~ RONAN ~

My heart is racing faster, faster, fucking faster, as I hold her in my arms and rush to the pack house. Nikolai and the other guards are standing outside, ready for any alarm whatsoever.

Nikolai immediately steps up to me, his eyes darting from me to Roselle in my arms.

"Is everything fine?" he asks.

I trudge on. I’m scared that the more time I spend entertaining a conversation, the riskier it becomes.

"As you can see, it’s not."

He’s trying to keep pace with me. "I thought we were suddenly under attack because of your howl. Is she fine? What happened? Oh, fuck me, this isn’t the right time. I’ll go talk to the other guards and have them retreat. Let me know if you want me to do anything else for you."

I don’t respond as I head to her room. I had already mind-linked Elias, and I’m expecting to see him there. I kick open the door to her room and see Elias and the other nurses already waiting inside.

Placing her on the bed, Elias and his team set to work almost immediately. I rake my hands through my hair, as I watch him uses his stethoscope to examine her chest and then proceeds to check her pulse.

"Is she going to be fine? Is anything wrong with her? Is..."

The words comes out as a ramble. Elias muttered something to the nurse and then she nods proceeding to do whatever he whispered as he walks up to me.

"Alpha, you need to step aside for some minutes... Trust me, she’s going to be fine."

My eyes widen, and Kael is already growling so loudly it rattles through my chest. One moment Elias is talking, and the next, every other word blurs into meaningless noise.

Before I know it, I’m grabbing him by the front of his coat, the movement fueled entirely by Kael.

"If she’s going to be fine, then why the fuck are you telling me to step outside?" I snarl, yanking him closer. "So you can come back a few minutes later and tell me otherwise? No. Don’t give me that bullshit."

My grip tightens. "I’m not doing this again. I’m not walking out just so you can come back and say, ’I’m sorry, Alpha. We lost her.’"

"Calm down, Alpha," he says, his voice strained. "Like I told you, she’s going to be fine. She’s only sedated and asleep. The drug is wearing off, and she’s going to be just fine. But I need you to let go of me and put me down so I can actually attend to her."

I blink. The crushing weight in my chest eases slightly, enough for me to draw a proper breath. Relief crashes into me so hard my knees nearly buckle.

Kael is still growling at the thought of leaving her side, but I know this is what’s necessary.

She’s going to be fine.

I cling to those words as I slowly loosen my grip and set the healer back on his feet.

"I’m sorry about that," I mutter.

He nods, already shooing me toward the door. "Go. Let me do my job."

Reluctantly, I give her one last look before turning away. Every instinct screams at me to stay, but I force myself to leave, pulling the door shut behind me.

The moment I step into the hallway, I nearly collide with Nikolai, who’s been standing guard outside the entire time.

"How is she?" he asks immediately.

"Elias says she’s going to be fine."

My voice comes out rougher than I intend. The relief is there, but so is the fear, the anger, the guilt. They all knot together into something sharp and ugly inside my chest.

Nikolai studies me for a moment, and his expression changes.

"Ronan..."

I frown. "What?"

"Your eyes."

A chill crawls down my spine. "What about them?"

"They’re bloodshot red," His voice is cautious now.

I don’t need a mirror to know what he means. I can feel it, the heat burning beneath my skin, the restless rage still clawing at my insides.

Kael still throbbing my head. Oh hell.

He backs away, one step. Two. Three, putting distance between us. His shoulders tense as if he’s bracing for something to explode.

"You need to calm Kael down..." he says, his voice tight with concern.

I drag a hand down my face and force out a slow breath. "I’m trying..." I mutter, clenching my fists at my sides. "And he’s fine."

Nikolai lets out a sharp, humorless laugh. He shakes his head and points at me.

"No, he’s not. The curse..." His eyes narrow as they scan my face. "Did you shift?" He takes a cautious step forward. "Did you shift?"

My jaw tightens.

Silence stretches between us.

Nikolai’s expression darkens. He runs both hands through his hair and turns away, cursing under his breath. When he faces me again, frustration is written all over his face.

"Fuck." He exhales heavily. "We need to get the Seer." His gaze locks onto mine, grim and unyielding. "Before this gets out of hand."

I stare back at the door, contemplating whether to leave or go with the idea Nikolai just came up with. He closes the distance and grabs my hands this time.

"Listen to me," Nikolai says, his grip tightening on my wrists. "Listen to me very carefully because I’m only going to say this once."

I look at him. His face is twisted with genuine fear, not fear of me, but fear for me. It’s a distinction that matters.

"She’s going to wake up," he continues, his voice barely above a whisper. "And when she does, she’s going to be looking for you—the you she knows and has spent time with—not the monster chewing and clawing to get to you and Kael."

"She already doesn’t trust easily, and you wouldn’t want to give her more reasons to doubt."

"The Seer is in the meditation chamber," Nikolai says, already pulling me toward the corridor. "Your mother is probably already on her way. We need to move. Now."