Chapter 8

Ericka POV:

I swayed in the wind, the city lights spinning dizzily below me. My ankles felt like they were being sawed off. The silver in the rope was reacting with the silver already in my blood, creating a toxicity that made my veins turn black visibly under my skin.

Snap.

One strand of the rope gave way.

I looked up. Caleb wasn't there anymore. He had left me hanging.

Snap.

The second strand broke.

I didn't scream. I just closed my eyes.

The rope gave way.

I plummeted.

I hit the terrace awning on the second floor first, tearing through the canvas, which slowed my fall, before crashing onto the concrete patio.

Crack.

Agony flared in my chest as ribs shattered, and my leg twisted at a sickening angle. But the awning had saved my life-barely.

I lay there, broken, staring at the moon. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

Footsteps approached. Not Caleb.

Two men. They smelled like dirt and old blood. Rogues that Caleb kept as prisoners for labor.

"Look at this," one grunted, kicking my broken leg. I gasped, choking on blood. "The Alpha said we could have some fun with the traitor before the cleaners come."

"She's pretty broken," the other laughed, unzipping his pants. "But she's still warm."

Fear, cold and primal, spiked in my chest. I tried to crawl away, but my body wouldn't obey.

"No..." I gurgled.

The first man grabbed my shirt and ripped it open.

But as he did, I coughed. A violent, wet spasm that expelled a massive amount of black, tar-like blood all over his face and chest.

The smell was horrific-the scent of rotting flesh and pure chemical death.

"What the hell?" The rogue jumped back, wiping the slime from his face. "It burns! What is wrong with her blood?"

"She's rotting from the inside out," the other man gagged, looking at the black veins pulsing on my neck. "She's got the Silver Blight. Don't touch her, you idiot! It's contagious to wolves!"

They backed away in horror, ziping their pants back up. My sickness had become my only defense.

Dr. Evans burst onto the patio, followed by nurses.

"Get away from her!" Evans shouted at the rogues.

He knelt beside me. "Goddess above... Ericka."

He pulled out his phone and dialed. "Alpha! Alpha, you need to come. She fell. It's... she's dying. Her vitals are crashing."

I could hear Caleb's voice on the other end, loud and dismissive. "Let her rot. If she dies, put her in the incinerator."

Click.

Evans looked at me with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Ericka. I'm so sorry."

My vision faded to white.

Suddenly, I wasn't on the cold concrete. I was in a field of moonflowers. A woman stood before me, glowing with soft, silver light.

The Moon Goddess.

"My child," she spoke, her voice like a lullaby. "You have suffered so much."

"Am I dead?" I asked. I felt no pain here.

"Not yet," she said. "But you are at the crossroads. You can fight to live, to prove your innocence... or you can let go."

I looked back at the darkness where my life was. Caleb's hate. My parents' betrayal. The endless pain.

"I'm tired," I whispered. "I don't want to fight anymore."

"Then prepare your heart," the Goddess said sadly. "For the final severing."

I opened my eyes in the hospital bed. I was alive. Unfortunately.