Majori's POV:
I… am not dead?
With great effort, I lifted my eyelids, feeling exhaustion deep to the bone. The first thing I saw was a high ceiling covered in old European motifs. The gilded patterns had faded with time, forming roses and winding grapevines that intertwined like a frozen garden suspended in the air. At the center hung a massive crystal chandelier, its glass droplets scattering faint light across the ceiling cold, yet exquisitely beautiful. This… was the room Vincent had given me when I first came to the Silverfang Pack.
The steady sound of "beep… beep…" echoed somewhere close to my ear, mixing with the faint drip of an IV line. The sharp scent of disinfectant filled my lungs, and a cool current from the air conditioner brushed against my skin, making me shiver.
I tried to move my fingers. The IV tube swayed lightly, and only then did I realize I had really been saved. After all my efforts… I still hadn't died.
Just then, footsteps echoed from outside. The sound grew nearer and nearer until I saw him — Vincent.
Suddenly, a wave of fear rose within me, sharp and suffocating. It felt like being a child again, caught doing something wrong, and now standing before the one person whose anger I feared most. Would he scold me? Would he be furious? He must have known I had tried to end my life.
"You're awake?" His eyes widened slightly, disbelief flickering within them. In that instant, the emotions he had buried for so long burst free confusion, relief, and that fragile terror that if he blinked, I might disappear again.
"Let me call the doctor…" His voice caught in his throat, barely escaping as a hoarse whisper. His hand trembled as he turned to call for help, but before he could move, my frail fingers reached out and brushed against his wrist.
The touch was weak, almost accidental, yet it was enough to hold him still. Both of us froze. The urgency in his gaze softened, replaced by something raw and tender a pain too deep to name. His eyes burned with a strange, trembling warmth, as if he feared that leaving me for even a second would make me vanish.
In truth, I was terrified — not of his anger, but of the thought that he might leave… or worse, that I would have to leave him. I never imagined that fear could hurt this much; it felt as if it was tearing my soul apart.
"Don't… go." My voice was barely audible. My throat burned, like the last key of a broken piano struggling to make one final note. Even those two small words left me gasping for air, like a runner who had just finished a ten-kilometer race. I felt cold, I felt afraid, I needed him to stay.
Vincent's expression shifted. The tension drained from his face, replaced by an emotion I could not read. Or maybe it was just my blurred vision; I could no longer tell what he was truly feeling.
He sat down beside me, a faint, ironic smile touching his lips. Was he mocking me? Did I look that pitiful to him?
"You never cease to amaze me, Majori. Five years apart, and I still underestimated how stubborn and reckless you can be. You wanted to escape me so badly you tried to die and now you beg me not to leave?"
Despite his words, he did not pull his hand away. His skin was warm, his touch soft, yet beneath it I could feel the strength, the hardness. My small hand could not even wrap around his wrist. My weak fingers began to tremble, and just as they were about to slip away, he caught them again, enclosing my hand in his.
He was so warm. And for a fleeting second, I longed to be myself again, the girl who could smile freely beside him. I wished I had never been thrown into this cruel fate.
"What did I do to make you hate me so much, Majori?"His question carried bitterness, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe.
What did he do? Nothing. He had done nothing. It was me. I was the one who had sinned too many times to face him now. If he ever found out what I had done, would he kill me?
"Vincent…" My voice trembled. "Ryder did nothing wrong. I was the one who stole his medicine…"
That was clearly not the answer he expected. His eyes dimmed instantly, the warmth leaving his hands as he turned his face away and laughed quietly.
"So even now, you protect each other. Impressive."
He turned back suddenly and tightened his grip on my hand."You treat everyone well, don't you? Everyone but me."
His fingers pressed harder, enough to hurt. I wanted to cry out, but no sound came. All I could think was that Ryder must not be dragged into this.
Vincent turned away again. "Focus on recovering. I'll let you go. I won't keep you. You must miss Brian a lot, don't you? He must be such a wonderful man leaving you wounded like this."
His voice dropped, lower than the room's temperature, stripped of all emotion, as though he had swallowed his feelings and left only a hollow shell. The mention of Brian made me shudder.
When I didn't respond, Vincent looked back at me, meeting my eyes."What, are you two getting married soon? I'm sure Brian's out there searching for you like a madman. Though I have to say, his taste is terrible."
He tossed something toward my pillow. When I turned my head, I saw it, it's my necklace, the one with a ring attached. So that was it… he thought it was Brian's engagement ring.
But he didn't know.And maybe it was better that way.
"Be good and rest. The man you love would be heartbroken to see you like this."
Vincent stood, letting my hand fall from his grasp. A hollow emptiness swallowed me whole. He walked away, his figure fading behind the curtain. I watched that silhouette disappear the same way I had watched him leave countless times before.
I hated that feeling… but what could I do? Vincent had said the one I loved would feel pain seeing me weak and frail. So tell me, Vincent, are you in pain too?
…
My strength gradually returned. Vincent truly had given me everything I could possibly need.
Here, I could eat and sleep in peace. No more nightmares, no more fear. My complexion grew healthier, yet I knew this fragile peace wouldn't last. Brian was surely looking for me by now. Deep down, I didn't want Vincent to let me go. I wanted to stay, to stay near him but I knew that was impossible. Brian would never allow it.
Tonight marked the thirty-fifth night I had been here.
After the nurse replaced the IV and gave me my medicine, she left. I lay alone in the quiet room, watching the drops of liquid slide down the tube. When I was little, I used to count the drops the same way whenever I got sick, and somehow, whenever I reached the two-hundredth drop, Vincent would always appear.
"One hundred and fifty-seven…""One hundred and fifty-eight…"…I kept counting, even though I knew there would be no miracle this time.
Then suddenly, a voice called out."Majori."
My heart lurched violently. In the stillness of the night, hearing someone call my name in a room where I was certain I was alone, it was terrifying.
I sat up in panic, grabbing a pair of scissors from the bedside table to defend myself. The wolf inside me growled low, ready to attack.
A shadow stood behind the curtain.
I was about to scream, there were guards stationed outside, they would come quickly but then the figure spoke again."I was sent by Lord Brian. Do not scream."