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The knock at my door came at 2 a.m.
Not the polite kind. The kind that said someone was about to die if I didn't move.
I rolled out of bed, grabbed the emergency kit from under the nightstand, and yanked the door open. Three wolves stood on my porch. Two of them were holding up the third.
The third was Kade Thornwood.
Alpha of the Crescent Ridge pack. Six-four, built like he could snap a tree in half, and right now he looked like he was about to collapse. His skin was gray. Sweat dripped down his temple. His eyes were half-shut, and when he breathed it sounded like glass grinding in his chest.
"Healer." The wolf on the left—Silas, the beta—didn't waste time. "He needs help. Now."
I stepped back. "Get him inside."
They dragged him through the doorway and dumped him on the couch. Kade's head lolled back. His shirt was soaked through. I could smell the fever from across the room.
"What happened?" I knelt beside him, fingers already on his wrist. His pulse was all over the place. Fast, then slow, then fast again.
"Curse flare," Silas said. His jaw was tight. "Third one this month. It's getting worse."
I knew about the curse. Everyone in the territory knew. The Thornwood bloodline had been carrying it for three generations. Some kind of ancient hex tied to a war no one remembered. Most of the time it just simmered under the skin. But when it flared, it tried to kill you.
Kade groaned. His hand twitched, fingers curling like he was trying to grab something that wasn't there.
"How long has he been like this?" I asked.
"Twenty minutes. Maybe less." Silas glanced at the other wolf, a younger guy with brown hair and a panicked look. "He was fine. Then he just—dropped."
I pulled open my kit. Grabbed the vial of yarrow tincture and a clean cloth. "Hold his head still."
Silas moved fast. He crouched behind the couch and braced Kade's shoulders. I tilted Kade's head back and tried to get the tincture past his lips.
He choked. Coughed. His whole body jerked.
"Damn it." I wiped his mouth and tried again. This time he swallowed. Barely.
For a second, nothing happened. Then his breathing evened out. Just a little. The gray in his skin faded to something closer to pale.
I sat back on my heels. "That'll hold him for an hour. Maybe two."
"That's it?" The younger wolf looked at me like I'd just told him the world was ending. "He needs more than that."
"I know." I stood and wiped my hands on my jeans. "But yarrow's not a cure. It's a bandaid. If you want him stable, you need to get him to the pack healer."
"You are the pack healer," Silas said.
I froze.
He didn't blink. "The old healer's been dead two years. You're the closest thing we've got."
"I'm a border healer," I said. "I treat cuts and broken bones. I don't do curses."
"Then he's going to die."
The words landed like a slap. I looked down at Kade. His eyes were still closed, but his breathing was rough again. The tincture was already wearing off.
I should've said no. Should've told them to take him somewhere else. Someone who didn't have a vampire father's blood running through her veins. Someone who didn't spend every day pretending to be human.
But I looked at him, and I thought about the last time I'd watched someone die from something I could've stopped.
I knelt back down. "Move."
Silas stepped aside. I pressed my palm against Kade's chest. His heartbeat was a mess. Slow, fast, skip, slow. The curse was shredding him from the inside.
I closed my eyes. Focused. Felt for the edges of the hex.
It was old. Older than I'd expected. The kind of magic that didn't just sit in the blood—it carved itself into the bones. And it was hungry.
I pulled my hand back. "This isn't a normal flare."
"What do you mean?" Silas asked.
I didn't answer. I grabbed a silver needle from the kit and pricked my thumb. One drop of blood welled up, dark and red.
I hesitated.
This was a bad idea. The worst idea. If anyone found out what I was, I'd be dead before sunrise.
But if I didn't do it, he'd be dead in an hour.
I pressed my thumb to his lips.
The reaction was instant. Kade's eyes flew open. His hand shot up and grabbed my wrist. His grip was iron.
His eyes locked on mine. They were black. Not wolf-gold. Black.
"Who are you?" His voice was a rasp. Low and rough and wrong.
I tried to pull my hand back. He didn't let go.
"Lyra," I said. "I'm the healer. You need to let go."
He stared at me. Through me. Like he was seeing something I couldn't.
Then he whispered a name.
"Ashveil."
My blood went cold.
No one knew that name. I'd buried it five years ago. Changed it. Burned everything that connected me to the vampire clan that had raised me. The clan I'd helped slaughter.
I yanked my wrist free. Stumbled back.
Kade's head fell back against the couch. His breathing slowed. The black in his eyes faded.
Silas stepped forward. "What just happened?"
I didn't answer. I couldn't. My heart was pounding too hard.
"Lyra." Silas's voice was sharp now. "What did you do?"
I grabbed the kit and shoved the vials back inside. "He's stable. Keep him hydrated. If the fever spikes again, give him willow bark tea."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
I turned toward the door. Silas grabbed my arm.
"He said your name," Silas said. "Your real name."
I looked him dead in the eye. "He's delirious. He doesn't know what he's saying."
"Then why do you look scared?"
I pulled free and walked to the door. Opened it. "Get out."
The younger wolf looked at Silas. Silas didn't move.
"If you want him alive, you'll do what I said," I told him. "If you want answers, you're going to have to wait."
Silas held my gaze for a long moment. Then he nodded. "Let's go."
They lifted Kade off the couch. He was conscious now, barely. His head turned toward me as they carried him past.
His eyes were gold again. Normal.
But his lips moved. And I heard the word even though he didn't say it out loud.
Mate.
I slammed the door the second they were gone.
I stood there, back pressed against the wood, trying to breathe. Trying to think.
He'd tasted my blood. That meant the bond had snapped into place. Fated mates. The kind of thing wolves spent their whole lives searching for.
And he was cursed. And I was the daughter of the vampire lord who'd probably created the curse in the first place.
I should've run. Should've grabbed my bag and disappeared before sunrise.
But I didn't.
Because I knew what would happen if I did. The curse would kill him. And when it did, the pack would come looking for answers.
They'd find out what I was. What I'd done.
And then they'd kill me too.
I walked to the sink and washed the blood off my thumb. The water ran red, then clear.
I looked at my reflection in the window. Same face. Same brown hair. Same green eyes.
But underneath, the vampire side was waking up.
I could feel it. The hunger. The strength. The thing I'd been starving for five years.
I turned off the tap.
My phone buzzed. I pulled it out.
Unknown number.
The message was short.
We know what you are. Stay away from the alpha, or we'll tell him.
I stared at the screen.
Then I heard the sound.
A knock. Soft this time. Almost polite.
I turned toward the door.
It creaked open.
Kade stood on the other side. Alone. His shirt was still soaked. His face was still pale.
But his eyes were black again.
And blood was running down his face.
His fangs were out.