Instead of going inside the hospital, I stayed outside even when Father Andrew took his leave. I was in no mood to face Veer and rest of the pack. Also, because I had no fear of encountering Noraak and his son. Because the wolves looked grisly, and I knew they could tear the demons in pieces if they happened to show up. So, I sat down on the bench beside the hospital grounds and pondered the current situation.

It was true that I had no idea about werewolf customs. But it certainly seemed absurd when Veer disapproved my idea of blood transfusion. Why couldn't I share my blood with Ved? If my blood had the potential to cure his brother's wounds, why wouldn't he let me?

I was lost in my thoughts when I sensed a presence beside me. I turned super-fast and encountered with one of the massive wolves. He was magnificent, and currently staring into my soul. Literally, his golden eyes dug into mine making me shift anxiously. Then it dawned on me. My eyebrows furrowed in recognition at the golden-brown wolf. It was Radhe. What was he doing here?

My heart almost leaped out of my chest as the massive wolf started shimmering shortly and within a blink of an eye, he shifted, standing tall in front of me. I squealed in panic and threw my hand over my eyes to unsee what I just witnessed. Another naked body of a man!

And what a man! He was like a statue made from bronze, with defined muscles and a pair of golden eyes, that burned like lava.

Good grief!

I heard a sound between a snort and a scoff before he communicated his first sentence to me. "Why are you outside?"

I uncovered my eyes and felt my ears turning hot. With a single glance, I realized he had shifted behind the seat. I stiffened for a fraction of a second at the close proximity before being able to get a hold of myself.

I turned and focused a glare at him. "Don't do that ever again!" I chided as he leaned over the back of the seat. The posture hid the lower half of his body.

Goodness!

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Don't shift like that out of the blue in front of me! It gave me an almost heart attack!" I reasoned earning a brow raise from him.

He was undoubtedly handsome. With a pair of golden eyes, high cheekbones, sharp jawline—definitely a work of magic. I grimaced silently at the thought.

"Alright!" he shrugged. "Now coming back to the point. Why are you outside? It's not safe for you."

I blinked and lowered my gaze at the reminder. "I- I was thinking."

"Thinking about saving Ved?" he asked quietly.

I looked up at him. "How do you know?"

He tilted his head and looked away. "Well, I overheard your conversation. In fact, all of us did." He gestured at the wolves pacing around the hospital with a tilt of his head.

My eyes widened at the realization. Of course, they did. Werewolves had super hearing abilities. They must have heard everything we talked. Additionally, we kissed earlier. In front of the whole pack! Damn! I flushed at the memory.

I was sure my face had taken a darker shade of crimson by now. My eyes wavered as I suddenly choked at the sharp intake of breath.

"Easy there!" Radhe said. "It's alright. You don't have to feel shy about that. Werewolves are quite open about courtship. We will accept you if Veer finds you suitable for him."

I didn't know how to respond to that. So, I just nodded.

A silent moment passed between us before he asked, "What can you do to save Ved?"

I shifted my gaze on him again and saw him frowning. Why did he look so angry all of a sudden? Was there anything I should know?

"I-" I pondered on the thought for a second before blurting abruptly, "Radhe, you can help me! Please help me. I know how Ved can be cured. But-" I hesitated.

Radhe's frown deepened. "But what?"

"It must remain confidential, especially from Veer."

"What are you planning to do?" he asked, now genuinely concerned.

I blinked, averted my gaze, and eyed around the place. "I-I don't think I can tell you in front of them."

Radhe's jaws clenched for a brief moment before he said, "Alright. Come with me."

"Where?" I asked immediately, but he had already shifted.

He stared at me with his glowing eyes before turning and proceeding towards the same path I and Veer took a few minutes back. Toward the forest.

I frowned. We could only talk about this in the forest. That was true. But how could I trust Radhe when I've just met him today. Although Abhay introduced me to him, right now Abhay was nowhere to be seen to accept the liability on behalf of Radhe. So, I was really considering whether I could put my trust in him or not.

Then a thought popped up. I was a hybrid. I had magic too. Although I was new to this fae magic and all, I could still defend myself. At least, I hoped I could.

So, I got up and followed Radhe into the forest.

After walking side by side for quite some time, Radhe halted and turned towards me.

At this point, my eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the forest and my ears to the chirping of the crickets.

I averted my gaze and waited for him to shift. But I didn't have to wait for longer when I heard him say, "It's okay. You can look."

I flushed at the flashback, but my eyes strayed nonetheless. Instead of having another flash of a naked man, I stared wide eyed at a half-man, half-wolf humanoid figure.

