Elisa's whisper snaps me out of my trance. But her voice is so small that I have to lean so that I don't miss a single word. "I–I wish my husband is here with me..." My heart feels like being stretched when Elisa continues to say with tears falling down her cheeks, "The rogues killed him."

Sensing the distinct tension between us, the other healers retreats from the chamber after cleaning up. It's only a thin piece of curtain that separates us from the rest of the world, but for now, we only have eyes on each other. And the baby on Elisa's stomach.

"I'm sorry," I force my mouth to say despite the heavy lump in my throat. My vision blurs with tears, too.

When I lost Ed, I cursed the vampires and even Alpha Mason for taking my husband away from my life. So I was ready to receive Elisa's anger or even hatred, but Elisa smiles weakly at me. "It's not your fault," she says. Her eyes cast down to see blood trailing down my arm from a long scar.

"I'm the one who has to say sorry for that," she tilts her head to the scar. "It looks awful. Sorry. I couldn't think. All I wanted was to keep my baby safe."

"It's okay." Quickly, I cover the wound with my left hand. Using my magic, a white glow covers the wound and in just a few seconds, my flesh and skin have returned to their normal condition. The blood, however, lingers on my skin.

Elisa widens her eyes at the sight of me healing myself. "That's amazing! No wonder you were able to subdue my pain and anxiety earlier. You're a gifted healer!"

It's my turn to give her a weak smile. "I'm just a healer."

Then, I feel the pull to tell her, "I lost my husband too." The lump in my throat intensifies, but I know I must say the words, "He was my everything."

I manage to hold back my tears, but Elisa's cheeks are already overflowing. She brings her baby closer to her chin. "My husband was my everything too," she says. Her lips tremble intensely as she kisses her baby. "The saddest part is that I can't share the joy of having this baby with him. I can't celebrate all the little achievements my son will do with him. My son will grow up never seeing his father."

My daughter will grow up never seeing her father, too. I almost say the words if Sasha doesn't remind me that my pregnancy is still a secret.

While I try to think of words of comfort I can say to Elisa, Ganesh opens the curtains. Our attention changes to the old man who puts on a childish smile, as if he has no burden in his life.

"Elisa, we're going to take your baby for inspection. We'll bath him and clothe him with warm clothes," he says, "In the meantime, you need rest. When we return your son to you, you can continue to feed him again."

Elisa nods to Ganesh. With a flick of his finger, a healer comes in and swoops the baby from Elisa's hands. The baby yawns as the healer carry him and I find it so cute that I can't resist smiling.

"And you," Ganesh says in a sharper tone. I snap my head to face Naver's twin. Despite his milky-colored eyes, he looks at me as if he has the sight of an eagle. "Would you be so kind to come with me? I'd like to ask a few questions."

I gulp.

Is it about my magic? Did I do something wrong? Oh, is he mad because I lost my focus earlier and caused Elisa to be in pain?

In my moment of anxiousness, Elisa grabs my hand and squeezes it. "Thank you for saving my life and my son's life," she continues, "May I... know your husband's name?"

My fingers squeeze back, savoring the warmth of this woman to soothe my anxiety. "It's Ed for short. His full name was Edward Skyhunter."

Elisa's smile blooms as she keeps my gaze. "I know what I should name my son now."

The words fill me with so many things that I find it hard to breathe. My chest feels full of blossoming flowers. The only thing I can do at that moment is to smile back at her because she will honor my husband's name as her son's name.

Elisa tilts her head to Ganesh. "You should go then," she says, "But can I... keep in touch with you?"

I nod without hesitation. "Of course! Please do," I answer her, "If you need anything, please tell me." Deep in my heart, I just want Elisa to get her footing again and live life to the fullest. She's the only woman I've met here who has lost her husband. And for my own sake, I want to see her be happy again, so I am down to help her with anything.

She nods. Then she lets go of my hand. "You're a blessing, Mars," she whispers to me.

Before I can respond, Ganesh has said, "Come on." He opens the curtain and waits for me to come with him. After one final look at Elisa, I walk out of the chamber.

The infirmary hall is empty now. No more trace of the lycan warriors that came with me to the infirmary. Except for one tall man in the middle of the hall.

The man's eyes fixate on me when I walk out of the chamber. His hands that were in his pockets are now curling and uncurling on his sides. He looks worried, but I could be imagining it.

"Mars," he calls me in a hoarse voice. How long has he been waiting for me? Minutes? Hours?

"Come, children," Ganesh instructs us both. So we follow the old man outside of the infirmary. For an old man who walks with a cane, Ganesh walks extremely fast. I have a hard time keeping up with him, so after a few minutes, I just walk at my own pace. My pregnancy does not cause me to be this exhausted, but using my magic does. Also, I figure Lyall would know where Ganesh is taking us, so I will just follow Lyall's lead.

Lyall actually falls back to my pace of walking. I can see him gulping multiple times before he finally asks in a whisper, "You okay?"

I nod slightly.

Then I stupidly ask him in a joking tone, "Did I manage to draw a reaction out of you again? Did I make you feel something?"

He answers me with only silence. The air becomes awkward between us.

Stupid. So stupid.

Why did I ask that? It was as if I was reminding Lyall that I have this influence on him. That I have this transparent, flimsy leash on his neck, whether he likes it or not.

I don't have such a thing.

