Chapter 51
*Jiselle‘
Heat
That v
was
the first thing I felt.
A blistering, consuming heat that pulsed beneath my skin like molten lava, searing through every vein, licking at my bones, burning me from the inside out. My throat was dry, my lips cracked. My skin was drenched in sweat but still felt like it was on fire, like I was trapped inside a furnace with no way out. My fingers curled weakly at my sides, the sheet tangled around my limbs sticking to me like it was made of glue.
My heart pounded too fast.
Too loud.
Each beat made my head spin harder.
A scream tore from my lips, and I jerked upright–or tried to–but my body gave out halfway through the motion. Pain lanced down my spine, sharp and nauseating. My vision blurred and doubled before settling again. My wolf whimpered deep inside me, not just in pain, but in fear,
She was sick.
We were sick
Something was wrong. So terribly, unmistakably wrong.
I gasped for breath, like my lungs weren’t working properly. I could still feel phantom teeth sinking into my flesh, the ghost of Max’s mark replaying like a broken film reel in my mind. Again. Again. Again
He’d bitten me.
Not gently. Not willingly. Not out of love, maybe desperation.
But definitely out of power. Out of fear.
Out of control.
The sound of a chair scraping on the ground made me flinch, and there was a scent I recognized immediately. Ethan.
I blinked, forcing my eyes to focus through the haze of heat and dizziness. He was seated beside me, elbow propped on the arm of the chair, his fingers clasped tightly together like he’d been praying. Or trying not to fall apart.
His face was pale.
His eyes were dark.
And his jaw–his jaw was clenched so tightly I was afraid it might crack.
“E. Ethan?”
His head snapped up instantly. The tension in his shoulders eased a fraction as he exhaled sharply.
“You’re awake,” he said, voice low, like speaking too loudly might shatter me.
“–“I coughed, my chest rattling. “I feel…”
“Like shit?” His lips twitched, but there was no humor behind it.
I gave a pathetic nod, and he reached for the water on the table beside him, holding the cup steady as I sipped. My hands trembled so badly I couldn’t even grip it myself. Shame pooled in my stomach like lead.
“Where where are we?”
“Infirmary,” he muttered. “I brought you here after you collapsed in the courtyard and after the fight.”
The memory hit me like a blow to the chest.
The cold
The burn
The scream
The mark
Max
But fight? What fight?
Successfully unlocked!
I pressed my palm to my chest and felt the phantom ache there again–like a bruise on my soul. I wanted to cry. I wanted to
Chapter 51
throw up. I wanted to scream until the walls cracked and the moon fell out of the sky.
Ethan’s hand was on mine, gently prying it away.
I looked at him again–and that’s when I saw it.
The tightness around his eyes. The line between his brows. The hurt he was trying–and failing–to hide.
He was pissed. At me?
Why? Did he blame me for what Max did? No he wouldn’t. I knew my brother. If he was pissed at anyone it was Max
He didn’t speak for a long time. Just stared at me with those deep, dark eyes that had always been my twin’s–always been the mirror to my soul. And then, softly, carefully, he asked
“Is it true?”
My stomach turned. I didn’t know how I knew I didn’t know how it became evident to me right then that he was indeed angry with me, despite the fact that I was sick. He wasn’t just angry with me. He was… hurt.
I didn’t know how he knew. But I remembered seeing Nate right before I passed out. What the hell happened? Ethan mentioned a fight. Did Nate?
“Ethan.”
“How long?” he asked, angry replaced by raw betrayal.
I swallowed “Since we were sixteen.”
His hand recoiled.
He stood so fast the chair scraped against the floor.
“You’ve known all this time?” he whispered, his voice thick with disbelief.
“I was going to tell you, I rasped. “I wanted to–so many times. But Nate didn’t want me to. Something about a promsie.” “Promise?” he repeated, his voice rising. “Screw the promise! This wasn’t some petty dating. You guys were mates!”
