chapter 3
1412 Words
I awoke to a dimly lit room illuminated by the timid glow of a single oil lamp. Its fragile flame flickered against the rough stone walls, sending long shadows dancing across the room as though they were living things. The air carried the faint scent of dried herbs, smoke, and damp earth, while somewhere in the distance, rain tapped softly against the roof.
For a long moment, I simply lay there, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling as my mind struggled to catch up with my body. Everything felt distant, hazy, like I was trapped beneath deep water.
My mind drifted somewhere between memory and oblivion. I couldn't remember where I was, and for a few blissful seconds, I didn't want to. My body felt strangely heavy, as though I had slept for years.
Slowly, I lifted a trembling hand to my face and rubbed at my aching eyes.
A foolish hope crept quietly into my heart.
Maybe... it was all a nightmare.
Maybe none of it happened.
Maybe Rowan is outside waiting for me, wearing that crooked smile that always made my anger melt away. Maybe Celeste is with him, laughing as though we were still sisters instead of strangers. Maybe I'll walk through that door and discover that everything the Blood Moon, the betrayal, the pain was nothing more than a terrible dream.
The fragile hope lasted only a heartbeat.
The instant I tried to sit up, an unbearable pain exploded through my stomach and side.
A broken cry escaped my lips as my body gave out beneath me. I collapsed back onto the narrow bed, clutching my abdomen while agony tore through every inch of me.
It had all happened.
Every word Rowan had spoken.
Every lie Celeste had whispered.
Every promise they had made.
Every smile they had worn while using me.
It had all been real.
Hot tears spilled silently down my temples and disappeared into my hair.
Why?
Why hadn't Rowan simply killed me?
Why leave me alive after taking everything else?
Was this another punishment?
Was he planning to return and finish what he'd started?
Or had he spared me only so I could suffer longer?
The questions chased one another through my mind until the soft creak of a wooden door shattered the silence.
Someone had entered the room.
The footsteps were slow.
Careful.
Almost hesitant.
They crossed the floor one measured step at a time until they stopped beside my bed.
Fear seized my heart.
I squeezed my eyes shut so tightly my temples ached.
He's come back.
This time... he won't leave until I'm truly dead.
The silence stretched.
Then came a tired sigh.
"Open your eyes, child."
The familiar voice reached me like warmth after an endless winter.
My eyes flew open.
"Healer... Braham..."
Though advanced in age, he remained the most respected healer in the territory. Wise, patient, and impossibly kind, he had taken me under his wing from the moment I'd arrived.
Relief crashed over me so suddenly that my entire body trembled.
Before I even realized what I was doing, my fingers had wrapped around the sleeve of his faded robe.
The dam inside me shattered.
I cried harder than I ever had before.
Not graceful tears.
Not quiet sobs.
The kind of crying that stole every breath from my lungs.
The kind that hurt.
He said nothing.
Instead, he lowered himself onto the edge of the bed and rested a weathered hand gently upon my head.
Patient.
Gentle.
Safe.
That single touch destroyed the last of my composure.
"Easy, child," he murmured, carefully brushing strands of hair away from my damp forehead. "Easy."
"Please..." My voice cracked beneath another wave of tears. "Please don't let him take me."
I buried my face against his arm and sobbed until my chest burned.
He simply stayed with me.
He never once told me to stop crying.
Never once asked me to be strong.
He only remained there, quietly stroking my hair as though he understood that some wounds could not be healed with herbs alone.
Ever since I'd entered Whitecliff as Rowan's mate, Healer Braham had become the closest thing I had ever known to family.
He never treated me like the powerful pure blood Luna everyone else saw.
To him, I was simply a young woman carrying more burdens than anyone should.
He often called me to his chambers.
Sometimes we spent hours discussing ancient healing techniques.
Other times we spoke about nothing important at all.
He patiently taught me how to control my gift instead of allowing it to consume me.
He showed me how to heal without sacrificing every ounce of my own life force.
How to recognize my limits.
How to rest.
Whenever training exhausted me, I'd often fall asleep before making it back to my room.
I'd always wake covered by one of his old blankets while he absentmindedly brushed my hair away from my face, smiling to himself as though watching over his own granddaughter.
Never once had he demanded anything from me.
Never once had he looked at my gift with greed.
Never once had he made me feel like I existed only to be useful.
Two days before the Blood Moon...
He had been the one to discover the tiny heartbeat growing beneath my own.
I could still remember the look on his face.
His hands had trembled.
His eyes had filled with tears.
"A child," he'd whispered, unable to hide his smile.
"A pure-blood Alpha child..."
He had laughed, a genuine, heartfelt laugh and declared that he finally had an excuse to spoil another grandchild.
For a brief moment, he'd looked less like Whitecliff's healer and more like a proud grandfather.
For several minutes he'd done nothing except laugh quietly to himself, already talking about teaching the little one how to recognize healing herbs before it could even speak.
The memory broke something inside me.
Almost instinctively, my shaking hand detached from his robe and moved to my stomach.
A cold emptiness spread through my chest.
"My baby..."
The words escaped in a whisper.
"My baby..."
Healer Braham's eyes softened immediately.
He gently covered my trembling hand with his own.
"I know."
His voice cracked with emotion.
"I know what you're afraid to ask."
Terror unlike anything I'd ever experienced swallowed me whole.
I couldn't force myself to speak.
If he said the words...
If he told me my child was gone...
I wasn't sure there would be enough of me left to survive it.
After what felt like an eternity, he smiled softly.
"The child lives."
Everything around me stopped.
The rain.
The pain.
Even my breathing.
I stared at him.
"...What?"
"The child survived."
Fresh tears filled my eyes.
"No..."
I shook my head weakly.
"That's impossible."
"It should have been."
His expression grew solemn.
"By every law of nature, neither of you should have survived Rowan's attack."
His gaze drifted toward my stomach.
"But this is no ordinary child."
He smiled faintly.
"The life growing inside you carries the blood of a pure-blood Alpha and a pure blood Luna."
His voice became almost reverent.
"When Rowan drove that dagger into you, your pup instinctively recognized its mother was dying."
I listened without blinking.
"It released its own life force."
"It gave its strength to you."
"It slowed the bleeding."
"It shielded your heart."
"It kept your wolf alive long enough for me to reach you."
His eyes glistened.
"If not for your child, I would have arrived too late."
My lips trembled.
"So..."
"So I'm only alive because..."
He nodded.
"Because your child refused to let you die."
- Writer
