Chapter 118

Violet

Darkness stretched endlessly before me, vast and empty. Then, the dream took shape.

The two wolves from before stood on a precipice, their fur illuminated by an unseen light. The white wolf stood firm, waiting, watching. The black wolf was near, coming up behind the other. Their bands of light glowed as the rubbed along each other's flanks, seemingly happy.

It was beautiful and warm, but something was wrong.

The black wolf's eyes, once so sharp, were dazed, unfocused. He turned away, his steps slow, uncertain, drifting toward another presence, another wolf standing in the shadows. My heart clenched as I tried to move, to call out to him, but no sound came. The white wolf looked panicked, not angry, not jealous but fearful.

The white wolf stepped towards the black as he stumbled into the darkness. Then, the ground beneath her cracked.

Suddenly, I was the white wolf, scrambling for purchase as the ground gave way. I scratched, claws digging in, but there was nothing to hold onto. The earth beneath my paws crumbled, dropping me into the abyss before the black wolf could even notice I was gone.

I fell.

The darkness swallowed me whole.

And then I was drifting though a haze. A fog.

A flash of memory.

I felt so small. Not young, but small. My father loomed over me, his eyes cold, his voice a command. His words were blurred, lost in the haze of time and compulsion, but my own voice rang clear.

"But I know I'm right, Dad. Isn't that what you want for me?"

"Do as I command!"

His voice cut through the darkness, shattering the memory as a sharp, pained wail echoed through the darkness.

Darkness wrapped around me again, heavy and suffocating. But this time, something—someone—was calling my name. I saw a young boy in nice clothes sitting alone. He looked up at me with Theodore's eyes and smiled at me, all teeth and cheer. His eyes glowed with the light of all the stars, the moon, and comets.

The darkness parted slowly. I woke to the sterile scent of antiseptic and the soft hum of machines. My body felt heavy, like I’d been dragged down into the earth and barely clawed my way back up.

Light filtered through the curtains, and when I turned my head, I saw Kincaid and Lily sitting beside me.

Kincaid looked furious. His arms were crossed, his jaw tight, his eyes burning with barely restrained fury. His face rippled like he was holding back a shift with the last vestiges of his calm.

Someone or something must have really pissed him off if he was losing control.

Where was Dahlia?

Where was Theo?

I looked at Lily, who wasn’t much better. She had her arms folded, tapping her fingers against her elbow, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Something was wrong.

Theodore wasn’t here.

My stomach twisted. “Where’s Theodore?” My voice was hoarse, raw.

"Rest, Alpha."

I swallowed, wetting my throat. "Theo'…"

Kincaid’s nostrils flared. “In another room.” His voice was clipped, cold. “Dahlia and Eva are with him.”

I blinked, my mind sluggish, trying to catch up. “Eva?” The name felt foreign on my tongue. “Who’s Eva?”

Theodore

I woke slowly, barely trudging out of darkness. There were people arguing. A woman. Not Violet.

I could see her in my mind's eye. Her eyes open and glowing, blood dripping from her nose as froth bubbled up from her mouth.

Seizing.

Wife. Save her. Wife.

I remembered saying it. I remembered meaning it with everything in me. I remembered pushing, pulling, trying to escape something even as it seemed to take control of me and pulled me into the dark.

I opened my eyes, blinking and trying to figure out what the women were arguing about. My mind thick with fog and my body aching like I’d been hit by a freight train. My senses were scrambled, instincts screaming that something was wrong, but I couldn’t untangle the mess of emotions twisting through me.

Where was Violet?

I remembered her collapsing, the way I felt something rip through our bond, something foreign forcing its way into me. And then her.

A woman I had never seen before, yet seemed to pull on me the way Violet pulled on me, but… hollow. Like a rope without a core. I turned my head, and saw someone sitting there at my beside.

"Vi…olet?" I asked. She gasped. Then, I felt her hand on my.

I flinched, yanking away from her.

