Chapter 5 I was struck motionless, like lightning had hit me directly. Time seemed to stretch endlessly, each second feeling like a knife stabbing into my eyes and carving into my soul. I watched helplessly as Kieran leaned down. I watched as his lips touched Cecelia's chest, and I certainly watched as he sucked gently, over and over again. Cecelia let out a satisfied moan, threading her fingers through his hair. "This side needs attention, too." Kieran frowned slightly. "But that side isn't blocked, is it?" Cecelia did not answer with words. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed his face against her. After a moment of silence, he lowered his head again. I could not watch anymore and bolted into the rain. The storm poured down on me, but I felt no cold. My mind was filled with memories of our first time together, how careful Kieran had been, how he had treasured me, and how he had whispered in my ear with that husky voice, "Elise, you're my first, and you'll be my last..." Now, those same lips were on another woman. My heart ached, and it hurt worse than the lashes. I bent over and crouched in the rain until my legs went numb, waiting until the mansion's lights finally went out before stumbling back like a lost soul and collapsing in an empty room. The fever hit hard and fast in the middle of the night. Half-conscious, I heard Kieran's deep, gentle voice from the master bedroom. He was humming an old werewolf lullaby, one used to soothe their young. Of course, he was doing prenatal bonding with the pup in Cecelia's belly, using a method reserved only for the closest of kin. Just like he had once promised me, saying, "When we have our pup, I'll sing our ancestors' songs to help him sleep every night..." I did not know how long had passed before I heard someone calling me. "Elise? Elise?" I struggled to open my eyes and saw Kieran sitting by the bed with a bowl of medicine. "How did you get this sick..." He touched my forehead with the same gentle care as before. However, when he got close, all I could see was what I had witnessed in that bedroom. I turned away, refusing his touch. "Elise, I'll leave the medicine and water here." He paused, his voice strained. "Cecelia is sick and carrying my pup, plus she has Tyra to care for, so she'll be staying in our house for now. The master bedroom will be theirs for the time being... "You'll stay in this room for the next few days and shouldn't leave, in case they catch something from you. I'll have the door locked from the outside, and Brad will bring you food and medicine." Without waiting for my response, Kieran practically fled the room to go care for Cecelia and Tyra. The lock clicked shut, and my tears fell instantly. How ridiculous. I had once been the treasure he held in the palm of his hand, but now I had become nothing but a danger that needed to be locked away. ... Maybe it was Cecelia's doing, but over the next few days, no one brought me water or food on schedule. My fever would not break, leaving me dizzy and lightheaded, while I constantly heard laughter and joy from outside. Kieran and Cecelia were watching old movies together, the same ones he used to watch with me countless times. They shared candlelit dinners in the living room, just like the surprises he used to cook for me every month. They were even discussing names for their future child, just like he used to hold me and whisper gently, "Elise, when we have children, we'll name the boy Logan and the girl Connie, okay?" Now I heard him saying that if it were a male, they would name him Fenrir; if female, Seraphina. I curled up on the bed, biting the blanket hard, refusing to let myself cry out loud.