Zayn stood in the doorway, his eyes wild and his chest heaving. He’d left the packhouse earlier for a breather, to clear his mind. But something pulled him back.
When he did, his wolf grew restless and worried. When he heard Lily’s heavy breathing through the door, he knew something was wrong.
The scene confirmed his worst fears. Lily was hyperventilating, gasping for air as if she couldn’t breathe. Her face was pale.
“Step away from her,” Zayn growled at Alva, who was crouched next to Lily.
“I know how this looks, Alpha. But you have to trust me,” She said calmly, “I asked about her past, it appears to have triggered a traumatic memory.”
Zayn didn’t wait for further explanation. His wolf was clawing at his insides, demanding he protect their mate. Before he could say anything else, Zayn felt a hand tugging on his pant leg.
He looked down. She was clutching the fabric of his pants tightly, as if it were her only lifeline. Through the fog of the nightmare, Lily seemed to know he was there.
This was her cry for help.
“I think you’ve done enough for today,” Zayn said coldly to Alva.
Despite her protests, Zayn crouched down and carried Lily in his arms. She was burning up; her skin was hot to the touch.
“Ezra!” Zayn bellowed over his shoulder. His Beta appeared immediately in the doorway. “Arrest her,” he ordered, jerking his head toward Alva.
“Yes, Alpha,” Ezra replied, moving to restrain the human healer.
Zayn carried Lily out of the room; her body felt impossibly light. She clung to him with surprising strength, her face buried against his neck. He could almost feel her heart pounding against his chest.
“What happened?” Martha gasped as she and Talia saw Lily in his arms.
“She’s burning up,” Zayn explained while walking quickly.
He carried Lily through the packhouse to her bedroom, ignoring the curious stares they got along the way. Her breathing was shallow and quick, eyes darting beneath the lids.
“It’s going to be alright,” he whispered into her hair. “You’re safe now.”
Zayn kicked open the door. He gently laid Lily on her bed. She whimpered when he tried to pull away, her hands clutching at his shirt.
“I need cold water and clean cloths,” he ordered Martha, who hurried to obey.
Talia approached the bed cautiously. “What happened to her?”
“Your human healer,” Zayn spat, his voice thick with anger. “She did this.”
Before Talia could respond, Alva appeared in the doorway. She had somehow broken free from Ezra, who appeared behind her looking both furious and embarrassed.
“I apologize, Alpha,” Ezra began, “She–”
“Get out!” Zayn roared.
“Zayn, please!” Talia pleaded as she stepped between them, “Let her help, Zayn. Her methods may be unconventional, but she knows what she’s doing.”
“After what she’s done to Lily?” Zayn snarled.
“I know how it looks. But this is part of the healing process, Alpha. One that needs addressing if you ever hope to move forward together.”
Zayn hesitated, his eyes darting between Alva and Lily, who continued to tremble and sweat on the bed.
“Please,” Talia urged. “Let her help.”
After a moment’s consideration, Zayn stepped aside, though his eyes never left Alva as she approached the bed.
Alva sat beside Lily and leaned close, whispering in her ear. “Luna Lily, listen to me. What you’re seeing isn’t real. They’re fragments of the past. They can no longer hurt you.”
Lily’s breathing remained labored, her eyes unfocused.
Zayn clenched his jaw. His patience wore thin. He couldn’t just stand there and watch her suffer. He walked over to the other side of the bed and held Lily’s hand. She seemed to sense his presence.
“Lily,” he said, his voice low and steady. “You’re safe. Your father and brother can no longer hurt you. I’m here, and I will protect you.”
The effect was immediate. At the sound of Zayn’s voice, Lily’s breathing began to slow. Her grip on his hand tightened, and her eyes, though still glazed with tears, focused on his face.
She was looking straight at him.
But before he could say anything else, Lily lost consciousness.
“What did you ask her?” Zayn demanded. “What triggered this?”
Alva straightened. “I asked about her childhood. About how her father and brother treated her after her mother’s death.”
“You what?” Martha gasped in cold horror as she walked over to Alva.
Without hesitation, Martha slapped Alva across the face. Everyone watched on in shock.
“How could you be so cruel? To force her to relive such horrors!”
“It wasn’t my intention to cause harm,” Alva replied, unflinching under Martha’s glare. “But sometimes, healing requires bringing pain to the surface.”
Martha chuckled bitterly. “You know nothing of her pain.”
Zayn pushed past Alva.
“Tell me everything,” He ordered.
Martha’s shoulders sagged.
“I wasn’t there when it started,” Martha began, her voice heavy with regret. “But by the time I found them, Grayson and Xavier had been at it for who knows how long.”
She paused, swallowing hard before continuing. “She was just a child, barely five years old. They had her cornered, taking turns kicking her. I begged them to stop, but Grayson just laughed. Said he was punishing a murderer.”
Zayn turned back to look at Lily, face contorted in disguised fury and pain.
“They... they didn’t stop until there was blood. By then, she’d stopped crying. She wasn’t begging them through tears anymore. I thought... I thought...” Martha couldn’t bring herself to continue.
Talia had tears in her eyes, too. Unable to look at Lily without feeling as though her heart was torn apart.
“It took her two weeks to regain consciousness. Two weeks!,” Martha finally said after a while, lips trembling. “And another two before she could get out of bed.”
She looked at Alva, then at Zayn.
“That’s just what they did to her when she was five. Because they were drunk and they felt like it. Can you imagine what else they’ve done to her? The horrors she had to suffer just because she was born?”
The room fell silent, the weight of Martha’s words hanging in the air. The tension was so thick you could cut through it with a knife.
Zayn looked back down at Lily’s sleeping form. His heart ached like never before. He carefully placed her hand down before he got up to his feet.
“Alpha?” Ezra called after him.
Zayn didn’t respond. He left the room in quiet rage and disbelief.