“It wasn’t my choice,” I pleaded.
“Wasn’t your Jiselle. I asked you if there was anything happening with you and Nate and you lied to my face, Jizzy.” I flinched, the words stabbing deeper than any blade.
Before I could speak, the door opened again.
Nate
His presence hit me like a rush of wind–sharp and full of weight. His eyes landed on me immediately, scanning every inch like he was afraid I’d disappear. There were cuts on his knuckles. His jaw was bruised. Blood still crusted at his temple.
And yet he looked like the one who had lost everything.
“You’re awake” he breathed, stepping closer.
Ethan turned toward him, but he didn’t say anything. Just shook his head and walked to the far side of the room, his back rigid with rage.
I didn’t blame him.
I was angry too
At myself
At Max
At this entire twisted world
Nate come to the side of my bed and sat slowly, careful not to touch me.
“You scared the hell out of me, he said, voice rough
“What happened?” I whispered.
He hesitated, then told me
About the courtyard About the fight. About the crowd. About Eva crying, about Bastain and Hadelyn, about the reveal About how everyone knew now
“You’re a mess,” I murmured, staring at his split lip.
“You should see the other guy” he said dryly, then sobered “He’s lucky I didn’t kill him.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” I whispered Yes, I was pissed. Maybe I even hated him but he was… Max. Nate’s jaw clenched. “He marked you, Jiselle Against your will. That’s that’s not something you come b
back from.”
Chapter 51
“I know.”
“No, you don’t. You’re not just sick, you’re poisoned. The mark–it’s being rejected by your wolf as you know. Your body’s fighting it. That’s why you’re burning up. That’s why you can’t shift. It’s trying to kill you.”
A breath caught in my throat.
“I thought it just made people sick. I didn’t know it could-
“It can. And it does. If it’s not reversed, if something isn’t done.”
He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to
Because I felt it in my
In my soul.
bones.
a ball somewhere deep inside me, like even she couldn’t
My wolf was barely clinging on. I could sense her now–curled into a b face the world. Her breathing was shallow. Her spirit dimmed.
Tears welled in my eyes.
“Cant you just mark her and reverse it?” Ethan asked, his tone clipped.
Nate sighed. “That would kill her immediately.”
Ethan cursed under his breath and hell, I did too.
“Why would he do this to me?” I choked out. “He knew what it would do. He knew.”
Nate’s eyes darkened with fury “Because he’s crazy–obsessive. He was desperate enough to force his mark on you and risk everything than think of you choosing me.”
“I didn’t choose you,” I whispered.
“But you didn’t reject me either,” he said softly.
I looked away.
“I’m sorry.” I whispered, not even sure who the apology was for
For Ethan, for Nate, for myself?
For all of it?
The silence stretched.
Ethan paced in the corner, fists clenched, and I knew he was trying to hold it together. But I could feel the storm brewing beneath his skin. I could see the betrayal etched in every muscle.
He finally stopped and turned.
His eyes met mine.
And I swear, they looked like they did when we were kids–when I had broken something precious and he didn’t know whether to cry or get mad,
“You’re my twin,” he said, voice trembling. “And I didn’t even see it. I didn’t see it, Jiselle. You were hiding something this huge and I didn’t see it.”.
I shook my head. “I was scared.”
He laughed bitterly. “Yeah. So was I. When I found you passed out on the ground, barely breathing, I thought I’d lost you. And all I could think about was how stupid I was for not protecting you better.”
“Ethan-”
“I need to get out of here,” he muttered, backing away.
“Ethan, please=”
But he didn’t stay
The door clicked shut behind him.
And suddenly, the room felt colder. Emptier,
Nate sat there, unmoving
I stared at the ceiling, trying not to cry
But I was already crying
ing in my eyes, the
in my chest that refused to loosen
I could feel it in the burning of my throat, the sting My voice was barely a whisper when I finally spoke “Am I going to die?”
