Chapter 10: Barely Breathing
The room spun around her as Lily tried to open her eyes. She lay still on the bed, her skin damp with sweat. Fever burned through her like wildfire, leaving her delirious.
Her wrists, though now free, still throbbed from the chain that had once bound them. She didn’t remember being unchained. She didn’t remember anything but pain.
Everything hurt. Her head. Her chest. Her heart. But through the fog, she heard soft crying. It was a voice she knew.
Martha sat by Lily’s bedside, her hands trembling as she wrung a damp cloth into a bowl. Lily’s face was flushed, her breaths shallow. Sweat soaked her hair. The fever had taken hold fast.
“Stay with me, child,” Martha whispered, pressing the cloth to her forehead.
Lily felt a warm hand brush her hair gently from her forehead. Then another hand slid into hers, squeezing tight.
Martha... she tried to mouth, but it was so difficult moving her cracked lips.
“I’m here,” Martha said shakily, her voice thick with emotion. “I’m right here, sweetheart.”
Lily blinked slowly, trying to focus. Her vision blurred and doubled. Why... she mouthed, her lips dry. Why did you stay?
Martha sucked in a breath, wiping her eyes quickly with her sleeve. “Because someone had to,” she whispered.
You should’ve left, Lily mouthed, the words forming inbetween deep breaths. I’m not... worth it.
“Don’t you dare say that.” Martha’s voice cracked. “You didn’t ask to be born into a family of monsters. And now... that damn Alpha. He’s lost his heart. How could he do this to you?”