'Wake up!' Shade yelled at me, nudging me with her paw.

For a moment, I refused to move because of how sore my body felt. However, it was not long until I remembered what I was doing before everything went dark. When my eyes flew open, I found myself on the ground next to Fenris, who was out cold next to me. Shade was by my side, the size of a deer.

The sun was slowly rising on top of us, marking the end of the blood moon. Even though my first instinct was to run and hide, I could not help but worry about Fenris, who laid next to me unmoving. He was bare skin as I was and covered in dirt. Everything seemed normal, though. There was no difference in him from before the red moon. Well, from the outside at least. It came to me as a relief.

It was not long before I noticed the dry blood on his back. I could not believe how badly I had dug my nails into him. It was almost as if I had lost control over my actions. Hesitantly, I glanced at my hands. My eyes winced when I spotted the dried red liquid under my fingernails. Even though I knew he healed faster than I could ever comprehend, my worries poured. I reached out to touch his shoulder. The moment my skin met with his, he groaned lightly before complaining to Liam that it was too early to get up.

A giggle left my lips when I realized my wolf was fine. Unable to contain it within. After remembering everything he said the night before, I kissed him lightly on his cheek. He covered his eyelids with his hand, bothered by the light from the rising sun. Shade handed me the robe to get ready to leave, but I seemed planted where I was.

'Just a moment… one more second.'

I wanted to watch him sleep. Remembering how many times Fenris professed his love to me the night before. Made me feel like I was in ecstasy. I did not even notice when the barrier went down, but Shade did.

'Lily...' Shade tried to catch my attention.

I refused to take my eyes off Fenris. However, something else caught her interest when she tried to nudge me. The new light also made it easier for her to see what had happened to me the night before.

'Lily... Your body.' Shade commented.

Her words snapped me away from my wolf and caused me to tilt my head at her, confused by what she wanted to say. After all, I still had all my limbs attached, that much I could feel. But what she wanted to point out was not an injury. No, it was something else. The moment I finally inspected myself, Alijah's words echoed in my mind. I found myself unrecognizable from the night before.

Even though, I had not wished or even tried to do so; my body had changed. It had restored every deformity. My breast that Stella had enjoyed destroying, had volume to them. Not too much. It was a normal slim chest. All my deep-colored burn scars located everywhere in my body. Somehow it had turned a light brown, almost as if I had tattooed them on myself. The rest were light enough to be mistaken for my skin. Especially if seen from afar.

In disbelief, I touched my skin to feel it tingle under my fingers. It was real. Somehow, what happened last night had restored my body to a better condition. And I could not explain how it had occurred. I mean, there were stories that witches changed their bodies, but that took years of learning. And I had cast no spell to do so either.

Alijah had said I had the power to morph myself. But I was unaware of how to accomplish it. Nor was it on my radar of things to do. Memories of what happened arose in my head. I tried to figure out how this may have happened. The burning sensation, blue aura, just everything that happened, made no sense. But one thing remained true. I had cast no spell or command on the soul cairn. It could not have come from me.

The realization slowly formed within my mind.

'If it is not something I did... then... No... it must have been...'

I glanced over to Fenris, who still seemed asleep. He was worn out. Usually after a night like we had experienced. Well, on a full moon night, he would feel refreshed the next day. He was up and going before the sun was even out, but this time he just laid there, seemly exhausted. Leaving me to only one conclusion, which made me more nervous than relieved.

'Did Fenris somehow controlled my magic? Is this something he wishes for me?'

Instead of feeling relief, all I could feel was dread. Not because Fenris desired this for me, but because if Alijah could do the same. Then I would be utterly useless against him. If this were true, no one could stop him.

Fenris had no way to fight the black wolf, either. He had recently awakened to this power, while Alijah had an eternity to learn how to bend it to his will. My body trembled when it realized that man was a veritable monster. One with no checks and balances. Whoever was trying to bring him into this world. Probably did not know what they were bringing into it.

