Moonlit Fever

As we passed through the red door, the memory smothered me, sweeping me into a night I'd spent years trying to forget.

The scent of blood hit me first, sharp and metallic, followed by the heavy, acrid tang of fear.

The scene solidified around us; the forest bathed in moonlight. Nate lay crumpled on the ground, his body broken and still. His chest rose and fell in shallow, labored breaths.

This was the night when Nate had finally escaped from Sebastian, only for my brother Daniel to attack him.

I fended off my brother, but I'll never forget the moment I saw the state Nate was in. Torn and bleeding, and barely clinging to life.

"Stay with me," my younger self murmured, crouching beside him. I lifted Nate gently, careful not to worsen his injuries.

Present day Nate and I watched as my younger self carried him through the woods.

Then the scene shifted to a room. My younger self worked tirelessly to clean and bandage Nate's wounds. His breathing was still shallow, and he was constantly in and out of consciousness.

I'd done what I could to keep him alive; now, all I could do was wait.

When Nate finally woke up, his scream pierced through the memory. His body arched off the bed as though the pain inside him was trying to rip him apart.

"Get away from me!" he shouted, his voice raw with agony, as he finally sat up straight.

"Nate, it's me," my younger self said, stepping closer.

"I said get away!" His black claws emerged instinctively. His eyes burned with fury.

Then Selina appeared in the doorway. Her face was drawn into a grim frown as she tried to intervene. "Nate, calm down!"

"Calm down?" Nate's voice cracked, hysteria creeping in. "You want me to calm down after what all those royal wolves did to me?"

His gaze locked onto my younger self, filled with a venom that felt like it would never fade.

"You're one of them. Stay away from me!"

His words shot through my heart, and my younger self didn't argue. He stood there, silent and stricken, as Nate's anger spilled over. Because he was right. No matter how much I tried to deny it. I was still a royal wolf and just as selfish.

The memory blurred again, days bleeding into one another. I watched as my younger self stayed, trying again and again to get through to Nate, only to be met with more screams. A warning to stay away from him.

Nate was still trapped from his time spent with Sebastian, and every attempt I made to help him only seemed to make it worse.

And with each passing day, I felt the thread that tied us together as mates shredding. I could feel his rejection of me becoming permanent.

"You're hurting him," Selina said one evening, as we sat at the bar drinking. "And yourself."

"I can't leave him," my voice cracked.

Selina's gaze softened. "You're not helping him like this, Lucius. He needs to heal. And right now, you're a reminder of everything he wants to forget. And he will reject you."

"What do you want me to do?"

"We need Chase." She said.

The memory shifted once again, blurring into the moment a young teenager Chase stood beside Nate's bed, his hands pressed to Nate's temples. I was stood in the doorway, looking utterly broken.