"Let push your swing," Reginald offered the little girl with bouncing curls. She studied him carefully before breaking into the most radiant smile he’d ever seen. The afternoon sunlight made it even more dazzling.
As a young boy, Reginald found himself completely captivated.
"Thanks."
Her voice had this sweet, musical quality that made Reginald grin back as he began pushing her swing.
Their peaceful mont shattered when a wild dog ca charging straight at them.
The beast looked starved and desperate.
Reginald didn’t hesitate—he grabbed the swing to stop it.
"Move! Now!" Reginald shouted at Phoebe, whose face had gone white with terror. "Go!"
Phoebe wavered, glancing between him and the approaching threat, then seized his hand to pull him along.
They scrambled down the hillside, but her tiny legs couldn’t carry them fast enough. The dog would catch up—Reginald was certain of it.
Her attempt to save him ward his heart, but they’d both die if they stayed together.
"Keep running, I’m right behind you!" Reginald released her grip and triggered his transformation.
He’d only mastered shifting recently and still felt clumsy in beast form.
Combat training hadn’t even begun yet.
Still, fighting as a human ant certain death. So Reginald trusted his instincts while watching Phoebe flee.
"I’ll bring my dad! I’ll bring my dad! Just hold on!" she called back through her tears, pushing her short legs to their limit.
Reginald turned his attention to the snarling dog bearing down on him.
The battle ended quickly. Through sheer luck, Reginald managed to drive the animal away. Not exactly a victory since his opponent retreated, but it worked.
When he shifted back to human form, cuts and gashes covered his body. The pain was excruciating, and Reginald wept quietly as he collapsed onto the grass, staring up at the endless blue sky, wondering if the little girl would return.
Darkness claid him before he got his answer.
He ca to in his own bedroom. His sister filled him in later—Phoebe had kept her word, returning with her father to find Reginald unconscious.
Beta Caron rushed him to the hospital and contacted his mother. That eting marked the beginning of everything between Beta Caron and his mom.
"That little girl wouldn’t stop crying over you," Viola teased, rolling her eyes.
But Reginald was too elated to care about her mockery. Despite the aching wounds, nothing could erase his smile.
Reginald jolted awake, that sa smile still playing on his lips—until he saw Phoebe sprawled on the bed beside him. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
Confusion clouded his thoughts for several heartbeats. His chest still glowed with happiness from the dream until reality crashed down.
It had all been a mory. A glimpse of his younger self, utterly enchanted by a little girl’s beauty.
That little girl had blossod into a stunning woman.
But now she lay unconscious, her lips stained crimson instead of curved in the joyful smile he rembered from their first eting.
"Lynn!" Reginald bellowed for the young healer. "She’s bleeding again!"
He jabbed a finger at the blood marking Phoebe’s mouth.
"Oh no..." The young healer rushed to the bed, terror written across her face as she examined Phoebe. "Her wound tore open again," she whimpered. "Must’ve happened when we moved her."
After discovering another girl had escaped the house, Reginald had imdiately relocated them to this dingy motel near Lynn’s place. They couldn’t risk traveling further with Phoebe’s condition so unstable.
"Fix it, you useless healer!" Reginald snapped. The urge to throttle her nearly overwheld him, but finding another healer would take ti—ti Phoebe didn’t have.
"Yes, yes..." Lynn fought back tears as she worked to stop the bleeding. Concentrating proved nearly impossible with Reginald’s murderous glare burning into her, especially knowing her little sister waited in the next room.
"She dies, your sister dies too. Don’t forget that."
Lynn nodded silently, biting her lip as she refocused on her task. She couldn’t understand why Phoebe’s healing abilities seed even weaker than a human’s.
Tears threatened to blur her vision, but she wiped them away and tried again to stem the flow of blood.
"They were here, I swear they were here." Rosa searched her house frantically, calling out both her sisters’ nas.
Being part of a healer family ant she couldn’t detect scents in the house, but Perry could. He’d caught it.
——
Perry’s POV
I caught my mate’s scent mixed with the revolting stench of Reginald and his warriors.
Rage erupted inside like a violent storm. I shifted into my beast form and charged out.
——
Rosa watched the king storm away, panic seizing her as she tried to convince him she wasn’t lying. Making false claims about sothing this critical would be a serious offense.
But the king had already left, along with the other royal warriors who’d shifted and followed him into the night.
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