Suddenly Shade urged me to put the robe on. Picking me up, she bolted towards the bushes we hid in before. She had noticed someone was approaching us. It was Liam. Luckily, he had not noticed us when Shade quickly shrunk in size. This was no time to ponder on possibilities. I tried to not think too much into anything, waiting for them to part.

Panicking at this moment would not help solve the problems that were arising. Especially if they caught me after being so close to my goal. Unlike Fenris, Liam seemed refreshed when he walked over to his friend, who still was asleep and unaware of his approach. He seemed unimpressed by the state he found Fenris in.

"So much for not doing anything humiliating." Liam sighed.

Fenris did not respond to his comment. Releasing yet another sigh, Liam crouched down towards the silver wolf before poking him on his shoulder. There was zero response again. Noticing something off, Liam grabbed onto Fenris, pulling him closer towards him. He had spotted the blood on his back.

"What the hell did you do last night?" Liam huffed.

Fenris did not seem bothered by him.

"Oi... Wake up." The brown wolf shook him a bit.

My wolf just groaned in response. With each futile attempt to wake his friend up, Liam seemed to get even more annoyed.

"Oh, okay. It is going to be like that then." The brown wolf growled, annoyed, leaning into Fenris.

He grabbed onto his ear, pulling it a bit. The sleeping wolf seemed unbothered by the tug.

"Okay... You asked for it." Liam shrugged, gently blowing into Fenris's ear.

The action caused him to jolt awake and shake his head multiple times. Immediately Fenris growled at Liam, who just crossed his arms in response.

"Aside from the fresh eyes. You do not look intimidating, at least the way you look right now." Liam noted the fact Fenris was bare.

My wolf’s cheeks flushed red, trying to understand what was going on.

"What? Where? Wait..." Fenris mumbled, bewildered, not remembering fully what had happened the prior night.

It was not long before he recollected some pieces of what happened. He peered around the space, almost as if he were looking for something. For me.

"Here, I brought you new clothes. Luckily, I knew you were going to do something embarrassing, but I never expected this." Liam sighed, throwing clothes at Fenris.

Though instead of caring for the clothes, he scouted his surroundings, desperately wanting to find me. The pieces he had recollected were enough to worry him about me.

"No, I..." Fenris stood up.

He would have tumbled down onto the ground if Liam had not caught him. My wolf was weak. Something I had never seen him be. Was it because of me? Because of what happened last night? I could not take my eyes off him. Shade climbed onto my lap, pointing out that I had not fixed my robe well enough to cover myself.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Liam asked, worried about Fenris's behavior.

His friend continued to look for any traces that might lead him to me.

"Lilith..." Fenris answered, sounding somewhat frantic.

'Does he think he ate me?'

The tone in his voice made me want to run to him from where I was, but I could not afford to be found. I held onto Shade tightly, who rubbed herself on my chest to comfort me. If I ran out, that would be it. At the end of all this endeavor, I could not allow that to happen.

"What?" Liam could not follow along, trying to help Fenris clothe himself.

However, all my wolf wanted was to find me.

"Lilith was here." Fenris clarified.

It caused Liam to glance around, utterly puzzled by his friend.

"Only your scent is here. I do not think anyone else is here." Liam tried to help calm his friend.

Fenris was not ready to accept. He had dreamt of everything that happened. No, it had been very real to him. He could still taste me, just had to find me.

"No, she was here with me. I felt her." He tried to explain himself.

Liam's expression changed into something I had never seen him do. He was utterly concerned about Fenris at this point.

"Uh... I do not know if I want to know those details." Liam confessed, feeling a little off by everything.

His reaction triggered Fenris to growl at him.

"No... You do not understand. Arg... Just give me my phone. You have it, right?" Fenris sighed, annoyed by Liam's unhelpful demeanor.

"Yeah, here." The brown wolf took out a phone from his pocket.

Fenris dressed, grabbing the phone from Liam before he sent a message. Unsatisfied with that alone, he called too. But no one answered.

