The Gate of Shadows

Layla stood by the door, scowling at me after witnessing what I had done. Melody didn’t have the strength to push her away from us. She had probably seen him reciprocate with the first kiss, too, no matter how short.

Whenever Layla tried to kiss him, he would automatically push her away as far as he could without hurting her physically. Though sometimes it ended on Layla's bum on the floor.

"Fenris... I’m...." I tried to apologize, only to stop wincing in pain.

Fenris bit into his lip, turning back his gaze towards me. His eyes were so fridged that they sent shivers down my spine.

Ah... I messed up big time.

He entered damage control mode, and it was all my fault.

"Say nothing... Stay here." He ordered before leaving me sitting on the bathroom floor while he dealt with Layla.

My body throbbed, pushing down every emotion that wanted to swell out of me.

Fear? Sadness?

I didn’t know how to differentiate anything anymore. Shade was still on my lap, out cold, prompting me to trail my fingers on her wet fur.

Even though you hate getting wet… You…

"Fenris, this bitch was just harassing Lilith!" Melody growled, not allowing Layla to shift the narrative to herself.

It forced her to enter defense mode.

"I did nothing of the sort. I only entered the bathroom to apologize for Kira's behavior." Layla assured him.

"That wasn’t what I heard!" the black wolf argued, not backing off.

Layla’s eyes shimmered brightly, grabbing Melody’s arms. "What would a runt, like you know? You don’t have sensitive hearing like pure breeds." She shot back.

The brave wolf didn’t stand down from her future alpha. However, with Fenris and Liam present, there wasn’t much the white Lycan could do.

"I might not hear as well as you, but Lilith told you to get out multiple times, and you refused to listen to her! That’s harassment!" Melody stood her ground, growling back at Layla.

Fenris walked towards them with his tail tense.

"Enough," he snapped, triggering both females to go silent.

Melody appeared startled by Fenris's hostile voice, which lacked any warmth or patience that was usually present in it. Instead of getting in his way, she ran to help me. My body shivered from the overwhelming magical power I held back.

With my body’s temperature rising, my vision began to blur.

"Not enough! Fenris, why did she kiss you like that?!" Layla demanded answers upon his approach.

He glared at her, causing her demeanor to become somewhat submissive. She slanted her ears downwards, tucking her tail between her legs.

"Lilith was panicking. This wouldn’t have happened if you never entered the bathroom." He scolded, voice devoid of any emotion.

His hands were in the form of fists, trembling too.

"I thought it was fine. We’re both women, after all." Layla suggested, ignorant of everything I had experienced.

It triggered Fenris to scowl at her intently.

"Oh, no, you’re burning up," Melody whispered, becoming alarmed when she touched my forehead with her cool hand.

"Not for her! You crossed a boundary! You know nothing about her! From this moment on, you won’t go near her! Got it!?" Fenris declared, triggering Layla to flare up again.

"I won’t tolerate this. She fucking kissed my future husband. I’ll speak with Ryker—" Layla began, only to be interrupted by Fenris grabbing her face with one hand.

His eyes were emotionless, while hers opened wide, freezing where she was.

"Fenris, let’s think about this carefully," Liam tried to be the voice of reason.

Taking a deep breath, Fenris sighed, yanking Layla towards him, her feet barely touched the floor.

"Layla, I don’t want to and can’t deal with you today. If I even figure out that you said anything to Ryker or hurt Lilith. Marrying me will be the worst decision in your life. Do you understand, future wife?" he threatened.

Layla softly nodded in agreement, trembling where she was.

"Good," Fenris affirmed, letting go of her.

She stumbled, getting away from him. By this point, everything was getting too blurry for me to handle.

"Fenris! Help!" Melody called out to him.

I fell onto her bosom, unable to hold myself up anymore as Shade slid from my lap onto the floor. Wasting little time, Fenris turned back towards me. That was when Layla noticed something weird about me, although she backed up somewhat.

"Why are her eyes glowing blue? Weren't they brown earlier?" Layla questioned.

Fenris shot back a glare, triggering her to step back.

"This doesn’t concern you. Go deal with your sister. Liam, please find Owen and Ezra. Tell them the stayover is done. Everyone’s going home." Fenris ordered.

"Roger," Liam replied, dragging the white wolf out.

“Fenris! She’s bleeding!” Melody panicked, holding a smaller towel to my nose.

My world was turning a sunder, and I had no control anymore. With my world turning blurrier by the minute, I could barely hold my eyelids open anymore.

"Fenris! She isn’t okay." Melody held a soft cloth to my nose.

Her touch was rather pleasant on my hot skin but nothing like Fenris's was.

"Thank you, Melody. I’ll handle it from here. I’m sorry for everything." Fenris apologized, swiftly picking me up from her arms and into his warm embrace.

"The only thing you have to say sorry for is for that psychotic fiancée of yours. Geez, what a bitch!” the black wolf huffed following us out of the bathroom. “Please, tell me if she’s okay later."  

"Yeah. I’ll make sure to let you know." Fenris promised, laying me on the bed.

Melody narrowed her eyes, huffing up, still annoyed by Layla's actions. "You better!”

Before she left, she clasped my hands. “You better get better soon so I can teach you more stuff!”

Her smile was so bright even as I saw her in doubles.

Two Melody… that’d be a handful. Though if there are two, Fenris. Layla wouldn’t need to complain. But… I’ll want them all for myself.

However, even in my delirium, something else caught my eye. For a moment, I saw tiny cracks in the curse that ailed her before they disappeared into nothing again. My fever was probably playing tricks on me.

Once Melody left, Fenris tended to me. Drying me off, he placed a thin layer of a blanket over me to cover me, leaving me undressed underneath. He placed Shade next to me, pulling out some water to brew a chamomile tea that elves enhanced to help with magical ailments.

