Lilac

Chapter Thirty-Three

[Important Note: This is a double update, so please do read first Chapter 32 before proceeding to this chapter. Thank you!]

Lilac blinked, and the world came in and out of focus for multiple times before she heard the familir voice of the witch whispering, "Pretend you're asleep."

The sound of approaching footsteps echoed around the small, dimly lit area, and Lilac kept her eyes closed and listened.

"How is she doing?"

"She'll survive," the witch answered monotonously. "Just give her a day or two and she'll be back on her feet."

"What's wrong with her, anyway? The wound isn't even that deep. It's just a graze of the knife. I expected more from Horthwell's Luna. It seems like the title itself surpasses her."

The witch didn't answer, and Lilac heard a rattling sound, probably the metallic basin being pushed underneath the makeshift mattress Lilac was laying on top of.

The orange light heating the back of Lilac's eyelids dimmed into black as the witch stood up and obstructed the light from the lamp, and said, "It isn't deep but it's infected. Her body's quickly responding to it to protect itself. Human bodies won't begin the process of inflammation this fast. Considering that she's almost past febrile, physically, she's recovering faster than anybody I've ever cured."

"Don't start getting too smart on me, witch," the voice hissed.

"I'm not," the witch answered. She sounded bored. "You asked how she was doing. I answered. Maybe if you didn't cut her with your knife, you won't be nervous enough to see if she's still alive."

"You-"

"Careful, her recovery is still in my hands. You heard what Vlad said. She dies, you die. Don't think I'm scared of you. We all know who has the power here, who has my throat, and who controls me, and that isn't you."

Lilac listened in silence, feeling a sense of respect as she listened to the witch answer without any inhibitions.

Lilac pretended she was asleep until she was alone, replaying the scene inside her head over and over again, hearing Ethan and seeing his clear, ocean eyes that felt like home and feeling the fear ebb away from her.

Lilac wanted to go home. Ethan lost members of the pack, and he must be grieving. Wolves were loyal to one another and treated every pack member as family, and all Lilac wanted to do was comfort him.

Instead she was here, causing him to worry instead when he should be able to properly grieve, and Lilac wanted to scream in frustration but couldn't, keeping it bottled inside her chest, and it rattled and rattled against her hollow, empty ribcage which used to be filled with butterflies, begging to be freed, all until she finally fell asleep.
*

"Keep the perimeter secured, and dispatch more spotters on the border," Ethan ordered tiredly into his phone.

Today, Ethan buried his packmates- something he'd sworn he'd never do again, had consoled their families, had been in an emergency meeting with the pack council, personally made an official report alerted the Highest Council, contacted Galandale, every second feeling like torture.

"Ethan, are you okay?" James replied.

"You know me well enough to know I'm lying if I say yes," Ethan answered. "Bring Ceres to me. I need to talk to her."

"She's with me; we're going straight to your house."

"I'll see you then," Ethan said shortly, dismissing the call as he opened the huge doors of his empty house.