Right in front of my eyes, Radhe was standing tall, at more or less seven feet. But he looked nothing like the man I had conversed with just a few minutes earlier. He looked like a man, but was covered in fur all over. In place of his legs, there were the hind legs of a wolf. His hands, however, looked human enough but were covered in fur. His head was still that of a wolf, but he could talk like that!

I stumbled back in shock. What kind of sorcery was that?

"Don't be afraid. It's still me," he said, making my heart pound like a little rabbit sized up by a hungry wolf.

Goodness!

"What- what is all this? What are you?"

Radhe folded his arms over his chest and answered calmly, "To be honest, I expected that kind of reaction. It's not like many people are aware of syn-weres, and furthermore, you're a neophyte in these supernatural matters."

"Syn-? What's that?" I squealed.

Radhe took a momentary pause before explaining, "My mother, Glinda Haife, was from the Moonvalley pack. Apart from being a werewolf, she was a witch too, and dealt with several magical ordeals throughout her lifetime. The weres who deal with magic are called syn-weres. But that's a separate issue. I've inherited some of her qualities, this..." He gestured to his person and added, "Being one of them."

"Your mother was from the Moonvalley pack? Then how come you're here?"

"My father was the son of the former beta of the BloodCrown pack. He died alongside the alpha on the battlefield."

"Oh-" I nodded, unable to come up with a better response. Then it clicked. My mother, Rusha, was former beta's daughter as well. That means... I gasped. "Wait a damn second! You're my cousin! I am Rusha's daughter!"

He unfolded his arms and questioned me instead, "You are? Oh God! Urvi... you! You're the daughter of my father's twin! The rogues... Rusha and Xanfire's daughter? I- I can't- this is..." He seemed shocked and thrown off balance.

"Your father's twin?"

"Yes! My father, Rishi!" He nodded frantically before saying, "Oh God! I never saw that coming. Oh my God! Does anyone know about this?"

I confirmed it by nodding. "Rudras know."

"Holy sh-" he stopped himself from cursing. "They never told me anything about this."

"Perhaps, they didn't want to spread the news that I'm the daughter of the rogues!" I grimaced.

"Well, that's... I don't think so. There must be some other reasons. Anyway," he saved me from the sting in my heart because of my parents. Why the hell did they abandon me? They could've kept me with them. I felt the ache in my heart spreading. But before I could voice out my frustration, Radhe said, "Let's deal with the matter at hand first."

I blinked several times along with nodding my agreement as he asked, "Tell me what you were saying to Veer?"

I was still absent-minded, processing whatever the hell was happening around me, and why it was happening to me, when he prompted, "You blood... what does it do?"

"My blood?" I frowned and stared at him, confused. Then it dawned on me. They had overheard our conversation. Of course! "Oh, yes. My blood heals. Like, heals really fast."

A stretchy silence ensued between us as soon as I revealed that. Then Radhe broke it with a question. "What's on your mind? I mean- how that'll help Ved?"

"Well- I" I should be honest with him, I decided. "I want to share my blood with him. I'm certain it can heal him."

"Direct transfusion?" he questioned.

I nodded desperately.

"Do you understand the severity of the situation?" He asked, then added thoughtfully. "Can you- can you take responsibility for the risk it'll bring?"

I nodded in agreement. I was ready to take on the responsibility. After all, I'd be saving the future alpha of this pack. That was a huge responsibility in itself.

"What'll I get in return if I help you?" He blurted it out without holding back. "I know we've just found out we're related, but I still want something in return."

"I-" I hesitated. Was that the reason he wanted to help all along? Why? Didn't he want his future alpha to recover fast? Did I make a mistake by telling him about the magic in my blood? But he was my cousin! He was supposed to know. Noraak was after my blood too. What if-

I would have continued my chain of thoughts when his voice interrupted, "Don't think too much. I do want his recovery. But I'll be risking my life in order to save him. Cause, I'll have to work under Veer's nose. If he catches something fishy going on, he'll certainly tear me apart."

I blinked. Still hesitant. Then I asked him, "What do you want?"

"A promise."

"What?" His demand left me flabbergasted.

"A promise," he repeated. "No one should know about this avatar of mine. You have to keep it a secret. I don't know why I decided to show you this appearance of mine, but now I don't regret it. You're family after all."

I blinked. Stupefied.

"That's what you want? I mean- I-" I mumbled. I couldn't grasp my understanding of his demand.

Suddenly, he laughed. "Don't think too much, stupid. It's just-"

But I didn't let him finish, as the words left my mouth before I could give them a second thought. "I promise."

"Are you sure you can keep your mouth closed?" he asked shortly, his voice was back to serious.

I nodded and wrapped my hands around myself as the chilliness in the air increased by a degree.

"Alright then. How may we proceed from here?"

"I need a syringe and a distraction."