"Arg... Why is no one answering!?" Fenris's mood seemed to worsen.

The brown wolf tried to calm him.

"They are probably asleep." He pointed out.

But Fenris seemed to not want that as an answer. Calling again and again with no response only angered him further.

"Fuck! I have to go see her." Fenris growled firmly, taking two steps away from Liam.

He dropped to his knees. His faithful friend helped him up again. Though he tried to discourage Fenris from his current path.

"No, you cannot, you know you cannot. The elders will not allow you to leave until the festival is done." Liam reminded Fenris, who seemed to care little about what the old Lycans or council wanted anymore.

"Fenris, they are fine. I am sure of it. Melody will allow nothing to happen to Lilith." He added when he saw Fenris’s expression.

My wolf growled loudly, unpleased by what his friend had said.

"You do not know Lilith as I do! Something happened! I should have fucking known!" Fenris snarled in anger, triggering me to flinch.

What awaited me when we met again was going to be something that I would not enjoy.

"I am sure she is fine," Liam assured Fenris.

My wolf took a deep breath, placing his phone away.

"I... do not know." He sighed.

Liam tried to keep him on track.

"Look, let us do this. Let’s see the elders and do their stupid party, then we will sneak out and check on the girls, okay?" He suggested a compromise, but Fenris was having none of it.

"No, I have to see her right now, Liam!" He snapped at his friend, who did not back down either.

He was probably the only Lycan who would stand his ground against Fenris.

"Come on. Just a little longer. Please." Liam grabbed onto Fenris's shoulders, staring straight at him.

"Fuck! Fine." Fenris cursed loudly, agreeing to follow Liam out of the forest.

Finally, I was left alone with Shade. What awaited me when my beloved wolf saw me again would be something that no one could save me from. However, I had to concentrate on what I could salvage. Undoing my bandaging, I confirmed the moonstone had turned bright crimson red. I had collected some of Fenris's power through the spell.

At least his anger would not be for naught. Shade shifted again while I used her to stand. My legs felt wobbly after everything that they had experienced. Well, my body felt weird. It was not something I would complain about, though. Especially after hearing the words, I desired the most.

Without wasting another moment, I fixed my robe before slowly mounting Shade. For a moment, I contemplated running back towards Cerberus. It scared me to use the soul cairn. I did not know what could happen, but I had no choice. Fenris was around in the woods, in a worse mood than I had ever seen. If I ran into him. Everything would have been over. Concentrating once again, I opened a portal that brought me back to the room. Luckily, with no issues this time.

Once inside the room, I noticed Melody still asleep, right where I left her. I had to fight the desire to run to her and wake her up. If she saw me like this. She probably would have too many questions, and I had no time to waste. Glancing outside, I noticed the sun to be in the same place when I left the forest. It was the only reference point I had to tell if time had skipped or not.

However, I could not figure out if it did. Either way, I did not know how much longer the stone would hold Fenris's essence. Taking off the ring, I placed it on the desk. Picking up my bracelet, I wore it again. Before gazing at the potion, I had made to kill off any chance of bearing a child.

Only having a couple of seconds to ponder if I should drink it or not. I opted not to take it, since it could make me ill. And I needed every ounce of energy left within me to break the curse. That would have to wait until I cured Melody. Unable to walk well on my own, Shade helped me into the shower. There I quickly washed, trying to get rid of any traces of where I had been.

After the shower, I dressed myself the same as I always had, making sure every part of me was covered. There was no use in letting her see the changes my body had gained. Or the new bruises I had picked up. Thanks to the night I spent with Fenris.

After I was fully dressed, with Shade's help, I grabbed Melody’s phone. My heart dropped when I saw over twenty missed calls and many more messages. They were all from Fenris. The messages all wanted her to make me get on the phone as soon as she could. I was doomed. He was angry, and I was the sole cause. Shivers went down my spine. I did not want to know what would happen when he laid eyes on me.

