Alyssa POV:
Two days passed in the darkness. My hand was a mess of blistered, blackened flesh. The silver prevented it from healing, keeping the wound raw and weeping.
"Get up," Sarah, the Omega, whispered through the bars. "They want you upstairs for dinner."
"I'm not hungry," I rasped.
"Please, Luna," Sarah begged, tears in her eyes. "Brianne... she said if you don't come, she'll stop paying for your mother's life support at the human hospital."
My blood ran cold. My mother. She had been in a coma for a year after a rogue attack. The Pack fund paid for her care. It was my right as a Pack member.
"Okay," I said, struggling to my feet. "I'm coming."
The dining room was brightly lit. The smell of roast beef filled the air, making my empty stomach cramp. Brennan sat at the head, Debbi to his right. My seat—the Luna's seat—was empty.
"Sit," Brennan said, gesturing to a folding chair set up in the corner, away from the table. Like a dog.
I sat.
"Debbi has prepared a soup," Brianne announced. "She's so domestic. Unlike some people."
Debbi stood up, holding a large tureen of steaming soup. She walked around the table, serving everyone. She came to me last.
"Here you go, Alyssa," she said with a sweet smile.
She tipped the ladle.
Scalding hot liquid splashed over my chest and my bad leg.
"Ah!" I threw myself backward, the chair tipping over. I hit the floor hard. The soup soaked into my clothes, burning my skin.
"Oh my god!" Debbi shrieked, dropping the ladle. "I'm so sorry! The ladle... it slipped! Are you okay?"
She looked at Brennan. "I'm so clumsy! I think a splash hit my arm!"
Brennan was out of his chair in a flash. He rushed past me—past his wife writhing on the floor in agony—and grabbed Debbi's arm.
"Let me see," he said frantically. There was a tiny red mark, barely visible. "We need to get ice."
"Brennan..." I groaned from the floor. My skin was blistering. The heat triggered the silver poison in my leg, sending spasms of pain through my body.
He looked down at me with pure annoyance. "Stop making a scene, Alyssa. It was an accident."
"It burns," I whispered.
"Get up," he snapped.
I tried, but my leg wouldn't support me.
"I command you to kneel," Brennan's voice boomed.
The Alpha Command slammed into me. My body jerked upright, forcing me onto my knees despite the pain.
"Apologize to her," he ordered. "Apologize for startling her."
"No," I gritted out. My wolf, deep inside, stirred. She hated this. She hated him.
Resisting the Command felt like my brain was being squeezed in a vice. Pressure built behind my eyes. Warm liquid trickled from my nose—blood.
"Do it," Brennan growled.
"I... apologize," I choked out, the words tasting like ash. I stared at the floor, refusing to look at the woman smirking above me.
That night, the fever took me.
The silver in my hand and the burns on my chest overwhelmed my immune system. I woke up in the Pack infirmary, shivering uncontrollably.
Brennan was there, sitting in a chair. For a second, he looked worried.
"You're awake," he said. "The doctor said the infection is spreading."
"Do you care?" I asked weakly.
He looked away. "You are still Pack."
His phone buzzed. He looked at the screen, and his expression softened instantly.
"It's Debbi," he said, standing up. "She's having nightmares about the soup incident. She needs me."
He walked to the door.
"Brennan," I called out.
He stopped but didn't turn around.
"If you walk out that door," I said, "you will never see me again."
He hesitated. For one heartbeat, I thought he might stay.
"Get some rest, Alyssa," he said. And then he left.
I closed my eyes. The tears didn't come. I was done crying.
The door opened again. It was Dr. Evans. He was an older wolf, one of the few who still respected my father.
"He's gone?" Dr. Evans asked quietly.
"Yes."
"Good," the doctor said. He locked the door and pulled a folder from under his coat. "I received a message from Carroll. The boat is ready. But we need to move now."
"I can't walk," I whispered.
"You won't have to," Dr. Evans said. "But Alyssa... once we do this, there is no going back. You will be a ghost."
"I'm already a ghost in this house," I said. "Make me disappear."
