediately. Lily. She looked small against the sheets. Too still. Too pale.
A growl rumbled deep in my chest, but I didn't move. Not yet. I held the silence like it might keep me from unraveling. Then, slowly, I let go. Bones cracked. Muscles tore and reknit. My vision blurred, then sharpened. The shift always burned, but this time I welcomed the pain. It gave me something to focus on besides the emptiness in my chest.
When it was done, I stood in the stillness, naked, damp with sweat, heart thudding against my ribs. But my eyes never left her. "Is she awake?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. My voice came out rough, lower than usual, tight with something I didn't want to name.
The healer jumped slightly, wiping blood from his hands. "She's… stable," he said cautiously. "But the wound was deep. She lost too much blood."
I gave a single nod. Short and mechanical. It did nothing to ease the tension coiling in my spine. "She hasn't woken up yet," she added.
I closed my eyes. My hands clenched. My wolf still lingered just beneath the surface, snarling, ready to break free again. Not from rage this time. From panic. I stepped toward the bed.
Lily looked… fragile. I hated that word. But it was the only one that fit. Her skin had lost its warmth, her lips were far too pale, and the slow, shallow rise of her chest wasn't enough to soothe me. I lowered myself beside her, every motion measured and controlled…because if I didn't hold it together now, I wouldn't at all.
My hand found her forehead, brushing away a damp strand of hair. She didn't stir. Not even as a twitch. "She will wake up," I murmured, barely a whisper. But I meant every word. "She has to." I didn't look at the healer when I spoke again. "If she needs blood, take mine."
No response. I didn't wait for one. "I don't care what it takes," I said, my voice low and shaking. "I'll tear open every vein if that's what she needs." I leaned forward until our foreheads touched. Her skin was cool. Too cool. "You promised you wouldn't leave," I whispered, each word scraping raw in my throat. "Don't break it now. Not like this."
I stayed there, listening to her shallow breaths, counting each one like a sacred rhythm. Holding onto it like it was the only thing keeping me alive. Because if she didn't wake up…No. I didn't let myself finish that thought.
***
The palace was heavy with an eerie silence. Days had passed, yet the tension hung thick, almost choking. Conversations were whispers, footsteps muted, and even the wind dared not breathe through the corridors. No one spoke of it aloud, but everyone knew…Lily was my fated mate. And she had taken the blade meant for me. And she still hadn't woken up.
Even the fiercest warriors; Alphas, Betas, Omegas, all offered quiet prayers in passing. The palace healers came and went, their faces tense with each visit, hoping for the smallest sign. A twitch. A sigh. Anything. Everyone hoped. Everyone except two people; Princess Zeena and Alpha Jose. They didn't need her to live.
A soft knock pulled me from the whirlpool in my head. Eunice stepped in, carrying a tray of food I'd seen too many times before. Untouched. Useless. She paused just inside the doorway, eyes cautious. "You need to eat," she said gently. I didn't answer. "You need to sleep." Still nothing. She sighed, setting the tray down. "Your Majesty, the kingdom…"
My head snapped up. "The kingdom?" I growled, my voice low and dangerous. "You think I give a damn about the kingdom right now?"
Her mouth parted slightly, then shut. She was trying to tread lightly. "I know you care about her," she said after a beat. "But if she wakes and sees you like this… what would she say?"
I stared at her. At the curtains behind her. At nothing. Then I looked down at Lily's hand in mine, its cold and unmoving. My thumb brushed over her knuckles. "She will wake up," I said, my voice hoarse, yet fierce. "She has to." But even I heard it; that flicker of fear buried beneath my vow. The fear that maybe… maybe she wouldn't. And the palace waited in agony. Just like I did.