Chapter 443

[ 865 words ]

Talia’s POV

I jolted awake, screaming.

White light made it hard to see. I flailed around until hands gripped my shoulder, holding me in place.

“Talia, look at me. Focus on me. You’re okay.”

Nolan’s voice brought me back. My hands and body kept shaking, filled with restless energy I couldn’t control. Finally, Nolan’s face came into focus above me.

“Nolan?”

“There you are. It’s okay. You’re safe,” Nolan said as he cupped my face.

I tried to sit up, but my arms felt weak and heavy. Nolan helped me sit up.

Solon stood at the end of the bed, looking concerned. “Thank the Goddess you’re awake,” he said. “You scared us, Talia.”

Leslie was to the right of me, checking my pulse. “The dosage was too much. It was a gamble I shouldn’t have taken. I’m sorry, Talia.”

“What happened?” I croaked as my throat burned.

“You started screaming a couple of hours after you fell asleep; you started yelling like something was hurting you,” Nolan explained. “You were so hot to the touch, and I couldn’t wake you up. I tried shaking you, calling your name, but nothing worked. I linked Solon and Leslie and carried you here.”

“You were unconscious for a very long time. No one could touch you after a while because your Moonfire flared up,” Leslie said quietly. “I finally stabilized you about an hour ago, but it took longer than it should have.”

“Well, it’s morning now, so everything’s okay, right?”

Leslie just frowned and said, “I wish that were the case.”

“What do you mean? Leslie, how long was I out?” I asked.

“Two days,” she said. My stomach dropped.

I immediately tried to connect with my wolf, but she didn’t respond.

‘No, no, no, Goddess no,’ I thought as I reached for her again. There was still no response. Panic started to rise. Did the twins take her from me?

‘I’m still here,’ my wolf whispered, sounding far away, like she was speaking from far away. She was just a flicker deep inside, but she was still there.’I just need to rest.’

‘Don’t scare me like that,’ I told her. ‘I thought I lost you.’

That brief moment of not feeling her brought back the painful memories of when I couldn’t sense her at all. I remembered how alone and weak I was then, and I never wanted to go through that again.

“Leslie,” Nolan said, turning to her. “She’s been stable for two weeks. So what changed this time? You said you’d explain everything once she woke up.”

“It was the full moon,” Leslie replied, meeting his eyes. “The moon makes wolves stronger, but it helps them, too. The connection between us and them gets more intense. During the full moon, they were at their strongest.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nolan demanded. “Was that what the double dose was for?”

Leslie nodded and said, “Yes, I thought that would counteract the effects of the full moon but it didn’t.”

“It’s over now, so we don’t have to worry about this anymore.”

“It’s over for this month,” Leslie responded.

“What do you mean for this month?”

“This will happen every time there’s a full month,” Leslie explained.

I saw the worry in Nolan’s eyes as he took in Leslie’s words.

“I’m alright,” I said, doing my best to calm him down. “Nolan, look at me. I’m awake,

I’m talking to you, and I’ll be sitting up soon. I’m really fine.”

“You’re not fine,” Nolan said as he took my hand in both of his, and it felt just like it had in my nightmare, making my stomach twist How many more full moons until they come?”

Nobody answered him.

“Leslie, how many?”

“Three or two,” she said. “It depends on when they decide to come.”

“Three or two,” Nolan said flatly. “One of them did this to her. She can barely hold

her head up. What’s going to happen next time? Would it be worse?”

“Nolan,” I tried.

“No, I want the answer. What is going to happen to her, Leslie?”

Leslie opened her mouth and closed it again.

Solon let go of the bed rail. “Enough,” he snapped. “We can’t keep going in circles like this.”

I knew what was coming. I didn’t have the strength to stop it.

“Solon, don’t-“

“We can’t keep hiding this from him,”

Solon muttered, jaw clenched. He

Wouldn’t even

had

look at pag. You’ve

two weeks to tell him yourself but you didn’t.”

“Tell me what?” Nolan asked.

Nobody spoke.

“Solon.” Nolan’s voice went very quiet. “Tell me what?”

“Are you going to tell him yourself, Talia?” Solon asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn’t know how to tell him. What was I going to

say? How could I tell him that I’ve been lying to him for almost a month now?

“The truth is, Leslie never found a way to save her,” Solon said when he saw how I was hesitating. “There isn’t one. There never was.”

I saw the truth hit Nolan. For a second, his face was frozen, then I watched

something inside him break.

“No,” he whispered. “That’s not true. Talia told me, back at Bloodmoon in the hallway, that Leslie had treated someone with this exact situation beføre Leshe knew what she was doing, and we affrushed out that night.” He turned to me. “You told me that. I remember you saying it.”

“Nolan, please-“

“Then tell me!” he snapped, his voice breaking. “Tell me what’s really going on.”

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