Realizing he won't be answering me, I lower my head and bite my lips. My eyes find Ganesh's silhouette entering a room at the end of the hall. I just wish I can get to that room fast enough to end this awkward silence. Yet, in just a few steps, Lyall grabs my arm and pulls me to one of the hallway pillars. I gasp when my back hits the hard concrete. When my eyes look up to find his burning green gaze, he already has his hands on either side of my body, trapping me.

I don't even have the chance to gulp when he leans down to me. In one blink of an eye, his lips have touched my neck. And I freeze. I can't even breathe.

My hands curl on my sides so tightly when he gives another kiss on my neck. His lips trail down my neck, sending fireworks to my skin. Until he reaches that one spot that all-female werewolves find sensitive. That spot at the low part of your neck, near the collarbone. The spot for a mating mark, a bite mark that would stay on your skin as permanent as the bond would be.

Ed has been the only one who could create a mark on that spot of mine. And now the lycan king has put his lips on top of Ed's mark.

The next thing I can feel is a burning wet feeling as his tongue licks Ed's mark repeatedly. I shiver with every stroke he does. My mind is getting dizzy from the continuous burning.

"A reaction?" he scoffs hot breath to my now wet skin, which sends an electrifying icy feeling. "How you looked at that baby made me want to push you down and impregnate you right then in front of everyone. You looked like you love babies and I almost couldn't control myself to give one to you just to see the same smile blooming on your face."

I can't even gulp or blink.

"Your sweat tastes so sweet, Mars," this time, he grazes my skin with his teeth. Slowly and sensually. "I wonder what the rest of your body tastes like."

Sasha whimpers in pleasure in my mind. I'd like to blame Sasha for my wetness down there, but that wouldn't be entirely true.

"So, how about that baby? Shall I give one to you–"

Right at that time, I see a flash of brown in front of my eyes. It is so fast that I only register what is happening after a few seconds. I hear a loud thud. Then another and another, until Lyall steps back, giving me space.

"Ow!" he cries out. His face looks angry at Ganesh who just hit Lyall with his cane several times. I can only gape at the audacity of this old man to hit the lycan king! The notorious lycan king!

"No one shall forcibly impregnate a female on my watch, young man," Ganesh says in a deep tone, squinting his eyes to Lyall. I hardly believe this is happening that I have to blink multiple times to make sure I am not hallucinating.

"I'm not going to rape her, old man!" Lyall cries out, "I would never do that. I was just teasing her because she keeps playing with my emotion."

Ganesh drops his cane down. "Well, isn't that exactly why you brought her here?"

Lyall opens his mouth to answer, but Ganesh is already walking in the room's direction again. "Come now, children. Now. I don't have all the time in the world," he joked about his age so casually.

After glancing at Lyall, I decide to follow Ganesh to the room. Lyall follows behind me, yet I can feel his emerald eyes still piercing me from the back.

The room seems to be Ganesh's personal office, and it is very different from Lyall's office. It's smaller too, but it has much more color diversity in it; lots of pattern fabrics, distinct antiques, and a huge shelf full of medical books. Other than that, it looks warm and cozy, with enormous sofas and a coffee table in the middle of the room.

Ganesh motions for Lyall and me to sit on one sofa while he sits across from us. Lyall sits first on one edge of the sofa. Then I sit on the other edge because I feel like I need distance from him to cool off the heat he has given me.

"So, initially I thought the rogues did massive injection for our people to select who has the mark and who doesn't. But seeing that a pregnant woman can get the mark and it's obviously stupid for them to inject the substance to someone who is already pregnant," Ganesh continues as if he has not just seen Lyall being intimate with me, hitting the lycan king, and almost accusing Lyall of attempted rape, "I'm guessing they actually use gas and spray the substance to the entire village. This method sounds more effective for the rogues."

I am actually impressed at how Ganesh's brain works. In the face of scientific discovery, he seems to be lost in his own world of thinking, of trying to connect all the puzzles presented to him.

"Or they could very well inject Elisa too, thinking that despite the pregnancy, Elisa might still be a suitable candidate after giving birth." Ganesh's eyes light up after my words, knowing that I am following along his pathway of thinking.

"That could very well be too," he says, "But males get the fertility mark as well. So I think gas is a more appropriate method that the rogues had used. We might need to issue gas masks to our people for prevention measures."

"No matter what method they use," Lyall's face darkens, "I will eliminate them all. No one dares to touch my people. Especially werewolves."

Instinctively, I sink myself even lower to the sofa. Lyall's words make me uncomfortable because I obviously still smell like a werewolf. I am still a werewolf, flesh, and blood.

"And yet you'd let this fine feline touch you all over." My body decides to almost choke me after hearing this old man straight-to-the-point jab at the lycan king.

"Oh dear," Ganesh hands me a handkerchief from his pocket, which I accept graciously to cover my mouth. From the corner of my eyes, I see the tips of Lyall's ear redden a little. Though his face remains passive.

He clears his throat in an attempt to remain to look calm. Then his gaze meets mine. "I would love that, actually."

I can't blink, gulp, or even breathe. He has me completely frozen yet at the same time, burning me so intensely with just a few words.

"Anyway," Ganesh claps his hand in excitement, not realizing the tension between Lyall and me. Then he points at me, "I want her on my academy. I believe she has proven herself to be a powerful healer in front of all your warriors. It was fun to see their gaping faces, by the way, before you kicked them all out."

I blink several times. It takes me a few seconds to register the meaning of Ganesh's words. Academy... me?

The thought immediately makes my smile bloom. My eyes are filled with happy tears even though I don't know why I am getting so emotional.

When my mouth opens to answer, however, Lyall has answered faster.

"No."

What??

–to be continued–