Those weren't Violet's eyes. She leaned over me. Her eyes clear and not Violet's. I turned away from her wide, searching eyes. She looked… relieved. Almost like she’d been waiting for this moment forever.

“Theodore,” she whispered, her voice soft, reverent. “I’ve been looking for you. Don't turn away from me.”

A strange pressure coiled in my chest, the same unnatural pull I’d felt at the temple. I felt nauseous. Sick. I turned away from her. Looking, squinting through the haze to see the other figure. They were arguing again. Someone was screaming. My fingers curled against the sheets, uneasy. I didn’t know what to think, what to feel.

"You need to leave!"

"He's my mate! I don't expect you to understand. You--"

"I will--"

"Dahlia," I choked out. The figure on my other side who I assumed to be Dahlia went still. I blinked and squinted more.

She started to clear. Standing there, arms crossed, expression hard as she glared over me.

"If you don't get away from my alpha, I'll rip your hands off."

I heard a soft, weak sound. Dahlia turned her attention to me, looking at me, reaching out to me and her hand landed solidly on me. I hissed at the strain in my back.

"Violet," I croaked. “Where’s Violet?” My voice was rough, but getting louder. “What happened?”

Dahlia exhaled sharply. “She’s fine. Or, as fine as she can be. Kincaid and Lily are with her. You passed out around the same time she did. No one knows exactly why, but…” She hesitated. “There’s speculation.”

Speculation. About me. About whatever had happened in that temple. She growled.

"Hands off."

"But he's my mate."

"Violet?" I asked, frowning. That wasn't her voice.

Those weren't her hands. They weren't the right temperature, the right shape. I couldn't feel her… her strength and support, her love. I could barely feel her through our body. It felt scrambled and disjointed.

My eyes burned. "Violet?"

Eva reached for me again. I felt her fingers grazing my arm. A jolt of pain shot through me, hot and searing, like my magic was rejecting her touch outright.

She gasped, pulling back as if burned.

I rolled over and out of the bed, crashing hard to the ground. The world was spinning. I felt like my whole body had been drained of strength, grinded up and put through the wringer.

"Alpha, you can't--"

"Violet," I choked out again. Shaking to push myself up onto my knees. I panted with effort. My stomach lurched.

"You're too drained. The High Priestess said you shouldn't move."

"Let me--"

"Stay away from me," I growled as the other woman came closer to me. Her scent irritating my nose like tar mixed with Violet's scent. I gagged. "Dahlia… help me."

She hesitated, but then she was helping me onto my knees, taking the bulk of my weight.

She grunted, lifting me to standing, a hand around my waist.

"You've been putting on pounds. I'm putting you on a diet."

We turned and I saw the woman standing there. She almost looked innocent, but everything in me was screaming to keep her away from me.

She wasn't Violet.

She wasn't my wife no matter what the crazy signals I was getting from her. My magic was rioting, my wolf was dazed.

"Please move." I panted. "I need to see my wife."

"But I'm--"

"Dahlia, please."

She didn’t hesitate. She helped me walk, shoving Eva aside with a snarl. I forced myself to keep pace with her, ignoring the dizziness as we walked past her. Every jostle made me want to puke, but all that came was dry heaves. The floor felt liquid, but I didn’t care.

I needed to see Violet.

We went a few doors down and entered the room. When I could make out her figure, she was already dressed, adjusting the sleeve of her coat with quiet precision. She didn’t look at me right away, but the air was thick, heavy.

My heart soared with hope. The weight of fear and doubt drifted up and twisted before growing heavier.

"Violet?"

She turned to me slowly. Her eyes widened as she looked at me. Seconds, maybe less, later she came to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and taking my weight.

"Violet. Wife."

She hushed me, gently. Her hands stroking my back and stumbling back towards the bed. She helped me into bed. Her expression was grim.

"Wife."

She hushed me again, bending down to whisper against my temple.

"Rest, husband."

She pulled back, looking into my eyes as the world grew hazy around me. I wanted her to stay.

“Is Eva coming with us to Midnight?”

"Who?"