Not wanting Melody to know what was going on just yet, I pocketed her phone before finally waking her up. Grabbing onto her hand triggered her eyes to fly open. She sat up faster than I could have imagined. Disoriented by the spell I had just undone, she glanced around the room, trying to understand what was happening.

"What, where? What happened?" Melody asked me, not remembering I caused her distress.

I chuckled in response. Clueless was good for the time being.

"I just finished the preparations to break the curse," I announced, my voice still hoarse from the night.

It triggered Melody to tilt her head upon noticing. She was just as sharp as Liam, making me want to run and hide. However, something else caught her attention.

"The sun is out? I fell asleep?" She continued her query, standing up from the bed and glancing outside.

The sun was in plain sight when she last remembered it darkening.

"Yup. Do not worry though, everything was a success." I assured her, taking out the red stone that had once been whitish blue.

She went to reach for it, but I pulled it away from her. If she touched the stone before the ritual, it would not have been ideal.

"Oh, right... Sorry, I forgot I can’t touch it until the ritual. Was it hard to get it?" She asked, causing me to chuckle anxiously.

I knew full well what I went through to get this for her.

‘Ah... well, there is no turning back anymore.’

And there would be no regrets if it worked.

"No... No, it was not too bad." I lied.

She approached me once again. Grabbing onto her hands, I tried to lead her towards the center of the room.

But I lost my balance. Luckily, she saved me from falling.

"Are you okay?!?" she worried, holding onto me.

"Yeah. The spell just left me a little, battered. Do not worry though." I tried to assure her it was not a big deal.

Instead of dropping it, she seemed unsure about everything.

"I-it is only t-temporary. Come, we do not have time to waste." I added, stuttering a bit, leaving Melody to sigh.

She followed me along, not sure what to think. Once in the middle of the room, we both sat down, as we had rehearsed. Taking off my inhibitor again, I placed it next to me, preparing for the ritual we were about to do. It was not something I had found or written, but the magic needed direction, and words usually made that simpler.

So, I devised a small ritual to do with her. A first of its kind.

"Is this really going to work?" Melody seemed to get nervous.

Her hands trembled a bit. There was no way to know if it would work or not. But instead of instilling doubt, I tried to reassure her. After all, it had to work. Or Fenris would hate me for nothing.

"Yes, it will. Although whoever cast it will not be too happy about it breaking." I smiled, trying to show her no doubts.

She seemed pleased to hear that.

"Will they know?" She asked, wagging her tail.

"Probably. We witch bond ourselves to curses. So, when it breaks, the energy goes back to them. It is why curses go away if the witch is slain." I informed.

Shade joined us, sitting next to me, observing everything we did.

"Good. I wish I could see their faces when they feel it break." Melody smiled happily.

Her tail wagged faster than before. It was rather cute. Clearing my throat, I readied myself for the next stage of my plan. The easy part, or so I thought. Anything after the night I passed had to be easy. It had to be, right?

"Well... let us begin. Remember... this will not feel pleasant for you. It is like a part of you was ripped out. And we will have to stitch it together." I warned Melody.

She nodded to confirm she was ready, closing her eyes and placing her hands on her lap. Taking a deep breath, she braced for whatever came her way. It was very brave of her to trust the same race that had placed her in this mess. Taking a deep breath, I let go of every nerve and fear that may have swelled within me. There was no use in worrying about what came next.

Without wasting another second, I undid her blouse, exposing her chest to me. She shivered from the anticipation of what was coming. I grabbed the stone and pressed it against her chest, causing it to glow brightly. It resonated with the dormant wolf within her.

'No going back. There is no going back anymore.' I repeated to myself, chanting the spell that would change Melody's life forever.

'No longer will they look at Melody like she is worth nothing. No longer will she be gaze down upon like the dirt they label her to be.'

"Liberate in bestia, quae non potest totum contineri!" I recited, causing the gemstone to crack, releasing the energy into Melody's body.

A sudden gasp released from her lips, her body hued crimson along with those amber eyes of hers. I continued to chant the spell over and over.

'Free the beast within that cannot be contained'.

