TWO HOURS SINCE SEPARATION - 8:00 AM
"Pain level?" Dr. Thorne asked, her voice tight with concern.
"Nine," Eve sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "It’s a nine. It hurts so much."
Her heart rate had climbed to 118. Blood pressure was 145 over 92. The monitors were screaming warnings that Dr. Thorne kept silencing with increasingly worried expressions.
"I’m going to give you sothing for the pain now," Dr. Thorne decided. "This is a supernatural analgesic...it won’t affect the transformation process, but it should take the edge off."
She injected sothing into Eve’s IV, and within seconds, the razor-sharp pain dulled to a more manageable throb.
"Better?" Dr. Thorne asked.
"Better," Eve confird, though "better" was relative. She still felt like she was being torn in half. Just slower now. More manageable.
"Your temperature is starting to rise," Dr. Thorne said, checking the monitors. "99.2 now. Not dangerous yet, but it’s a sign the binding spell is destabilizing faster than we anticipated."
"How long?" Eve asked. "How long until it breaks?"
"I don’t know," Dr. Thorne admitted. "Could be hours. Could be days. The stress of separation is definitely accelerating the degradation, but there’s no way to predict exactly when it will shatter completely."
Eve’s phone buzzed on the nightstand. She grabbed it desperately, hope flaring in her chest.
A text from Damian: Still holding? We’re two hours out. Making good ti. Stay strong.
Eve’s thumbs flew over the keyboard: Pain is bad but manageable. Dr. Thorne gave dication. I’m okay.
The response ca almost imdiately: Just hold on Eve, You are srtonger than you think. We’’ll be ho soon
Eve clutched the phone to her chest, the words a lifeline in the storm of pain and fear.
"That helped," Dr. Thorne observed, watching the monitors. "Your heart rate dropped ten points just from reading that ssage. The psychological component of the bond is significant."
"They’re all I have," Eve said simply. "The bond. The connection. Without it, I’m nothing."
"That’s not true," Mrs. Blackwood said from her position by the window. She’d been quietly present the entire ti, a calm, steady presence. "You’re Eve Chen. You were soone before you t them, and you’ll still be soone after you transform. The bond enhances what you are. It doesn’t define it."
"Wise words," Dr. Thorne agreed. "Rember that, Eve. When the transformation starts, when things get difficult, rember that you’re more than just their mate. You’re your own person with your own strength."
Eve wanted to believe that. Wanted to believe she had so core of strength independent of the bond.
But right now, with pain radiating through every nerve ending and the bond stretched so thin she could barely feel it, she wasn’t so sure.
THREE HOURS SINCE SEPARATION - 9:00 AM
The first physical change happened without warning.
Eve was dozing.....the pain dication had made her drowsy....when she felt a sharp, burning sensation in her back. She cried out, arching up from the bed, and Mrs. Blackwood was there imdiately.
"What is it? What’s wrong?"
"My back," Eve gasped. "Sothing’s happening to my back. It burns....."
Dr. Thorne was already moving, helping Eve turn onto her side so she could examine her back. When she pulled up Eve’s shirt, all three of them stared.
Glowing golden marks were appearing on Eve’s skin. Not tattoos....actual light, as if soone had taken a paintbrush dipped in liquid gold and drawn intricate patterns across her spine and shoulders.
"The binding spell," Dr. Thorne breathed. "It’s manifesting visibly as it breaks. I’ve read about this but never seen it."
"What do the marks an?" Eve asked, trying to twist to see her own back.
"They’re the physical representation of the spell itself," Dr. Thorne explained. "As the spell breaks, the marks will spread, covering more of your body. When they cover you completely....when every inch of your skin is glowing....that’s when the spell will shatter entirely."
"How much ti do I have?"
Dr. Thorne examined the marks carefully. "Based on the current coverage? Maybe twenty-four to thirty-six hours. Possibly less if the separation continues to accelerate the degradation."
Twenty-four to thirty-six hours. The brothers would be back in seventy-two. That ant the spell would break while they were still gone.
Eve had known this was likely. Had accepted it as a possibility. But having it confird, having a tiline, made it terrifyingly real.
"I’m going to transform without them," Eve said, her voice hollow.
"Possibly," Dr. Thorne agreed. "But rember what I told you—focus on the bond. Even at a distance, even without physical touch, the bond exists. Use it to anchor yourself. Hold onto it like a lifeline."
"And if it’s not enough?"
Dr. Thorne’s expression was grave. "Then we deal with that when it happens. But right now, you’re stable. You’re conscious. You’re fighting. That’s all we can ask for."
Eve’s phone buzzed again. Another text from Damian: Four hours out now. How are you holding up?
Eve typed with trembling hands: Binding spell marks are appearing. Dr. Thorne thinks I have 24-36 hours before it breaks completely.
A long pause. Then: Fuck. We’re coming back.
Eve’s heart leaped and then imdiately plumted. If they ca back now, those children would die. The pack mbers would be slaughtered.
She typed quickly: NO. You finish this. You save those children. I’ll survive. I have to.
Another long pause. Then: You’d better fucking survive. That’s an order from your alpha.
Despite everything, Eve almost smiled. Yes, alpha.
She set the phone down and closed her eyes, focusing on the bond. On that thin golden thread connecting her to three n who were driving away from her even though every instinct they had was screaming at them to turn around.
I’ll survive, she promised silently, sending the thought down the bond with all the strength she had. I’ll survive because you need to. Because those children need you to finish this. Because I’m stronger than this spell, stronger than this pain, stronger than anyone thinks.
I’ll survive.
I have to.
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