Chapter 488: Lay down my life!

Adrein.

Damien and I dragged Noah across the dusty floorboards, hauling his heavy frame closer to the crackling hearth. Noah let out a quiet, raspy groan as we laid him down on a bed of dry furs, his chest rising and falling in a slow, fragile rhythm. The dark blood on his chin had dried, and though his skin was still ghostly pale, the steady heat from the fire was keeping the cold from taking him.

Damien slowly stood up, wiping his bloody hands against the front of his trousers. His movements were careful, and his face remained tense as he glanced down at Noah before turning his attention toward the heavy oak door.

"He’s stable for now," he muttered, his voice low and tired, as his eyes shifted toward the door again, his expression tightening slightly. "I’m going to check the back window and make sure the warding stones around the ridge are holding."

"Okay," I whispered, my voice hoarse and weak.

Damien gave a small nod before turning away. His footsteps faded as he stepped into the dark back room of the cabin.

Once he disappeared from sight, the silence returned.

It settled over the cabin heavily, thick and suffocating, broken only by the quiet crackle of the birch logs burning in the hearth and Noah’s heavy breathing nearby.

I slowly turned around and looked at Maria.

She was so still.

The fur blanket was pulled tightly up to her chin, covering most of her small frame. Her dark hair lay spread across the dusty leather pillow, strands falling loosely around her pale face.

The firelight flickered softly across her features, casting shifting shadows over her skin and highlighting its pale, almost translucent quality.

The blue tint that had frightened me was gone, but that brought little comfort. Her breathing remained so shallow that I had to lean closer just to hear it. Tiny, fragile gasps slipped quietly past her lips, each one barely audible in the heavy silence of the cabin.

My heart squeezed tight in my chest.

’I did this to her.’ The thought echoed endlessly in my mind.

I was the one who had tightened the bond when she tried to run. I was the one who pulled on her spirit, trying to force her to stay, trying to force her to belong to us. And now, the broken thread between our souls was just a fraying, bleeding wire that offered her no comfort—only the dark, suffocating weight of my own panic.

I took a slow, trembling breath and stepped closer to the cot. The floorboards creaked softly under my boots.

I hesitated, my hand hovering in the warm air above her. I was terrified to touch her. I was terrified that if I reached out, my unstable Alpha aura would hurt her even more. But looking at her shivering fingers poking out from under the blanket, I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.

I sank down onto my knees beside the cot, dragging a small wooden stool closer.

"Maria?" I whispered softly, my voice trembling.

There was no answer, not even a twitch of her eyelids.

Slowly, carefully, I reached out and rested my palm flat over her freezing hand. Her skin was smooth, but cold as ice. I didn’t grab her. I didn’t wrap my fingers around hers to hold her down. I just let my hand rest gently over hers, offering whatever warmth I had left.

"I’m sorry," I murmured, staring at her pale face as a tear burned hot against my cheek. "I am so, so sorry, Maria... for everything."

I closed my eyes and reached deep into my chest, searching for the frayed, bleeding thread of our mate bond.

Usually, when I reached for the bond, I used it like a leash. I used it to project authority, to command, to keep her close. But this time, I didn’t push... I didn’t pull. I opened the mental link as softly as I could, stripping away all my dominant Alpha pride, stripping away my anger and my possessiveness.

All that was left was raw, unfiltered regret and warmth.

’Take it,’ I thought, pushing a steady, gentle stream of my own life energy down the frayed connection. I squeezed my eyes shut, focusing entirely on sending her light. ’Please, Maria... take whatever you need. Take my strength. Just stay alive.’

Through the bond, I felt the dark, cold sludge of the refined wolfsbane sitting heavy on her soul. It was like a thick wall of ice, suffocating her wolf, trying to snap the connection between us completely. But as I kept channeling my warmth, quiet and steady, the sharp, agonizing friction in my own ribs began to ease.

The frayed edges of the bond thread stopped tearing. The raw, bleeding pulse in my chest smoothed out into a low, steady throb.

"That’s it," I whispered, tears spilling over my lashes as I pressed my forehead lightly against the edge of her mattress, keeping my palm warm against her hand. "Just fight it, sweetheart. I’m right here. I’m not going to force you anymore. I promise."

I didn’t try to pull her into my mind. I didn’t try to make her speak to me. I just poured my energy into her like a hearth fire on a freezing night, shielding her fragile spirit from the poison eating at her blood.

For minutes, nothing happened.

The cabin remained painfully quiet, almost unnaturally still. The only sounds breaking through the silence were the soft crackle of the birch logs burning in the hearth and Noah’s heavy, labored breathing nearby. I barely moved, afraid that even the slightest movement might somehow disturb her.

My palm remained pressed against Maria’s delicate hand, my fingers wrapped carefully around hers. I kept staring at her, waiting, hoping for any sign that she was still with me.

Then, beneath my palm, I felt a tiny shift.

I froze.

It was so faint that for a second, I thought I had imagined it. My heart seemed to stop as I held completely still, afraid to believe what I had felt.

But then, her small, delicate fingers twitched against mine.

My breath caught sharply in my throat.

I lifted my head, staring down at her hand as my eyes widened. Her fingers moved again, curling slightly, her weak grip pressing softly against the side of my palm.

The tiny movement sent a rush of hope through me.

"Maria?" I choked out, my voice breaking as a sob rose painfully in my throat.

Her long dark eyelashes fluttered. She let out a soft, tiny sigh—not a painful gasp this time, but a real, gentle breath. The pale, hollow look on her face softened, a faint touch of natural color returning to her lips as the frantic fluttering of her heart settled into a steady, rhythmic beat.

She didn’t open her eyes, trapped deep under the weight of the dark potion, but the violent shivering had completely stopped. Her hand was warm against mine now.

Through the bond thread, I felt a faint, delicate ripple of peace. It wasn’t forgiveness—it was too early for that, and I didn’t deserve it yet anyway—but the cold wall of ice surrounding her spirit had receded just enough for her to breathe.

I let out a shaky, watery laugh, wiping my cheek with my free sleeve. I leaned down and gently pressed my lips to the back of her warm hand, keeping my grip light and loose.

"Thank you," I whispered against her skin, my chest tight with a feeling I hadn’t felt all night. Hope. "Thank you for holding on."

Footsteps sounded in the doorway behind me, and Damien walked back into the main room. He stopped in his tracks, his sharp golden eyes dropping to where my hand rested over Maria’s, then moving up to her peaceful, sleeping face.

Damien let out a long, low breath, the tension in his broad shoulders visibly uncoiling. "Her breathing has changed," he said softly, stepping closer to the cot.

"She’s warm," I rasped, looking up at him with a small, exhausted smile. "The bond...it stabilized. I didn’t pull on her, Damien. I just gave her energy, and she took it."

Damien dropped a heavy hand onto my shoulder, squeezing tight. "Good work, Adrein. Good work."

He looked down at Maria, then over at Noah, who was resting peacefully by the fire. For the first time since we fled the pack down that dark, suffocating tunnel, the overwhelming panic in the room had cleared out, replaced by a quiet, determined focus.

We were still hiding in a decaying ranger cabin in the middle of an enemy threat. The Lycan prince’s scouts were still searching the lower ridge, and dawn was fast approaching. But looking at Maria’s warm hand resting in mine, I knew one thing for certain: we weren’t just surviving the night anymore... we were— I was ready to fight for her future, even if it meant laying down my own life.