Ganesh looks at both of us alternately. "Elisa... the... the woman you helped to deliver her baby... we put her and her baby under our watch in the royal infirmary to observe the effect of the fertility mark... it's been over a month and suddenly... she just tried to murder her baby today!"

My heart lurches to the ground faster than I can blink. Instantly, I forget about everything, about why am I in Lyall's office and what were we talking about. My mind is filled with Elisa and her baby.

What happened?

They looked so perfect and happy the day I delivered baby Ed. Elisa looked so in love with her baby, so why would she... why? I don't understand.

"Some of the royal healers are hurt because of her. But even with warriors holding her back, she is so strong in her lycan form. The other patients in the infirmary, as well as anyone in the palace, are in danger too now," Ganesh says with wide eyes, "And people are saying that Elisa suddenly acts like this because of your magic, Mars."

What?

My magic...

My magic... I never knew my magic could cause such an effect. All my patients in my old pack were fine. Lyall has been fine too, after receiving my magic. So why now? Is it really my fault?

I would never forgive myself if baby Ed dies because of me, if I cause Elisa to murder her own baby... Oh, Goddess... if it's truly my power that causes Elisa to do this... I can't... I won't be able to breathe.

My heart pumps wildly as sweat drenches the palms of my hands.

'Bullshit,' Sasha cries out inside of me. 'Your magic is always to heal, to fix things. Not to destroy or corrupt souls. It must be someone's doing and they pin the blame on you.'

"Is the baby safe?" I ask.

Sasha has soothed me a bit, but I need to make sure both Elisa and the baby are still safe to continue to breathe properly.

'We all know exactly who would gain an advantage with such a rumor,' Sasha sneers, 'It must be Adina's followers.'

Ganesh nods at me at the same time as Sasha cursing Adina's followers in my head.

"How about Elisa?"

"Mars, no–" I know exactly what Lyall would tell me. He would tell me not to go to them. He probably would want me to stay in the office as he solves this issue.

But I need to see them myself.

"I need to see her." My voice is firm, solid, and strong. There is no more of that nervousness and mumbling I experienced when I was about to tell Lyall my secret.

There's no stopping this Werewolf Girl when I am set with so much determination like this. Embers of fire dance behind my dark eyes. I could swear I can see exhilaration in Lyall's eyes as he looks at me.

Although his face still looks worried. Or perhaps that's just my wishful thinking.

"Come with me," Ganesh waves his hand as he turns around. We follow him outside of the office, and Lyall's warriors follow from behind.

It takes a few minutes to get to the royal infirmary. Even when we are still several feet away from that vast room, I could hear loud clanking noises and grunts from various people. Someone screams at the top of her lungs as she runs out of the infirmary door, while more warriors enter the room.

"Mars, wait–"

I don't care what Lyall has to say. My feet are already running toward the infirmary. Once I got to the door, the scene in front of me shatters my heart completely.

Five warriors are trying to hold Elisa down. Her body is surrounded by loose ropes, which means she had been tied up but broke free from it. Four other warriors lay on the floor around them, with large wounds, and one is even passed out. And across from them, there is a single baby crate with Ed crying in the middle of it.

I can't breathe.

Whispers erupt from behind me. I catch words like, 'She's the one who caused this.' 'Mars's magic makes that woman want to murder her own child.' Their wary and judging stares are all directed at me, like sharp daggers aimed at one small target.

How did this happen?

Ganesh and Lyall rush behind me. The old man then talks to one of the healers in scrubs, "I thought I told you to take the baby out!"

The healers and some patients that manage to get out of the infirmary are all standing behind a pillar. They are all in shock and are confused as to what to do. "We thought the warriors had her under control. She was tied up and seemed to calm down. Then she cried and... and... asked to see her baby one last time before the warriors will drag her to the isolation room. So we thought we could do at least that."

"But," the healer continues, "once we reeled in the baby... she caught the warriors off guard and broke free from the ropes. Then she tried to murder her own baby again... One warrior tried to bring the baby out, but she hit him so hard that he passed out and instead pushed the baby crate further into the room. The rest of the warriors tried to stop her while we evacuated all patients."

"She assaulted anyone that tried to take the baby," one patient says. The side of his head is bleeding from a claw mark. "So, we left the baby... and called for more warriors."

