Chapter 138

Harper’s POV

“Oh, God,” I whimpered. “Make it stop.”

I held my head between my hands like a vise. The pressure and ache behind my eyes had become too much for me to handle. I suddenly found myself wishing that I was still unconscious and unaware of the world around me.

Between the confusion and constant pain, I was certain that I was seconds away from collapsing. However, I heard the door to the bedroom fly open and in came Lucas, along with a large herd of wolf souls barreling in behind him.

I became swiftly surrounded by all of them.

Lucas’s eyes were wide, yet they were filled with such a look of awe and devotion. It lit a spark within my chest that I couldn’t fully understand.

His voice came out soft. “Harper. Harper, it’s alright. Sweetheart, I need to calm down.”

“I c-can’t,” I hissed. “It’s too much!”

I was so frightened—so terribly overstimulated, I felt like I was mere moments away from self-destructing. Lucas closed the distance between us and took me in his arms. He held me close against the firm planes of his chest.

He cupped the back of my head and pressed my face into the curve of his neck. There, I was able to take in his familiar scent and try to steady myself.

Even still, it was a struggle. Just taking in his woodsy, natural scent was almost too much.

“It’s alright,” he hushed. “Just take it easy. Take deep breaths for me. In and out.”

I forced myself to manage my breathing to follow his verbal tempo. I took one long, deep breath in and held it for a moment before releasing it. After several rounds, I was finally able to gain some semblance of balance.

Planting my hands against his chest, I felt the low rumbling purr of the creature within him. Erie instantly wanted to come to the surface. Had I not been so in need of answers, I would have let her.

As the panic and dread gradually dissolved, I began to feel something stir between my lungs. A pull that was guiding me toward the man in front of me.

I blinked back the tears from my eyes and brought my hand to my chest. This sensation was both warm and utterly spontaneous. Lucas captured my hand and gave it a light squeeze.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he said quietly.

When I glanced up to look at him, my heart flipped. Lucas looked awful. There were dark circles under both of his eyes. His skin had taken on this ghostly complexion that I had never seen. Lucas looked fatigued and simply weak.

Weaker than I had ever seen him. What the hell had this man been going to make him appear this way??

My voice came out still shaken. “W-Why...” I reached my hands up to cup his face, feeling his cool, clammy skin. My brows knitted together in growing concern.

He was suffering from a low-grade fever. Several questions flashed through my mind, but none of them reached my lips.

Instead, an unfamiliar string of words slipped off my tongue. An incantation?

I felt like a passenger within my own body. Unable to stop or pull away. The air around us thickened and filled with a sharp spark of electricity. It was alluring. Consuming.

Before my very eyes, I watched as Lucas’s frailty faded away. The shadows around his eyes disappeared, as well as the cool feel of his skin. Whatever was ailing him had been completely absolved.

Unfortunately, that terrible ringing returned to my head, and my vision instantaneously grew tunneled. All the energy I had initially woken up with was completely depleted.

Lucas’s POV

I was at a loss for words the moment I made it back to the master bedroom. I had no idea that Harper would find herself awake so promptly. Only an hour and a half had gone by since I stepped out.

Through our newly sealed bond, I felt her anxiety. Her distress sent shivering waves down my spine. I’d been in the middle of catching up with Mason, regarding the mission, and was drawn back to her.

Such a feeling was both invigorating and frightening. The moment I saw her, the air grew still in my lungs. She was devastatingly captivating. Harper physically looked different. Her hair appeared thicker and was lightened with highlights. Her complexion seemed healthier, too.

These subtle changes were a clear reminder of the rituals that had taken place mere hours ago.

While Mason was rattling through all the expected details, I had been making several mental notes to myself over how I would go about explaining to Harper what had to be done. I could only hope that she would be willing to hear me out.

Forgiveness felt just a bit far beyond my reach at the moment.

In the midst of the meeting, the energy I had gotten from that unknown herbal mixture Aurora had given me had faded. My muscles began to ache, and my body couldn’t regulate its temperature.

I’d admit, just being close to Harper eased a lot of the pain that I felt in my muscles. But nothing could have prepared me for when she uttered those incoherent words. Harper’s eyes glowed with power—the same power that Aurora had wielded.

Harper was a natural healer, yes. But she didn’t need to treat a single factor of my weakened state the traditional way. With a few muttered words, I felt the pressure in my bones release. All the aches and pains had vanished, and in return, I felt revitalized.

As far as I was aware, that wasn’t something that Harper was ever able to do.

“Aurora was right,” I thought to myself. “Harper is far more powerful than ever before.”

Levi hummed in agreement before letting out an alarming snarl. “Catch her!”

Harper’s eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she swayed back on the heels of her feet. I snaked an arm around her waist and caught her before she’d end up hitting the floor.

Whatever she did cost her what little energy she had in those few minutes since she woke up.

I cradled her delicate form to my chest and gently swept her legs up, bringing her back toward the bed. I brought the blankets around her and brushed a few locks from her face.

A soft knock sounded at the door. I answered the door to find it was Mason. As soon as he saw me, his brows lifted in shock.

“Sir...You look much better,” he remarked.

Mason was aware that the blood ritual had taken place. He made a quick note to inform me that traces of the bloodied symbols were still vaguely present on my skin from before. Nevertheless, I was glad to have told him that the power transfer had been a success.

“Harper healed me,” I said. “But it seems to have drained her.”

He nodded his head. “Understood. I just wanted to let you know that we managed to gain some new intel from the captives we were able to recover from the mission.”

I was not keen on the idea of leaving Harper alone again. Whether I could sense her distress through the bond or not, I refused to leave her side at that time.

And Levi had zero complaints. “We’re not leaving her. Never again.”