Chapter Three
865 Words
The chapel reeked of incense and judgment.
Candles flickered against the stone walls, casting long shadows that danced like specters. The cries of the mother echoed through the chamber, raw and desperate, but the sisters stood unmoved—robes pristine, eyes cold.
“We must take her to the orphanage,” one of them said, voice clipped and sharp. “She’ll be better there. Consider it penance for your sin.”
“No, please,” the mother sobbed, clutching the newborn to her chest. “I beg you.”
“The purification must be performed soon,” another added.
The woman thrashed, her voice rising in panic. “No! No more innocent killing!”
“She’s fallen,” a third sister sneered. “Pitying the spawn of a devil.”
“We’ll cast out the evil spirit soon enough.”
The mother’s eyes darted around the room, searching—pleading—for the one person who might save her. But no one stepped forward. Only silence. Only scorn.
Then, without warning, the infant was ripped from her arms.
“The child is staying,” a voice rang out from the shadows.
The room froze.
All eyes turned to the corner where the Abbess stood, her presence commanding. Yessica, standing beside her, stepped forward and took the baby gently from the stunned sister’s hands.
“You heard the Abbess,” she said with a smirk.
Behind them, Sister Marilyn lingered in silence. She hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken. Her face was unreadable, her silver eyes fixed on nothing. She didn’t so much as glance at the child—or the mother. But her heart ached.
Any sign of weakness could doom them all.
Yessica watched her closely. Something didn’t add up. Marilyn, the coldest of them all, had supposedly helped deliver the child? She couldn’t imagine it. Marilyn wouldn’t lift a finger even if the cloister burned to ash.
“Everyone, file out,” the Abbess commanded. “Prepare for the cleansing.”
A sister chuckled cruelly. “Has the lamb for sacrifice been chosen?”
“Can you even call those monsters lambs?” another whispered.
“Not literally,” the first replied with a roll of her eyes. “But still.”
The Abbess silenced them with a look. “Make the preparations, Lady Alyssa. I’ll handle the rest.”
The sisters bowed and left, their laughter fading into the corridor.
The mother had fallen asleep, exhaustion overtaking her. Yessica placed the child in Marilyn’s arms and slipped out without a word.
Now, only the Abbess and Marilyn remained.
“Your gifts should be used for greater things than saving sinners,” the Abbess said, her voice low.
Marilyn didn’t meet her gaze. “I do what I must.”
The Abbess studied her. “How can we be sure this child…”
“Sister Julie is one of us,” Marilyn interrupted. “She wouldn’t dare. The child is human.”
Her grip on the baby tightened, protective, fierce.
“You know how much your word means to me,” the Abbess said softly.
Marilyn finally looked down at the child. Her heart swelled. She bent and pressed a kiss to the baby’s forehead.
“Here, you are next to me,” the Abbess murmured. “If you trust her, I will too.”
“Thank you,” Marilyn replied.
She wasn’t grateful. But the Abbess didn’t need to know that.
The Abbess cast one last glance at the sleeping mother and left.
Marilyn sat beside the bed, cradling the child. The silence was thick, sacred.
“I guess you get to name her,” a voice whispered.
Marilyn turned sharply. “I thought you were asleep.”
“You saved my baby,” Sister Julie said, her voice trembling.
Marilyn said nothing.
“Why?” Julie asked. “What do you gain from helping my baby… and my mate?”
Still, Marilyn didn’t answer.
“Why did you accept a werewolf as your mate?” Julie pressed. “You broke every vow we made to the convent.”
Now it was Julie’s turn to fall silent.
“We were raised to kill them,” Marilyn said, finally. “To cleanse the world of their kind. And yet you mated one. Why?”
Julie’s eyes flared. “You mated me to him, goddess. I had no choice. You chose for me.”
Marilyn closed her eyes. When she opened them, her irises glowed silver.
She raised two fingers to her own forehead, then gently touched the baby’s.
A soft light bloomed between them.
“What are you doing to my child?” Julie asked, alarmed.
“In life, we always have a choice,” Marilyn said. “Even when it doesn’t feel like it. I want to know why you made yours.”
Julie hesitated. Then, quietly: “Will you tell me why you chose him for me? Why you gave us a child so soon?”
Silence.
“I thought so,” Julie said bitterly. “I guess we both have our secrets.”
Marilyn looked down at the baby again, her expression unreadable.
But in her arms, the child stirred and smiled.
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