Thea took that as permission to explore every inch of the living room while Rowan stood in the middle of the room, nose tilted up.
“Smells like the forest,” he announced with satisfaction. “Safe here.”
Safe. Right. Because we were definitely safe in Werewolf Town with me dying from a werewolf bite.
I was burning up now, each heartbeat sending fire through the bite wound. When I looked down, dark veins had started spreading up from the bandage, creating a spiderweb pattern on my skin that definitely hadn’t been in any medical textbook I’d ever seen.
“How long?” I asked Noah. “How long before...”
“Before you turn feral? Or before you, you know,d-word?” His bluntness should have been shocking, but I appreciated the honesty. “At this rate? Maybe six hours before your body gives out. Less if the fever spikes higher.”
“And then?”
His face went grim. “With a feral bite and no intervention? You’ll become one of the rabid ones. Lost to bloodlust.”
“A monster.”
“That’s why we need help. Fast.”
“The person who can help,” I managed through chattering teeth. “You said expert. Who?”
Noah’s face went carefully neutral in that way people did when they were about to deliver terrible news. “Look...”
“Oh no. Don’t you ‘look’ me. Who is it?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s... It’s Knox.”
My brain short-circuited, because of the name, because of the fever, I didn’t know. “Matthias?”
Noah grimaced at the name. “Yes, you know him as Matthias.”
“No!” I tried to sit up, which was a mistake. The room spun violently and I had to grab the couch to keep from falling over. “Not him! That bastard? I’d rather di - Just no!”
I caught myself before saying ‘die’, but the sentiment remained. Of all the people in all the supernatural towns in all the world, it had to be him?
“Don’t say that,” Noah’s voice came out harder than I’d heard it. “You don’t mean it.”
“I do!” The words ripped from my throat. “You were there that morning. You opened that door. You saw what he did. I’m not letting him freaking touch me!”
My voice cracked on the last word, five years of buried humiliation rushing back. The memory of his cold eyes, his cruel words, the way he’d reduced everything we’d shared to nothing.
“I won’t give him the satisfaction of saving me just so he can make me feel like a who - Like I’m worth nothing again!”
“He’s been losing his mind for five years,” Noah said quietly.
“Good,” I said, even though the word tasted bitter. “He hurt me. Why should I care if he’s hurting?”
“The rejection has been affecting him slowly. He’s our Alpha, our strongest, and he’s been weakening every day since that morning.” Noah’s expression was pained. “But that’s not the point. The point is your children need you alive.”
“Find someone else. There has to be someone else who can help with a werewolf bite.”
“There isn’t. Not for this. He’s your…” He stopped and stood, clearly done arguing. “He’s the only one who can save you.”
Why?I wanted to ask, but I knew he wouldn’t tell me shit yet. The twins had stopped exploring to watch our argument with wide eyes. Noah noticed and immediately shifted gears, kneeling down to their level.
“Hey, kids. I need to go get someone who can help your mom feel better. You two behave, okay? Take care of your mama. Can you do that for me?”
“We’re good helpers,” Thea assured him solemnly. “I know when she needs water and I can get it super fast!”