I did not know what to expect, but it was not what was about to happen. Suddenly Melody collapsed. I tried to not think too much into it. It had to be normal. It had to be. No one had ever attempted to do this before.

There were no records or documentation of any attempt to release a cursed wolf. At least to the public. I continued forward. Melody convulsed in front of me, causing me to remove my other bracelet. I worried that I needed more magic to dispel the curse. The moment the bracelet was off, my body radiated pure energy. I closed my eyes to not see what was happening in front of me, pushing forward.

"Liberate in bestia, quae non potest totum contineri!" I shouted one last time.

It triggered an explosion of energy to radiate from us, knocking me out cold upon impact. However, instead of falling into darkness, it felt like it ripped my soul from my body. I was sent flying towards the unknown. When I finally could tell where I was, I found myself where I least expected.

In front of me was Stella, and she had not aged a day. Next to her was a woman who wore a hood that clung to her chest, almost as if something hurt her.

"What is the matter, Edna?" Stella asked, grabbing hold of the woman’s shoulder, who seemed out of breath.

"Impossible." Edna gasped for air.

Stella called out to someone who was outside the room. They quickly brought a chair for the ailed woman to sit on.

"Edna?" Stella continued to tend to the woman.

I could not even see her face. Though, I saw Stella clear as day. The woman called Edna seemed shrouded in thick darkness.

"Hah... So... It finally begins. Someone broke one of my curses. An ancient one. It was impossible to do yet someone did it." Edna laughed, intrigued by what happened to her.

"Must have been a fluke." Stella tried to convince the mysterious woman.

She grabbed onto Stella.

"No... I sensed that power. It was a strong one. Strong enough to rival me, maybe." Edna reassured Stella, who seemed in disbelief.

It seemed somehow my consciousness traveled with Edna's magic when it returned to her. So, the woman who had cursed Melody's family was with her, but why? More questions arose, with little to no answers.

"Impossible. No normal witch can rival an eternal witch..." Stella stopped herself before rephrasing what she was going to say.

'Eternal... Fuck.'

"I mean, a witch as experienced as yourself." Stella finished.

It caused Edna to laugh in response to her change. I glanced around the room to find any factor that allowed me to identify where they were. But nothing stood out other than the two women who spoke in front of me.

"Well... we will see if whoever did that, will survive what happens next." Edna snickered, knowing something I did not.

"What do you mean?" Stella questioned.

The woman slowly stood up from the chair and walked over to me. I took a few steps back in response to her approach.

'Can she see me? Impossible.'

"It is one thing putting a beast to sleep. It is another to awaken it." Edna answered.

I still could not see who she was, even though she was up close.

"Oh, I see... It will probably tear them to shreds." Stella deduced from what Edna had said.

The mysterious woman slightly nodded to affirm.

"Yes... hopefully." Edna smiled towards me, almost as if she could see me.

She waved her hand, sending me crashing back onto my body. My eyes flew open, feeling like a truck had crashed into me. Blood dripped down my head and onto the floor below. The energy blast had flung me onto the bed frame, slicing my forehead on contact. Even though everything sounded muffled, I heard Shade yell my name, telling me to get up and run.

Unable to understand what was going on. I sluggishly made it to my feet, only to see Shade on top of what looked like a beast. Slowly my vision got clearer to see it was Melody in her wolf form.

A giant black wolf stared back at me like I was a snack. She was completely uninterested in Shade, who held her back. Melody wanted me. If she slipped from Shade, she would no doubt charge at me. Her eyes glowed bright yellow, alerting me she was out of control. And I had no way to handle her.

"Go get help! I will hold her down!" Shade yelled at me to move.

In a slip of focus, Melody slid from under her paws. Just as I had thought, she charged at me, only to miss me by a few centimeters when I threw myself away from her. Shade followed her and pinned her down against the bed. I basically threw myself at the exit before slamming the door shut behind me.