This makes little sense... Elisa was happy. She was fine when I last saw her. I admit I haven't got the time to meet her since I started the academy... but she was great. She was in love with the baby.

So, why?

Lyall orders the warriors who followed us to help in taking down the rampaging Elisa. He orders one warrior to seal off this side of the palace from everyone.

"No words shall go out of this side of the palace until everything is dealt with. Got it?" The warrior bows and sets off to follow Lyall's instructions.

Elisa's guttural cries bring all of our attention back to her. Seven warriors are now holding her down on the cold floor. But her feral eyes are still set on her baby.

That is not the Elisa I knew. She stared at her baby... with so much anguish... with so much sadness. She growls with her lycan form at the baby. "I have to kill him!" she cries out, "I have to! It's the only way! The only way!!"

Her cries tear my heart. What would make someone think she needs to kill her baby? It's madness!

The warriors holding her down are sweating profusely. Seven of them have not transformed into their lycan forms, so their strengths are individually not enough to hold Elisa in her lycan form. They are not transforming because they don't want to hurt Elisa. But even with combined strength, they are struggling to hold her down.

It's like Elisa has gained more power. Everyone can see the desperation in her eyes. She feels desperate to kill her own baby.

"Your Highness!" one warrior calls Lyall, "Your order, please. We tried to make her pass out several times and it never works. We either have to kill her now or keep holding her down with more warriors."

With just one transformation from one of the warriors, they can easily kill Elisa to save the baby.

I quickly look at Lyall with panic in my eyes. My eyes beg him to not issue the order, and I know he sees it in my eyes. That's why he hesitates to give any orders.

"Let me talk to her," I whisper.

"No!" Lyall growls. Then he orders the warriors, "Keep holding her down. More warriors are coming."

"But Your Highness..." One of the warriors' hands slips from Elisa's body, which causes Elisa to be able to push one warrior so hard that he slams into the sidewall. The momentum causes the other warriors to lose focus and Elisa manages to break free from their hold. She starts running to the baby crate.

Luckily, one warrior jumps to tackle her body to the ground again. The other warriors follow suit.

Elisa groans in pain as the weights of multiple warriors crush her body. Everyone can tell she is hurting, yet the desperation... and the need in her eyes do not fade. And by now, everyone can tell that she doesn't care how it is hurting her, how madness it is... she is determined to kill her own baby.

"I'm talking to her," I've set my mind.

I take two long strides to reach Elisa, but Lyall grabs my arm and stops me. "I said, 'No,'" he says in a low voice. It's an order. From a higher-ranked creature to a lower-ranked, which is me, a werewolf healer that is almost equal to an omega werewolf, the lowest of the caste.

Sasha tucks her tail between her legs. As nature has set it as a law for our species, we are to submit to the alpha.

"You are not my Alpha," it takes all the courage within me to prevent my voice from shaking. "And if you don't let me at least try to help her, you will be my villain."

Lyall widens his eyes at my words. He blinks.

At the fraction of a second of him loosening his grip on my arm, I yank his hand and stride with confidence to Elisa. Lyall is too late to stop me now, but I notice him getting ready to lunge at Elisa if anything happens to me.

I half-circle Elisa and the warriors, then I kneel down to look at Elisa in the face. Her eyes are bloodshot, and all she does is growl with so much ferocity to me.

"Elisa?" I call her name, hoping she would snap out of whatever it is taking over her now.

She snaps her teeth at me and would have bitten my face off if the warriors weren't holding her down. The warriors look at me with nervousness in their eyes. I see one of them raising his hand and transforming it into claws. He is ready to kill Elisa should she try anything to me again.

I know Lyall mind-link the warriors to do it.

Well, I won't let that happen.

So, I grab Elisa's face, forcing her to look me straight in the eyes. My hands glow, just like when I helped her deliver her baby. The glowing white light enters her skin, becoming one with her blood flow.

Then I see it.

The fish I had set free before. It's now entangled with dark, intricate, and heavy chains on its small body. The chains convoluted into one at the bottom, with a heavy anchor, ten times the size of the fish. And that anchor is bringing the fish down and down and down to an endless abyss.

I know what this is.

And I can save her.

Please, Goddess, let me save her.

–to be continued–