Chapter 6

MORRANA

The receiver slipped from my hand and crashed against the floor, while Martha's frantic voice faded into a distant buzz as I stared at the telephone, unable to process what I'd just heard. My mother had collapsed. I didn't wait for the secretary to say another word.

I ran.

I pushed through the school's main doors and sprinted toward the hospital, ignoring the pain shooting through my injured ankle with every step. My ribs protested with every breath, but none of it mattered anymore.

My mother was in an ambulance, alone and frightened, and there was no way I was going to let her face whatever came next without me.

By the time I reached the county hospital, my lungs were burning. I shoved through the sliding glass doors and hurried toward the emergency department.

It didn't take long to find her. The ER was a chaotic mess, but my eyes quickly found her small form lying motionless beneath a thin hospital blanket, and the sight stopped me cold. She looked so fragile that, for one terrifying moment, I could barely recognize the woman who had spent her entire life holding our little family together.

"Morrana?"

A hand touched my shoulder, and I flinched, turning to see a doctor.

"Come with me." He gently guided me by the elbow out into the quieter hallway. "Are you Elena's daughter?"

"Yes," I choked out, my fingers twisting into the hem of my shirt. "What happened to her? She just... she collapsed at the diner. Is it exhaustion? She's been working three jobs, doctor. She just needs to rest—"

"Morrana, listen to me," the doctor interrupted softly. "Exhaustion is just a symptom. Her body is shutting down."

The corridor seemed to tilt.

"What do you mean, shutting down? She's only forty-two."

"It's her wolf," he explained gently. "When a werewolf loses their true fated mate, the grief can affect the body in ways modern medicine still doesn't fully understand. May I ask how long she's been without her mate?"

"H-he died... many years ago," I whispered, the words tasting like ash as they left my mouth.

He sighed slowly, patting my shoulder. "I'm sorry... There's nothing modern medicine can do to replace a lost bond."

"How long?"

"Weeks, possibly a few months."

"No," I snapped, my jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached. "She hasn't given up. She still has me."

The doctor didn't argue. He just gave me another one of those tragic, pitying looks that made me want to scream, before telling me they were moving her to a room upstairs.

An hour later, they moved my mother upstairs, and I followed the orderly down the corridor expecting another crowded ward. Instead, when the elevator opened, I stared at the sight before me in a daze.

A private room.

Large windows overlooked the trees outside, warm lighting softened the walls, and expensive equipment surrounded the bed.

I stared at it. Stunned. There was absolutely no way we could afford this. My blood turned to fire. I knew exactly whose shadow was hanging over this room.

I stepped back out into the hallway, slamming the heavy wooden door shut behind me.

Standing just a few feet down the corridor was Kai. He had followed me here like a guard dog.

I marched straight toward him, my anger returning as I demanded, "How did we get a private room on the third floor?"

Kai didn't even blink. He just stared at me. "I only follow Alpha's orders."

A bitter laugh broke through me like a shotgun.

"Oh, how incredibly generous of him," I mocked, my voice dripping with pure venom. "One second I'm not worthy of being his woman and the next, he's playing the rich savior. Fucking asshole!"

"What does he fucking want?"

"Nothing."

"There's no such thing as nothing with Caius."

Kai sighed. "He gave the order. That's all I know."

I looked toward my mother's room. For once, I didn't have the strength to argue.

"And why are you still here?"

Kai's expression shifted slightly.

"Because the Alpha told me to stay."

"To watch me?"

"To make sure you're safe."

"Same fucking thing."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigarette. "Go outside."

I stared at the cigarette, then grabbed it without a word. I didn't stay at the hospital much longer. There was nothing I could do while she slept.

When I finally returned home, the trailer felt different—quieter somehow, and even smaller than it had that morning.

I opened the refrigerator and found half a jar of peanut butter and some stale bread, so I made myself a sandwich and ate it standing at the counter, realizing only then that I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a proper meal.

Once I finished, I dragged myself to my tiny bedroom.

I changed into one of my father's old gray shirts and sat at my desk with my trigonometry textbook.

Numbers were easier than people because they followed rules, and for a little while, the certainty of the equations became a shield against everything else crowding my mind. But then, a sudden, familiar prickle of heat crawled up my spine. Someone's watching.

I slowly turned toward the window, where two wolves sat at the edge of the tree line. One was Kai's gray wolf; the other was unmistakable even in the darkness—Caius.

His black wolf stood larger than the darkness surrounding him, golden-green eyes fixed on my trailer.

A loud knock suddenly rattled the front door of the trailer, making me jump so hard that my heart seemed to leap into my throat.

I left my room and approached the door cautiously before opening it.

A man in a black courier uniform stood on the porch.

"Morrana Valmont?"

My brows furrowed in confusion. "Yes."

He handed me a long white box tied with a satin ribbon. "A delivery for you."

Before I could ask who had sent it, he turned and walked away.

After locking the door, I carried the surprisingly heavy box to the sofa, untied the satin ribbon, and carefully lifted the lid. Inside was a dark blue silk gown. Beneath it sat a pair of expensive black heels.

I stared at the expensive contents in a daze until my eyes caught the small note tucked beneath the shoes. I picked it up and turned it over; there was no signature, but the sharp, commanding handwriting was instantly familiar.

Caius. Again.

"Wear this tomorrow. We have an event tomorrow evening. Someone will come for you at dusk."