Chapter 144

Harper’s POV

As Lucas left for his meeting with the Council, Nora spoke to one of the maids and had arranged for tea to be brought to the room.

“What’s wrong, Harper?” Nora asked with a hint of worry in her tone.

I bit the inside of my cheek. Ever since Lucas left to address the council, my mind had been reeling.

“It’s just...I have this feeling that Lucas is keeping something from me,” I said.

Nora raised her brows in question. “Like what?”

I tilted my head to the side, feeling puzzled. “I’m not entirely sure. Before you and Mason showed up, he and I were talking about the mission and how I believed that the man behind the whole operation would likely relocate and start all over again.”

She nodded her head in understanding. “Yeah, and?”

“For some reason, Lucas was adamant about that not being the case.”

Nora’s face twisted into a perplexed look. “So, he believes that whoever is in charge of the Domain will be sticking around?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s what he insinuated, but I can’t come up with a single possible reason as to why. I mean, think about it. If you were in his shoes, and your entire operation had been uncovered through an intense raid—not to mention that you were able to slip away undetected, would you seriously consider the idea of staying in the area?”

“Fair point. If I were him, I would have packed up what little I had left and skipped town,” she admitted swiftly.

“Exactly!” I exclaimed. “Yet, Lucas is convinced otherwise, and he wouldn’t explain why.”

Nora leaned back in her chair and nodded. “Now, I see why you’re feeling a bit skeptical.”

“After everything that he and I have been through, all I asked was that there would be no more secrets going forward.”

“I can understand why you’re feeling this way,” she acknowledged. “Well, before you jump to any horrible conclusion, why don’t you wait until Lucas gets back from the meeting? That way, the two of you can properly talk things out.”

I let out a long, deflated breath. Of course, she was right. There was no point in stewing over possible assumptions when I could simply reach out to Lucas and demand a proper explanation.

“In the meantime, I really am glad to see you’re doing better,” she said.

Most of the tension was released from my muscles. The corners of my mouth pulled upward in a caring smile. “I appreciate your concern for my well-being. In fact, I think it’s I who should be thanking you. You’re the one who convinced Lucas to reach out to Ms. Sage. If he hadn’t, I don’t know if I would still be here.”

Jovial tears speckled in the corners of her eyes.

“Harper, you know you can be honest with me,” she started. “Tell me, how are you really feeling right now?”

I took my bottom lip between my teeth and gently bit down while taking the moment to choose my words carefully.

“Truthfully, I don’t feel like my old self,” I confessed. “I feel like I’m no longer the same Harper that I've always been. It’s like, not only am I sharing my body with my wolf but also with an entirely new entity.”

I was positively shocked that I wasn’t tearing at the seams from all of it.

“In order to save my life, Lucas had agreed to a witch to perform a power transference.”

Her eyes grew wide. “What kind of power are we talking about here?”

“A kind of power that I have no business or right having,” I said tiredly. “I think Lucas called it ‘Mater Luporum’. It’s a rough translation for ‘Mother of Wolves’.”

Nora shifted a little in her seat. “Is...Is that why my wolf feels the need to be close to you right now?” she asked sheepishly.

I let out a light laugh. “It’s very possible. As you can see, the other wolf souls have been more clingy than ever before.”

This time, Nora was a bit hesitant with her next choice of words. “Harper...What happened when you and the group were down in the holding cells?”

I could have easily guessed that this topic would have come up. I trusted Nora to keep this to herself. God only knows what sorts of rumors were currently spreading around the pack.

“I...I lost control,” I told her quietly. “At first, I really did want to try and interrogate the guards to see if I could get any information out of them. Things got a little out of hand.”

“Why do I feel like that’s a complete understatement?” she questioned dryly.

I went on to tell Nora about what happened down in the dungeons. I tried my best to describe all of the feelings that were rushing through me. I really stressed the fact that I had no idea what was going on—this power that coursed through me had taken control.

By the time I was done, Nora looked both intrigued and alarmed. Now that I had told her the full truth of what really happened, I needed to know what exactly people were saying around the pack.

“Alright, I don’t want you to panic,” she said. My stomach flipped. “There are bits and pieces about what ‘supposedly’ happened down in the holding cells. Based on what’s been spreading around, some people are beginning to think that you are somehow connected to the captives from the Domain.”

My eyes grew wide. Oh, for Christ’s sake. Not this again!

“The way they responded to you—I mean, like you said, they were only really willing to talk to you.”

I furiously shook my head. “But that’s just it, Nora! None of them were willing! Because of this damn power, they were stripped of their own free will and forced to talk to me. Most of them were able to resist.”

“Harper, please calm down,” she pleaded.

“But I can’t! None of what’s being said is true. How could people think that?!”

Considering I nearly lost my life in spite of the mission, everyone thought that I was somehow working with the guards who were currently held up in the dungeons.

The thought was ridiculous, but most likely enough to raise suspicion on my character and place me on the wrong side of the council. Again.

I managed to clear my name once; how the hell was I going to be able to do that again?

“I have to put these rumors to rest,” I stated firmly. But how?

It wasn’t as if I could trick people into thinking that I was the same old healer, when that was simply not the case. Because of this power, everyone can automatically sense there’s something off about me.

They would end up seeing me as a threat...I was screwed.

Just then, the door opened and Lucas came walking in, looking tired and on edge.

Nora got up from her spot and gave me a reassuring smile that everything would somehow work out in the end. I wanted to believe that.

Instead of mentioning the developing rumors that had been spreading around, I chose to confront Lucas on our original issue.

“Alright, I want you to tell me what it is that you’re keeping from me,” I demanded.