Chapter 2 INVISIBLE MARKS AND THE FORBIDDEN MELODY
(IVY'S POV)
The manor looked like a cold castle from the outside, but Liam’s bathroom was bigger than the entire house I lived in as a child. My hands shook as I filled the marble tub with warm water. I had never touched anything this luxurious in my life.
Liam was quiet in my arms, but he wasn't tense like a coiled spring anymore. I lowered him slowly into the water. He flinched the moment he touched the water and looked at me. To relax him, I smiled and lathered the water with my palm.
"Look," I whispered. "It's warm... There's nothing to be scared of."
A small smile appeared on Liam’s lips. He slapped the water with his small hands. When the water splashed, he made a quiet, sweet giggling sound. It was like a rusty door opening; forced but hopeful.
I knelt on the edge of the tub to wash him, tugging at the sleeves of my sweater to hide the burn scars on my arms, but I had to lean forward to reach Liam. The sweater I was wearing was old and a bit small for me; when I leaned over, I felt my lower back exposed and the cold air touching my skin, but I didn't care. My only focus was Liam.
For a moment... I felt a shadow at the door. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Like an invisible hand tracing down my spine. I turned my head quickly to the door.
There was no one. The hallway was empty.
Still, the feeling of being watched didn't pass. I quickly wrapped Liam in a towel, picked him up, and went to the room. Night had fallen. Liam was tired but resisted sleeping. There was that familiar fear in his eyes; as if he was afraid nightmares would come if he slept.
I sat him in the rocking chair and rested his head on my chest. His scent... It gave me a peace I couldn't describe at that moment. And that melody started to spill from my lips again. Like a piece breaking off from my soul, against my will.
"Sleep now little star... The night is your friend... The shadows will fade... The wolf protects the end..."
As I sang, Liam’s breathing slowed down. He fell asleep. But I didn't know that someone was listening to me in the dark hallway.
(LEO'S POV)
I shouldn't be entering the house. I should have gone to my study and dealt with the pack's border issues. But my feet dragged me upstairs to the nursery against my will. Not because I was curious about that girl... I just wanted to know if my son was safe. I didn't trust that girl with the scarred face and no past.
The sound I heard as I approached the bathroom door froze me.
Water splashing. And... laughter.
Liam was laughing. My son, who hadn't shown a single sign of joy for two years, who only screamed, was giggling in the water.
I looked inside through the crack in the door.
Ivy was kneeling by the tub, washing Liam. Despite the terrible scar on her face, her expression was so soft when she looked at my son... For a moment, my throat tightened.
Then Ivy leaned forward to soap Liam’s back.
The shoulder of the old, gray sweater she was wearing slipped down.
My breath hitched. The world stopped for a second.
It was there.
Right on her shoulder blade. Faint but distinct. A crescent moon-shaped birthmark.
My hand instinctively went to the doorframe; I had to support myself.
My mind threw me back to that night, to the Masquerade Ball. To the smooth skin of that woman in the silver mask... To the moment my fingers traced over that mark.
When Ivy turned her head and looked at the door, I quickly pulled myself back into the shadows against the wall. She didn't see me.
My heart was beating against my ribcage. "Don't be ridiculous, Leo," I scolded myself. "That woman left you. She was a thief. This girl is just a lucky nanny."
I wanted to get away from there, but my legs didn't move. A while later, that sound rose from the room.
The song.
Her lullaby.
"The wolf protects the end..."
I leaned my back against the cold wall and closed my eyes. The voice was the same. That peace in the tone, that slight tremor... Everything was the same.
My logic was screaming "Impossible." But my wolf... The wolf inside me shifted restlessly when he heard that voice. It was as if he wanted to howl like he found something he had been looking for for years.
"Who are you, Ivy?" I whispered to the darkness. "What are you?"
Afraid of finding the answer, I blended into the shadows and walked away.
