By the third day, Ellis stopped pretending she was fine.
The fever wasn't normal. It came in waves — one moment she was shivering so hard her teeth rattled, the next she was drenched in sweat, skin too hot to touch. But the worst part wasn't her body breaking down. It was the dreams.
In them, she was running through a forest under a bleeding moon, her bare feet tearing on roots and stones. She could smell the damp earth, the tang of blood, the musk of something hunting her… or maybe running beside her.
When she woke, her sheets were clawed to shreds.
She skipped her shift at the diner. Her manager didn't argue — one look at her pale, glassy-eyed face and he told her to rest. Not that rest helped. Every sound outside made her flinch. Every scent — the sharpness of coffee, the mildew in the hallway — hit her like it was under her nose.
By nightfall, she was pacing her apartment like a caged animal.
That's when she heard it again — the howl.
It was distant, but it cut straight through her fever haze, low and vibrating with something her body recognized before her mind could name it. Her hands trembled. She gripped the counter until her knuckles whitened.
A knock came at the door.
She froze.
It wasn't the polite tap of a neighbor or a delivery. It was slow, deliberate, almost… testing.
"Ellis Noir," a voice said through the wood. Male, deep, and edged with something feral. "Open the door."
She backed away, pulse pounding. "Who are you?"
"You already know."
The memory of yellow eyes flashed in her head.
Before she could answer, the lock clicked on its own. The door creaked open. Standing there was a man — tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a black T-shirt that clung to muscles like armor. His dark hair fell messily over his brow, and his gaze pinned her in place.
It was him. The one who had bitten her.
Her mouth went dry. "Get out."
He stepped inside, shutting the door behind him without breaking eye contact. "You're changing. You don't have time to figure it out on your own."
"I don't want your help."
"That's not how this works, sweetheart."
The way he said it — low, rough, intimate — made her stomach twist in a way that wasn't entirely fear. He studied her like she was a puzzle he meant to solve, his gaze lingering on the faint scar at her shoulder.
"You're not just any turn," he said finally. "Your scent—" He broke off, jaw tightening. "Others will smell it too. That's why I'm here."
Before she could ask what that meant, a cold draft swept through the room. The light flickered. And suddenly, another presence filled the doorway — Lucien.
The pale stranger from the alley leaned against the frame as if he owned the place, a faint smirk curving his lips. "I told you to stay away from the woods," he said to Ellis, his voice silk over steel. "But you didn't listen, did you?"
The werewolf's head snapped toward him, a growl rumbling in his chest. "You shouldn't be here, vampire."
Lucien's pale eyes glinted. "Neither should you."
The air between them felt like a live wire, charged and ready to snap. Ellis's fever spiked, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She couldn't tell if it was from fear, the heat radiating from the werewolf, or the way Lucien's gaze seemed to strip her bare.
"You both need to leave," she said, but her voice lacked conviction.
Neither of them moved.
Finally, Lucien stepped closer, his cold fingers brushing her wrist. "You're in the middle of a war you don't understand, little wolf," he murmured. "And you're more valuable than you realize."
The werewolf bristled. "Touch her again, and I'll—"
"You'll what?" Lucien interrupted smoothly. "Start a fight you can't win? In her apartment?"
Ellis's knees felt weak. She hated it — hated that part of her wanted them both to stay, even though every instinct screamed she was prey standing between two predators.
Lucien smiled faintly, as if he'd read her thoughts. "I'll be seeing you, Ellis." He turned and melted into the shadows outside, leaving the room colder in his absence.
The werewolf stepped forward, his voice low. "Stay away from him. And whatever you do… don't go out on the next full moon."
Before she could ask why, he was gone too.
Ellis stood alone in the silence, heart hammering, her body burning from fever and something she didn't want to name.