The door alone would not hold the beast, though. No, Shade would have to do all the work of keeping Melody inside. My hands trembled uncontrollably when I realized I left the inhibitors inside the room. Not that it mattered. I could not wear them on if I wanted Shade to hold Melody. This was nothing like what I had planned for.

Melody was not how I thought she would be.

'Betrayer!'

'Kill her!'

The whispers barraged me. Ignoring them I tried to stand up to look for someone who could help, but my legs gave out. They had cleaned the building of Lycans. So, none of them heard my spell go off. Frustration built within me as tears welled up in my eyes. No one was around to hear me calling for help, either.

Every race seemed to be outside enjoying the festivities of the moon festival. There was some available to everyone in the town. They had left a few essentials inside the building. And none were on this floor. I could not help but release a scream, slamming my hands on the floor. It caused my hands to glow blue, triggering me quickly to retreat against the door.

I was about to have a meltdown. Nothing could have gone worse. I lost hope of finding anyone to help us. Trying to fight off the head-breaking whispers, I slowly felt like I was shattering. The only light of hope that came my way was when my pocket vibrated. With everything happening, I had forgotten I nabbed Melody's phone before I started removing her curse.

Sitting against the door, I reached into my dress pocket to see who was calling. It was Fenris again. I hesitated to answer him. However, I had no choice but to do so. I had no way of helping Melody, who had lost touch with her gentler side. My finger trembled, going to hit the green icon on the screen.

"Hey... Melody?" A surprising voice answered.

It was not Fenris... but Liam.

"I know you do not want to talk to me, but I promised Fenris to keep calling you while he went to talk with the elders." He went on.

I could barely manage any words to come out of me.

"I just need to know if..." He continued, only for me to interrupt him.

"Liam..." I called out, sobbing.

"Lilith?!?" He sounded alarmed by the fact I was crying.

"I need you." I wept.

Tears continued to come down my cheeks. The whispers drowned me in their never-ending suggestions.

"Lilith, what happened?!" Liam questioned, puzzled.

I hanged up. It was enough. This was enough.

'He will come running, right? He will... He must...'

I tried to comfort myself while Shade continued to keep Melody in check. I could hear what was happening, thanks to my connection to her. I closed my eyes and covered my ears, trying to keep myself calm. For a moment, I closed myself off to the world, waiting for Melody's prince to come to save her.

I lost count of time, withdrawing myself from everything that had been happening. Blocking out everything and everyone was the only way to keep me from breaking. However, I could not help but be startled by someone grabbing onto my shoulder. Much to my surprise, it was Liam, who seemed out of breath and sweaty.

From the moment, I called him; he ran to me.

"Liam!" I cried.

Liam went straight into protective mode.

"What happened? Why are you bleeding?!?" Liam questioned, grabbing onto my face to assess my injury.

The worry on his face was almost calming to me.

"I..." I struggled to say anything.

He glanced around to look for the girl he loved, only to find me alone.

"Where is Melody?" He continued his query.

I glanced away from him upon hearing his question.

"I... broke her curse," I informed.

What I said caused him to grab my hands.

"What? How?" He asked.

I bit my lip, hesitant to tell him. My demeanor was something Liam took a note of, remembering Fenris's small meltdown from earlier.

"Never mind. We can talk about that later. What happened?" Liam pushed that aside.

There were more pressing matters to attend to.

"She lost control. Doesn't even recognize me." I answered, trying to stay calm.

However, my body radiated a blue aura, too. I was hanging from a thread.

"Shit. And where are your bracelets?!?" He continued to assess the situation.

I shook my head in response.

"I... left them inside. Shade is holding her from breaking out." I continued to answer him.

He forced my gaze back onto him before reaching towards my injury. It triggered me slightly to wince in pain from his touch.

"Did she do that?" He questioned.

I shook my head to deny that she ever hurt me.

"No... breaking the spell caused an energy pulse. It flung me across the room." I replied.

He helped me up from the floor.

"It will be okay. Open the door." Liam smiled reassuringly.

