"Harper, you’re going to wear down the floors with all that pacing," Darach gently chastised from where he was. He leaned against the poster of the staircase railing, eyeing me as I went back and forth over and over again for the last hour.

Nicole and Kaine had locked the doors to the infirmary to work on Damon in peace and quiet. I had returned to the bedroom I shared with Blaise to take a shower before I promptly returned to my spot, pacing back and forth while adding nothing of value to the progress of the surgery.

"Perhaps you should get some food," he continued. "Blaise and Kyle are both in the cafeteria. Kyle mentioned that Blaise chased everyone out of the packhouse for today to give you all some space."

Space. I needed space alright.

Just on my way back to my bedroom just now, I could feel the eyes of the pack members glaring me down. It didn’t take them long to realize that their missing alpha had returned, along with the jarring scent of blood and wolfsbane. It didn’t take a genius to piece it all together― they must’ve thought that I was the reason he was injured.

I couldn’t blame them. After all, this was definitely because of me. If it weren’t for my psychotic sadistic huntress mother, this wouldn’t have ever happened.

"I don’t need food," I weakly argued. I stopped in my tracks, my eyes glued to the closed door with a frown upon my face.

I needed Damon to wake up. I needed to know that he was alright. I needed―

"Harper."

Blaise’s voice brought me back to the present, drawing my attention to him immediately. Ever since we had returned and freshened up, everything about him was heightened. His scent seemed sweeter, his emotions were stronger, and even when we were apart, I could almost feel the beat of his heart running alongside my own.

Color had returned to his cheeks as well, and after Nicole had offered him an antidote earlier on before returning to Damon’s surgery, Blaise had seemed better.

"How are you feeling?" I immediately asked, coming over to his side. I placed my hands on his cheeks, tilting his face back and forth to observe him. "Everything looks fine. But are you feeling fine? Do your hands still feel clammy? Maybe we should ask if there’s anyone else in the pack with medical experience―"

"Harper, I am fine," Blaise said, chuckling gently before pulling my hands down from his cheeks. He held them tightly over his chest, holding them close to his heart. "You, on the other hand, need some rest."

"I am fine," I immediately said, refusing to back down. "I just needed a shower and a change of clothes. Which I have. I feel better already."

He raised a hand and placed it on my forehead, his eyebrows quickly knitting together as he sighed.

"And you’re also running a mild fever," he said. "It’s usual, of course, after a werewolf’s first shift."

Darach immediately straightened. I knew he must have had his guesses when he saw me in the city, but it was never confirmed, and he never asked. Now that Blaise had brought it up, he shakily looked at me, then at Blaise.

"So it’s true, then?" he quietly said. "Harper managed to shift?"

I looked over, unsure of how I should reply. Darach must be grasping at all means possible if it meant he could eventually find a way to regain his wolf. After all, I hadn’t shifted even once in nearly two decades. There weren’t even signs that I could― I was thoroughly as human as I could be.

Yet, the power that coursed through my veins at the present was undeniable. I’ve never felt so alive. It felt as though all my senses had been permanently heightened― and they probably were. It was no wonder why Darach was so eager to find a way to get his wolf back. I couldn’t imagine having experienced this only to lose it.

I nodded once, swallowing the bile in my throat. "Yes," I answered. "But I don’t know how."

Upon my confirmation, Darach’s face lit up like a night sky full of stars. He looked at Blaise, beaming brightly, before returning his gaze to me. In a flash, he had crossed the room and practically snatched my hands from Blaise’s grip. Blaise said nothing, but he shot Darach a look of warning, to which the latter didn’t even notice due to his excitement.

"It’s possible?" Darach asked. There were beads of tears in his eyes as he shook my hands as though he was congratulating me. "We can get our wolves back?"

"Calm down," Blaise said, pulling my hands free from Darach’s grip. "We don’t know yet what triggered Harper’s first shift. But by the looks of it, it seems like it’s permanent."

"My mother was still feeding me wolfsbane while in the tower," I added, frowning. "If this worked enough to suppress my shift all throughout my life, I don’t understand how it would fail now."

"A werewolf’s bond with their mate is more than whatever your mother thought it was," Blaise said with a shake of his head. "That is what your mother could and would never understand. She was unlucky, yes, but not all werewolves are the same as her mate was."

"Your wolf must have been awakened because something happened to Damon," Darach deduced. "Perhaps it was your innate nature to protect him from death. How fascinating."

"Goddess, Darach, please knock on wood," I said, exasperated. "Nicole isn’t out yet, and I would rather not throw around such inauspicious words so quickly―"

"Once she is done with Damon, I agree that it would perhaps be best for Nicole to have a look at Harper," Blaise said. He placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently as a show of support. It immediately calmed my hammering heart down. "If it’s something substantial, we could perhaps use it for you and Kyle."

Darach looked as though he was about to faint with joy.

"But it’s not a promise," Blaise warned. "So calm down and don’t get your hopes up."

"Of course not," Darach said. He stopped his jittering, but the shaky crooked smile on his lips could not hide his excitement.

Just as the atmosphere turned light, it quickly turned heavy again as the infirmary door unlocked with a click. Nicole stuck her head out.