Aire blinked slowly. She blinked once to regain consciousness, then again to adjust her eyes to the light.

Then finally, her eyes parted.

Light greeted her first, soft, golden, and familiar.

Her gaze drifted upward, unfocused at first, before the shapes above her slowly sharpened into something she recognized.

She saw the ceiling, and the faint cracks she had memorized without realizing.

Her room.

Aire’s breath hitched.

She was back.

Her lashes fluttered again as her mind scrambled to catch up.

The war.

The blood.

The screams.

Her body tensed. She tried to move, but Ince again, she couldn’t. A sharp pulse of fear shot through her chest.

Her eyes widened instantly.

Her breathing picked up, uneven and shallow as panic crept in.

Not again.

She doesn’t want to be in that place again.

Her fingers twitched. Or at least—she tried to make them twitch.

Her body felt... restrained, and heavy.

Aire’s chest rose sharply as she forced her hand to move. Wasn’t she back to reality?

A shadow shifted beside her.

Aire’s gaze snapped toward it.

A maid appeared in her view.

The girl stepped closer quickly. Her eyes wide fully alerted, watching her like she had been waiting for this exact moment.

Aire’s lips parted, but no sound came out.

The maid placed a steady hand over her chest, as if grounding her. Then she turned, her voice rising sharply.

"She’s awake! Your Grace is awake!"

The room shifted instantly. Footsteps rushed to her room, fast and urgent.

The doors burst open.

Two physicians rushed in first. Their robes swayed with their movement, followed closely by a healer whose presence felt quieter, but heavier.

Behind them, the Alphas all three followed calmly behind them. Mabel also walked behind them.

Aire’s breath caught. There were too many people. Her brain couldn’t keep up yet.

Her pulse spiked.

The physicians reached her first.

"Easy," one of them murmured, already checking her pulse, her eyes, and her breathing. "Don’t try to move yet."

Aire barely heard him. Her gaze had already shifted. She searched and scanned the room, watching the corners to make sure she was very much awake.

Her chest loosened immediately.

The healer stepped closer, slower than the others. Her presence was calm, but her eyes were sharp.

Too sharp.

She hovered near Aire’s side, watching her longer than necessary. She studied Aire, a bit strangely.

Aire felt her strong gaze, and the

That gaze.

The physician leaned back slightly.

"She’s stable," he said. "No internal damage. Just exhaustion."

The second physician nodded. "She’ll recover." He said, a bit skeptical. They obviously didn’t expect her to recover the way she did.

The healer didn’t speak. She stepped closer instead. Then she inhaled. Her brows pulled together.

She murmured, almost to herself. "This isn’t a wolf scent."

The room stilled.

Aire’s heart stopped. Her fingers twitched weakly against the sheets.

What?

The healer straightened, but she didn’t repeat it. She simply stepped back like she hadn’t said anything at all.

Aire’s pulse began to race again. It raced fast. Her mind spiraled.

They might already know, even if they shouldn’t know what happened at the tree. Her gaze flicked to the Alphas.

She was watching for any sign. If Mabel already told them what happened, they didn’t show it.

Aire’s stomach twisted. Relief should have followed their neutral expression, but it didnt.

Her gaze moved again. She scanned the room, and counted the maids present. However, there was just one maid.

Her chest tightened.

Where were the others? The ones from before the whole thing? Where were the maids who accompanied her for the morning walk?

Her breathing hitched, and her heartbeat quickened.

Aire’s gaze snapped to Mabel. Mabel stood near the edge of the room, composed as always.

Their eyes met and in that single moment, a sharp, knowing look passed between them. The look was silent.

Aire’s fingers curled weakly into the sheets.

Mabel knew. Or worse— Mabel had done something.

Aire’s chest rose unevenly. However, before she could think further, a voice cut through the tension.

"Well," Nate said flatly.

Aire’s eyes shifted to him.

He stood with his arms crossed, and expression unreadable—but his eyes held disappointment and irritation.

"You couldn’t even perform a simple day duty," he continued, voice laced with quiet disdain, "without your curse getting in the way."

The words landed hard.

Aire flinched, taken aback by his sudden judgment.

His gaze didn’t waver. "If fainting is all you’re good at, then perhaps staying out of the way would be more useful."

Silence followed his words.

Aire swallowed. Her throat felt dry. Her lips parted, but nothing came out.

Nate scoffed softly. "I have better things to do than watch this," he muttered. And just like that, he walked out of the room. The door shut behind him with a quiet finality.

Aire stared after him.

Silence stretched in his absence.

Xanden didn’t speak. He stood still, his arms relaxed at his sides, but his gaze lingered on Aire longer than it should have.

Alaric said nothing too, but he stepped slightly closer, subtle, and protective.

Aire noticed. Her eyes softened when she looked at him. Then, she remembered the girl. Her gaze snapped toward the side of the bed.

It was empty, and her heart dropped. The girl wasn’t there.

Aire’s breathing picked up again.

Her fingers tightened weakly around the sheets. Her voice came out faint. "Alaric..."

Alaric’s head turned immediately.

He moved closer. "I’m here."

Aire swallowed. Her voice trembled. "The girl... where is she...?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"She’s fine," he said calmly. "She’s with a maid."

Aire’s shoulders dropped slightly in relief.

Xanden moved. His head turned sharply toward Alaric, and his eyes sharpened immediately.

His expression hardened, and then he scoffed. "You promised her to keep the human girl?"

His gaze narrowed.

A growl slipped into his voice. "Father asked us for one thing," he continued, stepping forward slightly, "and you couldn’t do just that?"

The tension snapped again.

Aire’s heart stuttered.

Her gaze moved between them.