In a split second, everything changed again as every soul in the room was reminded of how dangerous Shade truly was. In the time it took for everyone to realize what had happened, she shifted and bit Layla's arm off, using her tail to slam the wolf onto the ground. Fenris immediately escaped his shock, nabbing me from Melody's hands.

Liam joined us as Shade stomped on Layla's head, who screeched in pain beneath her. Silence filled the room. Amelia was frozen and unable to move, shaking where she stood. Everyone in the room watched the feline drop the severed arm next to her body, snickering.

My mind lagged to understand what had happened.

"Hah! The murderous intent that came from you was glorious. Yet... how stupid can you be? I warned you, didn't I?" Shade snorted, bending her head down to Layla.

The cat wanted a better view of the female Lycan writhing in pain under her paw. No one moved a centimeter to help her when the feline snickered, realizing she warned no one about harming me, but it was such an obvious thing to her.

Stupid mortals, like I’d let you hurt us. She scoffed, flickering her tail.

"Ah... wait, I didn’t. Well, it should’ve been obvious. Would I sit by and let you have your way with my Lily? Do you think I look cute and fluffy for your pleasure? Wrong! It’s all for my Lily! My half, and you dare to try to hurt us!" Shade gibed Layla's stupid choice to go after me.

The white wolf responded by yelling at the top of her lungs. Her yapping caused Shade to rub the Lycan's face on the ground with her paw. At the moment's spur, she probably didn’t think it through—a one-of-a-kind perk Lycans had when angered.

At that moment, Layla probably wanted to eliminate the thing, causing her pain at any cost.

"Shade, please..." I mumbled from Fenris's embrace.

For the first time since she came to this world, she ignored me, leaving Layla writhing in pain to pace around the room. It was almost as if a shark was circling us, waiting for her prey to move.

"So, who’s next? Who’s going to try and hurt us?!" Shade hissed, triggering the crowd to flinch.

She no longer was hiding behind her innocent form, either. Instead, what glared at them was the veritable beast she was. All of them were threats in her eyes, and she would let no one near me. Even poor Ben couldn't step toward me without her glowering at him to stop.

She was getting out of control. In her desire to protect me from everyone, she isolated me from those whom I needed.

I need to…

Even though part of me was still stunned over finding out that I was bearing something I didn’t quite comprehend, I was the only one who could stop Shade from going on a rampage. She truly hated how everyone treated me; in her eyes, this was justice.

Feeling as ill as I did, I pushed myself off Fenris to run to her. I was grateful to her for protecting me so fiercely, but making them fear me wouldn’t help me in my quest for their help. Wrapping my arms around her, she appeared surprised by my approach and touch.

Fenris wasn’t far behind me, but he knew I was in no danger from Shade, even if she was on a rampage.

"Enough, you’ve made your point. Please, don’t hurt anyone else." I mumbled, feeling a bit dizzy.

The second I hugged her, she sat, wrapping her deadly paw around me, ensuring no one would come near me. However, her deadly embrace was comforting to me. She was the one thing who would never leave me, no matter what I did.

"No... they should all know they can't touch us lightly! You’re my Lily... We are—" Shade stopped, hissing at Fenris's slow approach.

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I buried myself in her fur. Her hostility didn’t stop him, though, just in time because my world slowly blurred. Even though Shade tried to stop me from falling on my knees, Fenris's grip prevented me from tumbling down to the ground.

Worried about me, Shade poked her head to lick my cheek with her rough tongue. I reached for her.

My beloved familiar. No… You’re more than that.

"Thank you for protecting me," I mumbled, trying not to lose myself.

Fenris sighed, pressing his temple on mine. “Lily, how did we get here?”

His words were like a whisper, soon overruled by the feline, who flicked her tail again.

"Arg! No, don’t thank me. I didn’t do it for such a shallow reason." Shade whispered worriedly about my well-being.

“I know,” I simpered, pinching her big cheek.

Even though her appearance was terrifying, to me, she was…

My Shade.

