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The knock came at 2 a.m.
Not polite. The kind that says someone's dying if you don't move.
I rolled out of bed, grabbed the kit from under the nightstand, and yanked the door open. Three wolves on my porch. Two holding up the third.
The third was Kade Thornwood.
Alpha of the Crescent Ridge pack. Six-four, built like he snaps trees for fun. Right now he looked half-dead. Gray skin. Sweat pouring down his face. Eyes barely open. When he breathed it sounded like broken 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 and dumped him on the couch. Kade's head rolled back. Shirt soaked through. I could smell the fever from across the room.
"What happened?" I knelt, fingers already on his wrist. Pulse all over the place. Fast. Slow. Fast again.
"Curse flare," Silas said. Jaw tight. "Third one this month. It's getting worse."
I knew about the curse. Everyone in the territory knew. Thornwood bloodline's been carrying it three generations. Some ancient hex from a war no one remembers. Usually it just simmers. When it flares, it tries to kill you.
Kade groaned. His hand twitched, fingers curling like he was grabbing at nothing.
"How long's he been like this?"
"Twenty minutes. Maybe less." Silas glanced at the other wolf—younger guy, brown hair, panicked. "He was fine. Then he dropped."
I pulled the kit open. Grabbed the yarrow tincture and a clean cloth. "Hold his head."
Silas moved fast. Crouched behind the couch, braced Kade's shoulders. I tilted Kade's head back and tried to get the tincture past his lips.
He choked. Coughed. Whole body jerked.
"Damn it." I wiped his mouth, tried again. This time he swallowed. Barely.
Nothing happened.
Then his breathing evened out. Just a little. The gray faded to pale.
I sat back. "That'll hold him an hour. Maybe two."
"That's it?" The younger wolf stared at me like I'd just announced the apocalypse. "He needs more than that."
"I know." I stood, wiped my hands on my jeans. "But yarrow's not a cure. It's a bandaid. You want him stable, get him to the pack healer."
"You are the pack healer," Silas said.
I froze.
He didn't blink. "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 gonna die."
The words hit like a slap. I looked down at Kade. Eyes still closed. Breathing rough again. Tincture already wearing off.
I should've said no. Should've told them to take him somewhere else. Someone who didn't have vampire blood in her veins. Someone who didn't spend every day pretending to be human.
But I looked at him and thought about the last time I 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. 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 expected. The kind of magic that doesn't just sit in the blood—it carves 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. Grabbed a silver needle from the kit and pricked my thumb. One drop of blood welled up. Dark red.
I hesitated.
Bad idea. 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.
Instant reaction. Kade's eyes flew open. His hand shot up, grabbed my wrist. Grip like iron.
His eyes locked on mine. Black. Not wolf-gold. Black.
"Who are you?" His voice was a rasp. Low and rough and wrong.
I tried to pull back. He didn't let go.
"Lyra," I said. "I'm the healer. 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 raised me. The clan I helped slaughter.
I yanked my wrist free. Stumbled back.
Kade's head fell back against the couch. Breathing slowed. Black in his eyes faded.
Silas stepped forward. "What just happened?"
I didn't answer. Couldn't. Heart pounding too hard.
"Lyra." Silas's voice was sharp now. "What did you do?"
I grabbed the kit, shoved the vials back inside. "He's stable. Keep him hydrated. 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. Doesn't know what he's saying."
"Then why do you look scared?"
I pulled free, walked to the door. Opened it. "Get out."
The younger wolf looked at Silas. Silas didn't move.
"You want him alive, do what I said," I told him. "You want answers, you're gonna have to wait."
Silas held my gaze. 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.
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.
Stood there, back pressed against the wood. Trying to breathe. Trying to think.
He'd tasted my blood. That meant the bond snapped into place. Fated mates. The thing wolves spend their whole lives searching for.
And he was cursed. And I was the daughter of the vampire lord who 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. 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.
Then they'd kill me too.
I walked to the sink, washed the blood off my thumb. 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 it.
A knock. Soft this time. Almost polite.
I turned toward the door.
It creaked open.
Kade stood on the other side. Alone. Shirt still soaked. Face still pale.
But his eyes were black again.
Blood running down his face.
His fangs were out.