Brett's POv The room was heavy with silence, the kind that presses down on your chest and makes it hard to breathe. I stared at Mauve, who lay motionless on the bed, her pale skin glistening with sweat. My hands were still on her shoulders, pinning her down, though she wasn’t fighting anymore. She was too weak. Too fragile. Why is this happening? My mind raced, trying to piece together the fragments of what we knew. The bites she’d gotten in the woods—sure, they were bad, but they weren’t fatal. At least, not in the way we’d thought. She’d been fine for days. No fever, no changes. Nothing. “I don’t know what’s happening to her,” I muttered, more to myself than anything. “She would’ve turned before now if it was the bites.” Jax and Miles exchanged a glance, their expressions mirroring m