She could have swiftly ended Layla, but she didn’t, knowing it wasn’t something I desired. Her anger spilled into the world, but she still tried to appease me.

"Layla needs to get medical attention. Please let her have it," I pleaded to Shade.

Nausea from this morning was coming in waves thanks to my earlier extortion.

"Ha? She’s lucky to have her head still." The feline huffed, shifting her eyes towards the injured wolf.

"Please, Shade..." I breathed, triggering her to sigh.

"Arg... Fine. For you." Shade mumbled, shrinking down once again before jumping on me.

Fenris slowly helped me up from the floor. Sadly, it appeared I had a favorable attraction with it today as it called for me, even though my wolf held me, preventing me from going to it. After the initial danger of her losing control passed, he made sure I was close enough to him in case anyone else tried anything.

His hands were trembling the entire time. Given the green light, Amara rushed to Layla's side when Shade shrunk enough not to be dangerous. All the elders were shocked at what unfolded in front of their eyes. Evan, who hadn’t taken Shade seriously, shook in his shoes.

A medical team assembled near Layla to reattach the severed arm. Luckily for her, Shade had left the arm in one piece, but the Lycan would never regain the same strength she had before it was torn off.

Luckily, wolves had a fantastic ability to heal quickly, so it helped if they could get their limbs reattached for a better prognosis. Ben, who didn’t have the same luck when he was younger, slowly approached us as a council member broke the silence plaguing the room.

"From your fiancée's reaction. I take it that Lilith’s pregnant with your child, Fenris?" Charles asked.

I had been attacked, so what Shade had done was nothing more than self-defense. Behind us, Layla received the help she needed while she gasped and cried, as the pain couldn’t be remedied in our current position.

"Yes..." He replied, holding me close to his chest.

His eyes shimmered, alerting anyone around him not to come near us. He was ready to defend me, especially Layla, who was still conscious as her arm was being reattached.

"Preposterous! Humans are known for their willingness to open their legs to anyone, especially witches. The harlot could’ve been with anyone!" Evan retorted, trying to discredit me.

His words made my wolf growl before he could put it into words. Someone stepped in front of him.

"From what I felt, she can’t be farther than a month. So, whoever she was with was a month ago." Jaxon added to the information pool.

Ah… the night of the red moon, I forgot to drink the contraceptive, didn’t I?!

I winced, shaking my head. Within all the chaos, I had made a grievous mistake, forgetting about it so casually. However, it would have killed the egg even if I had taken it after the festival events.

It did nothing to a fertilized embryo that formed when we were in the inn. Even though Fenris didn’t remember the night, there was no other time we were together.

How could I be so careless?! I’ve…

"You seemed to be surprised by the news, young silver blood. Are you sure it’s your child she bears?" Nyla questioned.

My heart stopped as my entire body turned ice cold.

There is no way you doubt me, is there? I…

A child coming to this world was challenging, especially when we prepared for the battle looming over us. Not only that, but it was something I forced him into when I carelessly walked into that open field and took advantage of him during the moon when he had no control.

"Ah, am I surprised? Yes, but not because there’s a possibility of not being the father of the pups she’s holding.” Fenris started, shifting his gaze towards me.

His eyes were frozen and calculated, and he wasn’t allowing the emotions surging within him to affect him.

“There is no doubt that Lily hasn’t been with another man other than me. A month ago, during the night of the red moon, Lilith was with me." Fenris replied, releasing a soft sigh.

Every Lycan in the room appeared shaken by the revelation we conceived during the blood moon. It meant something more than a normal pregnancy.

"What?!" Evan rasped, disgusted by the turn of events.

Two Lycan elders reacted similarly, while the others appeared to change their tune. One was a red-haired female interested in our being together during the blood moon.

"So that child was created under the red moon?" she asked, stepping towards us.

Her words rang in my ears, making me clutch Fenris tighter. Friend or foe, I didn't know which one she was, but one thing was certain. I wasn't letting go of my wolf.