I could not help but gaze again towards the ground. He shifted into his wolf form before I opened the door. Behind it revealed a struggle between Shade and Melody. The entire room was a mess.

"Liam... How good of you to show up." Shade scuffed teasingly, holding onto Melody, who struggled to get away from her grip.

For a moment, I thought Melody would recognize her beloved wolf. But instead of that, the moment Shade let her go, she wasted little time in attacking him, only for him to pin her down against the floor. Unlike Melody, he trained all his life. But she did not stay behind as her weight and power placed her not far behind Liam. He struggled to keep her down.

Shade wasted little time in handing me my bracelets so I could put them back on, causing her immediately to shrink in size. Unable to move from where I was, all I could do was watch. Liam asserted his dominance over Melody, only for her to fight back. However, her inexperience quickly showed when he dominated her.

Thinking everything was over, I stepped inside the battered room, triggering Liam to glance over to me. A mistake that Melody took advantage of. She slipped from under him and bit into his neck before slamming him against the floor. Luckily, his thick fur prevented her fangs from going in too deep. However, that did not change the fact that it pinned him under her, unable to move. If he tried to push her off him, her fangs would have caused more damage. Melody dragged Liam all the way to the desk, causing it to tumble.

Even though I wanted to help. All I would do was make everything more complicated if she noticed me. Unlike him, one bite from her would injure me critically. Even though I knew I would just complicate things. I could not bear seeing them like that. She was so gentle before all of this. Why did it turn out like this?

"Melody!" I yelled, triggering her to shift her attention onto me.

The rage... The pain in her face told me all I needed to know about how she felt. She was lost within the untamed beast. Before she could charge at me, Liam shifted back into his humanoid form and called out to her. She quickly turned to him again, growling.

"Mel... I know it is scary. But you cannot let it control you." Liam tried to reach her wherever she was under that beast.

Before I knew it, Liam was on the ground again, beneath the giant black wolf that loomed over him.

"Liam!" I called out, worried she would rip into him.

"It is okay, Lilith. It is going to be okay." Liam reassured from under Melody, somehow she had not bitten down on him.

Instead, she watched him. Like Fenris had done to me under the red moon. It made me wonder if she had ever seen him in his beast form before today.

"Hey, you are in there. I know you are. And I know... you would not hurt a fly. So... please, sweet girl, come back to me?" Liam caressed Melody's cheek.

For a moment, I thought she would snap, but she responded to him by shifting back into her humanoid form.

On top of him, she slowly reached for his cheek, triggering him to smile in response once her fingertips touched him.

"Li... am..." Melody muttered, passing out on top of him.

Instinctively, he clung to her tenderly. I slowly made my way to grab a blanket to cover her with. Unlike other Lycans, Melody's clothes were not enchanted. They had been destroyed during her transformation. I handed the blanket to Liam, who covered her up. Before I could step away to look for a wet piece of cloth so Liam could wipe his neck, he grabbed onto my hand.

For a moment, I hesitated to look at him. I thought he would scold me or yell at me for doing something so stupid. But what happened next left me stunned. Liam pulled me down towards them, tugging my head towards his chest. He held us both ever so tenderly.

"Thank you!" Liam said voice breaking.

It was almost as if he were about to cry himself. I could not believe what he had said.

"What?" I mumbled, having a hard time accepting what he had just said.

After all, I had just done something incredibly foolish. No, it had been multiple ludicrous things that achieved this. I played with the lives of many, yet to him. All he could see was the act of kindness I had done for them. My eyes could not believe it when tears ran down his cheeks. It was unexpected.

A man I had seen as a strong, unmovable Lycan was crying in front of me. Thankful for what I had done for someone he thought of dearly.

"You saved her!" Liam cried, holding onto us both.

I could not help but weep again. My heart ached because of what he had said. Somehow, even though I did incredibly foolish actions, placing the entire world in danger. It ended in something good. Something that saved someone from being punished by the way she was born. And it... broke me.

I saved someone. I had done something good for once and it broke me.