That herb was probably the only thing that helped me recover from my attacks. This one, though, was different. An entire day went by before I could open my eyes and keep them open. Shade was still asleep next to me when I searched for Fenris, only to find him not too far from me by the edge of the bed.

"Hey..." He whispered, clasping onto the hand looking for him.

Dark circles from lack of sleep were visible in his eyes.

You haven’t slept at all looking after me, have you?

"Fenris... I..." I tried to speak up for him to stop me.

I felt guilty about everything that had happened.

"It’s fine, Lily." He assured me.

Sadly, I couldn’t understand how any of it would be fine. Layla saw me kiss him and had to be furious, inconsolable, and out for blood. The thought alone sent shivers down my spine.

"No, I..." I tried to argue, only for him to shake his head, not wanting to hear anything from me.

"Don’t say anything. Just rest." he sighed, shifting his eyes to his phone.

The device was off on the nearby table; obviously, he didn’t want to think about anything related to Layla.

"Is something wrong with me?" I whispered, noticing his different demeanor.

He appeared warier about everything, and that wasn’t like him. Upon hearing my question, he sighed again, gazing at me slightly.

"Ryker came in with medics and checked you out. It seems you aren’t as stable as you were before. Your body isn’t equipped to handle the realm within you." Fenris informed, glancing away from me.

"I see," I mumbled, remembering slightly a fight between Ryker and Fenris.

I thought it was a dream fueled by delusions because of the fever, but it happened. When Ryker checked me with his light-based magic, he noticed that the emotional inhibitor wasn’t working.

The elf lost his cool when the wolf confessed to knowing about its failure. It began the argument of whose fault it was that I lost control. Fenris countered that this wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t brought Layla into this room.

However, the elf shot back with just as much ammunition. By the end, there was a standoff between the two.

"Fenris... This was going to happen either way. Containing her was just a temporary measure. We can’t kill this abomination because it’ll finish Moira's sacrificial spell.” The elf sighed, shaking his head.

“We don’t have a phoenix stone to close the realm if it opens again. It seems the world might be damned no matter what we do." Ryker added, pulling away from me.

This elf had been fighting for peace for years to see it end like this.

"I understand where you’re coming from, but Ryker, you need to back off her. Testing her patience won’t help curve the apocalypse you intend to avoid." Fenris huffed.

The elf sighed again, gazing at the young wolf before him. "I will, after the festival. The girl will be your full responsibility when you gain the moon's power. I fought with the council for you to keep her for this very reason. I knew you would be why she stayed in control.” Ryker confessed.

“My wife used to be my rod before she passed a year ago.” He breathed, gazing up to the ceiling. “Even though I don’t express it much. The fear of death is humbling to me. Even though I should be happy to meet her, the thought of leaving my daughters and sons I can’t." He continued, shaking his head.

"So, believe me when I say the thing you see as a girl is a bomb, Fenris. It’s waiting to blow. You can’t see her as anything else but a dangerous asset. For all our sakes, I hope you see that." The elf warned Fenris of his peril, who gripped the bed frame tighter.

"I know that Ryker. I know she’s dangerous, but you should’ve seen these past few days. She was fine until Layla pushed her over the edge. If it weren’t for Melody, my fiancée would be wall décor. Such a shame.” My wolf sighed.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that last part.” The elf scowled at him.

“From what you analyze, she reabsorbed the energy, right? That means she must be able to control herself to some extent. But can she do it without harming herself?" Fenris mumbled, shifting his gaze towards Ryker.

"Yes... She did. Perhaps the girl will control herself. We won’t know until the time comes. Nevertheless, I’ll change the lock to keep this room private for you two. As for Layla, if she makes more trouble, I’ll speak with her.” The elf shrugged.

“Honestly, I thought she would befriend Lilith instead of this. I didn’t think Layla saw her as a threat. You Lycans and your pride will be the end of us one day."  He walked towards Fenris before grabbing onto his shoulder tightly.

"Do remember that soon there won’t be anything to contain her. You have a heavy burden to carry on those shoulders of yours. Yet... I’m trusting you with my family's safety. The last steps to convince the council are coming soon.” Ryker informed, shifting his gaze towards me.

“You’ll need to steady yourself if you want everything to go your way, little wolf. I know your plans don’t align with the elder's wishes, and I’ll support you while you hold the reigns. Though I know your father would be proud of the man you’ve become." The elf added with a soft smile, letting go of Fenris's shoulder before heading for the door.

"Thank you, Ryker. We haven’t gotten along perfectly, but I know what I must do to accomplish my goal because of you." Fenris declared, not taking his eyes off me.

"I hope so. This world's survival depends on it." Ryker chuckled, closing the door behind him.

After he left, Fenris answered his phone several times, but all the conversations were hard to follow. Even though I felt better, my body refused to listen to me thoroughly. Even so, I wanted my beloved wolf to feel some relief.

We had to speak about a lot when we had the chance.

But all of that can wait a bit longer.

Instead, with my sheer will, I took a deep breath, sitting up, only for him to lean closer to me.

"Oi, lay down," Fenris grumbled.

Taking the chance, he was close, so I grabbed his shirt.

"No," I huffed.

Luckily, he appeared too tired to deal with anything, as the dark circles under his eyes were apparent.

"Lilith." He sighed.

I tightened my grip on his shirt. "Fenris," I called, yanking him into the bed with me.

Shade groggily got up from where she was, walking over to my unoccupied pillow on the bed before crashing on it. I climbed on top of Fenris, where his expression showed pure astonishment at my bold move.

I guess I was taking pointers from Layla. He grabbed my arms and tried to sit up, but I pushed him back onto the bed with my hands.

There is no escaping this wicked witch, my beloved wolf.